, 1909-12-16

A Cleaning Figure Like an OIympian
Goddess.
the man., but man or not, the decision
in her mind was enc to which she
must come.
Unlike most oversducatsd women,
she was still expert with her needle,
and as her garments YER 70 be Of
the simplest she had not much dim
Guilty in making ovsr her silk skirt in
the way she fancied. Belted in at the
waist, 1t would do. She would use the
rope that bound the man for that pur-
pose, keeping 1t always about her. She
had. of course. but n pair Of stock
ings and one pair Of light canvas boat
ing shoes, which were almost cut to
pieces. She would have to 20 bare
foot.
Putting her blue serge dress and the
rest Of her clothing carefully away,
Including her shoes and stockings, she
stepped out on the sands, bare armed,
bare footed, . cleaning figure like to
an Olympian goddess. She was q
w~-- -aeurally dark in complexion,
Id while the sun would probably burn
her cruelty and burn her young flesh,
never exposed to Its intensity, darker,
was thankful for hat with unconscious
femininity. At any rate. she must get
used to going out in the sun without
a hat, too. People, natives who were
born and lived In this latitude, did
become accustomed to such things,
she knew. SC undoubtedly could she.
With these thoughts. she stepped
around the headland and walked
across the beach toward the palm tree
where she could see in the fading light
of the afternoon her prisoner was still
tied.
Modesty is a negative term. That
which is indecent exposure In q ball
room is the height of convention on a
sea shore. Certainly this man had no
concept Of such a quality. He had
not noticed before when she had come
out barefoot to swim to the barrier
reef, and yet somehow she fancied as
he stared at her approaching that this
time he marked the difference. And a
slow, fiery blush famed over her from
her bare feet to her bare head. ex-
tended along her bare arms. She
stopped under the persuasion of i'm
pulse to TURF and go back to the cave
long rs II might last. Put she was a
woman of strong will. She reasoned
that all the emotions to which she was
subject were in her own bosom; that
the man before her neither knew nor
cared as to the things which vexed
her. So she went on.
She had in her hand the sailors
knife. with the blade open. She could
lul exactly in what mood her
suNar might be. Indeed. she ap-
oaciied him with q certain terror,
counted for partly by the situation
nd partly by the fact that in max
'ng this change in her garments h
had, as it were. cut herself off from
utilization and brought herself In
degree at least nearer his physi-
al level. But she could not leave him
there all night. Summoning her cour-
age, therefore, and with a bold front
before him. she advanced to the tree
and united the rope from the trunk
and united it from his neck as well.
stood silent, unresisting through 1t
all, a rather pitiful figure she thought
at first, until he was freed from the
halter.
Then she waited in intense and
eager curiosity as to what he should
do next. The iron in his situation had
into his soul. He had been mas
tered by force. He could not under
stand it. He did not love the mastery.
Still, without the knowledge Of his
own powers, there occurred to him no
way to resent the ignominy to which
he had been subjected. He turned and
walked away from her. She stood
tmazed, staring after him. 1t was the
first time he had withdrawn himself
from her presence. Where was he
going? Was this a declaration of war?
Was there to be enmity between
them? In vague terror, move by a
impulse again, she called him.
Mani" she said.
He stopped. hesitated, looked back,
turned and went on again. He was
deeply hurt. She could not see him
1t was unthinkable thai ne should
He was dangerous away from her.
BY her side she could control him.
Mani" she called again.
But this time he did not heed. An
idea sprang to her brain, working
quickly under the pressure. She lifted
up her voice. for he was far from her
now and ploddiag steadily. doggedly
toward the trees.
john" she cried. John Revel
Charnock!"
And at that sound the man stopped.
He turned and looked at her again.
joint" she repeated. "John!"
She approached him. As she did so
and when she could get near enough
70 him. she observed that wrinkling
80 .h1 Ara,u shat Ippk nf atnozamAn