St. Landry democrat., 1884-06-21
lifted up her face to breathe the fresber

air.
One would say" said he, watchin.
the dark cameo of her face. as it de
tached itself from the straight line O
masonry, ''that you had a Kind of en-
| joyment of all this
I'm a sense | have. There is SC
much space and power. And there il
the feeling of having for once put &C,
ton and responsibility out OF ones
hands. There is nothing now which it
can possibly be ones duty to do
You don't feel any fear of death,
II fear it physically, of course-the
actual drowning and choking-ah.
don't let lis talk of it. But at least we
shall have had this hour of freedom and
rest. y
II could bear it BETTER" he returned,
III there We're any element of struggle.
10 sit still in a cage until death chooses
to come and put an end to you-that's
horrible!''
She turned toward him and seemed
to consider his point of view until it
became hers, for she shuddered and
said! cit is horriblen
There was silence again between
them for little while. Again, when
her face was bent forward, he was able
to watch its outline. Surely she was
younger than he had supposed.
What made you stay?'' he asked
suddenly. She hesitated a little.
"What made you?'
81 hardly know, more than what r
said-that nobody cared much whether
| did or not, and that Ibid not care
much myself. But am older than YOU.
and | have had about as much out of
life as it will ever give me.''
Il don't think that it need be a cues
ton of age how much one g life is worth.
Mime did not matter to any one, either;
and it was not very easy or hopeful for
myself had wanted SO much, and
had to learn that / must do with SO lit
tie. OF course, it is not noble to care
SO much about ones own petty happi-
ness, but oh! one does care! And then.
all at once, here was a way of escape,
not selfish, but to help happier people,
and it seemed che kew to
everything when you stood up in the
boat and said that you would stay.''
yet, said he, Il could not help
wondering, as we stepped out, whether !
what we were really giving to those
young lovers was only time to lose their
love for each other, even in refhem- /
orance. For death can only destroy the
future, but life can destroy. the past,
too"
care you sorry, then, that you staid?'' |
There was a little note of mockery in
n the question, or his conscience Gre
ated it.
....No, it seemed the thing to do. One
IAN but act in the present. And even if
mar could know certainly that death
would keep their love for them, and
ife would lose it, he could hardly bring
himself to say: Then let death come
t takes Apollo to give death when he
$ asked for the best gift. But vet,
What chance for two lovers to have
lied together so''
She drew rather deeper breath and
nade no spoken answer.
Down at the far horizon the late moon
Tas rising, vague and cloudy A ghost
7 light, bringing in its wake mYsteri-
US shadows, spread slowly as tie moon
roWsily lifted herself and dropped the
lists from her shoulders. The man, ,
'oking down, in this clearer light, to :
le water, started and said at is COM ,
~ up much faster"
She stopped and looked. Then their
yes, lifting, sought each other. Both f.
ices were pale IN the moonlight. On Ii
9th sat the human shrinking from this F.
pward crawling fate. Yet it was
'hiething to see each other.
:" How long is it to mornings she II
,ked. IL;
He drew out his watch, but there i
'me cloud across the moon and they =
i'd to wait. \
"It is just past twelve, = said he. =
Perhaps they will come out by E
oonlight." =
Perhaps, !" said he. But neither OF : I
EN- had any trust in the hope. +
He had seen in the moment when
ey looked at each other that she was !,
deed younger than his first SUPPOSE II
N, though hardly so young as his sec :
ID. She might be five-and-twenty. It n
IS not the face Of a girl. She had re- ].
rned to her former position, and now, +,
tning back against the chimney, lift 9,
up her face to the sky. Her eyes ii
re closed and her lips drawn in. 81
lere was but time to look once before J,
. lips curved again into q smile and Al
3 eyes opened to calm gaze. 81
The man sitting by he: heard the =
angling and deepening tone of the !,
ter as it came up and up. ~
. You are too young for this, said ~
abruptly. =
His voice had changed and deepened NJ
Q the tone of the water. s J.
: No, no. she answered, after mo- q" az
Mt. Don't trouble about me. = VI
/. I do trouble about you. It's horri- uk
/! horrible!'; en-