The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922, April 01, 1913, Image 6

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SYNOPSIS.
Bill Cannon, the bonnnitn kin, and his
daughter, lloso. who had passed tin Mrs.
Cornelius Ryan's ball nt Snn Francisco to
Accompany her father, arrive at Antclopo.
pornlnlck Hyan cnllB on Ills mother to
K R ball Invitation for Ills wife, nnd Is
refiiKcd. The determined old lady refuses
to recognize her doughler-ln-law. Dom
lnlck had been trapped Into a marrlaRo
with Uernlco Ivcrson, a stenographer,
fievcral years hla senior She squnnders his
pioney. they have frequent quarrels, and
tie slips away Cannon and his daughter
nre snowed in at Anlelone Uotnlnlck
ttyan Is rescued from storm In unconi
scions condition and brought to Anieiopo
tiotel Antelope Is cut off by storm. Hpso
Cannon nurses Domlnlck back to life.
Two weeks later Hernlco discovers In n
pupor where husband Is nnd writes letter
trying to smooth over dllllcultles between
them Domlnlck at livst Is nblo to Join
fellow snowbound prisoners In hotel par
lor CHAPTER VII. (Continued.)
"Didn't the people nt tho Rocky Dnr
Hotel try to dissuade you from stort
ing?" snld Duford. "They must havo
known It wns dangerous. They must
have been worried about you or they
wouldn't have telegraphed up."
"Oh, 1 believe they did." Tho young
man tried to hide tho nnnoynnco tho
queBtlons gave him under a dry brev
ity or Bpcech. "They did nil that they
ought to have done. I'll sco them
again on my way down."
"And yet you persisted!" Tho ac
tor turned to Hobo with whom, ns ho
fiat besido her nt table, ho hnd be
come quite friendly. "Tho blind con-'
tldcnco of youth, Miss Cannon, isn't
4t a grand, Inspiring thing?"
Domlnlck shifted his aching feet
indor the rug. He wob becoming ex
ceedingly Irritated and Impatient, and
wondered how much longer he would
too nblo to respond politely to tho con
versational assiduities of tho stranger.
"Now," continued- Buford, "kindly
satisfy my curiosity on ono point.
Why, when you were told of the dan
ger of tho enterprise, did you start?"
"Perhaps I liked the danger, wanted
It to tone mo up. I'm a bank clerk,
Mr. Duford, nnd my life's monotonous.
Danger's a change."
Ho raised bis volco and spoko with
uddon, rudo defiance. Duford looked
quickly nt htm, while his eyebrows
went up nearly tf his hair.
'A bank clerk, ojI" ho said with
a falling inflection of disappointment,
much chagrined to discover that tho
child of millions occupied such a hum
t)lo nlcho. "1 I was not awaro of
that."
"An assistant cashier," continued
Domlnlck in the snmo koy of exas
peration, "and I managed to get a hol
iday nt thlB season because my fathor
was oue of tho founders of tho bank
end thoy allow mo certnin privileges.
If you would like? to know anything
clso usk mo and I'll answer ns well
as I know how."
Mb manner and tono so plainly in
dicated his resentment of tho other's
curiosity that tho nctor flushed and
shrank. Ho was evidently well-meaning
and Bensitlvo, nndMho young man's
rudeness hurt rather than angered
him. For a moment nothing was said,
Buford making no response other
than to clear his Jhroat, whllo ho
Btrotched out ono firm nnd pulled
down his cuff with a Jerking move
ment. There was constraint in tho
air, nnd Rose, feeling that ho had
been trontcd with unnecessary harsh
nesB, bought to pulllato it by lifting
tho book on hor lap and tnylng to
lilm:
"This Ib the book wo wero talking
mhout when you carao in, Mr. Duford,
"Wife In Name 'Only. Havo you rend
-It?"
