The Ordway new era., 1921-12-09

bent her head and sobbed again.
One of her bare hands began to
grope idly in the snow at her side. ana
she did not feel the cold. Suddenly
she realized that her hand was full
of shavings, whittlings. Some man
had been sitting there whiting with
a pocket knife-it must have been
man. for who ever heard of woman
whiting? She felt in the snow with
both hands. and found more whittlings
there were bushels of whittlings, II
seemed to her. lying there under the
snow.
Then she wondered-~ondered who
II could have been.
1t was quite dark now, but the moon
was not yet up. A great, bright star
blazed above David Morelands 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
she knew 1t could be but one man.
Bill Dale'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 1t could be but one wOn-
an.
Dale went on and sat down on
stone the size of small barrel that
lay at the rivers rim.
"Babe?" he said. 1t was the mating
call of his heart in the springtime of
his life.
"Who d-done all O. this whittlin',
Bill?" asked Elizabeth.
II did," softly.
But l thought you were so busy
herel It's nobody but idlers, of
course, that whittles-that is, most o
the time it's nobody but idlers that
whittles."
But I'm not busy on Sundays, y
know" replied Dale.
"Tell me this Elizabeth asked
pointedly: what made you come to
this one spot to do your Within?
Couldn't you whittle up there in my
daddy's cabin yard?"
He answered her unhesitatingly:
Because l like to be here. This
place is shrine to me. 1t was here
that 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 yard ~
Said Elizabeth, in u voice that sound
ed smothered: Because l like to be
here-this place is shrine to me,
too-it was here that first loved you,
Bill Dalel"
"Then why" he demanded. won't
you marry me?"
Because it was me that shot-Ad-
am Ball."
She went 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 magnificence
of her:
81 thought you wouldn't want me
If you knew that I did that, and l
couldn't marry you without telling you.
But you know now! And do what
ever you feel like doing or saying, you
can't hurt me; can never be hurt
any-any m-m-m-more-"
Bill Dale shot erect. Truly. this
was 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 to kill man
to save me, and wouldn't let me know
it! Woman is 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 go with you. Bill Dale---or David
Moreland, whichever it is-to the very
last inch of the end of the world" she
said.
Early the next morning, there came
strolling lazily up the rivers bank G
tall and lanky mountaineer who wore
among other things, Niagara Falls
mustache and cowhide boots tha
seemed ridiculously short because Of
the great length of his slender legs
He carried a rifle In the hollow of one
arm; he was looking for rabbit-track.
In the snow. Near the pool above tn,
blown-down sycamore, he came upol
tracks that had not been made by an.
four-footed animals. There were tn,
footprints of a man coming from on,
direction, and the footprints of won
an coming from another direction
only the footprints of the man wen
away toward Ben Littleford's cabin.
BY Heck was puzzled. "Here come
Bill he frowned. land over her
comes Babe. And thar, as plain a
day. goes Bill; but what become G