The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-11-09

was in happier place, had climbed
Into heaven. otherwise known as the
] haunts of Minora Cont. Not but what
the hot chinook winds which blow up
from hades sometimes withered and
/ scorched his paradise.
1t was Count Rubitino who always
| started these hot blasts. He and Mi
nora were unnecessarily too much to-
] gether, it seemed to Herkomer. But
then he was Jealous and consequently
no judge of such matters.
/ AS often as Minora assured him that
she cared nothing for the count he
believed her, and as often as he Stun
bled upon them in close communion
over some secret matter did he feel
the hot winds blow, and vow that he
would break away from his bondage
and leave her to the count. But it al
ways ended the same way 1t wasn't
what Minora said that put things right;
| 1t was the eyes-the great, soft Italian
eyes looking straight and truthfully at
and through him, bowling over his
/ jealous resolves like tenpins and bring
ing him back into leash, like whipped
beagle
And still it sat there. almost nightly
now, beside his bed. He had grown
accustomed to seeing it. What was it
waiting for?
1 Sometimes it annoyed him; he felt
like getting out of bed and kicking it,
but the idea was so incongruous, this
kicking of himself, this spiritual self,
! as it were, that he gave 1t up and sigh
ed resignedly.
| "Of course it means something" he
unused; something's going to happen,
but I'm not going to make an ass Of
myself by talking about it at the
mess" So he sat tight and waited for
| the thing to happen as he would have
! waited for Ghazi rush.
! 1t was grewsome, but much in India
is grewsome, so he had learned to take
things of that order much as he took
/ fighting his coffee.
A far greater puzzle to him was Mi
nora herself. Sometimes he found her
/ listless. Indifferent, and then again for
| time she would be her old brilliant
self.
! Thinking perhaps that these fits Of
i detection were due to oppression from
her father, or undue influence brought
to bear by the count, he made bold to
J question her; but she shrank from him
1 with horror and seemed more egitated
than she had been when holding the
cobra.
/, Its nerves." he thought. Life with
fn 1cfv all NJ.
/ associates is depressing enough to
wreck the nerves of a bronze Buddha
1 I'll have to get her out of this"
i So he rushed matters a little, and it
was all settled for Christmas week
The professor gave his consent, re-
! luctantly enough, Herkomer thought,
/ and the count congratulated him with
an ironical sheer that made Herkomer
| long to give him toss in the air from
| which he would alight on the top Of
his curly black head.
When he and common sense sat face
I, to face, common sense told him that
i Minora loved him with all the strength
| Of her high strung nature. What else
/ Is there in it for her, common sense
/ argued, for the majors Inheritance was
limited to what his sword might cut
down from the pagoda tree, with the
exception of trifling allowance, bare
ly large enough to settle his monthly
| gym account.
That was the way common sense put
| it, but the other, intuition, or whatever
| other alias he masqueraded under, said
there, was something behind it all, and
for once in a way they We're both right.
The love was there right enough, and
also something else behind it, and this
something else might have all come
out one evening If Herkomer had not
been so stupid--honorable he called it
at the time.
| 1t lacked two weeks of Christmas
time, and they We're sitting on the We
randa, as they had sat that other even
ing Minora. putting her cool white
hand on Herkomer's wrist and turning
her face a little into the shadow, so
that he did not notice how set and
white it was. said. 81 have confess
sion to make, Rolandov
Don't make it then, little woman.
Confessions are silly things for which
we are always sorry afterward'
But shall be happier if you let me
| tell you about this. cant marry YOU
without telling you first WON'T
Look here, Minora,' said the major,
turning her around so that he could
look into her face, my objection to
| your confession is purely selfish. You
see, couldn't let you confess all on
| your side, without unloading some o.
my sins into your ears, and if we ex-
change SUPERINTENDENT, well, l
fancy the count would appear such a
saint by comparison that should lose
you altogether. By the way, I'll COM
promise" he added laughingly. "I'll
just ask you one question, which you
may answer or not and then we'll call
the whole thing off"
Il will answer" she said quietly,
"only-only"-
We'll, has it anything to do with the
count, what you were going to tell
me?"
mo"