C H A P T E R XXI.
-2 0 -
A to n e m e n t.
“ Mrs. Farquhar, do you bear me— do
you understand?”
The wide blue eyes flickered an In
stant: It was her only response. She
lay stretched out. white and still on
the great bed—a pathetic figure In
which age and childhood's frailty had
joined in the completed circle of life.
Ile r hands lay on the counterpane.
They were still loaded with rings, and
the heavy, glistening stones seemed
to have drawn in all the vitality from
the dead and helpless Angers.
For
the first time her w ig sat straight, and
by contrast the face beneath looked
smaller, wizened and shriveled like a
little old witch who, somehow or
other, had retained a grotesque fasci
nation. Only the eyes were terrible.
Save for that one scarcely perceptible
flicker of assent they never closed or
wavered, yet the change in them was
ceaseless. They passed from face to
face with a concentrated intensity that
was savage in its dumb significance.
They became then pitiable in their ap-
(peal or frantic in their fierce Impa
tience.
Preston, standing beside her, took
one o f the helpless bands and pressed
It shyly.
"You understand. Mrs. Farquhar?
I ’ve been something worse than a
blackguard— I ’ve been a fo o l
But
now I ’m going back to make good.
You trust me now, don’t you? You
believe me— I ’d lay down my life to
have Richard back. You know that? I
won’t touch my native shore till I’ ve
made things right.”
It was scarcely a smile that shad
owed the blue eyes. Then suddenly
they closed, and the last sign o f life
was snuffed out like the light o f a
candle.
Preston looked up. Gabri-
elle stood at the foot of the bed and
she beckoned him, and they went out
together in the adjoining room. Pres
ton closed the door. His boy’s face,
contrasting curiously with the upright
powerful figure, had lost its hopeful
ness and had become haggard and
overcast
"M y God, and to think that I was
Instrumental in that!” he said hoarsely.
" I I feel as though I had murdered
someone: It’s pitiable— terrible. I shall
see those eyes to my life's end. Miss
Smith.”
She nodded from the window where
she stood looking out on to the street
bathed In the mellow glow of evening.
It Is awful to watch the struggle,”
she said half to herself. "She is trving
to tell us something, and I cannot read
the message. Her eyes are full o f it—
I feel that I am blind and stupid not
to understand— but I only know that
it is vital, that It may mean life or
death.”
"Death?” he echoed blankly.
“ A fter what you saw that night,
don’t you realize that death is not far
off?”
n e thrust his hands deep Into his
pockets.
“ I won’t believe It.” he said decisive
ly. “ They dare not.”
“ Is there anything that dare not be
done to a legionary?”
“ He is an Englishman. I f — if they
dared I should make it an International
question— I should rouse all Eng
land— ”
“ Would you succeed in getting a let
ter Into the Times, do you think, Mr.
Preston ?”
li e drew his hands out o f his pockets
and swung round angrily on her. She
was smiling a wry amusement
“ Miss Smith— can you afford to
laugh?”
“ Yes— a little. I suppose yon think
me heartless. As a matter o f fact, we
laugh most easily when—" She stopped
short with a gesture o f impatience.
“ Forgive me, I have a tendency to be
trite, and at that moment I was peril
ously near pathos as well.”
“ I know what you mean, though. I
In that «Ingle Impulsive appeal for huithcd sound Itself. Farquhar faced
didn’t thluk you heartless. But you herself, and for herself alone, she had about firmly. I f tills were death, then
can’t feel as I do. You haven't all this revealed all that Lowe had waited for. It came under a strange guise. The
on your conscience—you weren't his He left his plait» at the door of the door swung open. For an Instant the
I frioud, as I was.” He caught a glimpse Inner room. Throughout that brief lit light from the window spread out and
I of her face clean cut agnlust the light, tervlew he bad watched tier «leadfast
mingled with the dingy retleetlon from
and suddenly he faltered and the slow ly. When he spoke his voice sounded the passage, then narrowed oueo more,
! color mounted to his eyes.
subdued and yet firm, like that of a leaving the darkness on either hand
“ I— I understand. You’ re rnther man. already weary to exhaustion, who ttie more Impenetrable.
| splendid. Miss Smith. If I could only hourds all his remaining force for a
"Nameless!
