Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1917-03-06

dtu. ~ hVt ldNo Nit hpuNts AOf itut
Of IL. Ill climb the hill and cut
around into town that way"
The weather was pretty cold. but
Jc1 had pufTed along and stumbled
along until he was persplring freely.
llalf wny up the hill he took OFF his
coat, toiled TO the apex of the hill and
slowly made his way home by round
about route.
Jed did not get up the next morning.
Tie had bad headache and was weak
and rcfhorseful. The thought OF busi-
ness even failed to arouse him. II
was full dusk before he summoned up
the couroee and strength to get up and
dress himself. II was to make a blood
curdllng. a crushing dlscovery-his wal
let was gonei
Had someone come into the room
while he slept and stolen iti No,
doors and windows Jed found secure
ly locked Had he been robbed at Mil
toni No, he distinctly remembered
having looked to its safety as he left
the tavern, buttoning up his coat
tightly.
Abruptly the memory returned to
Jed of having carried his coat over
: his arm in climbing the hill. In few
erish haste he decided to retrace his
course of the night previous. When
he got to the head of the hill he found
Ii all tracked up, and on the apex an
immense SNOWFALL the boys had rolled
that day, using 1t as shelter fort
against adversaries storming it from
below.
Its no use" groaned Jed. "If 1
dropped the wallet here it's either
tramped under the snow or found and
appropriated" but he started down
the hill. He was intent on looking all
along the course in the snow, and not
until swish warned him did he turn
and run. At the top of the hill were
scurrying boylsh forms. Coming to-
wards him, gaining momentum each
succeeding moment, was the giant
> SNOWFALL.
Jed started to run. A light in the
Lang home was his guide. He nearly
reached it when something struck him.
down and passed over him and he lay
senscless. The great white sphere
then crashed through the fence of the
Lang yard, demolished a trellis, some
of the splinters of which broke some
windows in the house, and came to q
halt against the front of the house.
/ When Jed Bursey opened his eyes
I again he found himself in bed in the
Lang home with broken leg, which a
doctor, hastily summoned, had just
set. Fitting about the room, u Will
ing nurse, was fair Mirabelle. De-
spite all of his troubles Jed expert
enced certain blissful sense of de-
pendency and comfort. He hud al
ways had a sneaking fOndness for
I Mirabelle but had never been able to
summon up the courage to confess
| it to her.
/ The doctor delivered the dictum that
| jed was not to be moved for week.
| The one worry on Jeds mind was the
loss of the wallet. He found charm
ing conddante in Mirabelle. In fact,
before two days had passed by he had
confessed all his shortcomings, inciud-
ing the annual birthday celebration
Mirabelle aud her father started q
thorough quest for the lost wallet,
but with no results. This meant loss
of several hundred dollars in actual
cash for Jed. What was most import
ant, however, was the notes, deeds and
the like, the loss of which might later
lcua to troublesome legal complica-
tlOns. IS, ts, <-
Guess spoke Mirabelle, coming In
TO the room where the convRlescent
sat, her hands hiding something be-
hind her, and then she held before the
amazed and delighted eye of her pa,
tent the missing wallet.
"What do you think2" cried Mira
belle gleesomely. 81 found it where
the great SNOWFALL had melted. You
see, the boys who rolled it must have
gathered 1t up in the snow without
noticing It,"
Jed clasped and held the hand prof
fering the precious wallet in fervor
OF courage arl love.
"Allrabelle," he said, "lt's up to me
to build your father new trellis."
Then, drawing her still nearer. he
n<lded:
"And I'll build you new house, II /
you'll share it with me-"
sand what about those dangerous
celebrations of yoursr intimated
Mirabelie archly.
"There will be only one after this"
pledged Jed. Our wedding day, with
nothing stronger than lemonade"