The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-12-07

~ OR two days and two nights
II the girl fought on alone
against the outcry of her
heart until she recognized the
utility Of It. and then she ordered
Ragtimc TO be saddled. And Miriam
Burrell, sighting Barbara's face AZ the
latter wheeled toward the hills. Jew
from her window to scratch OF a note
to Garry--her third note that day. for
she seemed always emitting most i'm
portant things which needed saying.
~Its come" she scrawled In delight,
Cd haste. 80 When are we going TO
b marriedr'
Once before Barbara had ridden that
road with him alone In her thoughts.
Now abe realized that she had loved
him then as she must have loved him
always and marveled at such blind.
ness Once. on that other day. she
had told herself that all ignoble and
unworthy comparisons Of herself and
him were done and gone. Now she
did not need such reinsurance, when
her lips were tremulous.
She grew pensive at timea At times
In an abandon Of gayety she chartered
back Al . quarrelsome squirrel In the
thicket She could rest later. and II
she could not 90 to him Immediately
at least every step the horse took was
bringing them for q little while closer
together. And her tomorrow was only
one twilight and one dawn away. Her
tomorrow would be his as utterly as
was she herself.
Dusk came. and regretfully she told
herself that she must be turning back
home Two rife shots, sharp and star.
tlingiy close. whipped through the quiet
Of that lazy afternoon. but they meant
nothing to her. She had reached the
height Of land. where he had found her
the day her roam mare strayed Oh while
she sat incoming on a log. She was
holding out both arms toward the spot
where the valley Of Thirty Mile must
lie when q team Of heavy horses broke
around a turn In the road. slowed to
trot at the sight Of her and came to an
abrupt standstflL When the girl rode
nearer to them. merely surprised and
curious at first. they snorted and show
ed the whites Of their eyes and SHE'D
back ncrvously.
Something chill clutched at Barbara's
heart while she spoke peremptorfly
TO Ragtime who was dancing In sym
pathetic panic. There was nothing to
tell her. but she knew that these were
Big Louies horses And Big Louie
was a dreamy incompetent He had
left them for q moment. that was all.
and they bad become frightened and
bolted. But Big Louie never neglected
his team-they were not wet-they
had not been running far. And their
fright became less when she dismount.
ed and approached them. soothing them
with her voice until they let her touch
their sleek sides without rearing away.
Dusk had come and gone. for It was
growing dark. Uncertain. more and
more unnerved as she stood and gaxed
At the forbidding. black Swallowed
ridges beyond her. the girl had to dght
suddenly against an impulse to turn
and race back to the lower country
and Morrison and home. Even then
the rife shots meant nothing to her
and pride would not let her run. She
remounted and rode on q rod or two
and stopped to look back at the team
which was watching her. She pressed
on and rounded the curve. Ragtime
reared and snorted there. and she bare
~ stified the cry which his strange be-
havior brought to her lips Because Of
her senseless panic she punished him
the more severely and sent him on.
And then she saw what the horse had
already seen.
A blue shirted figure lay half in the
road. half In the underground that
fringed Il, one arm crooked under him
and his face prone In the dust. A
bulkier mass was stretched wholly
within the trail-and she recognized
him too. Big Louie's face was up
turned. and the explanation Of the two
rife reports and the driverless team
was here. for Big Louie's hand still
clutched the handle OF q canvas pail
They had stopped TO water the horses:
they had been shot down from behind.
And FIRST Of all. unable TO move. while
horror parched her lips. the girl re-
membered words which the limp one.
half In the road and half In the under.
brush. had spoken 10 her In a moment
Of sternness.
HE has hred upon me from cover"
the man who loved her had said. HE
has been taking money from a man
who was bent on beating me at any
pricei'
Blood sickens mer' she whimpered
aloud. Blood sickens mel" But she
managed 70 turn him over upon his
back. With brown head against his
heart she listened listened and would
not believe that her tomorrow might
come too late. And then she caught
the slack pound OF his pulse.
From there on she was less panic
stricken. She gained control OF facul.
ties shocked for a time into useless
ness.- Method marked her acts=dellb-