Take
these clothe#.
set things right— make good!” he mut last purpose.
Change Instantly—”
tered.
“ And If I had help to offer would you
"W ho are you?"
She made a little gesture of nssent.
accept It now, Gabrlelle?"
"I will Introduee myself later on.
"That seems to me all that we live
‘Thankfully. Stephen."
Do as 1 tell you."
i for." she said thoughtfully, “ to make
“ Richard Farquhar’* life Is safe.”
A shadow moved nnd enme out luto
j good—either to others or to ourselves. he said simply. “ Even Colonel lies
the line o f light. Farquhar caught a
Only— It Isn’t often granted us.”
tint) will not murder his own son."
glimpse of the gnunt hard-lined fne#
He had the fcellug that she was not
“ It Is useles*.”
frozen now Into Impassive resolution.
| speaking to him. that for the moment
“ Useless? What do you mean?"
He tossed the bundle o f clothes back
he had passed out o f her range of
“ This much"— the legionary's fea
'■ vision, and he remained silent.
Some- tures were shadowed with a falut on to the floor.
"Goetz, you fool, do you think I
j one tapped at the door, and Instantly Irony— "that your Information, wonder
I’ m not
their eyes met In mutual Interrogation. ful ns It Is. has come too late. Colonel would do It? It’s useless.
“ A geutleman to see you. mademoi Destinn rode out of Sldl-t>el Abbes going to have you shot In my stead."
"I*ig headed Englishman, do you
selle.”
three hours ago
HI* destination 1»
She passed Into the little adjoining unknown, and when he returns It may think I should nsk you to do anything
sitting room and closed the door quiet be that the sun will have already so sensible? Get Into these clothes If
you don't want to lie strangled? Nam#
, ly behind her. So quiet Indeed had risen.”
been her entry that the man hunched
Stephen Low e turned slowly. First of heaven. Don Quixote, may not It oc
together by the window did not appear and Inst he saw the face of a woman cur to Sanclio Panza to accompany you
i to notice her. His face was turned He read there ouly an Infinite com pa a on your little expedition Into freedom T '
to the full light as though In deliberate sion.
"The tiling Is Impossible— "
defiance of Its own harshly reveuled
But eien In the linlf-llgtit be had
suffering and misery.
caught the blase In the usually cold
C H A P T E R XXII.
“ Stephen!" He started and tried to
nnd arrogant eyes. It tired his blood.
! rise, but she came toward him with an
It was like a blast of northern wind tu
Toward Dawn.
authoritative movement.
“ No, dou't
In the condemned cell Richard Far the fetid closeness.
get up. Sit there. You look— tired—
"It Is not Impossible. Your friends
qitlmr stood with tils back against the
III”
wall, his arms folded, watching the are here— your mother. There sre
“ Yes, l am 111.” he admitted. He
yellow streak of light that filtered horses waiting for us both outside lbs
dropped back with a short stifled sigh.
fortifications. Tomorrow we shall be
" I f I had not been til I should not have
In Oron. God, man— If you lind seen
come.
It Is my only excuse.”
lie
her face when I gave your mcenngo!
looked at her almost wistfully.
Will you let that little womnii break
"Stephen!”
her heart over you?"
He looked her steadily in the pitying,
Farquhar tore off his tunic.
sorrowful eyes.
"W ho has the watch?"
“ I have not come for sympathy.
"Bertram!.
He went over to the
Gabrlelle. I am glad It’s over and
canteen live minutes ago. As I know,
done with. With one thing I should be
lie will not be back yet a while. At
content—”
the worst we have three minutes to
“ What do you ask of me?”
spare.”
"T o accept my name and that which
"G ive me that coat!"
the French state will give ray wife In
Neither man had raised his voice
payment for the services I have done
above a whisper. Goetz'a laugh wa*
her. It Is all I have to give, Gabrlelle.
Inaudible.
Accept It— no. don’t shrink from me
“ Ah, da* ew lg welbllche! Are yoo
like that I am a dying man— remem
ready?”
ber that. I ask nothing for myself but
“ Yes.”
a poor formality: It may be a few days
’Th en come.”
—a few weeks at most and then—and
The Iron door swung back smoothly.
you wilUbe free.”
