The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1896-12-10

/
ward the house.
He seemed to be about to speak, but
/ after a look about him he changed his
intention, and without u word turned
again to the task which my coming had
interrupted. Smiling at his caution, /
climbed the slope to the door, and en-
tered. Lamar, who was reading, laid
down his book-it was his well-worn
! Ciccro's Letters-and hade me good
morning. He seemed to be rather more
gracious in mood than usual.
''Well," said /, "that fellow Jones'
curiosity is not likely to cause you any
annoyance for some time to come. We
amputated his right leg last night"
81 supposed it would be necessary"
he answered, composedly.
what? Supposed it would be nee
essary" What did you know of it?"
81 judged his hurt most serious"
"How did you hear of itg"
81 saw it,"
"You saw hm run over?"
"Yes"
you knew that he was lying there
| helpless for holrs?"
at is true"
"And you did not attempt to relieve
him, to go to his assistance"
THE inference is correct"
His tone was as unconcerned as ever,
his speech as deliberate as if he were
| discussing the most trivial of matters.
In spite of my acquaintance with him,
l was thunderstruck by this fresh evi-
dence of his callousness. He enjoyed
my surprise, i think, as n singer may
enjoy the applause of long hostile
| critic. 1t was a tribute of the sort he
understood and appreciated AS coolly
as if he mad been giving directions for
days errand-going in Trent, he told
the story of the accident. Jones, he
said, ON his way home from the beach
tried a short cut which ran near the
! knoll. Leaving his team in the little
hollow where Dorothy Gray afterward
found him, he cautiously approached
| the humnock and climbed TO it's sum
nit, Turning a corner of the house, he
| came face to face with Lamar. What
| talk passed. between the two I never
! learned, hut the intruder departed in
such haste that his foot slipped on the
slope, and he fell. From the way he
limped on arising, Lamar believed that
his ankle was sprained, but he con-
! trived at last to reach his horses. He
had picked up the lines, and was pre-
! pairing to climb to the wagon-seat,
when his injured ankle gave way, and
! he fell. AT the same moment the
| horses started. The fore wheel OF the
loaded vehicle passed over his leg, and
before he could get it out of the way
if, indeed, power to move it remained
the hind wheel had completed the work
the other had begun. Lamar from an
upper window of the house watched
what was happening, and, so far as |
could determine from his account of it
spent most of his time until the girl
appeared gloating over the sight of the
helpless man stretched out on the
ground at the bottom of the depression.
When Dorothy hurried to his house for
assistance, he sat within, listening un-
moved TO her knocks upon his door and
her cries for help. Moreover, he pre-
vented old Martha from responding to
the summons, when sounds of it pene-
things he related as calmly as if they
had occurred at the other end of the
earth, as shamelessly as if there were
no sense of pity in him. What my
opinion of his conduct might be appar-
emily concerped him not in the least.
He sat there telling the tale of his heart
lessness, with the cold, dispassionate
directncss of a man who is his own
judge, and who holds himself blameless
and beyond the need of apology.
He will survive, you say?" he asked,
IN the same level tone of indifference he
had maintained throughout.
I'VE hope that he will" / answered.
striving to keep all trace of feeling out
of my voice
The odds?"
Last night they were against him;
to-day they are in his favor"
"Ah! He rallies?''
'lle has the best of constitutions. I'm
that lies his hope. l may as well tell
you that in his incoherent talk last
night made out the word 'mis,aken
1t was repeated several times. Did il
have any bearing on his visit here?"
Lamar's face bore the grim smile
which, rare as il was. was the .imit of
his demonstrations of emotion
1T had bearing" he said. "The
man regarded me as a suspect He
thought me criminal OF. this country,
in hiding. When we met, he perceived
his mistake. That is ALL"
"And you have no fears that LIE may
cause you trouble?'
"None," be answered. And no picked
up his book. to warn me that our dis
cussion had reached its close.
/ left him as gladly as one leaves
room the air ofwhich is heavy with pois-
onous vapors. was oppressed by
him, by his cruelty, by his utter disre-
gard of the sufferings of another Often
lad ! been on the verge of hatred for
him; now realized that the line had
been crossed, that the feeling that /