Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-06-11
CHAPTER VI.

former stretched out her hand 10 help him
and the elder woman released a cutting
remark. Then a servant brought chair,
and pillows of nausea surged over him.
Just aS his consciousness waned, and he
was launching, chair and all. into space,
Laras voice reached him again.
Then he was in the hallway, through
some miracle. and insisting most uncom-
monty that he was not to be taken into
the library. but into the music room, be-
cause the windows there commanded the
mountain.
lie awoke to the interesting discovery
that Miss Stansbury was tanning him.
Presently she re-chilled a towel in the
iced basin aud folded it upon his fore
head. now delicously cool
Its mighty sweet of you to take care
of me this way" he muttered gratefully.
How is Pelee? How long have / been
here? The last | remember, | was lost
in tho hail. and you found me-"
You've been here about three hours,
Mr. Constable. Pelee is quiet again, but
the whole world is white outside-a per-
feet blizzard of ash has fallen! They
say a terrible thing has happened at the
extreme northern end of the city. The
River Branch overfowed her banks. and
ran with boiling mud from the volcano.
Thirty people are reported killed and the
Usine Guerin destroyed"
She thought he was considering the
disaster in the silence which followed, but
in reality he was battling with the old
problem.
Miss Stansbury," he said finally, lis
there anything a man possessed of full
faculties could do, say or bring about that
would induce your mother to spend the
night off-shore"
She shook her head.
You know shat the Madame could be
brought in for the mails tomorrow morn
ing"
II have taken the liberty to suggest
that to mother" Lara replied. "She says
that tomorrow will be time enough
Miss Stonsbury, won't you put your
self in the care of Captain Negley to-
night? hope I'm wrong, but the Guerin
disaster may be only p preliminary dem
onstratioD-like the operator experiment
ing to find if it is dark enough to start
the main fireworks You know, would
stay ashore, and Negley is good old man
of the sea-"
Don't YOU understand, Mr.. Consta-
ble?" she said, in real distress for deny
ing him so repeatedly. Don't you see
that such thing would bring down a
miserable scene upon our heads: Besides,
l am not thinking of my own safety as
such a paramount thing. l don't want to
be one of Jobs lone survivors. Mother
and Uncle Joey and you must go-when
/ do"
The pale, searching face regarded her
Again he was silent. His lips were shut,
his eyelids half-closed A swift
intuition was borne to the woman He
was about to renew the siege. She was
not ready, and shrank from being moved
TO a decision which she had not formed
in the privacy of her own mind. The
last two days of suffering had rendered
her strangely responsive to his mental ac-
tions. His quest had filled her brain with
wonders, but they were not yet coalesced
impulses and inspirations without
unity, unbound as yet by judgment She
wanted to yield with grace, if it came to
that but not to be overthrown His hand
reached for hers, but she drew away.
Miss Stansbury-"
please don't say it now ~ she whis-
pered swiftly. her words startling herself
quite as much as the man. These are
such dreadful hours We must think of
the crisis-only of that-putting behind
all that passed last night -
'Until?' said Constable, sitting up.
'Oh, who can tell? One knows-NIr
Constable. isn't it wicked of you to mud
die me this way?"
a smile from him had given her the
saving turn. The tension was eased.
Now, as he held out his hand to her, she
was not slow to accept it, or to miss
the meaning of the compact.
''Pelee will be beyond the sky line for
us all pretty soon," he said cheerfully.
We'll be very good pals in the mean
time. Please so to the window and see
how our ogre is faring-the giant who
thinks he's going to eat us when we're
primc-'member the fairy story? By the
way, Miss Stansbury, did you ever have
set of billiard balls cracking off caroms
on your brain PAM"
"Ics, and ten-pins. Men don't know
headache matters. The north
is clearer. sir. A little while ago it was
all a seething mass of blacks and grays.'
An exclamation broke from her lips
and Constable joined her at the window,
A dozen birds had fallen to the lawn from
the caves. Most of them were dead from
the tainted air. The sight brought the
situation more forcibly than ever to her
mind.
Il should think the birds would fiy
away !" she said pityingly.
Perhaps the mother birds are waiting
for mails to come in suggested a voice
behind them. Mrs. Stansbury was stand.
ing in the hall doorway.
\ gracious rain cleared the air of early
evening. and Constable settled himself
for further nap at the north window
upstairs. He had not realized his ex.
haustiou. and was astonished to find that
it was midnight when he awoke. He was
stronger, but cyclonic headache still
oppressed him. Glad though he was fol-
the hours passed, sill he was by no means
uuappreciative of the chances he haC
taken. \ torlorn hope of saving the lady
even though a destroying eruption over
took them at the plantation house, haG
grown in his mind since the night before
To be caught asleep would render this
chance a far one.
The Gueriu disaster might be consid
cred among the promises of a favorable
issue, as we'll as a forerunner of chaos
The mountains overflow into the River
Blanch might have eased the pressure
upon the craters. There was no authority
nor precedent for such a hope If Pc
lees fuse were burning shorter and short
err toward Krakatoan cataclysm, it wa:
not for man to say what spark would
shake the world. Still, Constable helC
the hope.
He turned on the lights in the room. 4
cablegram had been slipped under tn,
door. 1t proved to be an answer to ;
message he had sent to Basse Terre il
the morning, regarding the movements o
the Panther.
str. Panther arrived and departed
here on time
he read. There was strength in tn
word. The mail liner reasonably nigh
be expected to call at Martinique witt
the dawn according TO schedule I'M