In the netghtiorliig cell there wni a
“ I am free now.” she answered
sudden hush; ns though warned by
swiftly. “ But If I yielded to you I
some Instinct the rough voices died
should never be free again. I loved
down Into n dull murmur, through
you and I accepted dishonor for your
which the two listener* henrd other
sake. I ceased to love you and re
sounds— a harsh command, heavy ap
gained my honor the same hour 1 re
proaching footsteps. Goetm closed the
fused your name. That was my atone
door. He set his tiaek against I t and
ment to myself. To accept your offer
In the pale light falling aslant his face
would be to wrong myself— and you—
Farquhar saw that tie wus smiling
too deeply.”
savagely.
He made a movement o f desperate
” 1 demand a hundred pardons. I
appeal. But she did not answer him.
miscalculate»!.
Our friend Bertrand
The door had opened and Preston,
"G oetz," Yo u Fool, Do Yo u T h i n k I has deserted the bottle a minute too
with white stern face, stood on the
soon.
It Is scarcely credible.
No
W o u ld Do It? It'a Useless.”
threshold.
doubt he Intends to pny you a farewell
“ Corporal Goetz Is here." he said. through the narrow barred window call. In which case accept my profuse
"Miss Smith— will you come?”
and fell sb ..:•.»!»« ncross the darkness apologies. Nameless.”
And Lowe saw how she turned from to the iron J<>or opposite. He knew
“ Who goes with Bertrand on the
him. not with Indifference, but with that the light came from an overhang round?” Farquhar asked almost with
the absolute oblivion of a mind whose ing lantern outside, nnd that beneath Indifference.
whole force has swept suddenly in one a sentry with fixed bayonet kept
“ Harding. He knows. He will do
deep channel. He followed her to the guard.
all he cnn. Be quiet now— they ars
open door and stood there, silent and
Footsteps sounded on the passage. In the next cell.”
forgotten, watching her.
The light still burned stemllly. Morn
The drunken shout* subsided sud
Corporal Goetz bowed ns she en lug was not yet come. Nor could be denly Into n cowed sullen silence. They
tered. He looked at her narrowly, a bear voices or the familiar clash of henrd the sergeant’s savage abuse, the
little curiously.
bayonets. The footsteps were swift, Jangle o f keys, the clang o f an Iron
“ I heard your name." he said In his stealthy. The Jarriug turn of the key door slammed violently to. Instantly
careful French. “ I have a message for In the lock sounded subdued, as though the chorus broke out h fresh.
the strength of the will behind It had
you— from my comrade.”
(TO UK C O N T IN U E D .»
“ From Richard Farquhar?”
" I know him as Richard Nameless.
gravely, "came when my conscience
He gave me the message out there In CONSIDERED HIS SOUL LOST woke. I let It pass.”
the desert— a simple sentence that I
There was infinite despair and lono-
have retained word for word. T e ll Soldier's Last M o m en ts Passed In llr.ess lu the poor voice.
M o rta l Anguish C o n cernin g His
her,’ he said ’that truth was more beau
IVe knelt and prayed for him. T o
tiful than the mirage.” '
Hopelessness of Salv ation .
night lie died.— From a Field Pastor's
There was a brief silence. She
Diary.
stood In the full red glow of the eve
Strange are the humors of the dy
ning as It poured In through the win ing. Today a young German soldier,
Just L ik e the Real Ones.
dow, and Stephen saw her face. It badly wounded, was lying in his cot.
Artificial ears are so skillfully made
seemed to him Inspired, almost beau Little hope for him. He came of a
tiful— a miracle of a great happiness.
good family, was brought up by pious that they may with ditllculty be dis
“ And the sentence?” It was Pres parents. The doctor, nurse and I stood tinguished from natural ones. When
ton who spoke, and for all his self- watching by his cot. The boy was the person who has lost an ear applies
restraint his voice had lost Its stcadl restless, and It was not the restless to the manufacturer for a substitute,
ness.
ness of pain alone. He muttered to there is made a mold of the remaining
’T o be shot at daybreak.”
himself. “ I have missed It— missed ear. If there be left any part of the
other, a mold of that part also must
" I t Is Impossible— absurd—” Pres It at the last."
be taken to assist in the fitting of the
ton muttered.
"W hat?” asked the doctor.
artificial.
