The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-08-23

Tiers Chair at the table, and the band
swearing the simple oath Of allegiance
which held them together. And when
they had moved from the dining room,
Walter Huff, following Elinor out onto
the terrace, told her he loved her.
The starlight above, and those near
er stars that outlined the streets be-
low, threw a soft radiance over her.
She was dressed in white; old Hilary
had disliked mourning garments. Eli
o was looking down into the village.
The great spire Of Saint Jude's tow
cred above the town. Huff, young and
ardent, thrilled to the girls presence
close beside him.
"You r very aloof tonight" he said.
She smiled up at him.
"Not that surely. I was only think
Ing"
"Of what?"
"Oh, Of different things-of the peo-
pie down there in their ~houses-their
lives, the things they believe; we think
they are narrow, but I wonder, after
all, If you and I, who believe none Of
those things, are not the narrow ones"
Huff was not subtle. Possibly he
would not have understood, had not
the Saint Jude's chimes rung just then.
symbols like that seem to mean so
much to them" said Elinor, and fell
silent.
In the warm silence, HUFF felt for
and found her hand.
"Al this time, when I couldn't see
you," he said unsteadily, "Tve been
thinking Of you here alone, and in
trouble. Sometimes I thought I couldn't
stand it, that I'd have to come out and
e you, If only for five minutes"
II have always been more or less
lonely. Sometimes 1 think If I had been
sent away to school, had known other
girls, it would have been better. I
have never had any friends-except
you, and the Others"
HUFF released her hand and faced
her.
II don't want to be your friend, Eli
nor. I want to be much MORE"
She was rather shocked at first. She
stood, looking up at him, her lips
slightly parted.
II? You-you-want-"
II love you. I want you to marry
me, DEAR"
There was nc doubt of the boys sin
certify. It rang true. He stood with
his arms out, and after a moment she
went into them. Except for the father
who was gone, this was the first love
that had come into her life. She took
1t hungrily. In the starlight she held
up her lips like a child for his kiss. %.
The police were still active. So in
sistent was Boroday on caution that all
of September went by without so much
as a plan Of campaign. Talbot played
golf and established friendly relations
that might be invaluable later. Huff,
under protest, retained the taxicab
work.
"It's a dogs life," he said. "They're
not after me now. Give me something
else to do, or else let me take a vaca-
ton"
ouL lucy hCDt I'LL at WOIhs
Huff fell into the way of seeing Eli
nor once or twice q week. Talbot took
him out, picking him up on the edge of
town after dusk, on his way in his Cal:
to a dance o dinner at the country
club, and taking him back the same
way.
And the boys infatuation for Elinor
grew and thrived on those late summer
meetings. Her sweetness and elusive
ness maddened him. Sometimes he
thought her never so far from him as
when she was in his arms.
do you love met" he would demand
hoarsely.
II think SO. I know I want you to
love me-"
And he had to be content with this.
p On the evenings when she was alone
Elinor sat in her arbor and watched
the road up the hill. Ward had called
twice, and each time she had been out
on the long rambles she took almost
daily. After his second visit, she
stayed in the house for days, expecting
him. But he did not come again.
She was not in love with Ward, just
al she was not in love with Walter
Huff. But the clergyman represented,
in her strange and lonely life, some
thing new and different. He typiaed
all that she had never known. He was
the priest, rather than the man to her
at first. The time was coming when he
would be man only, and after that
: Late in September Boroday was ar
rested. The arrest came as a shock to
the band. AS q matter of fact the po-
lice could prove nothing, but the chief
had a long talk with the Russian. It
was the Agrarian affair, Of course. The
chief had recognized him. But so firm
~ had old Hilary's responsibility been
rooted in the public mind that the chief
connected Boroday only casually with
him.
"You know that I cannot prove this
thing on you," he said, "but you know
also perfectly well that I can fix you to
the tune Of about ten years."