The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-04-03

vas sure. lay the answer to this pre-
,.osterous riddle. When his thoughts
came back to the table he found Mr.
Bland cyinS him narrowly.
The luncheon over. Miss Norton and
her mother prepared to ascend to their
rp,rN. Mr.. Mngee mnneuvcrcd 80 as to
meet the girl at the foot Of the stairs.
wont you come back he whis-
Iercd softly, and explain things to a
poor hermit who is completely at sea-"
What things:" she asked.
What it all means" he whispered.
why you wept in the station, why
you invented the story OF the actress.
why you anl here to brighten my
drab eXiie-what this whole comedy Of
Balupate inn amounts to anyhOw!'
She only looked ut him with unbe-
Iicving eyes.
You can hardly expect me to credit
that" she said. Il must 90 up now
and read mamma into the pleasant
land OF thin girlish figures that is her
afternoon siesta. | may come back
and talk to you after awhile, but
don't promise to explain"
Come back" pleaded Mr.. Magee.
That is all | ask"
"A tiny boom she smiled. Il grant
it,"
Laughing. Mr.. Magee sought the soil
tude of No. I.
After all. I'm here to work." he told
himself. ALARMS and excursions and
blue eyes must not turn me from my
task. Let's See-What was my task?
\. deep heart searching novel. Il novel
devoid OF rabid melOdrama. 1t becomes
more difficult every minute here ut
Baldpate inn. But that should only
add more zest to the struggle. | de-
vote the next two hours to thought
He pulled his chair up before the
blazing hearth and gaZed into the red
depths. But bis thoughts refused to
turn to the masterpiece that vas to be
born on Baldpate. They rOamed to
far off Broadway; they strOlled with
Helen Faulkner-the girl he meant to
marry If he ever got around to it
along dignifed Fifth avenue Then
joyously they trooped to a far more
alluring. more human girl. who press
ed a bit Of cambria to her face in a
railway station. while a ginger haired
agent peeped through the bars. Soon
Mr.. Magee's thoughts were climbing
Baldpate mountain. there to wander in
a mystic Of ghostly figures which
appeared from the shadows. holding
aloft in triumph gigantic keys. Mr..
Magee had slept but little the night
before. The quick December dusk I'LL
ed No. I when he awoke with a start.
He remembered that he had asked
the girl to come back to the Office and
berated himself to think that probably
she had done 50 only to find that he
was not there. Hastily Strengthening
his tie and dashing the traces Of sleep
from his eyes with the aid Of cold wa
ter. he ran downstairs.
The great bare room was in dark
ness save for the faint red Of the fire
Before the fireplace sat the girl Of the
station. her hair cleaning with a new
splendOr in that light. She looked in
.uOCN ICpIOSdI Ut NIL. NdSSC
"For shame" she said. Ito be late at
the TRUSTING place."
"A thousand pardons," Mr.. Magee
replied. II fell asleep and dreamed Of
a girl who wept in a railway station.
and she was so altogether charming |
could not tear myself away
Il fear" she laughed. you are old in
the ways Of the world. A passion for
sleep SEEM to have seized the her
mits. The professor has gone to his
for that purpoS, and Mr.. Bland.
his broken heart forgot. slumbers over
there" She pointed to the haberdash-
err inert in a big chair drawn up near
the clerks desk. only you and | in
all the world awake
Pretty lonesome. isn't it?' MIR. Ma
gee glanced over his shoulder at the
shadows that crept in on them.
II was finding it very busy when
you came" she answered. You see.
! have known the inn when it was
gay with summer people. and as I sat
here by the fire l pretended l saw the
ghosts Of a lot Of the people knew
fitting about in the dusk. The rock
ing chair feet sailed by
THE WHAT
BLACK flag flying, decks cleared for
action-l saw the rocking chair fleet
80 by" She smiled family. I'VE al
ways called them that. Bitter, un-
kind old women who sat hour after
hour on the veranda and rocked. and
gOssiped and gossiped and rocked.
And saw some poor little ghosts
weeping in a corner. she went on:
IA few that the feet had run down
and sunk in the sea Of gossip. A little
ghost. whose mother had not been all
she should have been. and the feet
found it out and rocked and whispered
and she went away. And a few who
were poor-the most terrible Of sins
to them the feet showed no mercy.
And a fine proud girl, Myra Thornhill.
who was engaged to a man named
kendrick, and who W dared come
here again after Kendrick suddenly dis
appeared because Of the whispered dis