Bho handed him tho ragged volume,
And holding It off ho eyed it with a
tBcrutiny all tho more marked by tho
way ho drow his brows down till they
hung llko bushy eaves over his eyeB.
"No, my denr young lady. I hnvo
mot. Nor do I feel disposed to do so,
nVlfo In Nnmo Only I That tells n
wholo story without reading n word.
"Woro you going to read it?"
"No; Mr. Hynn nud 1 wero Just
looking ovor them. Wo wero think
Ing about reading ono of them nloud.
TThla ono hnpponed to be on the pile "
"To me," continued Duford, "the
rmrno Is repelling because it suggests
sorrows of my own."
Thoro was a pause. Ho evidently
expected a question which undoubt
edly wnB not going to como from Dom
InlcV, who sat fallen together in tho
nrm-chalr looking at him with moody
Ill-humor. Thoro was moro hope from
How), who gazed at tho floor but Bald
nothing. Duford was forced to repeat
with nn unctuous depth of tone, "Sug
gouts sorrows of my own," and fasten
hla glance on her,. so that, as sho
raised her eyes, they encountered tho
commanding encouragement of his.
"Sorrows of your own?" sho repeat
ed timidly, but with tho expected
questioning inflection.
,fYcB, my dear Miss Cannon," re
turned tho nctor with a melancholy
which wbb full of a rich, dnrlc enjoy
nont. "My wife is ono In namo only."
Thoro wbb another pause, and nei
ther showing any Intention of break
ing U, Duford rcmnrlted:
"That Borrow is mine."
"What Borrow?" said Domlnlck
fcruskly,
"Tho sorrow of a dosortcd man," re
turned tho actor with now, for the
InrGERALMNE BONNER
.utDor J3T TIM JFBONCUK
Copjrrigk UXOjiyTiicDODDS'MERPJlL CO.
first time, something of tho dignity
of real feeling in his manner.
"Oh," tho monosyllnblo was extreme
ly noncommittal, but it had the air of
finality as though Domlnlck intended
to say ip moro.
"Has she or left you?" said tho
girl in a low and rather awc-strlcken
voice.
Tho actor Inclined hla head In an
acquiescent bow:
"Sho has."
Again thero wns n pnuso. Unless
Duford choso to bo moro biograph
ical, tho conversation appeared to
have come to a deadlock. Neithor
of tho listeners could at this stage
break Into his reserve with questions
nnd yet to switch off on a now sub
ject was not to be thought of at a
moment of such emotional intensity.
Tho actor evidently felt this, for ho
said suddenly, with a rolapso into a
lighter tone and letting his eyebrows
cscapo from an overshadowing close
ness to IiIb eyes:
"Dut why should I troublo you with
tho sorrows that have cast their shad
ow on mo? Why Bhould my matri
monial troubles be allowed to darken
tho brightness of two young lives
which havo not yot known tho Joys
and the perils of tho wedded state?"
Tho pnuso that followed this re
mark was the most portentous that
hnd yet fallen on tho trio. Roso cast
a surreptitious glanco nt tho dark
figure of young Ryan, lying back In
tho shadows of tho arm-choir. As'
she looked ho stirred nnd said with
tho abrupt, hnrd dryness which hnd
marked hla manner since Duford's
entrance;
"Don't tako too much for granted,
Mr. Duford. Pvo known some of tho
Joys nnd perils of tho wedded state
mysclr."
Tho actor stared nt him in open
eyed surprise.
"Do I rightly understand," ho Bald,
"that you aro a married man?"
"You do," returned Domlnlck.
"Rcnlly now, I nover would havo
guessed It I Pardon mo for not hav
ing given you tho full dues of your
position. Your wife, I tako it, has
no knowlcdgo of tho risk Bho recently
ran of losing hor husband?"
"I hope, not,"
"Well," 'ho replied with a manner
of sudden cheery playfulness, "wo'U
tako good caro that sho docBn't learn.
