Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-07-10
rr,apTER vIII.-(Continued.)

,sb of self-hate, he smiled at the Wom-
Il Until a moment ago the
--rookng work of the morning had put
.l,,,-b+s Of Soronia from his mind. He
Lad come to the shop partly to marshal
-. fnaI resources in an out-of-the-way
ord arrange the last line of action,
PA ,artIv to avoid the possibility of ar
49, for the moment in case the Panther
t1I broroht an emissary of the law. His
DSd was q matter of hours at best; his
or,1ising and his friendship with Consta-
LIo wore over. Saint Pierre, of the lesser
."I,nds was the last station of his trav-
D1;nr During three days he had passed
n,, hours in the shop. What those
ps-,rs had accomplished was dramatically
.seaoIa5 now in the anguish of the maid
a. she waited for the answer to her
question.
81 have been thinking great deal since
,-,r+ordav. I found that l couldn't do
D,bat 7 tried-at least, without seeing
~, ooain. Sonoria" Breen spoke vague
" He had sufficient honesty not to be
Jofr with the forces he was now employ
inc The future, l cannot tell yet. l
may have to leave Saint Pierre for
awhile but I shall leave my heart here,
nd Il live-I will come back! To-day
must see my friend and tell him that
cannot cruise farther south with him"
She would have fallen had he not held
nor but her eyes were shining. The old
man ran for restoratives. Breen would
have nut the girl into a chair, but she
clung to him.
- have waited for you so long, my
maker of pictures" she whispered.
Pere Rabeaut stood beside them with
medicines. The veneer Of shop serVltude
was zone from the gray old face. The
sharn black eyes were directed steadily
unon the stranger, who saw that they
were ready to soften or burst into flame.
Rrppn saw. too, that he was less IN the
nrpspnce of the father of q creole girl
of Martinique than the father Of an old
world household.
81 am waiting for you to speak, mon
sieur." said Pere Rabeaut.
"You have not waited long, SIR" Breen
answered. 1T was just an instant ago
that had the honor Of hearing from
YOUR daughters lips-that she would wait
for me until l could come back perma-
nenty to Saint Pierre"
Il know you will forgive an old SOL
der of France. SO many people do not
understand-dOn't try to understand
that | deemed it privilege to marry the
mother of the maid in your arms-not
because a governor general of Martinique
was her father-but because she was wor-
thy the worship of an old soldier of
y Sc, i1yo
monsieur
1T is an honor do not deserve, sir
the daughter of country woman OF DO
sephne and a soldier of France" said
Breen, grateful that one of his utter
ances contained or covered no lie.
The bow from the veteran was gra-
cious thing. He held a glass to the lips
of his daughter.
Il do not need it now, father" Soronia
said softly.
There was a knock at the door. The
maid fastened to her room, and Pere
Rabeaut. once more the master of the
shop, greeted a gasping patron. Breen
was left to his thoughts. That
which he had done was Interchangeable.
Nicholas Stembridge, rejoice this is
your wedding day. he muttered. What
time you've had down the years! You
have lived long and freely, taking what
you saw and daring consequences and
prattling like a defective to keep up your
spirits Nick, do you recall the prime
sentence of your philosophy-'There is
nothing which Doctor Death cannot
cure? Isn't it a wonderful saying? So
wonderful that it has exceptions! No,
Death will not put Peter and his lady out
to sea. The police are after
you; your lips are hot with lies; you sit
in the gloom. Nick Stembridge, you are
and a liar. Where is your laugh of yes
terday?'
And yet he smiled at the perfection
OF the -humbling trap the Fates had
laid for him this day; smiled at the words
he had uttered to Soronia and her father,
who had bristled into a soldier of France.
And yet there had been no other way.
After what he had done to Constable, it
was not in him to deprive Soronia of
what she seemed to need-not under her
plttul eyes! His own part did not enter.
He conjured no golden haze as the mate
OF this creature of ardor, fragrance, and
genteness. Nor, on the other extreme,
did he reflect that to spend ones days
IN a torrid shop with woman of black
blood was fitting end for a brutalized
life.
lie put the woman out of his mind,
and turned to the sorry business of the
wounded friend. He must find Consta-
Ole and say the last words; then take the
blame from his friend in the presence of
The women. If he were taken into Gus
tody on the way-there was no help for
mat. All remnants of justice and white
4anShlp demanded that he set out at once.
lie hurried to the court.
Soronia," he called, "I'll have to GO
Now Mr.. Constable expects to leave
WIN his ship to-day, and I must talk
with him before he goes"
She appeared in the dress in which he
Nau 1rSt seen her.. There were tender
semonstrances which he scarcely heard
ol' ne answered gently. His mind was
with the man.
And you will be back this afternoonT
IN the hollow of the universe there