The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-11-16

Nice weather. Enjoying yourself?"
On receiving the reply he would ans
wer heartily, That's good" and
lapse into silence. When Hilda was
hers with his eyes, so that his strange
conduct lacked no explanation nor in
depreciation, in the minds of the wom-
en- at least.
At length he took them over to see
Camp One, and on the way back, for
the first time, Thorpe found that
chanee-and Mrs. Cary-had allotted
Hilda to his care.
why don't you come to the pine
grove any more?" he asked bluntly.
"Why?' countered Hilda in the man.
ner of women.
II want to see you there. want to
talk with you. 1 can't talk with all
that crowd around"
"Ill come tomorrow" she said
then with a little mischievous laugh.
IF that'll make you talk"
You must think I'm awful stupid"
agreed Thorpe bitterly.
'Ah. no; ah, no." she protested soft
ly. You must not say that
She was looking at him very tender
ly, if he had only known it, but he did
not. for his face was set in discomfort
ed lines straight before him.
1T is true" he replied.
They walked on in silence, while
gradually the dangerous fascina ton of
the woods crept down on them. The
wind has died. the birds have not yet
begun their evening songs, the light
itself seems to have left off sparkling
and to lie still across the landscape.
Such hush now lay on their spirits.
Over the way a creeper was droning
sleepily a little chant-the only voice
in the wilderness. In the heart of the
man, too, a little voice raised itself
alone.
Sweetheart, sweetheart, sweet
heart!" it breathed over and over
again. After a while he said it gen.
thy in a half voice.
mo, no. hush!" said the girl, and
she laid the soft, warm fingers of one
hand across his lips, and looked at
him from a hight of superior soft-eyed
tenderness.
you must not. 1t is not right"
Then he kissed the fingers very gen.
thy before they were withdrawn, and
she said nothing at all in rebuke, but
looked straight before her with trou-
bled eyes.
Thorpe returned to Camp One short
ly after dark. He found there Scotty
Parsons, who~had come up to take
charge of the crew engaged in clear
ing French Creek. The man brought
him number of letters, among which
was one from Wallace Carpenter
After commencing the camping par
ty to his companions care, and giving
minute directions as to how and where
to meet 1t, the young fellow went on
to say that affairs were going badly on
the board.
Some interest that I haven't been
able to make out yet has been hammer
ing our stocks down day after day"
he wrote. II don't understand it, for
the stocks are good and intrinsically
are worth more than is bid for them
right now. Some powerful concern is
beating them down for a purpose of it's
own. Sooner or later they will let
up. and then we'll get things back in
good shape. l am amply protected
, now, thanks to you. The only diff
Guilty is that l am unable to predict
| exactly when the other fellows will de-
eide to let up. 1t may not be before
next year. In that case l couldn't
help you out on those notes when they
come due. So put in your best ticks,
old man. OF course sooner or later I
can put it all back. Then, you bet
| your life, | keep out Of it. Lumber
ing's good enough for yours truly.
| By the way, you might shine up to
Hilda Farrand and join the rest of the
fortune-hunters. She's got it to throw
to the birds. and in her own right. Sc
riously old fellow don't put yourself
Not that there is any danger to a hard
| ened old woodsman like you"
Thorpe went to the group of pines
by the pole trail the following after
noon with a new attitude of mind. He
had come into contact with the artif-
ciality of conventional relations, and i:
stiffened him. No wonder she had
made him keep silence the afternoon
before! She had done it gently and
nicely to be sure, but that was part
of her good-breeding. Hilda found him
formal, reserved, polite; and marveled
at it.
They sat down on log. Eilda. turn
ed to him with her graceful air of
confidence.
Now talk to me-" she said.
Certainly" replied Thorpe in a
practical tone of voice, what do you
want me to talk about?"
She shot swift, troubled glance at
him, concluded herself mistaken, and
said:
Tell me about what you do up here
your life-all about it."
well" replied Thorpe formally,
1--WE haven't much to interest a girl
| like you. 1t is a question of saw logs
| with us''-and he went on in his dry
est. most technical manner to detail
| the process of manufacture. 1t might
as well have been bricks.
| The girl did not understand She was
hurt. AS surely as the sun tangled in
the distant pine frond, she had seen in
his eyes a great passion. Now it was
coldly withdrawn.
What has happened to your" she
| asked finally out of her great sincerity.
Me? Nothing" replied Thorpe.
| A forced silence fell upon him. Hilda
seemed gradually to lose herself in
reverie. After a time she said softly.
Don't you love this woods?"
Its an excellent bunch of pine re-
piled Thorpe bluntly. It'll cut three
million at least"
"Oh." she cried drawing back, her
hands pressed against the log either
|, side of her, her eys wide.
After a moment she caught her
breath convulsively, and Thorpe be-
came conscious that she was studying
him furtively with a quickening doubt.
After that, by the mercy of God,
there was no more talk between them.
A red squirrel poised thirty feet
above them, leaped, and chung swaying
to sapling-top dozen yards from
the tree he had quilted. Two chicka-
dees upside down uttering liquid I'M
dertones, searched busily for insects
next their heads. Wilson's warblers,
pine creepers, -throats, myrtle
and magnolia warblers, oven birds,
blue-jays, purple finches, passed silent
ly or noisily, each according to his
kind.