Evening star., 1909-06-27
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| THE FIGHTER i
HI By ALBERT PAYSON TERHUNE. is
Il Copyright, 1909, by Albert Payson Terhune. I$
By ALBERT PAYSON TER
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set they padded through the keel-wide
shallow channel from Raquette into Eldon
lake and found themselves In unrip
pied basin of black water set in circle
of forest and clearing The silence
hung heavy as velvet. 1t was the hush
'of a newborn, unknown world. The
mystic wonder of it all beneath the set
ting sun, caught Desiree by the throat
and held her trembling : speechless
Caleb. splashing time with his oar. be-
gan to sing.
"Oh. don't" she breathed. as though
protesting against sacrilege
Gee! was 1 off the blamed key agan?"
he asked.
No. no. she answered. the wonder
light dying from her face the spell
dissolved. ITS all right" she went on.
seeing his chagrin. Its all right. I'm
sorry I was cross. You were so busy
with the boat you didn't get chance
to notice what a magic lake this is we've
come into; or you couldn't have broken
fried running through the hemlocks on
his way to Mines cave? And that band
| of dead gray tamaracks down there with
the single flaming maple in the fore
ground. Isn't it like an army of tree
ghosts with the red standard in its van?"
So she prattled on. seeking to keep
| him from seeing how he had Jared upon
| her mood. But lie knew. none the less
And he realized that there were times.
even on vacation, when one must be
/ silent. But what those times might be
| he could not guess. Nor did he dare
| ask
| When next day they climbed the Crags
| and looked down on the cleaning lake
| with the scattered green of it's islands.
| she looked at him in eager expectation
of his delight. He surveyed the lake in
stony silence. Then let his gaze run ex-
| pressionless over the lines of mountain
ramparts far to southwark that rose in
ever higher swells until the farthest was
| half lost in haze. No word did he speak.
! He felt he was rising to the occasion.
II one must not speak on Eldon lake
| at sunset it followed that one should
be equally reticient on the CragS by the
brighter light of morning
| Say something" she commanded
keenly disappointed at his apathy.
| Moo York must be somewheres in
line with that biggest mountain over
there to the SOUTH" he hazarded; glad
to learn that the present was, for some
reason. not one of those mysterious
speechless occasions.
| In the evenings as rule, they went
| to the "ooen camp There in the big
! three sided log shed with it's evergreen
| lined walls and its deep, blanket-covered
| floor of soft balsam boughs dozen or
more people were wont to congregate
| by night. In front of the shed blaZed
| a Homerc camp fire that tempered the
| mountain chiiliness and made the whole
| place light as day. The young people
I-Desiree and Jack among them--usually
storytelling. Caleb felt less at his ease
here than anywhere else. For the young
folk talked a language of youth. that
he did not understand. The stories he
| found somewhat mild, and the point Of
, several of them he failed to catch
A sense of strangeness prevented him
from joining in the songs. He had had
no youth, save that which Desree had
impaired to him. And he knew himself
out of place among the carefree Jolly
crowd. 1t made him feel ponderous. aged.
taciturn. The easy laughter of youth
only perplexed him. His sole Joy during
these open camp evenings was to lie in
a shadowed corner of the '.lean-to'i and
watch the freight play on Desiree' 3
bright face; 10 hear her infectious laugh;
to see how popular she was among the
youngsters of her own age. So long as
she did not seek to ease his boredom by
dragging him into the talk he was well
content to lie thus and drink the delight
of her fresh lovelness. When she made
him talk. he straightway became POM
pousy shy, and managed to convey his
sense Of aclte discomfort to every one
aboue' him.
Altogether. the Adirondacks. for per-
haps the first time since that wonder