Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-12-26


doors without knowing her loss. He
had come to a thinly built part of the
town, the perfect quiet of which made
the sound be heard as he opened the
picket gate of his own home all the
more startling. TWAS a scream, loud,
frantic and terror stricken.
Eugene stopped, with the gate half
open.
Out of the winter skeleton Of a grape
arbor at one side of the four square
brick house a brown faced girl of sew
enteen precipitated herself through the
air in the midst of a shower of torn
cardboard which she threw before her
as she leaped. She lit upon her toes
and headed for the gate at top speed,
pursued by pale young man whose
thin arms strove systematically to
reach her. Scattering snow behind
them, hair flying, the pair sped on like
two tattered branches before high
wind, for, as they came nearer Eugene,
Of whom, in the tensity of their flight,
they took no note, it was to be seen
that both were so shabbily dressed as
to be almost ragged.
The girl ran beautifully, but feeter
foot was behind her and, though she
lodged and evaded like creature Of
| the woods, the reaching hand fell upon
the loose sleeve Of her red blouse, nor
fell lightly. She gave wrench of fren-
~. The antique fabric refused the
strain, parted at the shoulder seam so
| thoroughly that the whole sleeve came
away, but not to its owners release,
for she had been brought round by the
| jerk, SO that, agile as she had shown
herself, the pursuer threw an arm
about her neck before she could twist
away and held her.
There was a sharp struggle as short
as it was fierce. Neither of these extra
ordinary wrestlers spoke. They fought
| Victory hung in the balance for per-
| haps four seconds. Then the girl was
thrown heavily upon her back in such
| a turmoil of snow that she seemed to
be the mere nucleus Of white comet
She struggled to get up, plying knee
and elbow with very anguish of de-
termination, but her opponent held her,
| pinioned both her wrists with one hand
and with the other rubbed great hand
| fuls Of snow into her face, spariEg nei-
ther mouth nor eyes.
You willr' he cried. "You will tear
up my picturesl A dirty trick, and you
| get washed for itv'
Half suffocated, choking, gasping,
she still fought on, squirming and
kicking with such spirit that the pair
of them appeared to the beholder like
figures of mist writing in a fountain
Of snow.
| More violence was to mar the peace
| Of morning. Unexpectedly attacked
| from the rear, the conqueror was seiz-
ed by the nape Of the neck and one
wrist and jerked to his feet, stimuli
taneously receiving a succession Of
/ kicks from his assailant Prompted
| by an entirely natural curiosity, he es-
sayed to turn his head to see who
this might be, but a twist of his fore
arm and the pressure of strong fingers
| under his ear constrained him to re-
main as he was, therefore, abandoning
resistance and, oddly enough. accept
| ing without comment the indication
that his captor desired to remain for
the moment incognito, he resorted
| calmly to explanations.
She tore up picture Of mine," he
said, receiving the punishment with
out apparent emotion "She seemed to
| think because she'd drawn it herself
she had right to-"
There was slight whimsical droop
at the corner of his mouth as he
| spoke, which might have been thought
| characteristic of him. He was an odd
looking boy, not i'll made, though very
| thin and not tall. His pallor was
clear and even, as though constitutions
| al; the features were delicate, almost
childlike. but they were very slightly
an expression at once wistful and hu-
morous; one eyebrow was a shade
higher than the other, one side Of the
mouth slightly drawn down; the eye
lids tWitched little, habitually; the
fine, blue eyes themselves were almost
comically Representative look Of a
puppy who thinks you would not have
beaten him II you had known what
was in his heart All of this was In
the quality of his voice, too, as he
said to his invisible captor, with an
air of detachment from any personal
feeling:
What peculiar shoes you wear!
don't think ever felt any so pointed
before
The rescuing knight took no thought
of offering to help the prosecuted
damsel to arise; instead he frightened
his grip upon the prisoners neck I'M
til, perforce, water-no tears started
from the latter's eyes.
you miserable little muffw said the
conqueror. .'What the devil do you
mean making this scene on our front
lawng'
tWhv. it's Euganap, avcyatrnad fba