An Oregon Girl

use in a momentary conceived intention to demand an explanation from her brother. The passionate earnestness-the uncontrollable fury she discovered in her brother-produced an awe, and aroused her to

ph at his discomfiture-at the same time alarmed at her brother's imminent danger in a probably tragic affair-all contributed to i

r powerful will and keen perception, and possession of those womanly attributes of sympathy

in the water scattered the quarreling

usiness to keep his eyes on her and under pretense of searching the ground

of the threats or cajoling of Rutley-and then John Thorpe disappeared. Two days she diligently searched for him, surmising that he was searching for Dorothy, but all her efforts to locate him were fruitless. She had ju

nce arrested her onward course. She picked it up. "John Thorpe, from his wife, Constance." Horror and dismay swept across her face wi

r Constance. Noiselessly she opened the door. Before her-on her knees, with bowed head, the phial of la

d to be congealing to ice as she stood incapable of motion, a

hand of fate-the startled submission of a meek and contri

ia had not in any manner contributed to the abduction of Dorothy, and was as much at a loss to account for the child's disappearance as her mother-she withdrew, her mission unfilled-her atonement inconceivably harder to accomplish. She seemed overcome

of her womanhood, now so enchantingly beautiful in its Autumn glory, its fragrant co

it would have been impossible for Rutley to have angered John so much with any other

e. Mechanically she opened the door and with one longing heartsore purpose-to seek the seclusion of her apartment-to throw herself on the couch and bury her fa

ow and opened the letter. The characters were bold, but slovenly written, and almost illegible, and then somehow the light did not a

emed weak, and the letters so run together as to appear blurred. She took up a magnif

wud lie ter knows, perwiden yer meets me nere the top of the long steps at or

a deep significance. She turned it over and

for a clandestine m

on the envelop, and the illiteracy plainly intended to deceive. Nevertheless

s to undo the mischief she had wrought, and even this "straw" g

made up her mind to take the risk,

ions. Who delivered the letter? How had it come on the hall table? The ques

rrier had brought it with the other mail. Virginia spoke kindly to the girl, and after casually commenting on the beautiful sunshine, returned to her room and prepared for

the night or early in the morning and pla