The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1897-02-27
VIII.
THE HERMIT OF THE PocKE,


at the foot of miniature cliff, the last
in the series guarding the summit.
For answer she sprang lightly to a
projecting ledge, balanced herself and
darted up the face Of the rock without
appearing to touch it. There was o
great rhododendron at the top, and her
laughing face was framed against the
background of glowing color as she
called down to him:
I'm waiting; shan't l give you a
hand?"
Philip said no, climbing laboriously
after her. Half way up he slipped and
slid back to the bottom; when he tried
again she threw herself down upon the
fiat top of the rock, grasped his wrists
just as he was losing his hold for the
second time and pulled him to firm
footing beside her. 1t was nothing but
bit of spontaneous helpfulness, but
none the less the incident served to re-
open the question which Philip had just
dismissed. He sat down at her feet to
recover his breath while she gathered a
handful of the rhododendrons.
Ibid it tire you?" she asked.
mo, not very much. l wasn't think
ing that. was trying to bring myself
to the point of telling you something
that you ought to know"
SIS it about yourself?"
eyes"
She sat down beside him to arrange
the flowers. 81 am listening" she said,
encouragingly.
The opportunity had come, but
Thorndyke trifed with it. do you
know why l came to Alabama?" he be-
gan.
"Why, yes; it was on account of your
health, wasn't ito"
at was; but did you know that my
case is quite hopeless?"
81 knew you thought it So"
81 still think so-the doctor as good
as told me it was; and yet. do you
know, that just now feel that under
some circumstances | might win my
again.
"That's the way you ought to feel all
the time; it's more than half the battle"
Thorndyke remembered Protheroe's
words and wondered if he had repeated
them to Elsie. II suppose / should, but
can't. 1t was just as you lifted Inc
over the edge of the rock; it seemed as
if you gave me a new hold upon life out
of your abundance. Queer, wasn't it,"
This was not at all what he had begun
to say, but the words chose themselves.
ITS astonishing what a retrospective
field the mind will cover at pinch,
isn't it? Now, in that half second while
you were helping me l got telescope
glimpse Of my whole life, and it's al
ways been the same way-some one has
pulled me up over the hard places before
l could even try to do for myself. And
it's taken the color out of everything;
there has never been anything left
worth living and fighting for; if there
had been might be able to make some
show of resistance now"
"Im afraid don't quite understand
you," she said. II thought everybody
had something to live for"
II presume most people have; and in
my own case the uncharitable might say
something about sour grapes. That
wouldn't be true, though; it wasn't
until knew I couldn't live that cared
much about 1t. And there is every rea.
son to suppose that, with the fear Of
death removed, life would go back again
to the same old dreary round and be
more undesirable than ever"
She rose and fastened the bunch Of
rhododendrons in her belt. do you
really mean to say that you have no rea
son for wanting to live? Would nobody
he sorry if you died?"
Thorndyke killed his opportunity
with one blow. "Yes, there may bt
some who would be sorry; perhaps you
would care q little. But that is entirely
"a different matter; I'm not good enough
to want TO live to oblige my friends, no,
bad enough to want to die to spite them
Let's go and find the Pocket you wer'
telling me about"
1t is an open question as to how liter
ally the most sincere person can atforC
bears upon his own personality. Doubt
less Philip meant to say what was il
him at the time; nevertheless, repent
ance came afterward, and with it more
good intentions. While Philip the SELF
estimated was as little like Philip tn,
real as might be, yet there was unde
niably an accusing conscience which
the self-known Philip'sought to muzzl'
with the fiction that the afternoon wa
still young. Unfortunately, however
opportunities for the saying of reluctan
things do not grow upon every bush
even upon a sequestered mountain top
and Philips conscience was still unap
peased when, an hour beyond the rhode
dendron, they came out upon the rim
of crater-like valley cutting dee
cash in the mountain. 1t was ellptica
. in shape, with wooded sides slantin;
, down from the base of the cliff line t.
: small cornfeld in the center; but Their
was no sign of house, nor of any roa'
leading down from the level of til
plateau. A clear stream gushing from
} beneath fat bowlder at the foot of tn
southern slope splashed riotousl,
) through the length ofthe valley, to van
: ish again into the mouth of low
hrnWed cave nt the hase of the northern