Manufacturers assert that
She turned to him then as though
"Missed— missed—missed!"
no two ears are alike, and that It takes
waking from a dream. The brief mo
"But what?"
a skillful workman to prepare an ear
ment of serene triumphant happiness
"Doctor," the boy spoke solemn and from the mold or molds.
had passed. She was face to face with
life again, and the strength and beauty wide-eyed, “ I have missed the salva
When finished the now ear Is pasted
were alight with the old fiery resolu tion of my soul."
on the stump, or simply sot In the po
"Oh, no," the doctor and 1 spoke to sition of the lost eur. It Is really only
tion.
gether.
"Do you remember the thief the first artificial ear that Is expen
“ It Is Impossible,” she said. “ But
we have one hope before all other*. on the cross?"
sive, the chicT cost pertaining to the
"Yes. But the thief never said to making of the mold. Vulcanized rub
Madame Arnaud has influence, and she
the Holy Ghost. 'Go your way.’ But I
has given me her word to use It.”
ber, which can be bent and twisted,
“ Madatne Arnaud Is dead.” They did. And now he Is saying to me, ‘Go has been found to constitute the best
stared at Goetz In stricken horrified your way.’ ”
material for the making of artificial
He lay a while looking up with star ears.
silence, and he added grimly: “ She
was murdered by a Jewish flower- ing eyes.
"A little time ago," he said, “ I was
seller this afternoon. It was Colonel
S o ld ie r’s Message to H is W if e .
Destinn who found her. There Is no anxious, but I did not want to be
Some of the best stories of tbo war
saved then. I am young. I wanted
hope from that quarter.”
“ Then there are other means,” Pres to live my life as other young men. I come from the base hospitals, and are
ton said. “ Corporal, I’ll stop at noth heeded not my mother or my father. bestowed on the doctors In the same
ing to free him. I’ m a rich man. You I did not trouble then about my soul. spirit that grateful patients bestow
"There was something then that gifts on their medical attendants in
understand ?”
The German looked up at him with a seemed to say to me, ‘Don’t put It off; civil life. One told recently has trav
ah, don’t postpone It.’ But no, no, no. eled from the farthest outposts In
faintly arrogant amusement.
Gabrlelle turned suddenly from the Later I would take up the subject at Mesopotamia. A Turkish officer, cap
window. Her eyes flashed Into the le a more convenient time. And now It tured In the Mesopotamian campaign,
asked and received permission to tele
Is too late and I have missed.”
gionary’s face.
I told him there were some who graph to his wife when he wag
“ Perhaps I understand,” she said
brought to Basra. His message read:
quietly. "You too are Richard Farqu- came at the eleventh hour.
"M y eleventh hour," he answered "Safely captured."— London Times.
har's friend— you will help me?”
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A Tall Yarn.
He was describing the privations of
a vo )a ge from which he bail Just re
turned.
"T h en ," he said, “ I went down to
the cabin to lunch."
"L u n c h !” exclaimed one of hla hear
er*. "But you told ua there waa noth
ing to eat left on board. What did
you have for lunch?”
“ O h !” waa the reply, " It wna a very
modest affair beef, wlue and an egg."
Beef? Where did you get the beef
from ?"
"Oh,” was the reply, "that came
from the bulwarks."
"And the wine, how about that?”
"Oh. that catne from the port h ole!”
"Oh, o h !” laughed the llatener.
“ Good, very good! But tell me where
did you get the egg?”
“ Oh, that was the almpleat of all,”
came the reply. "The captain gave
ordera for the ship to 'lay to,' and be
gave me one."— Pearson's Weekly.
Deep cuta should be healed by Han
ford's Balaam. Adv.
Human Natura.
“ But you will at lcaat admit that
there ure two aides to every queatlon,
and— "
" I admit nothing of the k in d!" Inter
rupted J. Fuller Gloom. "A s far as I
am concerned, (here Is only one aide
and n lot of confounded foolishness."
—•Judge.
In 8tyle.
Mr*. Htyle#— Oh, dear. I want a new
street skirt.
Mr. Btylee— But, wife, you know I'm
short Just now.
Mrs. Style#— W ell, dear, 1 want a
short skirt.— Yonkers Statesman.
«A N U R IC I”
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