Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-12-19
The Evening Story
A Mystery
BY F. A. Mitchell
BY F. A. Mitchell

NheeSeHiahei, Hhu very pretty uausn-
/ ter. Anna, whom Herman wished to
marry. but her father would not con-
sent i have nothing but a few
! cheese presses" he said to her, "a
/ dozen goats and the chalet over our
heads. | can consequently give you
no dowry. Herman has nothing ex-
cept what he can earn guiding tourists
Instead of having son-in-aw TO re-
lieve me Of providing for one of my
children / shall likely in time have
/ grandchildren on my hands, for Her
man Is liable at any time to slide
down to his death with an avalanche
or fall over a precipice."
Anna gave this reply OF her father
to Herman, who cast his eyes thought
fully up the mountain side, then said:
Tell your father that whether |
marry you or do not marry you I will
provide for you"
When Anna told her father that be
exclaimed: Herman is a fool. He
/ dreams dreams as high up In the
clouds as the peaks he climbs. How
could he provide for your"
The girl made no reply to this, for
she did not know what Herman meant.
i She knew that he was full of strange
IDEAS, and she was impressed with the
sad but resolute expression on his face
when he spoke the words that she had
/ repeated to her father However,
Il to Ia ~ fb.
matter, for she had no idea OF disobey
Ing her father by marrying Herman.
I One day an English gentleman en-
! gagged Herman to make an ascent with
4 him. The two started out together
and when they got up to where the
i climbing was dangerous Herman unit
I ed them by rope. While moving
I pice on one side the tourist slipped
and fell on a side of the divide which
4 was but some twenty feet above a
ledge. The shock, however, caused
Herman to lose his balance, and he
/ fell on the other side and hung over the
precipice. His ak Slipped from his
hands. and he heard 1t strike far below
A VI tttuaNtlfs lOpE bClur Ddl AitA AA4til ~
knew that would not long bear the
strain and any rubbing against the
4 sharp rocks on the edge Of the divide
+ would surely cause 1t to break, For
4 this reason he could not use ID to
\ climb up on, and, having no ak, he
/ could not cut steps in the ice. He call
ca ont TO the tourist:
.iIGa nannnt rap1afT lone n fbic f4aui.
ton, for as soon as night comes and
the temperature falls we VIII freeze
II cut the rope you will fall on the
ledge and can descend the mountain
! | would like 10 sell you my life for
money. It will enable you to live,
Tie Englishmau would not Mt first
consent to any such plan, asserting
that he would blame himself and be
blamed for accepting his life on such
terms. But Herman told him that the
small strands that composed the rope
were gradually giving why and it would
seon break. so the tourist finally said
i that he would accede to Herman's
terms, though he could not see how
the latter could be benefited by money
after his death. Then Herman told
him 1t was TO be paid to Anna, the
daughter OF old Gotlieb. the cheese
maker In the valley
Il will give her. said the tourist
half OF what possess, or 10000
she will not know what to do with
SO much.n said Herman. but you can
settle that with her father"
The tourist heard nothing more from
| Herman. Some minutes passed, awful
minutes, during which the Englishman
| knew that soul was preparing for
death The surrounding mountains
seemed a part OF eternity, the silence
that of infinite space. Then suddenly
he dropped, landing on the ledge below.
For awhile his mind was so filed
with the terrible fate OF his guide that
he could think of nothing else. Then.
realizing that be must save himself in
order TO keep his part OF the contract
he had made. he got up and, walking
along the ledge, found place some
distance below where he could regain
the path by which he and his guide
had assembled Night came on. and he
lost his way He would have sunk
down in the snow and permitted the
cold to end his life had he not been
buoyed by desire to pay the money
he had promised Indeed when he
thought that he must live under the
cloud OF his guides death and his own
safety he would have preferred TO die,
He stopped to rest and was getting
drowsy when he saw light In cha
let window some distance below. Ris-
ing, he struggled on and when door
was opened to him fell Oh the floor
insensible.
The next day he descended into the
valley and appered at the Gotlieb
home. When Anna NV him come In
alone and looking ,eggard she knew
her lover had persisted and swooned.
| fry, tafJ hot uar y,