ce Miss Mary's voice sounded
pleasantly.

"I will take the boy. Send him to me to-night."

The happy mother raised the hem of Miss Mary's skirts to her lips. She
would have buried her hot face in its virgin folds, but she dared not.
She rose to her feet.

"Does--this man--know of your intention?" asked Miss Mary suddenly.

"No, nor cares. He has never seen the child to know it."

"Go to him at once--to-night--now! Tell him what you have done. Tell
him I have taken his child, and tell him--he must never see--see--the
child again. Wherever it may be, he must not come; wherever I may take
it, he must not follow! There, go now, please--I'm weary, and--have
much yet to do!"

They walked together to the door. On the threshold the woman turned.

"Good-night!"

She would have fallen at Miss Mary's feet. But at the same moment the
young girl reached out her arms, caught the sinful woman to her own
pure breast for one brief moment, and then closed and locked the door.

It was with a sudden sense of great responsibility that Profane Bill
took the reins of the Slumgullion stage the next morning, for the
schoolmistress was one of his passengers. As he entered the highroad,
in obedience to a pleasant voice from the "inside," he suddenly reined
up his horses and respectfully waited, as Tommy hopped out at the
command of Miss Mary.

"Not that bush, Tommy--the next."

Tommy whipped out his new pocket-knife, and cutting a branch from a
tall azalea-bush, returned with it to Miss Mary.

"All right now?"

"All right!"

And the stage-door closed on the Idyl of Red Gulch.

CRUTCH, THE PAGE
-------------------
BY GEORGE ALFRED TOWNSEND

_George Alfred Townsend (born at Georgetown, Del., January 30, 1841)
has written over his signature of "Gath" more newspaper correspondence
than any other living writer. In addition he has found time to write a
number of books, one of which, "Tales of the Chesapeake" published in
1880, ranks among the notable collections of American short stories. It
contains tales in the manner of Hawthorne, Poe, and Bret Harte, which
critics have complimented as being equal to the work of these masters.
Of the present selection, a story in which a famous Washington
character, "Beau Hickman" is introduced, E. C. Stedman said: "It is
good enough for Bret Harte or anybody."_

CRUTCH, THE PAGE
BY GEORGE ALFRED TOWNSEND ("OATH")
[Footnote: From "Tales of the Chesapeake." Copyright, 1880, by Geo