Heart of the West by O. Henry
page 281 of 293 (95%)
page 281 of 293 (95%)
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A moment afterward a strange, faint voice was heard to call: "Mamma!" Frau Hildesmuller at first thought it was Lena's spirit calling, and then she rushed to the rear of Fritz's covered wagon, and, with a loud shriek of joy, caught up Lena herself, covering her pale little face with kisses and smothering her with hugs. Lena's eyes were heavy with the deep slumber of exhaustion, but she smiled and lay close to the one she had longed to see. There among the mail sacks, covered in a nest of strange blankets and comforters, she had lain asleep until wakened by the voices around her. Fritz stared at her with eyes that bulged behind his spectacles. "Gott in Himmel!" he shouted. "How did you get in that wagon? Am I going crazy as well as to be murdered and hanged by robbers this day?" "You brought her to us, Fritz," cried Frau Hildesmuller. "How can we ever thank you enough?" "Tell mamma how you came in Fritz's wagon," said Frau Hildesmuller. "I don't know," said Lena. "But I know how I got away from the hotel. The Prince brought me." "By the Emperor's crown!" shouted Fritz, "we are all going crazy." "I always knew he would come," said Lena, sitting down on her bundle of bedclothes on the sidewalk. "Last night he came with his armed knights and captured the ogre's castle. They broke the dishes and kicked down the doors. They pitched Mr. Maloney into a barrel of rain |
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