The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1916-11-30
CHAPTER vIII-tContinued.)

the curtains, Celia felt his eyes upO.
her. Her own We're closed. and by
breathing. slowly, gently, as if sh
| We're asleep.
He looked for a long moment, thrilled
by the delicate beauty of her sleepins
face, filled with an intoxicating joy t.
see that her lips were 20 longer white
then, turning fevcrentiy away. he un
locked the door and stepped forth.
The other occupants of the car were
still wrapped i'll slumber. Loud SHORES
of various kinds and qualities testified
to that. A dim light at the further enc
c~ontended luridls-, and losingly, with the
daylight now flooding the outside world
and creeping r~nischievously into the
~tranSonS.
Gordon closed the door of the com
partment nciselessly and went down
the aisle to The end of the car.
~ door was open. and he could hear
voices outside. The conductor stood
talking with two brakemen. He heard
the words: "TEree-quarters of an hour
at least" and then the men walked off
toward the engine.
Gordon looked across the country.
and for the first time since he started
on his journey let himself remember
that it was springtime n May.
There had been a bitter vino the
night before, with a hint OF rain in the
air. In fact. it had rained quite smartly
during the ride to the hospital with the
hurt child. but he had been so perturbed
that he had taken little notice of the
weather. But this was 4 radiant morn
ing.
The sun was in one of it's most
everything with a sort of unnatural
glory after the long winter of darkness
and cold. Every tree trunk in the dis
tance seemed to stand out clearly. every
little grass-biade was set with a glow
ing jewel, and the winding stream
across a narrow valley fairly blazed
with brightness. The very road with its
deep, clean wheel-grooves seemed like
a well taken photograph.
The air had an alluring %softneSS
mingled with its tang of winter that
made one long to tax a walk anywhere
out into the world, just for the joy of
being and doing. A meadow lark shot
let go its blithe note. and hurried on 1t
glorious. The eX~hilaration filled
Gordon's. blood
And here was the chance he craved to
slip away from the train before it
reached a place where he could be dis
covered. If he had but thought to bring
his suitcasei He could slip back now
without being noticed and get it! He
could even go without it! But-he could
not leave her that way-could he?
Ought he? Perhaps he ought But it
not do to leave his suitcase
with her, for it contained letters adj
dressed to his real name. An explana-
ton would of course be demanded, and
he could not satisfy a loving mother
and brother for having left a helpless
girl in such a situation-eyen if he
could satisfy his own conscience, which
he knew he could. He simply
could not leave her, and yet he must get
81 n u from that tVai i'm as Snnyt a G nng--
sible. Perhaps his was the only OPP
.%ortunity he would have before reach
ing Buffalo, and it a very risky. in
deed dangerous, to dare enter Buffalo.
1t was a foregone conclusion that there
would be private detectives ready to
meet the train in Buffalo with full deS-
criptions and particulars n only too
to make way with him if they
could do so without being found out.
He looked n~ervously pack at the door
Of the a !. Dared he attempt to waken
her and say that they had made a mis-
we'll enough? And where could they go?
He looked off toward the landscape
For answer to his question.
They were decidedly in the country.
The train stood at the top of a high
Of cinders, below which
a smooth country road running
to the railroad for some dis
till 1t met another road at right
angles to 1t, which stretched away
between thrifty meadow-lands to a
nesting village. The glorified stream
ne had first noticed far up the valley
slinted narrower here In the morn
tng light, with a suggestion of water
cress and forget-me-nots in its fringes
1t veered away under a bridge to-
ward the village and hid itself n a
of willows and cat-tails.
How easy 1t would be to slide down
embankment. and walk out that
road over the bridge to the village,
where of course a conveyance of some
sort could be hired to Dear him to
Pittsburgh. perhaps, where he could
sasily get q train to Washington. How
easily il only he were not held by some
hands to care for the sweet
inside the car! And yet, for
ner sake as well as his own, he must
10 something, and that right speedily.
He was standing thus In deep medi-
looking off at the little village
which seemed SO near and yet would
be SO far for her to walk, when he was
pervaded with that strange sense OF
sorne near. For an instant he re-
sisted the desire to lift his eyes and
to himself that no one was pres
ant in a doorway which a moment boz
he knew had been ~unoccupied.
Then. frowning at his own nervousness,
he turned.
III stood there in all the beauty Of
fresh young girlhood, q delicate
pallor on her cheeks, and a deep sad
ness In her great dark eyes, which were
nxed upon him intently, in a sort OF
puzzled study. She was fully dressed.
even to her hat and gloves. Every
wave Of her golden hair lay exquisitely
IN place under the purple hat. as though
she might have taken an hour or two
At her. toilet: yet she had made it with
excited haste. and with trembling nm
gers. determined to have it accomplish
before the return Of her dreaded
liege lord.
She had sprung from her berth the
Instant he closed the door upon her.
md fastened the little catch to bar
him out. She had dashed cold water
her face, fastened her garments
and tossed the glory OF her
hair Into place with ! few touches and
what hairpins she could fnd on the
floor. Then putting on her hat, d
and glovce, she had followed him into
the outer air. She had a feeling that
she must have air to breathe or she
would SURROGATE. A wild desire filed
her to 81 alone into the great out-of-