The Central Nevadan. [volume] (Battle Mountain, Nev.) 1885-1907, 1903-04-09

garding her protest, stopped and raised
the fallen Bedouin. He saw at a
glance that she was right. The lean.
dark, lustful face was set in the rigid
fly of death. The bullet had passed
straight through the temples.
Ibid you W see a dead man be-
fore7" demanded Cigarette impatiently
as he fingered. Even in this moment
he had more thought of this Arab thaa
he had Of her.
He laid the body down and looked at
her with a glance that, rightly or
wrongly, she thought had a rebuke in 1t.
VERY many. But it Is never a
pleasant sight. And they were In drink.
They did not know what they did"
what divine pity! Good powder
md ball were sore wasted, 1t seems.
You would have preferred to lie there
yourself, 1t appears. I beg your par
don for interfering with the prefer
ence."
Her eyes were flashing, her lips very
scornful and wrathful. This was his
gratitude!
"Wait, watt" said Cecil rapidly, lay
ing his hand OH her shoulder as she
flung herself away. MY dear child. do
not think me ungrateful. | know well
enough I should be a dead man myself
had it not been for your gallant assist
ance. Believe me, l thank you from
my heart"
"But you think me 'unsexed,' all the
samei"
The word had ranked in her. She
could launch it now with telling re-
prisal. He smiled, but he saw that his
phrase, which she had overheard, had
not alone incensed but had wounded
her.
"Well, a little perhaps" he said gen.
tly. "How should 1t be otherwisef
And. for that matter, l have seen many
a great lady look on and laugh her soft,
cruel laughter while the %pheasants
were falling by hundreds or the stays
being torn by the hounds. And they
had not a 1.-THE of your courage"
"It is well for you that I was unsex-
ed enough to be able to send an ounce
of lead into n d%runkardr' she pursued,
with Unreasonable disdain. III had
been like that dainty aristocrat down
there, 1t had been worse for you. l
should have screamed and tainted and
left you to be killed while | made q
tableau. Oh-he. that Is to be feminine
is it notT"
where did you see that lady?' be
asked In some surprise.
"Oh. I was theret" answered olga
rette, with a toss Of her head south
ward to where the villa lay. 81 went
to see how you would keep your prom
Ise."
"Well. you saw kept it."
She gave her little teeth a sharp click
like the click of a trigger.
Eyes. And | would have forgiven
you If you had broken it."
would you? l should not have for
given myself"
"Ah. you are just like Marquise. And
you will end like him."
Every probably"
"Why did you give those chessmen
to that silver p~heasant?" she asked
him abruptly.
"Silver pheasant?"
Eyes. See how she sweeps. sweeps.
sweeps so languId. SO brilliant. SO use
less-bah! Why did you give themY"
"She admired them. 1t was not much
to give"
"Ah. you would not have given them
to a daughter of the people"
"Why notT'
"Why not? Because her hands would
be hard and brown and coarse, not fit
for those ivory puppets. hut mlladi's
are white like the ivory and cahnot soil
it. She will handle them so gracefully
for five minutes and then buy Il new
toy and let her lapdog break yours"
like enough" He said II with HE
habitual gentle temper. but there was
a shadow Of pain in the words. Tle
chessmen had become In some sort like
living things to him through long asso-
citation. Cigarette. quick TO sting. hut
as quic, to repent using her sting. saw
the regret In him. With the rapid. I'M
calculating llberallty of an utterly TN
selfish and intensely iinpulsive natur
she FASTENED to make amends by say
ing what was like gall ON her tongue in
the utterance.
And YETI she said quickly, perhaps
she will value them more than that. |
know nothing of the aristocrats-not l!
When you were gone. she c%hampioned
you against the Black Hawk. She told
him that il you had not been a gentle
man before you came into the ranks
she had never seen one. She spoke
well. If you had but heard heri"
"She didT
She saw his glance brighten as II
turned on her In a surprised gratifca-
ton.
well. what is there so wonderful"
Cigarette asked it with a certain pet
ulance and d~oggedness, taking a name
sake out Of her breast pocket, biting its
end off and striking d fusee. A word
from this aristocrat was more welcome
TO him than a bullet that had saved his
life!
Her generosity had gone very far.
and, like most generosity, got nothing
for its pains. well! Wellp' thought
his champion as she made her way