When tho wires aro up wo'll concoct
a tolegrnn that shall bo a mastor
pleco of diplomatic lying. Lucky
young man to havo a loving wife at
home. Of all of us you aro tho ono
who can best realize tho meaning of
tho lino, ' 'Tis swept to know thero is
an ee to mnrk our coming and-'"
Domlnlck threw tho rug off and
roso to his feet.
"If you can get Porloy to help rao
I'll go upstnirs ngnln. I'm tired and
I'll go bnck to my room."
Ho tried to step forwnrd, but tho
pain of Ill's unhealed foot wns unbear
able, and ho caught tho edgo of tho
tablo nnd hold It, his fnco paling with
sudden anguish. Tho actor, startled
by tho abruptness of his uprising, ap
pronched him with a vague proffer of
assistance and was arrested by his
sharp command:
"do and got Perloy! He's In the
bar probnbly. I can't stand this way
for long." Hurry up!"
Duford ran out or tho room, and
Roso somewhat timidly drow near tho
young man, braced against tho table,
his oyos down-bont, his faco hard in
tho Btrugglo with sudden nnd unfa
miliar palu,
"Can't It help you?" sho said. "Per
loy may not bo thoro. Mr. Duford and
I can get you up stairs."
"Oh, no," ho answered, his words
short but his tono moio conciliatory.
"It's nothing to bother about. I'd
have wrung thnt man's neck if I'd had
to listen to him five minutes longer."
Hero Perloy and Duford entered,
nd tho former, offering hla support
to tho invalid, led him hobbling out
of tho door Into tho hall. The actor
looked after thorn for a moment and
tnon camo back to tho flro whore Miss
Cannon was standing, thoughtfully re
garding the burning logs.
"I've no doubt," ho Bald, "that young
Mr. Ryan Is an estimable gentleman,
hut ho ccrtnlnly appears to bo pos
sessed by a very impatient and ugly
temper."
Duford had found Miss Cannon one
of tho most nmlnblo nnd dimming
Indies he had ovor met, and It was
thoreforo a good deal or a surprise
to havo hor turn upon him a faco of
cold, reproving dlBngreomont, and re
mnrk In a volco that matched It:
"I don't agroo with you at all, Mr.
Duford, and you seem qulto to forgot
that Mr. Ryan has boon very sick
and is still In groat pain."
Duford was exceedingly abashed. Ho
would not havo offended Miss Cannon
for anything In tho world, and It
scorned to nun that a being so com
pact of graclousnos's and considera
tion would bo tho first to consuro an
exhibition of Ill-humor such as young
Ryan had JUBt mado. Ho stammered
an apologetic sontenco and it did not
add to his comfort to boo that Bho
wbb not entirely mollified by It and
to feel thnt Bho oxhaled a slight, disap
proving coldness that put hltu -
great dlstonco and mado him feel mor
tified nnd 111 at case.
CHAPTER VIII.
Tho Unknown Eros.
Tho ton days that followed wero
among tho most Important of Doml
nlck Rynn's life. Looking back at
them ho wondered that ho had been
bo blind to tho transformation of hln
being which wbb taking place. Great
emotional crises aro often not any
moro recognized, by the individuals,
than great transitional epochs aro
known by tho nations experiencing
them. Domlnlck did not realize that
tho most engrossing, compelling pas
sion ho hnd ever felt wns slowly in
vading him. Ho did not nrgue that
ho was falling in lovo with a woman
that ho could nover own nnd of whom
It was a sin to think. Ho did not
nrguo or think about nnythlng. Ho
was ns n vessel gradually filling with
elemental forces, and like the vessel
ho was passive till some Jar would
shako it and the forces would run'
over. Meantime ho was held by a
determination, mutinous nncS unrcn-
sonlng ns tho detcrmtnntlon of a child,
to llvo In tho present. Ho had tho
feeling of tho desert traveler who haB
found tho oasis. Tho dosert lay be
hind him, burning nnd sinister with
tho agony of his transit, nnd tho des
ert lay before him with Its horrors to
bo faced, but for tho moment ho
could He still and rest nnd forget by
tho fountnln under the cool of tho
trees.
