The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1915-08-13

thc i6Ht VI q idHteTH Htiu ny Budiu,
and already the sweet-faced girl be-
| side me seemed tired and terribly IA
| tigued.
At last, breathless, we halted to
listen. We were already In sight Of
the gray mist where lay the silent lake
that held so many secrets. There was
not sound. We crept along the wa
ter's edge, until in the gray light we
could distinguish two empty boats
that OF the guards and our own. We
were again at the spot where we had
disembarked.
LET us row to the head Of the lake."
suggested the Finn. 1--WE may then
land and escape Them" And mo-
ment later we were all three In the
guards boat, rowing with all our
might under the deep shadow of the
bank northward, in the opposite direc-
ton to the town of Nystad. l think
we must have rowed several miles.
for ere we landed again, upon low,
fiat and barren shore, the first gray
streak Of day was showing in the east
Elma noticed 1t, and kept her great
brown eyes fixed upon 1t thoughtfully.
| 1t was the dawn for her-the dawn Of
a new life. Our eyes met; she smiled
at me, and then gazed again eastward.
with silent meaning.
Having landed, we drew the boat up
and concealed it in the underground
SO that the guards, on searching,
should not know the direction we had
taken, and then we went straight on
northward across the low-lying lands.
to where the forest showed dark
against the morning gray. The mist
had now somewhat cleared. but to dis
cover a path in a forest forty miles
wide is a matter of considerable diff
Guilty, and for hours we wandered on
and on. but alas! always in vain.
Faint and hungry, yet we still kept
courage Fortunately we found little
spring, and all three Of us drank ca
gerly1with our hands. But of food we
had nothing, save a small piece Of
hard rye bread which the Finn had In
his pocket, the remains of his evening
meal, and this we gave to Elma. who,
half famished. ate it quickly.
How many miles we trudged have
no idea. Elmas torn shoe gave her
considerable trouble. and noticing her
limping, l induced her to sit down
while / took it off, hoping to be able
to mend it, but. having unlaced 1t,
saw that upon her stocking was a
large patch of CONCEALED blood, where
cd I
managed to beat the nails of the shoe
with a stone, SO that it's sole should
not be lost, and she readjusted it,
allowing me to lace 1t up for her and
smiling the while.
Forward we trudged, ever forward,
across that enormous forest where the
myriad tree trunks presented the same
dismal scene everywhere, forest un-
trodden save by wild. half-savage lum-
bermen. My only fear was that we
should be compelled to spend another
night without shelter, and what its
effect might be upon the delicately
reared girl whose hand held tenderly
in mine. Surely my position was a
strange one. Her terrible affection
seemed to cause her to be entirely
dependent upon me.
Suddenly, just as the yellow sun
light overhead had begun to fade, the
fat-faced Finn, whose name he had
told me was Felix Estlander, cried
joyfully:
"Polushaite! Look. excellency! All!
The road at last!"
And as we glanced before us we
saw that his quick, well-trained eyes
had detected away in the twilight, at
some distance. path traversing our
vista among the tree trunks.
Elma made a gesture Of renewed
hope, and all three of us redoubled our
pace, expecting every moment to come
upon some log hut, the owner Of which
would surely give us hospitality for
the night But darkness came on
quickly, and yet we still pushed for
ward. Poor Elma was limping, and
knew that her injured foot was pain
ing her. even though she could tell me
nothing.
At last we saw before us a light
shining in a window, and five minutes
later Felix was knocking at the door.
and asking in Finnish the occupant
to give hospitality to lady lost in the
| forest.
We heard low growl like a NUT
tered imprecation within. and when
the door opened there stood upon
the threshold a tall, bearded, muscu-
lar old fellow in dirty red shirt, with
big revolver shining In his hand
A quick glance at us satisfied him that
we were not thieves. and he invited US
in while Felix explained that we had
landed from the lake, and our boat
having drifted away we had been COM
PEELED to take to the woods. The man
heard the Firms picturesque story,
and then said something to me which
Felix translated into Russian.
your excellency is welcome to all
the poor fare he has. He gives up
his bed in the room yonder to the
lady, so that she may rest. He Is
honored by your excellencys pres
| apcap