The Hindered Hand

ces That

that it is playing a part in events of tremendous import, for observe how it pierces the darkness with its one wild eye, cleaves the a

eloped from that night's journey, is fully entitled to all its fretting and fuming, brag and bluster of

im. Her head was inclined to one side, her hand so supporting her face that a prettily shaped ear peeped out from between her fingers. In the look of her eye there was a slight suggestion of immaturity,

the coach hurriedly. In a short while he returned and again noted how intently the young woman regarded him. This time he observed that she had evidently been weeping and that there was a look of hopeless sorrow in her eyes. Again the young woman looked at him, then upon the floor and up at him once mor

ened manner. He arose to hoist the window by which he sat, intending to utilize it to be rid of the note in case the occasion should demand it. His

e would be facing any one coming from the coach for whites. He raised the window by which he sat and his eye wandered out into the darkness amid the sombre trees that went speeding along, and there arose to haunt him mental visions of a sea of angry white faces closing aroun

aking note one by one of those in the section with him. There was the conductor, who though a white man, seemed always to p

the other gang. A white man is a white man

e of whom was so light of complexion that he could easily ha

thought the porter conc

red with a very thick veil. The perfect mould of her shoulders, the attractiveness of her wealth of black hair massed at the

and straightway return to rest upon the beautiful form of the young woman, but an incident occurred that brought

him of an attempted flirtation with a young white woman. One of the men reached behind to his hip pocket and the porter half arose in his seat, throwing

ning section was the white people's smoking apartment, and care had to be exercised to keep smoke and tobacco fumes out), saw the two

xclusively by Negro passengers and we must ask that you do not

anner he would insist to the last upon the rights of the Negro passengers. The justness of Ensal's request,

ing this little scene now sat down,

please pass through this coach and so announce. Then stand on the platform

irl that Lo

he registered all sorts of vows to the effect that he would never be f

girl that looked at you;' but with all due resp

ees and into the gloom of their shadows, and he put his

e note to shreds, he fed it to the winds

woman who wrote the note. "Fifteen minutes and the train pulls into Almaville," he exclaimed, as he walked the aisle in

inging to the iron railings on the platform managed to pull herself across to the adjoining coach. Passing through the smoker for the white me

ther in the eyes, pledging in that kiss and in that look, the unswerving, eternal devotion of heart to heart whatever the future

rm that was somewhat taller and somewhat larger than that of the average girl, stamped her as a creature that could be truthfully called sublimely beautiful, thought Ensal. Whatever c

n one at the first glance, an effort was made to analyze that face and stud

form could only have been handed to a soul of

as more than soberness in the blue eyes of Earl Bluefield, Ensal's companion. When Ensa

n and on, as if fleeing from the results to be anticipated from