The Donaldsonville chief., 1912-08-24


II have looked at your books al
ready" said the woman, answering
his glance
This was where she had found Els
name, he realized
you will have this room for your
own use and will take the other for
mine,' he continued.
I am loath to dispossess you"
i shall be quite comfortable there,
and this shall be your room exclusive
" except when you bid me enter, as
when bring you your meals. I shall
hold it inviolate''
But" said the woman, "'there must
bean equal division Of labor. 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"
I am afraid should be unequal to
outdoor work, but in the rest I must
do my part"
would be irksome.
$50 you shall,'' he assented heartily,
when your foot is well enough to
make you an efficient member OF our
little society"
Thank you, and now"
rs there anything else before ]. get
supper?"
"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 reflectively, 81 am
sure he would never have given up"
And who is James Armstrong, may
] ssk?" burst forth the other bluntly.
why he-I-he is a friend Of my
uncle and an-acquaintance Of my
own. y
"Oh," saids the man shortly and
! gloomiIy, 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 blished every con-
ceiyab1e 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
rifle gorges soon to be impossible
from the SHOWS? She had read many
stories Of castaWays, from Charles
Reade's famous Foul Play" down to
more modern instances, but in those
cases there had always been an island
comparatively large over which to
reign with privacy, seclusion, opportu-
nifty for withdrawal; bright heavens,
balmy breezes. idyllic conditions.
Here were two uplifted from the earth
upon sky-piercing mountain. They
would have had more range of action
and more liberty of motion if they
had been upon derelict in the ocean.
And she realized at the same time
that in all those stories the two cast
aways always loved each other. Would
it be SO with them? Was it SO? And
again the hot fame within outyied the
fire Of the hearth as the blood rushed
to the smooth surface of her cheek
again.
What would her father say IL he
could know her position, what would
the world say, and above all what
would Armstrong say. It cannot be
denied that her thoughts were terri
bly, and Overwhelmingly dismayed,
and yet that despair was not without
] a certain relief No man had ever so
interested her as this one What was
the mystery of his life, why was he
/ there, what had he meant when he
had blessed the idle impulse that had
sent her into his arms?
| Her heart throbhed again. She lift
ed her face from her hands and dried
her tears, warm glow stole over her
and once again not altogether from
! the fire. Who and what was this
man? Who was that woman whose
picture he had taken from her? Well,
she would have time to find out. And
/ meantime the world outside could
| think and do what it pleased She
| sat staring into the fire light, seeing
| pictures there, dreaming dreams. She
| was as lovely as an angel to the man
| when he came back into the room.
CHAPTER XIV.