Ho (id not consciously think of
Rose. Dut if she wero not thero ho
was uneaBy till sho enmo again. Ills
secret exhilaration at her approach,
tho dead blankness or his lack or her
when she waa absent, told him noth
ing. These wero tho reelings he had,
and thoy filled him and left no cool
residue of reason wherewith to watch
and guard. Ho was taken unawares,
so drearily confident of his allegiance
to his particular private tragedy that
ho did not admit tho possibility or a
dcrectlon. A sense or rest was on him
and ho set it down ir ho ever thought
or It at all to tho relief or a tempo
rary respite. Poor Domlnlck, with hla
Inexperience or sweet things, did not
arguo that respite rrom pain should
bo a quiescent, contented condition or
being, far removed from that state or
secret, troubled gladness that thrilled
him at tho sound or a woman's root
step. No situation could have been In
vented better suited ror tho rosterlng
or sentiment. His helpless stato de
manded her constant attention. The
attitude or nurse to patient, tho so
licitude or tho consoling woman for
tho disabled, Buttering man, havo been,
since time immemorial, recognized
aids to romance. Rose, if an unnwak
oned woman, was enough of ono to
enjoy richly this maternal ofllce of
alternate cosseting nnd ruling one
who, In tho nnturnl order of things,
should havo stood alone In his
"I Don't Agree With
strongth, dictating tho law. Perhaps
tho human fcmnlo so delights In this
particular opportunity tor tyranny be
cause it is ono or her row chances for
Indulging her passion ror authority.
Rose, It Bho did not qulto revel In
It, discreetly enjoyed hor period or
domluunco. In the beginning Doml
nlck had been not n man but a pa
tientabout tho same to hor as tho
doll Is to tho little girl. Then when
ho bogan to get bettor, and tho man
roso, tingling with renewed llto, rrom
tho asheB or tho patient, sho quickly
roll back Into tho old position. With
tho Inherited,- dainty decoptlvenoss or
generations or women, who, whllo thoy
wero virtuous, were also charming,
sho relinquished her dominion and ro
treated into that enfolded maidenly ro
Bcrvo and docility which wo feel qulto
sure was the manner adopted by tho
Indies of tho Stono Ago when thoy
felt it necessary to manage their
lords.
Sho was as unconscious of all this
ns Domlnlck was of his growing ab
sorption in her. If he was troubled
Bhe wns not Tho days saw her grow
ing gayer, moro blithe and light
hearted. Sho sang about tho corri
dors, her Bmllo grew moro radiant,
and every man in tho hotel felt tho
power or her awakening womanhood.
Her boyish frankness or demeanor
wns still undlmmed by the first blur
ring breath or passion. If Domlnlck
was not in tho parlor her disappoint
ment was as candid as a child's whose
mother had rorgotten to bring homo
candy. All that she showed of con
sciousness was that when ho wub
thero and thero was no disappoint
ment, sho concealed her satisfaction,
wrapped horseir In a sudden, shy qui
etness, as completely extinguishing or
all beneath as a nun's habit.
Tho continued, enrorced Intimacy
into which their restricted quarters
nnd indoor lite threw them could not
have been moVo effectual In fanning
tho growing flame ir designed by a
malicious Fato. Thero was only ono
sitting-room, and, unable to go out,
they sat side by side In it all day.
They read together, they talked, they
played cards. Thoy wero seldom alone,
but the prcsenco or Dill Cnnnon,
groaning ovor tho flro with n three-weoks-old
newspaper for company,
waa not one that diverted their atten
tion from each other; and Cora and
Wllloughby, as opponents In a gamo
or euchre, only helped to accentuate
the comradeship which leagued them
together In defensive alliance.
