The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1915-09-16

eddy. he tound tHo - his ha- |
otdsd that the girl, alarmed az nis 20
bavior had gone out Of the BACK
~Baipg a gentleman, OF course ne
Ia not stay but he could not resist
taxing some bread. rather staie anu
- and some cold bacon that ne
sayrd On a table. He withdrew Win
.Hasa into the forest and made a raw
enous meal. Then, tired out ana III
mod 70 mosquitoes, he fell asleep.
ct was earliest dawn when lie
ouoke He opened his eyes IN aston
isbment, and at first ne eould no. 40
mamber where he was. Then, all al
once. he saw the girl again, STANDING
where he had seen her before at lne
door of the cabin.
"He approached her very courteous
~ raising his hat. This time she did
not run from him. but stood still ana
smiled. He apologized for having
frightened her the night before, ana
asked her If she could direct him to
his hotel.
He must have presented terrinc
spectacle, all scratched, dirty ana
bruised from his long tramp, and with
the wiIdness of delirium still in his
ewes. But the girl only smiled again,
and stretched out her hand. indicating
a trail. Tarrant thanked her, but she
went back into the hut without a word.
Afterward he remembered that she
had not spoken to him at all.
"Plunging heavily along the traii'
Tarrant walked till the sun came up.
Then, lifting up his eyes in amaze
ment, he saw, not half a mile away,
his own hotel.
Fifteen minutes later he was back,
and ten minutes after that he was en-
joying chicken broth in bed. After
that he slept the clock around.
when he awakened he told his ad-
ventures to the hotelkeeper, who had
formerly been one of the local guides,
But when he mentioned the girl in the
cabin the man was silent. Tarrant
pressed him hard.
Who is she?' he insisted.
"At last the man raised his eyes
sullenly to his. She died a score Of
years ago. he answered. She was the
wife Of the old squire, before the land
was bought by the state. She died
when her baby was born. She was al
ways kind to- folks, and she loved
children
THAT was all Tarrant could get out
of him. He tried to find the trail
through the woods many times, but
none of the guides admitted knowledge
of it, and the landlord fatty refused to
show him. And Tarrant, thinking over
the matter, all at once understood why
he thought he had seen the woman
before.
"The look in her eyes was the look
that he used to see in Molly's eyes
long ago, when he courted her, before
the rubs and jars of married life had
worn away the sweetness of their love.
"Tarrant was no fool, and after a
while he began to piece the warning
together. That look which had so al,
lured him, that look which he had
seen in the dead woman's eyes and in
Mollys-what was it but the univer.
sal, loving soul of woman, embodied
now here, now there, but always noble
and always sweet?
And Tarrant knew that in loving
Molly he was loving the spiritual DUAL.
lty which is given to all men in some
form, in life, but is so often thrown
away and lost through misund
ing.
That night he hurried home, and
all the way in the train the wheels
beat Molly He arrived, fearful that
she had already taken some irreyoc
able step. He wanted chance to tell
her, to explain but when he
reached the house it was alight. and II
was Molly who met him within the
darkened hall.
He flung his arms about her and
stammered out acknowledgment Of
his hideous mistake.
lie 1elt her tears upon his face
dearest she whispered, 4 came home
| couldn't stay away from you longer
was writing to you. What a mistake
we have made dear. And there |,
something listen!'
lncredulously Tarrant heard the
whispered story. while his heart bea
madly. When she had done he folded
ner In his arms. We shall never par
again, through all our lives he said.
And it was only afterward that h,
remembered how the woman of tn,
lonely cabin had died, and understoo,