Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1912-05-09

too. in choosing purple as the color OF
royalty. 1t was a dignifed. compelling
color, and in it's warm tom there was
a hint Of blood.
1t was the Limberlost's hour to pro-
claim her sovereignty and triumph.
Everywhere she faunted her yellow
banner and trailed the purple of her
mantle, that was paler in the thistle
heads. took on strength in the first
in the ironwort.
Compellingly beautiful was the Lin
berlost, but cruel withal; far back in
there bleached the uncoftined bones Of
her victims. and she had missed era
ding him, oh, so narrowly!
Below the turtle log. a dripping silver
gray head. with shining eyes. was eau
tiously lifted, and Freckles' hand slid
around to his revolver. Higher and
higher came the head; a long. heavy.
fur coated body rose, now half, now
three-fourths out Of the water.
Freckles looked at his shaking hand
and doubted. but he gathered his
forces, the shot rang out, and the otter
lay still. He hurried down and tried
to lift it. He could scarcely muster
strength to carry it to the bridge. The
consciousness that he really could not
go farther with it made Freckles re-
aliZe the fact that he was we'll up to
the limit of human endurance. He
could bear it little, if any, longer.
Every hour the face Of the angel way
cred before him. and behind it the
awful distorted image Of Black Jack.
as he wore to the punishment he
would mete out to her.
Freckles stopped when he came to
the first guard. and telling him Of his
luck, asked him to go for the otter and
carry it up to the cabin. as he was
anxious to meet Mclean. Freckles
passed the second guard without seeing
him, and hurried up to the boss. lie
stood silent under the eyes of Mclean.
The boss was ~dumfounded. Mrs.
Duncan had led him to expect that he
would find Ereckles in a bad way. but
this was almost deathly. The fact
was apparent that the boy scarcely
knew what he was doing. His eyes
had a glazed. f%arsighted look in them,
that WrunC the heart of the man that
loved him. Without a thought of pre-,
liminaries Mclean leaned in the sad
die and drew Freckles up to him.
"My poor lad" he said. MY poor,
dear lad; tell me. and we will try to
right it,"
Freckles had twisted his fingers in
Nellie's name. At the kind words his
face dropped On McLean's thigh and
he shook with 4 nervous chill. Mclean
gathered him closer and waited.
"Freckles. said Mclean at last.
Twill you tell me. or must l set to
work in the dark and try to find the
trouble?"
"Oh. l want to tell you! must tell
you, sir" shuddered Freckles. "I can
not be bearing it the day out alone.
I was coming to you when I remim.
bered you would be here"
He lifted his face and gazed off
across the swale, with his jaws set
hard a minute. as if gathering his
forces. Then he spoke.
"It's the angel. SIR" he said.
Instinctively McLean's grip on him
frightened.
81 tried hard the other day" said
Freckles, land l couldn't seem to
make you see. It's only that there
hasn't been an hour. waking or sleep,
ing, since the day she parted the
bushes and looked into me room, that
the face Of her hasn't been before me
in all the tinderness. beauty and mis-,
chief Of it. She talked to me friendly
like. She trusted me entirely to take
right care of her. She helped me with
things about me books. She traited
shared with me like l was of her
own blood. She walked the streets of
the town with me before her friends
with all the pride Of a queen. She
forgot herself and didn't mind the
Bird Woman, and run big risks to help
me out that first day, sir. This last
time she walked into that gang OF
murderers, took their leader and
twisted him to the will of her. She
outdone him and raced the life almost
out Of her trying to save me.
Since l can reminder. whatever the
thing was that happened to me in the
beginning has been nj curse. I've
been bitter. hard and smarting under
it hopelessly. She came by and founC
me voice and put hope OF life and sue
cess like other men into me in spite OF
it."
Freckles held up his MANNED arm.
Look at it, sir" he said. IA thou
sand times I've cursed it. hanging
there helpless. She took it on thu
street, before all the people, just as i
she didn't see that it was a thing tt