Tho days that wero so long to oth
ers wore to them or a bright, sur
prising shortness. Playing solitaire
against each other on either sldo or
tho fireplace was a pastime at which
hours slipped by. Quito unexpected
ly It would bo mldday, with Cora put
ting nor head round tho doorpost and
calling them to dinner. In tho euchro
games or tho afternoon the darkness
crept upon them with tho stealthy
swiftness or an enemy. It would
gather In the corners or the room
whllo Cora was still heated and
flushed trom her efforts to Instruct
Wllloughby In the Intricacies of the
gamo, and yet preserve that respect
ful attitude which sho felt should bo
assumed in one's relations with a lord.
The twilight hour, that followed was
to Dominick's mind the most delight
ful of these days of fleeting enchant
ment. The curtains were drawn, a
new log rollod on tho Are, and the
lamp lit. Then their fellow prisoners
began dropping In tho old Judge
stowing himself away- In one of the
horsehair arm-chalra, Wllloughby and
Duford lounging in from the bar, and
Mrs. Perloy with a basket of tho
You at All, Mr. Bufofd."
family mending, and tho doctor all
snowy rrom his rounds. The audience
for Rose's readings had expanded
from tho original listener to this
cholco ctrclo of Antolope's elect Tho
book chosen had been "Great Expec
tations," and tho spell of that great
est talo of a great romancer fell on
the snow-bound group nnd held them
entranced nnd motionless round the
friendly hearth,
Tho young man's eyes passed from
face to faco, avoiding only that of
tho reader bent ovor tho lamp-illumined
page. Tho old Judgo, sunk
comfortably Into tho depths of. his
arm-chair, listened, and cracked the
.
Joints of his lean, dry fingers. Wll
loughby, his dogs crouched about his
feet, looked Into tho flro, his nttontlvo
gravity broken now nnd then by a
slow smile. Mrs. Perloy, after hear
ing tho chapter which describes Mrs.
Gargory'a methods of bringing up Pip
"by hand," attended regularly with
tho remark that "it wnB a queer sort
or book, but some way or other sho
liked Jt." When Cora was rorced to
leave- to attend to hor duties In tho
dining-room, sho toro hcrsoir away
with murmurous reluctance. Tho doc
tor slipped in at tho third reading nnd
asked Roso ir Bho would lend him tho
book In tho morning "to rend up what
ho had mlBsod." Even Perloy's boy,
In his worn corduroyB, his dirty,
chapped hands rubbing his cap against
his nose, was wont to sidle noiselessly
In and slip Into a seat near tho door.
The climax or tho day was tho long
owning round tho flro. Thero was no
reading then. It wbb tho men's hour,
and tho Bmoke or their pipes and ci
gars lay thick in tho nlr. Cut off rrom
tho world In this cranny or tho moun
tains, with tho hotel shaking to tho
buffets of tho wind and the snow blan
ket pressing on tho pane, their mem
ories swept back to tho wild days of
their youth, to tho epic times of fron
tiersman nnd pioneer.
Tho Judgo told or his crossing tho
plains In rorty-soven nnd tho first Mor
mon settlement on the bar.ren shores
or Salt Lake. Ho had had encounters
with the Indians, had heard tho story
or Olive Oatman rrom ono who had
known her, and listened to the sinis
ter talo or the Donncr party rrom a
survivor. Dill Cannon had "como by
the Isthmus" In forty-eight, a half
starved, ragged Ind who had run away
from uncongenial drudgery on a New
York farm. His reminiscences went
back to tho San Francisco that had
started up around Portsmouth Square,
to the days when the banks or tho
American River had swarmed with
miners, nnd tho gold lay yellow In tho
prospector's pan. He had worked
thoro shoulder to shoulder with men
who atterwards mode tho history or
tho state and men who died with their
names unknown. Ho had been an eyo
witness or thnt blackest or Callfornlan
tragedies, the lynching or a Spanish
girl at Downlevllle, had stood pallid
and sick under a pine tree and
watched her boldly race her murder
ers and meet hor death.
