The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1893-05-19

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edged. often un.
suspected, convictions which in real
ity direct mankind's activity. 1t was
this experience, too, and the certain.
ty to which it had led him, that put
him beyond the reach of Unorna's
power SO long as he chose not to yield
himself to her will. The important
point was that she should not lose
anything of the gifts she possessed,
and Keyork was wise enough to
see that the exercise of them depend
ed in a great measure upon her own
conviction regarding their exceptional
nature.
Unorna herself believed in every.
thing which strengthened and de-
veloped that conviction, and especial
ly in the influences OF time and place.
And to this end everything was in her
favor. She needed not to close her
eyes to fancy that 80 days had not
really passed between then and now,
as she left the house in the afternoon
with the Wanderer by her side.
He had come back, and had found
her once more herself. calm, collected,
conscious of her own powers. Nc
suspicion Of the real cause of the dis
turbance h chad witnessed crossed his
mind; still less could he guess what
thing she meditated as she directed
their walk toward that lonely place
by the river which had been the scene
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lightly as they went, and he, in that
strange humor of peaceful. well-satis-
fed Indifference which possessed him,
answered her in the same strain.
DThey came out upon the open place
by the river which she remembered
SO we'll. Unorna glanced about her,
and her face fell. The place was the
same, but the solitude was disturbed.
1t was not Sunday, as it had been on
that DAY a month ago. All about the
huge blocks of stone groups of work.
men were busy with great chisels and
heavy hammers, hewing and chipping
and fashioning the material that il
might be ready for use in the early
spring.
They turned in a new direction,
Unorna guiding her companion by a
gesture. They were neal to the jew
ish quarter, and presently were tread
fng their way through narrow and
filthy streets thronged with eager
Hebrew faces, and filled with the hum
of low-pitched voices chattering to-
gether, not in the language OF the
country, but in a base dialect of Ger
man.
Unorna gathered her furs more
closely about her, in evident disgust
at her surroundings, but still she kept
on her way, her companion wonder
ing what made her choose to
walk that way. Then he saw that
she was going toward the Gene
terry. They reached the door, were
admitted, and found themselves alone
in the vast wilderness. The stiffness
in the place is intense. Not a
murmur of distant life from
the surrounding city disturbs
the silence. As she reached the high
est point Unorna stood still, turned
quickly toward the Wanderer, and
held out both her hands toward him.
II have CHOSEN this place because
it is quiet" she said. with a soft
smile.
Hardly knowing why he did SO, he
laid his hands in hers and looked at
her, and saw for the hundredth time
hat she vas very beautiful. There
was a faint color in her cheeks, and
her full lips we're just parted as
though d loving word had escaped
them which she would not willingly
recall. Against the background of
broken neutral tints her figure stood
out, an incarnation of youth ana
vitality. If she had often looked
veal and pale of late, her strength
and freshness had returned to her moss
in all their abundance. The Wander
err knew hat he was watching hei,
and knew that he was thinking of her
beauty and realizing the whole extent
of it more fully than ever before, but
beyond this point his thoughts could
not go.
Looking into her sunlike eyes, he
saw there twin images of himself that
drew him softly and surely into them
selves until he was absorbed by them,
and felt that he was no longer a reali-
ty, but a reflection. Then a deep un-
consciousness stole over all his senses
and he slept. or passed into that state
which seems to lie between sleep and
trance.
Unorna needed not to question him
this time, for she saw that he was
completely under her influence. Yet
she hesitated at the supreme moment,
and then, though to all real intents
she was quite alone. a burning flush
of shame rose to her face, and her
heart sank within her. She felt that
she could not do it.