Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1897-05-27

move, les, yes, VIII b. n.o
what n YOU saying asked berue'
drcamily. He vas still under ne ~
fiuene OF that heavy, moran auno
sphere aie had not quite unuerslooe
not grasped the idea. "What "as ~
you said?' he repeated. ~.
Il shall go myself and can III 'he
house." he reiterated,
.sAt what house? Whereg
why. at the I~.hodes-on Eva. are
you dam" -.
But BERTHE rose to his feet, ana ms
eyes glittered In his pale q IKE piaeiA
diamonds with a hundred Facets.
What to DO theref" he said. Win a
~conyulsiye effort In his throat TO koep
his voice calm.
20 talk to her. and set matters
straight: I cannot bear 1t. 1t has gone
on too long"
You are a fool said Van Maeren,
shortly.
"Why am I a fooly
.'Why are you a fool? You have moi
a grain Of self-respect. Do you really
think of going therey
Yes, Of course"
II consider 1t absurd" said Berthe.
"AIl rigft," said Frank. Pray think
so. / myself can see that 1t Is very
weak of me But, Good God! l can
hold out no longer. 1 love her So; was
SD happy: life wsls so sweet: and now;
now. by my own fault / do not care
what you think it. Absurd or not, l
mean TO GO all the same"
In his distress OF inind he had thrown
himself into a chair, and every muscle
OF Ills features was ~quivering with ag1-
tation.
81 do not know what il is that l feel;
I am so unhappy, so deeply, deeply
wrctched. Never in my life had 1
known what il was to feel so content,
in such harmonious equilibrium or sou
as when l was with Eva; at least, so 1T
seems to ME now. And now 1t Is all at
an end. and everything seems aimless.
/ no longer know why / live and move
and eat and have my being. Why
should / take all that trouble, ard then
have this misery into the bargain? L
might Just as well be dead. You see.
that Is why I mean to call there. And
if things do not come right then, why,
I shall make an end of myself! Yes,
| YES, I sail make an end Of myself"
Crushed by the burthen Of life, he lay
back in his chair. with his features set,
his great limbs stretched out N their
useless strength, all his power under
mined by the mysterious inertia which
| gnawed il away like a worm. Before
MIN stood Van Maeren drawn to his full
height in the energy OK despair, and ms
flashing eyes darling sparks OF fire. de
laid his tremIlous hands on Westhoyes
shoulders, feeling their massive breadt
! heavy and strong. A reaction electri-
fed him with something I'LL defiance;
he scorned this man of might In his
loye-sickness. But, above all, oh. above
oil, he felt himself being dragged down
to the lowest deep, and 1t was with the
tenacity of a parasitic growth that he
chung to Frank, setting his fingers into
his shoulders
Frank" he began, almost hoarsely,
'just listen to me. You are making
yourself i'll. You talk like a fool, and
| then you cry out just like a baby. Yon
must get over it. Show a little more
pluck. Do not mar your whole life by
| these foolish lamentations. And what
| about, when 1t Is all said and done,
what about? All because a girl has
ceased to love you. Do you place your
highest hope OF happiness In a girl!
They are creatures without brains or
heart; superficial and vain, whipped up
10 a froth-mere windy nothingness.
And you would kill yourself for that!
Heavens above, man! 1t is impossible!
I do not know what it Is to love a wo-
man. Ell? But you do not know what
trouble and misery are. You fancy that
all the woes on earth have come upon
YOU. And it Is nothing. after all, but a
| little discomfort, a little wounded con-
ceit, perhaps-it will be no worse. If
had made way with myself at every
turn Of ill-luck, / should have been dead
a thousand times. But / pulled through,
YOU see. How can you be such a COW
ard? Eva has shown you very plainly
that she does not want to W any
thing more 20 say to you; and you
would seek her once more! Suppose
| she were to show you the door? What
then? If you do such a thing, If you SO
TO her. you will be so mean in my eyes,
so weak, so cowardly, so childish, such
a fool, such o fool, that you may go to
the deuce for aught / care!."
He cleared his throat as IL he were
actually sick, and turned away with a
queer, lignt-headed feeling in his brain.
Westhove said nothing, torn In his
mind between two impulses. He was
no longer clear as to his purpose. quite
bewildered by the false voice in his ear
lip his soul. There was something fac.
titious In Bertie's speech, a false ring
which Frank could not detect, though
he was conscious of 1t, and the voice OF
his own desires rang false, too, with
Earring, u~nresolved chords. which jan.
gled inharmoniously against each 9th
or. He had completely lost his head,
but he sat silent for some time, till al
length he repeated, with sullen obsti-
macy:
"All right. 1 do not care a Pin.
shall 20, all the same"
But BERTHE began again, with honeyed
smoothnas this time, seating himself
on the floor, as was his wont when he
was out OF luck, on the fur rug before
the fire, resting his throbbing head
against q chair.
"Come, Frank, get this out Of your
mind. You never meant that you would
really 60. You are at heart too proud
and too brave TO think Of 1t seriously.
Pull yourself together. Have you for,
gotten everything? Did not Eva tel
You that she did not believe your word
that you We're false to her, that you