The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1921-12-30

gentle, tender and refined, like, tor In
stance. Patricia McLaurin. Soon the
ray of hope died within her, and she
bent her head and sobbed again.
One Of her bare hands began to
grope idly In the snow at her size, and
she did not feel the cold. Suddenly
she realized that her hand was full
Of shavings, WRITINGS. Some man
had been sitting there whiting with
a pocket knife-it must have been q
man, for who ever heard of q woman
whiting? She felt in the snow with
both hands, and found more WRITINGS
there were bushels of WRITINGS, it
seemed to her, lying there under the
snow.
Then she wondered-wondered who
II could have been.
1t was quite dark now, but the moon
was not yet up. A great, bright star
blazed above David Moreland's tomb
like a beacon fire. She heard the muf-
fed sounds Of slow masculine foot
steps In the snow behind her. She
did not turn her head. In her soul
SIN hICN ~ NOulu DC Dul Oilc Illdu.
Bill DaIe's head was down, and he
moved as though he neither knew nor
cared whittier he went. Then he saw
the dark heap on the rivers bank be-
fore him, and he halted. He knew in
his soul that it could be but one wom-
an.
Dale went on and sat down on q
stone the size of a small barrel that
lay at the rivers rim.
"BabeT he said. II was the mating
call Of his heart in the springtime Of
his life.
"Who d-done all O. this within.
Bill?' asked Elizabeth.
II did," softly.
But / thought you were so busy
here! It's nobody but idlers, OF
course. that wkittles-that is, most o
the time it's nobody but idiers that
whites"
But I'm not busy on Sundays, v
know" replied Dale.
Tell me this" Elizabeth asked
pointedly: What made you come to
this one spot to do your Within?
Couldn't you white up there in my
daddy's cabin yard?"
He answered her un~hesitatingly:
Because l like to be here. This
place is a shrine to me. 1t was here
that l first loved you, Babe. Now you
tell me this: Why did you come TO
this particular spot to sit down in
the snow? There's snow in your dad
dy's cabin yardv"'
Said Elizabeth, in a voice that sound
ed smothered: Because I like to be
here-this place is a shrine to me,
toO-it was here that I first loved you,
Bill Dale!"
Then why" he demanded, won't
you marry me?'
Because it was me that shOt-Ad-
am BAH"
She vent on, and though emotion
had set every fibre OF her to ~quivering,
she did not fall into the old hill talk,
which was proof. OF the magnifcence
Of her:
II thought you wouldn't want me
If you knew that l did that, and I
couldn't marry you without telling you.
But o know now! And do what
ever you feel like doing or saying, o
can't hurt me; l can never be hurt
any-any m-m-m-mOre-"
Bill Dale shot erect. Truly, this
was q day Of surprises for him. He
stopped and caught her up.
"A real woman!" he said happily.
Strengthening with her in his arms. "a
real, all gold, pure gold woman You
loved me well enough 70 kill a man
to saw me, and wouldn't let me know
it! Woman is a mystery, sure enough.
But perhaps it's because women are
SO fine and so far above menfolk that
menfolk cannot understand them.
Well, Babe, kitten, must | drag you
to the altar, or will you go with me
Of your own accOrd?"
She put her arms around his neck
and drew them tight.
I'D 30 with you, Bill Dale-or David
Moreland, whichever il is-to the very
last inch Of the end Of the world" she
said.
Early the next morning, there came
stroiiing iuAily up the rivers bank 4
tall and lanky mountaineer who WORE,
among other things, q Niagara Falls
mustache and cOwhide boots that
seemed ridiculeusly short because Of
the great length Of his slender legs.
He carried a rife In the hollow of one
arm; he was looking for ~rabbit-tracks
in the snow. Near the pool above the
downtown sycamore, he came upon
tracks that had not been made by any
four-footcd animals. There were the
footprints Of a man coming from one
direction, and the footprints Of a wOm-
an coming from another direction;
only the footprints Of the nan went
away toward Ben Littleford's cabin.
BY Heck was puzzled. Here comes
BILL he frowned. land over here
comes Babe. And thar. as plain as
.yar -ane Dill by,k r,hok hnnon ~