Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1916-02-05
CHATTER xxli-continued.

~ performed "a duty which. he .consid-
cred unpleasant, INT. necessary He
acknowledged receipt. Ola comnlnnica-
ton reaching him at Ramsay's bead
|. quarters. apparently an application for
parton, and a pledge TO Unite with: the
Federal forces, and stated that. the
writer. would be. at the Minor house
near Hot Springs at a certain date.
Where he WOULD be glad to confer fur
the-' regarding the matter. He agreed
10 come unattended, and suggested
thai his visitor. use the name of .Tay-
Tor 90 as TO prevent any suspicion. The.
I. ciosng paragraph: referred TO a for
mef misunderstanding, between them.
ana expressed a kindly: desire to- blot
out all memory of what had occurred.
hands trembled as'I read the lines,
and the giTl at. my side cried softly,
her eyes so filled with tears /. doubt
II she could distinguish the words
Scarcely aware OF the action. i held
her with my arm. the letter .crumpled
between my fingers; ..
/ It's all clear enough now, little
girl. l.. whispered, my voice trembling
from sympathy. Your father met his
death at the hands of treacherous
scoundrel. 1t was plot carefully con
ceived,. and now .CoVan has paid the
/ penalty. / am glad we have learned
the truth; but Major HAYWOOD would
never. wish you TO mourn here in the
midst of all this .danger-you are lis
.tening?" -: :: -
Yes; I will do just as you say.
>: 1T. will be best to go; safer. think:
also"
Her hands chung to me, but she was
no longer crying. although unshed
tears .dimmed her eyes.
ii thank Cod" she faltered that
he sent you to me could not bear
all this alone"
Il am glad you care. to have me
here, =" / answered eagerly. Il. was half
afraid you did not" -.
oh, but | do; cannot tell you all
1t means. II think have never felt
more helpless, or-or discouraged. .-
1T Is the strain of so much occur:
ring at once, and you are worn out.
We will get away from here, some
where back into the hills, where we
can feel safe from discovery. Then
we can rest all day. and you will be
all right again. We need sleep and
food" 49,.
| released her hands gently, began
swift search, and found all we re-
quired. left Cowan lying just. as. he
+ had fallen. Both of US were glad
enough when we closed the door of
the shack and returned to our. horses.
We rode on steadily for an hour, only
occasionally exchanging word. The
road was rough and mountainous, so
rocky ~underfoot our horses left no
trail At last we, came to a. narrow
ravine down which a brook plunged
over stony bed. : There was no trail
visible, but it was possible to advance
some distance by keeping close to the
bank. dismounted,. and, holding to
the rein, led my horse carefully Tor.
ward. ~. T."
. Follow: as closely as you can" I
called back to her. and keep at the.
rock edge so as to lease no trail"
A safer: place surely could not have
been found: We were in narrow de-
file. scarcely. fifty feet across. and
guarded ON either. side by high rock
walls, precipitous. and exhibiting no
sign of a trail. picketed. the horses
close to the stream and spread blan-
kets for the lady to- lie. on at the foot
OF the bluff where she would be we'll.
screened by. a thicket- Of underbrush.
Then l came back. to where she sat
silently against the bole OF large
tree, watching my movements.
NO doubt we are safe enough here:
I said. opening the pack .-rlr'It I'm not
risk fire; YOU can eat. I SUPPOSE pr.
81 hardly know" YEARLY. Perhaps
I can choke a little food down; but
really am not. hungry. How far
have we Gomez" ~.
"As a mere 'guessI should say near.
~ ten miles since. leaving the. cabin.
BY the sun it must be nine O'Clock. .
Eat what you can. and then lie down
on the blankets and rest. We win not
leave here until just before dark" /:
And you?" ''e.-.
"Oh. / may doze later II there is
no alarm; / shall never be far. away"
She ate of the coarse food dafntiIy.
apparently without appetite. but did
full justice to the meal. satisfied. for
the time being at least, that We were
securely hidden. There"was strange
constraint between us. and, finally.
hoping to make her feel more lease,
/ ventured to broacb the subject which
knew. must be also uppermost in her
mind -
1T is an odd situation in: which we
fad ourselves, i began awkwardly.
my eyes on the ground. but ] hope
you-you will not feel embarrassed.
or-or fail to have complete conh
dence in me-. il have no wish TO
take any advantage .or-or assume
any authority" "
= stopped. unable to express the
thing i~desired to say, ano the silence
seemed :long.. lifted my eyes, and
she as looking at me.
May. ! ask you one question p