Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1904-02-23
CHAPTER xxIII.-fcontinuedl


his youth. and among other revived hab-
its was that of taking his mother to the
old-fashioned chapel in which she had
worSmped, after her own fashion, all her
life He used to sit in sight of Mary
HackeJt there. and without criticising
motives too closely, it is just possible
t.at he continued that revived habit of
his as much for tile sake of seeing her
as for any reason which the pastor of
the place might have found more solid.
1t happened one gusty Sunday night in
midwinter, month after Hackett's re-
turn, that he went to chapel alone, and
returning homeward, overheard a phrase
which, in its own due time, brought him
the supreme temptation of his life.
The Bard was dutifully elbowing Hep
zibah homeward, and the two were bur
ting against the wind, head downward
and shoulders squared, when Blame came
dp behind them. Hepzibah, with the
wind in her ears, was unconscious of the
footsteps in her rear, and shouting TO
Shadrach. said:
a Trust woman for readin' wOman's
keart. It's Ned her cares for"
The unwilling listener stood suddenly
still, and ali the blood in his body seem
ed 70 riot for moment in his heart and
mead He was conscious of nothing for
while, and when he recovered himself
he was surprised to see the dark figures
still bat little way IN front OF him. He
seemed to have been absent from him
self and them for a long time. Hepzi-
bah's voice reached him, blown back
ward by the wind.
No" She was evidently answering
some saying OF Shadrach's which Blame
had missed. NO harm'H come ont
Hers as good as gold, and so is he; but
its him as hers grown to care for,
though it's million to one her never
guesses il"
Now Ned Blame had never played the
eavesdropper in his life before, but if
all self-respect had hung forever upon
the issue of that temptation, he would
have let it so. He had followed to hear,
simply and purely because he could not
do otherwise. but now that he had heard
he stood stin in the roaring wind
IF that were true!
The thought haunted him thereafter
day and night. and brought with it such
temptations the simplest minded may
fancy. But in little while the true
temptation came. That bowling wind
turned due north and blew for days. 1t
bore bitter frost upon its wings and
locked every stream and canal and lake
aud standing pond deep in black ice.
There had been no such frost for years.
and all the skaters in the township must
needs turn out day by day or night by
night to revel on Parker's mill pond, a
space OF water SOME dozen acres in ex-
tent, which. being sheltered by thick
wooded slopes from the wild wind. had
frozen marble smooth Ned Was not
much of an expert, but the feet pas
sage through the singing air at once in
spired and soothed him, and he was
there night after night amongst the
crowd who sped to and fro in the com
ing and going of nuuberless torchIights
and the steadier glare of cresset fires
which burned upon the bank.
Saturday afternoon left him free for
an hour or two of daylight, and he set
out for the pool. As he reached the
edge there was a great noise NJ applause.
and huge horseshoe line of spectators
was formed upon the ice to watch the
evolutions of some skilled performer.
Ned, dangling his skates in his hand,
walked over drearily enough to see what
might be seen, and shouldering through
the crowd at a place where it was less
dense than at most points, beheld his
enemy, who, with half his world for
onlookers, was rollicking hither and thith-
er with an enchanting grace and surety.
His habitual swagger became him here.
and was converted into beauty. He
circled, poised on the outer edge. at ap-
parently impossible angles, soaring like
bird on even wing, waving and darling
with bold and sweet dexterity, and
moving, as it seemed, more by volition
than by mere force of skill and muscle.
And as he skinned the ringing ice.
followed by the hurrahs and hand-clap-
ping of the crowd, restored to all his old
kingship, Ned looked ON, and was aware
of such an inward volcano of rage and
hatred as seorched his heart within him.
There is no speaking of these things.
The mere truth is that these extreme
RACES of great passion, whether they be
of love or hate. are so rare that no words
have been coined for them. We find
words for the commonplace, because all
men and women have felt il. But the
little hate is as common as glass, and
the great is, happily, as rare as the
kohinOor.
With that phenomenal and unnamable
hate, Ned Blame watched his BLACKBOARD
rival as he swan in perfect grace and
mercurial swiftness on the frozen sur
face of the pool. The mere presence OF
the man was enough: but the popular APP
plause ehoked him as if with su!phurous
ashes.
There was at the south end of the
sheet OF water mill wheel. now frozen
and set. but il had been working until
yesterday. and near it the ice was known
20 be quaggy and unsafe.
Tie bases OF the horseshoe line were
drawn away from this unsound spot OF \
ice. and in the middle OF it was a low |
post with a cross piece upon it. and on |
the cross piece was pasted strip of 4
paper. whereon was printed the word /
DANGEROUS Now that day, as every
day of late, Hackett had been drinking, 1
and this sign Of danger lured him nearer 1
and nearer. He did things in spirituous 4
rackleSsness which he would not have 4
dared to do had he been altogether sober, 1
Tor in that state his nerves were apt TO I
turn aghast at very simple matters.
that. in spite OF warning cries. he must /
needs go swimming and sailing nearer
and nearer TO the warning post. trusting 4
10 his own swiftRess to carry him harm
less over the treacherous ice. And Blame.
since one must needs tell the whole truth
about him, stood looking on in sat;sfac-
ton in the certainty that by and by the
ice would give way with him. and maybe
49, l.
villain grown phenomenal
Crash! Hackett was through. and the
ice starred right 10 the feet of the horse
shoe line. Tne people started backward
with wild stampede, which set the solid
floor waltzing like the slow movement Of
free water beneath free wind. Ned
Blame held his ground.
''Drownr' he said within himself.
Then in one mere second-for at such
times fancy win busy herself, and viii
COT through mora WORK than Sha min A. ]