The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1908-03-06

ment, half of enjoyment of this play
of nonsense, and leading the way to
her suitcase and Mary outside. When
l make mistakes, will you tell me
about them? Down east, you know,
our feet travel in the ancient, pre-
scribed circles of our forefathers, and
they are apt to go somewhat uncer-
tainly If thrust into new paths"
And this laughing, clever girl had
cried with inconsistencies! Well, no
wonder. The worst of it was, she
could never hope to be acclimated.
She was not-their kind. Sooner or
later she must go back to Gods coun-
try.
To her surprise, Gordon, though he
laughed softly for moment, answer
ed rather gravely.
IF my somewhat niggardly fate
should grant me that good fortune,
that l may do something for you, l
ask that you be not afraid to trust to
my help. 1t would not be half-hearted
i assure you"
She looked up at him gratefully.
His shoulders, slightly stopped, betok-
ening the grind at college and the bur-
den-bearing in later years, instead OF
suggesting any inherent weakness in
the man, rather inspired her with an
intuitive faith in their quiet, unswerv-
ing, utter trusthworthiness.
Thank you," she said, simply. Il
am so glad they did not hurt you
much that day in the courtroom. We
worried-Mary and ]"
THANK you There was not the
least danger. They were merely vent
ing their spite on me. They would not
have dared more"
There's my brakeman said Louise,
when she and Gordon had found
seat near the rear. Mary had gone and
a brakeman had swung onto the last
car as it glided past the platform, and
came down the aisle with grin of
recognition for his little white lamb"
How nice it all seems, just as If
I had been gone months instead OF
days and was coming home again. 1t
would be funny if l should be home
sick for the range when get to
Wind City, wouldn't it?"
Let us pray assiduously that it
may be so,' answered Gordon, with
one of his rare smiles. He busted
himself moment in slowing away
her belongings to the best advantage.
1T gets in ones blood-how or when,
one never knows"
They rode in silence for a while.
Tell me about your big fight" said
Louise, presently The roadbed was
fairly good, and they were spinning
along on down grade. He must needs
bend closer to hear her.
She was good to look at, fair and
sweet, and it had been weary years
since women had come close to Cor
don's life. In the old college days, be-
fore this hard, disappointing, unequal
fight against the dominant forces of
greed, against tolerance of might over
coming right, had begun to sap his
vitality, he had gone too deeply into
his studies to have much time left
for the gayeties and gallantries of the
social side in university life. He had
not been popular with women. They
did not know him. Yet, though
dubbed dig" by his fellow colleg-
ians, the men liked him. They liked
him for his trustworthiness, admired
him for his rugged honesty, desired his
friendship for the inspiration of his
high ideals.
What shall talk about, Miss Dale?
1t is all very prosaic and interesting,
I'm afraid; shockingly primitive, glar'
ingly new"
81 breakfasted with a stanch frieId
of yours this morning" answered
Louise, somewhat irrelevantly. She
had feeling-a woman's feeling-that
this earnest, Woodworking, reserved
man would never blurt out things
about himself with the bland self
centredness of most men. She must
use all her woman's wit to draw him
out. She did not know yet that he
was starved for sympathy-for under
standing. She could not know yet
that two affinities had drifted through
space-near together. A feather
zephyr, blowing where it listed, might
widen the space between to an infinity
of distance so that they might never
know how nearly they had once met;
or it might, as its within dictated, blow
them together so that for veal or for
woe they would know each the other.
Ito Be Continued.)