Tho younger men, warmed to emu
lation, contributed their stories. Per
loy had reminiscences bequeathed to
him by his father who had been an
alcalde in that transition year, when
California waB neither state nor terri
tory and stood In unadmlnistered neg
lect, waiting ror Congress to tako
some notice or her. ' Duford told sto
ries of the vicissitudes of a strolling
player's life. Ho had been In tho
Klondike during the first gold rush
and told taleB of mining in the North
to match those of mining on the
"mother lode." Wllloughby, thawed
out of his original shyness, added to
tho nights' entertainments stories of
tho Australian bush, grim legends of
theVlnys of the penal settlements at
Dotany Day. Young Ryan was the
only man of tho group who contribut
ed nothing to these Sierran Nights'
Entertainments. He sat silent In his
chair, apparently listening, and, under
tho shadow of tho hand arched over
his oyes, looking at the girl opposite.
Dut the Idyl had to end. Their cap
tivity passed into its third week, and
signs that release was at hand cheered
thorn. They could go out. The streets
of Antelope were beaten Into foot
paths, and the prisoners, with the en
thusiasm or children liberated rrom
school, rushed Into open-air diversions
and athletic exorcise. The first, word
rrom the outside, world came by re
stored telegraphic communication.
Consolatory messages poured In rrom
San Francisco. Mrs. Ryan, the elder,
sent telegrams as long ns letters nnd
Bhowered them with the prodigality or
nn impassioned grntltude on the
camp. Pcrley hnd one that he could
not speak or without growing husky.
Wllloughby had ono that mnde him
blush. Domlnlck had several. None,
however, had come trom his wire and
he guessed that none hnd been sent
her, his remnrk to Roso to "let her
alono" having been tnken as a wish to
spare her anxloty. It was thought that
the mall would be in now In a day or
two. That would be the end or tho
ralry tale. They sat about tho flro
on these last evenings discussing their
letters, what they expected, nnd whom
thoy would be rrom. No bno told any
moro stories; the thought or news
rrom tho "outside" was too absorbing.
It camo in tho early dusk or an nrt
ernoon near tho end or the third week.
Domlnlck, who wns still unnble to
walk, was standing by tho parlor win
dow, when ho saw Rose Cannon run
past outsldo. ' She looked in at him
as she ran by, her fnco full of a Joy
ous excitement, and held up' to his
gaze a small whlto packet. A moment
later the hall door banged, her root
sounded In tho passage, and she en
tered tho room with a rush or cold nlr
and a triumphant cry or:
"Tho mail's come."
Ho limped rorward to meet her
and take rrom her hand the letter sho
held toward htm. For tho first mo
ment ho looked at her, not nt the let
ter, which dwindled to a thing or no
lmportnnco when their eyes met over
It. Her rnce wns nipped by the keen
outBldo air into a bright, beaming rosl
ness. Sho woro on her head n man's
tur cap which was pulled down, and
pressed wisps or fair hair against hor
forehead and cheeks. A loose rur
lined coat onvelopod her to her reet,
and after sho had handed htm his
letter sho pulled off the mittens she
woro and began unfastening tho clasps
of tho coat, with fingers that wero
purplish and cramped from tho cold.
"There's only ono for you," sho said.'
"I waited till tho postmaster looked all
through them twice. Then I made him
glvo It to mo and ran back hero with
It. Tho ontlro population of Ante
lopo's In tho post-ofilco and thoro's
tho greatest excitement."
Her coat was unfastened nnd she
throw back Its long fronts, hor figure
outlined against tho gray fur lining.
