The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-07-22
COpyright 100 By the Bobbs- Merrill Co.
CHAPTER ~.
Out Of Might and Storm.

OQG OF NigHI aHo okoffIl'
When Rose Cannon woke on the
morning after her arrival at Antelope,
a memory of the snowfakes Of the
evening before made her Jump out Of
bed and patter barefooted to the win
dow. It seemed to her 1t would be
Tots of fun" to be showed up at An
telope, and when she saw only thin
covering Of white on the hotel garden
and the diminishing perspective OF
roofs, she drew her mouth into girl
mace OF disappointment.
With hunched-up shoulders, her
hands tucked under her arms, she
| stood looking out, her breath blur
ring the pane in O dissolving film Of
smoke. It was a cold little world.
Below her the garden-the summer
pride of Perley's Hotel-lay a sere,
withered waste, its shrubs stiff in the
grip Of the cold. The powdering Of
snow on its frost-bitten leaves and
grizzled grass added to it's air Of
bleakness. Beyond rose the shingled
roofs Of Antelope's main street. Rose,
standing gazing up, wondered II her
father would go on to Greenhide, the
new camp twenty miles from Ante
lope. where an important strike had
recently been made.
Half an hour later when they met
at breakfast he told her he would not
leave for Greenhide that morning.
/ Perley had warned him not to at
tempt 1t, and he for his part knew the
country we'll enough to realize that
It would be foolhardy to start under
such . threatening sky. It would be
all right to stop over at Antelope till
the weather made up its mind what
Il It meant to do. It might not be fun
for her, but then he had warned her
before they left San Francisco that
she would have to put UP with rough
accommodations and unaccustomed
discomforts.
Rose laughed. Her father did not
understand that the roughness and
novelty Of It all was what she en-
joyed. He was already man of
means when she was born, and she
had known nothing Of the hardships
and privations through which he and
her mother had struggled up to for.
tune. Rocky Bar the night before and
Antelope this morning were boz e. ..
glimpses Of the ling region over
which tts pioneers had swarmed in
49, Cannon, only lad In his
teens g them.
Perley's warnings Of bad weather
were soon verified. Early in the aft
ernoon the idle, occasional snow
flakes had begun to fall thickly, with
soft, persistent steadiness Of pur
pose.
At four o'clock, Willoughby, the
Englishman who had charge. Of the
shutdown Bella X. mine, came, but
ting head down against the wind, q
group Of dogs at his heels, to claim
the hospitality Of the hotel. His
Waterman, an old timer, had advised
him to seek a shelter better stored
with provisions than the office build
ing Of the Bella X. Willoughby, whose
accent and manner had proclaimed
him as one Of high distinction before
It was known in Antelope that b
was some relation to lord" wal
made welcome In the bar. His foul
red setter dogs, shut out from tina
hospitable retreat by the swing door
grouped around 1t and stared expect
antly, each shout from within bein,
answered by them with plaintive ant
ingratiating whines.
The afternoon was still young wheI
the day began to darken. Rose Can
non, who had been sitting IN the par
lor, dreaming over fire Of logs, wen
to the window, wondering at the grow
ing gloom. The wind had risen to ;
wild. sweeping speed, that tore thu
snow fine as mist. There were NJ
lazy, woolly flakes now. They haC
turned into an Opaque, slanting vel
which here and there curled int
snowy mounds and in other place
. left the ground bare.
Rose looked out on It with an In
I terest that was a little soberer thai
the debonair blitheness of her morn
ing mood. II 1t kept up they Nigh
be showed In for days. Perley ha'
said. That being the case, this room
the hotels one parlor, would be he
retreat. her abiding place-for he
bedroom was as cold as an ice-ches
until they were liberated. With tn
light, half-whimsical smile that cam
so readily to her lips, she turned iron
the window and surveyed 1t judicially
She was leaving the window to re
turn to her seat by the fire when tn
complete silence that seemed to hol
the outside world in a spell was brof
en- by sudden sounds. Voices, tn
crack Of a whip. then a grindin
thump against the hotel porch, caugh
her ear and whirled her back to tn
pane. A large covered vehicle, wit
the whitened shapes of a smokin
team dropping before 1t, had Jus
drawn up at the steps. Two mascr
line figures. carrying bags, emerge
from the interior, and from the driy
er's seat a muffled shape-a cylinde
Of wrappings which appeared to hav
a lively human core-gave forth niue
loud and profane language. The isc
lation and remoteness OF her SUI
roundings had already begun to a
4 feet the town-bred young lady. Sh
ran to the door Of the parlor. as II
genuously curious to see the new al
rivals and find out who they were a
though she had lived in Antelope fo
L a year.
Looking down the hall she saw tn
front door open violently inward an
two men hastily enter. The win
| ro hIo-r- " m