Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-09-19

even your mind need not stsgnate."
81 have looked at your books al
ready" said the woman, answering
his glance.
This was where she had found his
name, he realized.
you will have this room for your
own use and l will take the other for
mine," he continued.
Il am loath to ~dispossess you"
81 shall be quite comfortable there,
and this shall be your room exclusive
ly except when you bid me enter, as
when | bring you your meals. I shall
hold it inviolate."
"But," said the woman, "'there must
be an equal division of labor. l must
do my share"
There isn't much to do in the win
ter except to take care of the burros,
keep up the fire and prepare what we
have to eat"
81 am afraid I should be unequal to
outdoor work, but in the rest l must
do my part"
He recognized at once that idleness
would be irksome.
$50 you SHALL" he assented heartily,
when your foot Is well enough to
make you an efficient member of III
little society"
Thank you, and now"
'Is there anything else before l get
superb
"You think there is no hope Of their
searching for me here"
The man shook his head. >
"If James Armstrong had been in
the party" she said refectively, Il am
sure he would W. have given up"
"And who Is James Armstrong, may
l ask?" burst forth the other bluntly.
why he-I-he Is a friend Of my
uncle and an-acquaintance of my
own"
"Oh," said the man shortly and
gloomily, as he turned away.
Enid Maitland had been very brave
in his presence, but when he went out
she put her head down on her arms
on the table and cried softly to her
self. Was ever a woman In such a
predicament, thrown into the arms Of
a man who had established every con-
ceivable claim upon her gratitude,
forced to live with him shut up in q
two-room log cabin upon a lonely
mountain range, surrounded by lofty
and inaccessible peaks, pierced by ter
rife gorges SOC to be impossible
from the SHOWS? She had read many
stories of castaways, from Charles
Reade's famous Foul Play" down tt
more modern instances, but In those
cases there had always been an island
comparatively large over which te
reign with privacy, s~eclusion, opportu
nifty for withdrawal; bright heavens
balmy breezes, idyllic conditions
Here were two uplifted from the eartt
upon a sky-piercing mountain. They
would have had more range OF actor
and more liberty Of motion II they
had been upon a derelict in the ocean
And she realized at the same time
that in all those stories the two cast
aways always loved each other. Woult
it be so with them? Was it SO? AND
again the hot fame within outvied thu
fire Of the hearth as the blood rushed
to the smooth surface Of her cheel
again.
What would her father say II h
could know her position, what woul'
the world say, and above all wha
would Armstrong say. 1t cannot b,
denied that her thoughts yer terri
bly, and overwhelmingly dismayed
and yet that despair was not withou
a certain relief. No man had ever 81
interested her as this one. What wa
the mystery Of his life, why was h
there, what had he meant when b
had blessed the idle impulse that ha'
sent her into his arms?
Her heart throbbed again. She lift
ed her face from her hands and drie
her tears, a warm glow stole over he
and once again not altogether fror
the fire. WHO and what was thi
man? Who was that woman who's
picture he had taken from her? We
she would have time to find out. An
. meantime the world outside coul
think and do what 1t pleased. Sh
sat staring into the fire light, seem
pictures there, dreaming dreams. Sh
y was as lovely as an angel to the ma
: when he came back into the room.