Sho snatched off her cap nnd tossed
it to an adjacent chair and with a
quick hand brushed away tho hair It
had pressed down on her forehead
"I got seven," she said, turning to
tho flro, "and papa a whole bunoh,
and tho Judgo, quantities, and Wll
loughby, three. Dut only ono for you
poor, neglected man!"
'Spreading hor handB wido to tho
blazo she looked at him over hor
shoulder, laughing leaslngly. Ho had
tho letter In his hands still unopened.
"Why," sho cried, "what an extraor
dinary Bight! You haven't opened It!"
"No," ho answered, turning It over,
"I hnvon't."
"I've always heard that curiosity
wns a feminine weakneBB but I nover
I
He Was R'eadlng tho Lotter, His Body
Closo Against the Window-Pane.
knew till now," sho said. "Please go
on and read It, because If you don't
I'll feel that I'm preventing you and
I'll havo to go up stairs to my own
room, which is as cold as a refriger
ator. Don't make mo polite and con
siderate against my will."
Without answering her he toro oen
the letter and, moving to tho Ugh-of
the window, held tho sheet up r-d
began to read.
There was silence for some min
utes. Tho flro sputtered and snapped,
and once or twice tho crisp paper
rustled In Dominick's hands. Roso
held her fingers out to tho warmth,
studying them with her head on ono
side as if sho had never seen them
before. Presently she slid noiselessly
out or her coat, and dropped It, a
heap or silky rur, on a chair beside
her. The movement mado It conven
ient to steal a glance at tho young
man. Ho was reading tho letter, his
body closo against the window-pane,
his race full of frowning, almost fierce
concentration. Sho turned back to
tho flro and made small, surreptitious
smoothlngs and Jerks or arrange
ment at her collar, her belt, her skirt.
Domlnlck turned the paper and thero
wbb soraothjng aggressive In tho
crackling or the thin, dry sheet
"Perley got a letter from your
mother," she said suddonly, "that he
was reading in a corner of the post
office, nnd it nearly mado him cry."
There was no answer. She waited
for a space and then said, projecting
the remark Into tho heart of the fire.
''Yours must be a most interesting
letter."
Sho heard him move and looked
quickly back at him, her face all gny
challenge It was met by a look so
somber that her expression changed
as ir she hnd received a check to her
gaiety as unexpected nnd effectual ns
a blow. She shrank a llttlo as ho
camo toward "her, tho letter ir hH
hand.
"It Is nn Interesting letter," he said.
"It's from my wire."
Since those first days or his illness,
his wlfo's namo had been rarely men
tioned. Rose thought It was because
young Mrs. Ryan was a delicate sub
ject best left alone; Domlnlck, be
causo nnythlng that reminded him ot
Derny was painful. Dut tho truth was
that, rrom tho first, tho wire- had
loomed before them as a figure or
dread, a specter whose presence con
gealed tho something exquisite and up
lifting each felt in tho other's hoart.
Now, love awakened, forcing Itself
upon their recognition, her namo came
up between them, chilling and grin:
as the imago of death Intruding sud
denly Into the Joyous presence of tho i
living.
Tho change that had como over tho
interview nil In a moment was start
ling. Suddenly It seemed lifted rrom
tho piano ot cvery-day converse to a
level whero the truth was an obliga
tion and the language of polite sub
terfuge could not exist. Dut tho wom
an, who hldos and protects herself
with these shields, mado an effort to
keep It in tho old nccustomed place.
"Is 1b sho well?" sho stammered,
framing tho regulation words almost
unconsciously.
"She's well,'' ho answered, "she's
very well. She wants me to come
home."
(TO BD CONTINUED.)
Country Without Manufactures.
Panama has practically no manu- -facturos.
Tho principal exports aro
bananas, cocoanutB, hides and skins,
Ivory, nuts, rubber and hardwood, or
which tho United States receives tho
greater portion. Moro than hair or
the Imports aro furnished by tho
United States and consist chiefly ot
foodstuffs, textiles and hardware.
,
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