The Elk Mountain pilot., 1924-02-21

Sne turned IN At Her own Gate.
She was being reprimanded He was
calmly. deliberately reproving her. al
II she were a mischievous child
His heart smote him as he saw her
eyes I'LL with tears. He did not mis-
take them for tears of shame or con.
trition-far from II, he knew they were
born of speechless anger. He had hurt
her sorely, even deliberately. and he
was overcome by a sudden charge OF
cOmpassion-andr regret.
He was not surprised when she
swept by him, her head high, her
cheeks white with anger. her stormy
eyes denying him even so much as 4
look Of scorn. He stood aside, allow
ing her to pass, and remained motion
loss. gazing after her until she turned
in at her own gate and was lost to
view. He shook his head dubiously
and sighed
Little Minda," he mused, under his
breath. you were my playmate once
upon q time-and nowi Now what
are your A rascal's sweetheart, II all
they say IL true. Cad, how beautiful
you are" He was walking slowly
down the path, his head bent. his
eyes clouded with trouble. "And how
you are hating me at this moment.
What DEVILS mess 1t all Isl"
His eyes fell upon something white
lying At the edge of the path q few
feet ahead. 1t was . neatly folded
sheet Of note paper. She must have
dropped 1t as she came through. A
message, perhaps. from Barry Lapelle,
smuggled to her through the con-
nivance Of q friendly go-between. He
stopped to pick 1t up. but hefore his
fingers touched It he straightsnsd up
and deliberately moved 1t with the toe
Of his boot to 4 less exposed place
among the bushes, where he would
have failed to see 1t in passing. Then
he strobe resolutely away without so
much as a glance over his shoulder.
His conscience would have rejoiced
had he betrayed it by secreting him
self among the bushes for a matter of
five minutes-for he would have seen
her steal warily, anxiously into the
thicket in search of the lost missive-
and he would have been further ex-
alted by the little cry of relief that
fell from her lips as she snatched 1t
up and sped incontinently homeward.
as If pursued by all the eyes in
Christendom.
As matter Of fact, 1t was not 4 let
ter from Barry to Viola. 1t was the
other way round. She had written
him a long letter absolving herself
from blame In the contretemps of the
night before, at the same time con-
Tossing that she was absolutely in the
dark as to how her mother had found
out about their plans. Then she went
on to say that, all things considered,
she was now quite sure she could
never, never consent to make another
attempt
II am positive" she wrote, ingen-
uously, "that mother will relent in
time, and then we can be married
without going to so much trouble
about it." Farther on she admitted
that, Mother is very firm about it
now, but when she realizes that l am
absolutely determined to marry you,
1 am sure she will give in and all will
be well. / love you, but / also love
her. Please be kind and reasonable,
dear, and do not think I am losing
heart. I am just as determined as
ever. Nothing can change me. / do
wish you would stay away from that
awful place down by the river. Mother
would feel differently toward you. 1
know, If you were not there so much.
She knows the men play cards there
for money and drink and swear. By
this time you must know that my
brother has come to Lafayette. She
signed herself, "Your loving and de-
voted and loyal Viola"
She had been unable to get the let
ter to him that day. and for 4 very
good reason. Her messenger, Eme
wardlow's young brother, reached the
tavern just In time to see Barry
emerge, quite tipsy and in q vile tenn
per. arguing loudly with Jack Trent
man and sgd Butt, the towns most
notorious gamblers.
- A.