Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-09-12
cHApTER XII. fcontinued).

CfAF l Ell Al NNuHt'uuSuJ'F |
II will go and cook you some break
Vast while you get yourself ready. II
you have not washed, you'll find a
bucket of water and a basin and owe
outside the door"
He went through the inner door as
suddenly as he had come through the
outer one. He was a man of few words,
and whatever social grace he might
once have possessed, and in more ia
yorable circumstances exhibited, was
mot noticeable now. The tenderness
with which he had caressed her the
night before had also vanished.
His bearing had been cool. almost
harsh and forbidding, and his manner
was as grim as his appearance. The
conversation had been a brief one and
her opportunity for inspection OF him
consequently limited. Yet h a
taken him in. He was a tall, splendid
man. No longer young, perhaps, but In
the prime Of life and vigor. His com
plexion was dark and burned broWner
by long exposure to sun and wind, win
ter and ummer. In spite of the brown,
there was a certain color, a hue OF
health in his cheeks. His eyes were
hazel, sometimes brown, sometimes
gray, and sometimes blue, she after
ward learned. A short thick closely
cut beard and mustache covered the
lower part Of his face disguised but
mot hiding the squareness OF his Jaw
and the firmness of his lips.
He had worn his cap when he enter
ed. and when he took 1t off she no
ticed that his dark hair was tinged
with white. He was dressed in a leath-
or hunting suit, somewhat the worse
for wear, but fitting him in a way to
give free play to all his muscles. His
movements were swift, energetic and
graceful. She did not wonder that he
had SO easily hurled the bear to n
side and had managed to carry her-no
light weight, indeed!-over what she
dimly recognized must have been a
horrible trail, which, burdened as he
was, would have been impossible to q
man Of less splendid vigor than he.
The cabin was low ceiled, and as
she sat looking up at him, he had tow
erred above her until he seemed to
I'LL 1t. Naturally, she had scrutinized
Ehis every action, as she had hung on
Ibis every word. His swift and some
what startled movement, his frowning
as he had seized the picture IN which
she had gazed with such interest,
aroused the liveliest surprise and Gu
|riosity in her heart.
Who was this woman? Why was he
[so quick to remove the picture from
her gaze? Thoughts rushed tumultu-
lously through her brain, but she real
Iized at once that she lacked time to
Indulge them. She could hear him
moving about In the other She
threw aside the blanket with which
lshe had draped herself, changed the
lbandage on her foot, drew on the
heavy wooden stocking which, Of
course. was miles too big for her, but
(which easily took in her foot and
lankle encountered as they were by
khe rude, heavy but effective wrapping.
Thereafter she hobbled to the door
and stood for a moment almost aghast
Int the splendor and m~agniflcence be-
fore her.
He had built his cabin on a level
shelf Of rock perhaps fifty by a hundred
eet IN area. It was backed up against an
lovertowering cliff, otherwise the rock
lfell away in every direction. She d.
lvined that the descent from the shelf
Into the pocket or valley spread before
her was sheer, except OF to the
right, where a somewhat gentler &C
Iclivity of huge and broken boulders
gave q practicable a~scent--a sort Of
titanic stairs-to the place perched
on the mountain side. The shelf was
absolutely bare save fos the cabin
land q fow huge boulders. There were
q few sparse, stunted trees further uI
on the, mountain side above; a few
hundred feet beyond them, however
icame the timber line, after which
|thers was nothing but the naked
rock.
Below several hundred feet lay q
clear, emerald pool. whose edges were
Ibordered By pines, where 1t was moi
dominatad by high cliffa Already thu