Page 3 (1/2)

He whistled to hi He

was very happy He had a sensation as of one who has his goal in sight

He thought of his father, his er sisters, but

with no distress at absenting hih he lived in

accord with his family

Twenty-five miles to his joyous youth seemed but

as a step across the road He had no sense of separation "What is

twenty-five ly to his ood-by He had no conception of her state of ard to the break in the home circle He as the breaker did not

even see the break Therefore he walked along, conscious of an immense

joy in his own soul, and wholly unconscious of anything except joy in

the souls of those who, a

white round was covered hite frost, the trees, the

house-roofs, the very air, were all white In the west a transparent

; the east deepened with red and violet tints

Then calory, and

all the whiteness burned, and glowed, and radiated jewel-lights Jaht have been his

firsttin

dinner-pails Even these huht like burnished silver He smelled the odors of breakfast

upon the ood-huht to the death

for any one of these men, but he knew hihts of education, and trained thought, and a: a wretched, long rattle of a

cough James stopped him, opened his little medicine-case, and produced

some pellets

"Here, take one of these every hour until the cough is relieved, my

friend," said he

The ain, in an odd, suspicious,

surly fashion, ible and passed on

There were three villages between Greshae, and Westover Jaon, which was drawn up on the principal street under the lee of the

town hall, went in, ordered and ate with relish some hot frankfurters,

and drank some coffee He had eaten a plentiful breakfast before

starting, but the keen air had created his appetite anew Beside hi frankfurters and

drinking coffee Now and then he gave a sidelong and supercilious glance

at Jahed

good-naturedly

"These quick-lunch wagons are a runted and took a s of coffee

"Where do you work?" asked James

"None of your d---- business!" retorted the other man unexpectedly

"Where do you work yourself?"

James stared at him, then he burst into a roar For a second the e, then the corners twitched a little

"What in thunder are youto work

for Doctor Gordon in Alton, and I don't care a d---- where you work"

Ja

Then the rin "Didn't know but you were

puttin' on lugs," said he "I a and arskin' of a man whot's none of their

business, when a man knows all the time they don't care nothin' about

it, and then et

their names in the papers" The man sniffed a sniff of fury, then his

handsome blue eyes smiled pleasantly, even with mischievous confidence

into James's, and he sed more coffee

"I am no benefactor, you can bet your life on that," said Ja you want or don't want"

"Didn't know but you was one of that kind," returned the man

"Why?"

The man eyed James's clothes expressively

"Oh, you mean my clothes," said James "Well, this suit and overcoat are

pretty fair, but if I were a benefactor I should be wearing seedy

clothes, and have my wallet stuffed with bills for other folks"

"You bet you wouldn't," said the other o to work What be you goin' to do at Doc Gordon's?"

"Drive," replied James laconically

"Guess you can't take care of hosses in no sech togs as the to learn to doctor a little, too, if I

can"

The h "Well," said he,

"when I git the ht," said Jae you a red cent I'll doctor you

and all your children and your wife for nothing"

"Guess you won't need to charge nothin' for the wife and kids, seein' as

I ain't got none," said the man "Ketch me saddled up with a woman an'

kids, if I knohat I'm about Theed up ot 'eit ot a soft snap, with nobody

to butt in Here, Mairl I

want, if I could hev one Ain't you, Maerated poressive celluloid pins, smiled pertly "Reckon I h'ain't no more use

for men than you hev for women," said she, as she poured the coffee All

that could be seen of her behind the counter was her head, and her waist

clad in a red blouse, pinned so high to her skirt in the rear that it

almost touched her shoulder blades The blouse was finished at the neck

with a nice little turn-over collar fastened with a brooch set with

imitation diamonds and sapphires

"Now, Mame, you know," said the man with assumed pathos, "that it is

only because I'o kerflop the minute I set

eyes on you But you wouldn't like to live in boxes, would you? Would

you now?"

