Gilpin observer. (Central City, Colo.) 1897-1921, 1910-04-14
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Dfusl|a and The Unknown Quantity
By MARTHA Neutrality-suspicious.
tcopyrisht. 1903 by Associated Literary Press,

and turns away-and swears.actu-
| ally swears-and once-he asked
what I would give up for-love and
Italy"
Arpeth let her hands fall. his eyes
burning out OF white face. II did
not think he would dare" he began
through set teeth. then turned half
| way. With his face still averted he
| said:
"Drusilla, darling, am going away;
promise me you will do nothing, prom
Use nothing until come back. shall
| not be long"
Il think l can take care Of myself"
Drusilla said with the least toss of the
head. AS Arpeth went out of the gate
she ran to look after him with eyes
that saw all things through veil.
Notwithstanding, she did not break
with David. Rather he was more than
ever her shadow-a shadow that began
to be by turns imperious and implor-
| ing. Now she could not have told that
he said nothing He spoke love to her
morning, noon and night. She had be-
witched him-without her his whole
| career would be frustrated. He begged
| her to run away with him. In Italy, or
France, or amid the golden light of
| Algeria they could live forever, lovers
| in the sunshine. Money! What was
IL? He had scant competence, other
wise how could he live for art? She
must come with him. She must mar
ry him. He was Jealous of her world.
her friends. almost of the sunshine on
| H., H. 4
| her across the grass.
He might have swept her off her
| feet but for the shake in Arpeth's
voice. the entreaty of his low words
She shook her head eloquently to all
| David's pleadings-he must wait. His
| love was too new. She must be sure
it was something more than a passing
fancy. At that he ragged and flung
away, but always to come back more
F, eagerly than before. In truth he
was beside himself. Until this en-
counter he had kept to his pedestal.
| letting himself be loved by the lady
of the hour. Drusilla had shaken him
out of himself, almost out of his colos-
sal conceit, and made him for the
once mana man who wanted to
marry her.
| He must have her-he would-no
matter what stood between them. Ar
| peth? He spat upon the name. Money?
1t was the merest bagatelle. He could
earn it in Jumps II he would-he
would do it. grudge no labor to have
Drusilla go beautifully all the days OF
her life. His small capital would suf-
fee in the beginning. Afterward there
would be fame and gold galore. Ar
peth had left him the clear field which
spelled opportunity. He would be
mad to let it slip unused.
The unknown quantity can seldom
be safely left out of any reckoning.
David ought to have remembered that
fact before it burned itself upon his
| consciousness. At the end of the
week he teased Drusilla to go with
him to the top of Green hill, an
eminence overlooking Newton village
and the countryside beyond. To him
the countryside was-a landscape,
nothing more. How could he guess
that Drusilla loved it with the passion
of true landlover? Or that it was
scanned and threaded with memories
| vi <iIpctH-lhtlc was tHt DlOOh lHcy
had waded together. there the fields
they had raced through. the nut-trees
they had plundered, the sweet open
woodland they had walked within, SO
many happy days.
Drusilla looked at everything. draw
F., ing long quick breaths. Until then
she had not known how much she
loved it ALL Could she leave it for
Italy, for the hot sun and yellow
sands of Algiers? Could she give
up all the dear familiar homely things
so knit to her heart? With the ques-
tioning there came a rush of under
standing. Arpeth, part Of all these
things. was also knit to her heart.
| Unconsciously she turned half about
to search the highway. The stage had
come down 1t half an hour before.
Duly she wondered why her heart
leaped so at the recollection. She
dropped her eyes, but raised them in
stantly with little glad cry. She had
heard Arpeth's step. AS she looked,
he came around the shoulder of the
hill, his eyes strained and eager. his
face full of unrest. 1t cleared magic
ally at sight of her own-she ran to
him, holding out both hands, but
speaking no word. AS she drew the
hands away she turned to David say
ing with shake of the head and an
elfn smile:
II can never thank you quite
enough-you have shown me belong
to my own"
81 am your own" Arpeth said. smi-
ling
She smiled. too-a tender smile d.
vinely touched with compassion as she
answered: ITO be sure-so much my
own you are just part of the land
scape."