Middletown transcript., 1909-04-17
turned toward the house

ond time:
.. We are on our way to-
Japan for the winter. I heard
you were here, and made him
stop of. I treated you abomin-#
ably, butt have paid. He is all
that heshould be,and I have tried
SO hard to live the mistake down
that he has never guessed, but
it is quite impossible. I have
reached the end and must see
you somehow, somewhere, if you
will come. am at the hotel.
Charters sank into the arm.
chair and gazed stonily into the
glow of the huge box stove, his
thin, strong fingers mechanically
tearing the sheet of paper into
narrower and narrower ribbons;
then he opened the door and
thrust them back among the
Goals.
The rest of the day he busted
himself with the stock, and by
10 o'clock that night the storm
had cleared. The wind dropped,
and pale moon struggled inter
mittently through the dispensing
cloud rack, shedding sickly
brilla nee ever the interminable
snow plains.
Charteris stood at the open
door, needless of the coal. For
the hundredth time he told him.
self that he had followed the only
path of a strong man; but then
he knew he was not a strong man.
What further proof was needed?
That morning he had thrust the
disjointed appeal of a disillusion-
ed girl from his mind with splend-
id finality, and now-he was
voluntarily recalling every sent
ence, every word; dwelling on
them, weighing them.
A coyote howled somewhere |
out in the white night, and others
answered. To Charteris's over.
wrought brain there was some.
thing prophetic in the desolation |
about him. He slammed to the |
door and half an hour later was |
Looping his toughest COW pony |
over the trail for town.
The faint Whinny of a horse
foated over the snow, followed |
by another, and yet another be-
fore Charteris found his own
beast answering, and brushed
the rime from bis eyelashes to
look about him. Nothing was
visible but the same endless ex-
panse of moonbatbed snow, and
far off to the right of the trail a
solitary stunted tree that he knew
to be the lone pine well known
landmark for milk for miles
around.
He sat for some timestraining
his eyes out over the snow, then
suddenly turned his horses head
and loped toward it.
? In a wide circle around the tree
a hard path had been tramped in
the snow. Inside it was a horse
tethered by the bride lines to
one of the lower branches, the
remains of a pitiful attempt at a
fire, and a heap of snow covered
fun. Charteris knew what lay
beneath this last.
The man was alive but uncon.
scious, the cold had penetrated
to the brain. Charters shook
him violently; buffeted him with
his clinched fists, hurled him
from side to side in the snow till
the perspiration streamed from
his forehead. Then he took a
box Of matches from his pocket,
struck one and applied it to the
arm just below the elbow. Al
faint moan passed the mans
lips; the eyelids futtered and .
closed. and Charters fell on him
afresh, rubbing until his arms
were numb from shoulder to
wrist.
Wake up, man, he yelled, ,y'you
hear wake up
A dazed comprehension came
INTO Inc mans eyes, and q tW1nge
Of pain distorted his face.
Ah, it's you, Charters. Stop,
man stop ! J ou're hurting fright
fully.
Charters sank back exhausted.
Wonderful thing, a blizzard,
the other rambled on. Makes a
man feel small Deceptive, too
"A cackle of muf1ed laughter
came from behind the high fur
collar. / thought this Internal
rec was house think of it!
Then l walked round.it. Mercy!
low many times did I walk round b
t. ],
Suddenly he sat up and looked al
lround him. Charters was sit. q
ing in the snow, still gasping. v