Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-04-27

swayed woman, no longer capable of
rational action or thought.
Two moving objects had come upon
the still landscape, across the narrow
ravine, blurring and plotting out all
the beauty of it for Nora Lorimer.
From her coigne of vantage she could
plainly discern Johns tall, muscular
figure in its garb of drab corduroy. He
was slightly in advance of his compan-
iona woman, well muffled in hood and
gossamer, better guarded against the
chill autumnal air than poor little Nora
had thought to guard herself.
John trudged fearlessly and sure
footedly down the crooked, winding
trail on the opposite side of the ravine.
His companion followed more timorous-
ly. At certain spot Nora saw her hus-
band hesitate, then with a long stride
he stepped across a wide crevice in the
brown earth. He turned towards his
companion with both hands out
stretched. She could hear him ask, In
a clear, high voice, full of encourage
ment:
'Dare you venture the leap?"
'With your help, yes" came back to
him confidingly.
hers to his across the narrow gulf.
Their hands Joined; for q moment the
tall slight form swayed uncertainty,
then they were together once more.
Nora could see it all-the hands clasped
SO tightly, the fearless leap, the mo-
ment of close contact, when it seemed
to her that John stood there before her
very eyes, clasping that other woman,
;ak a, -
his bosom.
The next moment their hands fell
apart, and in the same order as before,
he leading fearlessly, she following
confidingly, they passed beyond her
range of vision, and were swallowed up
by the shadows.
After they had disappeared, Nora
came out from behind her screen of
sedges and looked about in uncertainty
for half second. What if she should
meet them face to face on her home
ward walk! Anything but that. She
would not know how to behave in such
a case.
She turned her face toward the bayou.
The shadows were growing blacker,
the silence denser. No matter. There
she would be secure from the one real
danger in1ife-the danger of meeting
her husband and Ida Fairbanks walk
ing alone in the cleaning.
She plunged downward, along the
narrow trail, rapidly, heedlessly, reck-
lessly. The brambles caught her gar
ments and rent them. The thorns
crowned her of their own cruel will.
Wide cracks yawned in the ground at
her feet. without his aid" she said,
laughing Historically, and bound
ed across each like deer.
Now she was in the bed of
the dry bayou! Dark tree-lined walls
climbed upward on both sides of her,
far, far-interminably. She had turned
and twisted about so sinuously among
the scraggy bushes and the thick trees
that she had grown bewildered. Which
OF these upward-climbing trails ought
she to take to get back to Ninettep
Only to Ninette. There was no one
else she cared to go back to in all the
wide world. One of them she must
take. She could not spend the nirht
there, where every rustic among the
dry twigs conjured up the Shiny con-
volutions of n rattlcsnal1c or deadly
moccasin. She made her choice. She
climbed upward, steadily, YEARLY, but
rapidly. The steep walls began to fall
away from her. The shadows grew
less black. The gray sky once more
spread before her in an unbrol1en ex-
panse over n treeless field But-she
was on the wrong side of the bayou!
She was quite sure she had never seen
that small cabin, almost hidden away
13er n heavy gourd-vine growth
There was glow as of fire, shining
family through the era ks of the daubed
log walls. At least here was humanity
and possible guide back through that
terrible bayou.
She approached the door of the hut
timorously and pushed it open. There
was no one inside. wood fire burned
low upon the hearth, but evidently it
had not been replenished for quite
awhile. The logs had fallen apart, and
their charred ends pointed upward in
depeudcntly of each other. But warmth
and shelter both were here.
She was shivering from exposure,
fatigue and excitement. Even that neg
lected fire in negro cabin was comfort
ing. Two rough splint- chairs
stood in front of the fireplace. Nora
flung herself into one and spread her
chilled hands out over the blaze. 1t was
inadequate to her needs. With n pct
ulant movement she reached for the
clumsy tongs and brought the divorced
logs into closer connection. A bright
flame leaped up to reward her for her en-
ergy, and brought into view something
which had escaped her notice in the
previous obscurity of the room.
1t was q woman's handkerchief-a
plain white hemstitched affair, marked,
in ink, 81. F."
Nora held it before the blaze a half
second, then with a curious smile about
her white lips began slowly smoothing
it out upon her knees. When it was as
smooth as she could possibly make it by
that process, she folded it and laid it
away in her pocket.
She had forgotten where she was
forgotten the necessity for getting
home, even for Ninette's sake. She sat
there staring into the mended fire, now
folding her hands patiently, now twist
ing and twining the slim white fingers
about each other in perfect passion Of
unrest. She was reminded Of her where