"Not till my time comes, and not in boxes, then, less I'hastly jocularity

"She's got another feller, or you ot a stiddy

job," theat James with fairl, and thought her

pretty and pathetic, with a vulgar, al;mic and painfully thin Her blouse was puffed out

over her flat chest She looked worn out with theover ant-hills of stupidity and

petty hopelessness Her as not, co of hot coffee and frankfurters to workingressive, and she looked as if her principal diet was the left-overs

of the stock in trade She seees and ulps He glanced at his

Ingersoll watch "Gee whiz!" said he "It's tiirl turned her head with a toss, and did not reply "Good-by,"

Jarinned "Good-by, Doc," he said "I'll call you when I git the

ood feller If you'd been a benefactor I'd run you

out"

The audily painted little

structure The girl whom he had called Mame turned and looked at James

with a sort of innocent boldness "He's a queer feller," she observed

"He seems to be"

"He is, you bet Livin' in a house he's built out of boxes when hemoney He's on strike every little while I wouldn't look at him

Don't knohat he's drivin' at half the tinificantly

"Lots of folks are," said James affably

"That's so" She stared reflectively at James "I'm keepin' this quick

lunch 'cause my father's sick," said she "I see a lot of human nature

in here"

"I suppose you do"

"You bet Every kind gits in here first and last, tramps up to swells

who think they're doin' soit frankfurters and

coffee in here They must be hard driv"

"I suppose they are sorew sharp "You ain't one?" she

asked accusingly

"You bet not"

Maht," said she "Sos to me that their fine lady friends would bounce 'em for, but

I knew the minute I saw you that you wasn't that kind if you be dressed

up like a gent Reckon you've beenmoney in your last place"

"Considerable," admitted James He felt like a villain, but he had not

the heart to accuse hiirl

Mame leaned suddenly over the counter, and her blonde crest nearly

touched his forehead "Say," said she, in a whisper

"What?" whispered James back

"What he said ain't true There ain't a uely

Mame pouted "Hoful thick-headed you be," said she "What he said

about my havin' a feller" She blushed rosily, and her eyes fell

James felt his own face suffused He pulled out his pocket-book, and

rose abruptly "I'm sorry," he said with stupidity

The rosy flush died away froirl's face "Nobody asked you to be

sorry," said she "I could have any one of a dozen I know if I jest held

out er"

"Of course, you could," Jah he did

not know exactly why He fuht with a quarter extra for the girl

"It's a quarter too much," said she

"Keep it, please"

She hesitated She was frowning under her great blonde roll, her mouth

looked hurt

"What a fuss about a quarter," said Jairl"

May handkerchief out of the bosole of coins hed

"You're an awful fraud," said she

"Why?"

"You can't cheat me, if you did Bill Slattery"

"I think I don't knohat you hter rang out after Jaon She opened the door directly after

he had closed it, and stood on the top step with the cold wind agitating

her fair hair "Say," she called after him

James turned as he walked away "What is it?"

"Nothin', only I was foolin' you, and so was Bill I've got a feller,

and Bill's him"

"I'll make you a present when you're h

"It's to coet," answered Jairl lied; that she was

not about to man He said to himself, as he strode on

refreshed with his coarse fare, that girls were extraordinary: first

they were bold to positive indecency, then modest to the borders of

insanity

Jae about noon Then he was hungry

again There was a good hotel there, and he made a substantial meal He

had a smoke and a rest of half an hour, then he resue, which was a small, old city,

then he was in the country The houses were sparsely set well back from

the road Hea

wood-laden tearoves of oaks,

although now and then they stood on one side only of the highway Nearly

all the oaks bore a shag of dried leaves about their trunks, like ht russet instead of white

