Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1913-10-31

i will marry David Hamlin, she
answered firmly, let him be what he
may"
The man let out his. suppressed
breath In a sob of relief. his eyes
Frightening with triumph.
oh, Molly! Molly" he cried. 81
cannot tell you what this all means to
me. There is no past now to my life,
but all future"
Am | that to you?"
That! Yes, and a thousand times
more! | had ambition once, OppOrtun-
ity, even wealth. They were swept
away by a mans lie, a wOman's per
fdy. Out Of that wreck. | crawlcd into
the world again n mere thing. | lived
simply because ! must live. skulklng
in O~bscurity. my only inspiration the
hope Of an honorable death or an OPP
~portunity for vengeance Mine was
the life OF the ranks in the desert. as.
sociating with the lowest scum. in
constant contact with savagery |
could not speak to a decen' woman,
or be a man among men. There was
nothing left me but TO brood over
wrongs, and plot revenge. | became
morose. savage. g mere creature OF
discipline. food for powder. 1t was no
more when | first met you But with
that meeting the chains snapped. the
old ambitions OF life returned. You
were a mere girl from the East: you
did not understand. nor care about the
snobbery OF army life, No. it vas not
that--yOu were above 1t. You trusted
me. treated me as a friend, almost as
an equal. | loved you then. when we
parted on the trail. but | went back to
New Mexico to fight fate. 1t was such
a hopeless dream. yet all summer long
| rode with memory Juggling at my
heart. | grew to hate myself, but
could never forget you"
She drew nearer, her hand upon his
arm. her face uplifted.
And you thought | did not care?"
How could ! dream you did," al
most bitterly. You were gracious.
kind-but you were a majors daugh-
ter, as far away from me as the stars.
| never heard from you; not even a
rumor of your whereabouts came to
me across the plains. | supposed you
had returned East; had passed out of
my life forever. Then that night when
we rode into Dodge | saw you again
saw you In the yellow lamp light.
watching US pass, heard you ask what
troops those were, and | knew in
stantly all my fighting out there in
the desert a been vain-that you
we're forever the one one woman"
Il remained for that" she confessed
softly, her lashes wet.
A Dodge?"
come, must come. Some intuition
seemed to tell me that we should meet
again. Oh, | was so happy the night
you came! No one had told me your
troop had been ordered in. 1t was like
a dream come true. When | saw you
leading your horse across the parade
| could hardly refrain from calling
out to you before them all. | did not
care what they t~hought-for my sol
der had come home from the wars"
Sweetheart" the deep voice falter-
ing, "may-may l kiss your"
of course you may"
Their lips met, and she chung to him
as his arms held her closely. It was
i!AS Il uEeSIn 10 MIN, lnlS sudden un-
expected surrender. Perhaps she read
this Il his eyes.
do not misunderstood me-" she
urged softly. / Il do not come to you
because of what has happened. be-
cause | am alone and helpless. If you
had stepped from the ranks that night
at Dodge, | would have answered even
as l 10 now"
You love me?-iove me?' he re-
peated.
Yes"
Even as he looked down upon her
upturned face. there was borne back
upon him a realization Of their pre-
dicament. His eyes swept over the
surrounding ~desolation. the two dead
bodies lying motionless in the snow,
the stifsning pony. the drear hillside
which shut them In. The sight brought
him back to consciousness with a
shock. Minutes might mean much
now. Dupont had disappeared over
that ridge to the right. in the direction
of Black Kettles camp. How far