Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1907-11-07

g
GOD help him If cUer 1 act his yellow
throat bct1ccen these ten fingers! !"
tears that made it all sound worse.
Peggy asked him what he meant to do.
He meant to die, but not of the lash
the rope. He meant to hang as he
should have hung the year before. If
only he had! If only lie had! But at
last he recognized the fate reserved for
him by a Providence he blasphemed, so
now he would meet it halfway. He
was sorry he had not done so long ago.
He was sorry he had not driven a knife
through Nat in the very beginning.
But it was too late to kill and
die. 1t was only too late to die with
a whole skin. And again his sobs and
blasphemies were horrible to hear. Yet
Peggy listened patiently and gradually
soothed him with a tender, tolerant,
womanly word here and there, so that
at last he looked at her through his
tears-for he was utterly unnamed
and asked her out of pure curiosity
what he had done to make such an
enemy of Mr.. Nat.
Peggy resumed her cheerful manner
can don't We know?' said she, mask
ing a trembling lip with a smile. els it
no notion We have at all?"
"None whatever"
"Arrah, Tom, tits in love ye are en-
tirely!"
At these words, which took him cru
ely by surprise, he gave her a kind
of wounded glare that was their con-
firmation, w%hereupon she forced a gig
Nat had suspected him Of being in
love with.
Tom YEARLY gave it up.
BE thinkin' a minute" said Peggy
self consciously.
"Not you, was it,"
Peggy nodded.
"But what n~onsensew he exclaimed.
can it was all that" said Peggy.
81 mean we never saw each other.
And was that all he had against me?"
mo; there was a little more than
that"
She hesitated.
"What?" be asked.
More Of his nonsense, then, for he
thought / was as bad as you"
Idiot"
"Idjut. indeed" said Peggy sadly.
"When we hadn't exchanged a dozen
words!'r
Not a dozen? Not many dozens per-
haps, for up to tonight Peggy had
them every one by heart. She was not
SO sure that she would be able to re-
member all they were saying now; she
was not so sure that she should want
to. But she steeled herself to answer
cheerfully. And he guessed nothing
then, for to speak Of love was still to
think Of Claire, and to think Of Claire
was to pray that never in this life or
another might she know or dream
what had befallen him that day. But
even with the prayer in his heart he
remembered there was no God to hear
it and was retracing his steps in this
blind alley of despair when Peggy
took his hand and flashed a suggestion
before his mind.
Why should he go back to the farm
at ALTO be bullied and beaten to
death or desperation in a cruel and
unequal war? He told her in reply
what he calmly proposed to do. and
her blood raj cold to hear him; ther
common sense came to her aid, anG
she showed him the folly rather thar
the wickedness of his diabolical plans
He listened sullenly, but said he coulC
not answer for himself after this anG
pretended to take less than he really
did to the suggestion that he should
run away there. and then. According
to Peggy, there was not another min
ute to lose.
Tom wanted to know where he was
to run to, but he began feeling abou,
for his shirt. Peggy found it for hin
and noticed, with a pang of instructive
jealousy, as the blanket fell apart il
his movements, a mysterious some
thing that he wore next his breast like
a scapula. 1t was sewn up insoiled silk
which glistened in the feeble light, and
in the bitter intuition that this pre-
cious possession was a packet of true
loves letters she made him ask his
| questions twice.
Peggy then told him he must run due
east for the sea, for it was but thirt,
miles from there, and she had a gool
mind to run with him, since they were
going to turn her into government,
without fail. This she said with
laugh, but he made no answer. His
face was drawn with pain at every
movement. Itlreminded Peggy of som,