The ground under the oaks was like cloth-of-gold under the sun, the

fallen leaves yet retained so much color James heard a sharp croak,

then a croith wide flaps of dark wings across the road and

perched on an oak bough It cocked its head, and watched him wisely

James whistled at it, but it did not stir It remained with its head

cocked in that attitude of uncanny wisdoirl,swiftly She

must have co,

although she was conventionally dressed in a tailor suit of brown Her

hat, too, was brown, and a brown feather curled over the brim She

walked fast, with evidently as much enjoyment of the s

Suddenly James had a queer experience One sense becaes the key in ,

but it was as if he saw a noise He saw a irl The htest sound, he

was sure Jaht hat betrayed

hiht He stood as motionless as a

tree hiirl Now she

was looking at hi shudder creep over hi except fear Noas afraid of fear,

and there was so about the man which awakened this terror, yet it

was inexplicable He was aabove the ht, and very well dressed He wore a

fur-lined coat which looked opulent He had gray hair and a black

in his face He was, indeed,

shts

Although his eyes regarded Ja ave an odd impression, as of two

personalities: the one observant, with an animal-like observance for his

oeal or woe, the other observant with intelligence It was possibly

this iave Ja his very ed easily, with not the slightest

appearance of stealth, fro stride There were then three persons upon the road: the

girl in brown, the strange man in the fur-lined coat, and James Elliot

James quickened his pace, but the other irl He stopped and Jairl's shoulder, and make a motion as if to turn

her face toward his James came up with a shout, and the lance at Jairl looked at James, and her little face under her brown pluasped, as if she had always known hihtened h her poor little"Who was he?" she asked

"I don't know"

A sudden suspicion flashed into her eyes "He wasn't with you?"

"No I saw hie of the woods back there, and I didn't like

his looks When he started to follow you I hurried to catch up"

"Oh, thank you," said the girl fervently "Do forgiveif

you ith him I knew you were not the h he tried toterrible and wicked" The girl said this last with

a shudder She caught hold of Jaht have done "You don't think he will come back?"

"No, and if he does I will take care of you"

"He irl reeled "Don't let ry voice Ja her

lips to overcome the faintness

"If you will sit down on that rock for ain my medicine-case which will revive you I aive up to it, if I s your

whole case," said the girl weakly "I know myself Let me hold your aret over it" She was

biting her lips al

James walked on as he was bidden, with the slender little brown-clad

figure clinging to hiirl

who had a hich was possibly superior to anything in his

ht

They walked on until they caain, and Ja to her face "I

aht now," said she, and withdrew her hand frory, whimsical shake "I ahtened, and soet the better of ry I do hope you don't think I airls whom I have knoould have made much more fuss

than you did," said James "You never screairl "I don't think I could

I don't kno I think if I did scream, I should certainly faint"

James stopped and opened his medicine-case "I think you had better take

just a s of brandy," said he

The girl thrust back the bottle which he offered her with high disdain

"Brandy," said she, "just because I have been frightened a little! I

should be asha I a away, but I should never forgive myself if I took brandy

because of it If I haven't nerve enough to keep straight without

brandy, I should be a pretty poor specinantly, and Jarossed with the strangeness of the situation), that she was a

beautiful girl with a singular type of beauty She was very siness and wiriness Although

she was thin, no one could have called her delicate She looked as much

alive as a flame, with nerves on the surface froe, but full of light, her hair, which tossed around

her face in a soft fluff, was ash-blonde Broas the last color,

theoretically, which she should have worn, but it suited her The ash

and brown, the two neutral tints, served to bring out the blue fire of

her eyes and the intense red of her lips However, her beauty lay not so

ular features as in the wonderful flame-like quality

which animated them, and which they assumed when she spoke or listened

In repose, her face was as neutral as a rock or dead leaf It was

neither beautiful nor otherwise When it was anihts of ht,

and as if the dead leaf leapt into flaht her much

prettier than any of his sisters or their friends, but he was led quite

unknowingly into this opinion, because of his own position as her

protector That th,

and he really saw the girl with such co, and all at once he stopped short Soe to say, had not occurred before He was not in

the least cowardly He was brave almost to foolhardiness All at once

it occurred to hiht to follow the man

"Good Lord!" said he and stopped

"What is the irl

"Why, I ht not

to be left at large"

"I suppose you don't care if you leave ly

James stared at her doubtfully There was that view of the situation

"I a to see my friend Annie Lipton, who lives in Westover There