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It was no spirit of bravado that gave rise to his reckless speech of an

hour previous It was si of his real

nature, an unpremeditated expression of that suprearded the future, the small value he set on life He truly

felt as utterly indifferent toward fate as his words signified Deeply

conscious of a life long ago irretrievably wrecked, everything behind a

chaos, everything before worthless,--for years he had been actually

seeking death; a hundred tiladly marked its apparent

approach, a smile of welcome upon his lips Yet it had never quite

succeeded in reaching hiained beyond a

reputation for cool, reckless daring, which he did not in the least

covet But now, miracle of all miracles, just as the end seemed

actually attained, seean to experience a desire to live--he wanted to save this girl

His keenly observant eyes, trained by the exigencies of his trade to

take note of ser by this neakened

a above theularity of its front, and numerous peculiarities of