Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-09-15

there were no lights on the schooner.
When l still remained obdurate he
he She paused You may have
heard Of it. He killed one of my men"
/ impossible" calculated Boyd.
"Oh, but 1t isn't impossible. Any
thing is possible with INSCRIPTIONS
lnen where there is no law. They halt
at nothing when in chase of money.
They are different from women In TINT.
der for money"
WAS 1t really nlurderY"
Judge for yourself. My man came
down for supplies. and they got him
drunk-he was drinking man-then
they stabbed him. They said China
man did 1t in brawl. but Willis
Marsh was to blame. They brought
the poor fellow here and laid him on
my steps, as if had been the cause
of It, Oh. it was horrible. HORRIBLE"
"And you still stuck to your post?"
said Emerson curiously
certainly. This adventure means a
grMt deal to me. and. besides. will
not be beaten"-the stem Of the glass
with which she had been toying snap.
ped suddenly-"at anything"
The unsuspcctcd luxury Of the din
Ing room and the excellence Of the dlu-
ner itself had in measure prepared
Emerson for what he found in the liz
Ing room. One thing staggered him-a
piano. The bearskins ON the floor, the
big sleepy chairs. the reading table 1T.
tered with magazines. the shelves Of
books. even the basket Of fancy work
all these he could accept without fur.
Their parleying. but piano-in Kalvik.
Again Boyd withdrew into that 81.
lent mood from which no effort on the
part Of his hostess could arouse him.
and 1t soon became apparent from the
listless hang Of his hands and the dis
tant light in his eyes that he had even
become unconscious OF her presence In
the room.
After an hour. during which Emer-
son barely spoke. she tired of Fraser's
anecdotes. which had long ceased to
be amusing. and. going to plano. shut
fed the sheet music idly. inquiring:
do you care for music?" Her re-
mark was aimed at Emerson. but the
other answered: "My favorite hymn
is the Maple Leaf Rag Let her 60.
professor"
Cherry settled herself obligingly and
played ragtime. She was in the midst
Of some syncopated measure when
Boyd spoke abruptly, "Please play
something"
She understood what he meant and
began really to play. realizing very
soon that at least one of her guests
knew and loved music. Under her
deft fingers the instrument became a
medium for musical speech. Gay
roundelays. swift, passionate Hunga-
rian dances, bold Wagnerlan strains
followed in quick succession and the
more her utter abandon the more GER
tainly she felt the younger man re-
spond. Then her dream filled eyes
widened rs she listened to hts voice
breathing life into the words. He sang
with the ease and hexlbility Of an
artist. his powerful baritone blending
perfectly with her contralto.
For the !irst time she felt the mans
-""""t" hia magnetism. as If ha
had dropped his cloak and stood at her
side In his true seAblance.
"Oh. thank You" she breathed.
"Thank yo,l," he said. "I-kthat's
the first time In ages that I've had the
heart to sing, ] was hungry for mu-
sic, was starving for 1t, I've sat In
my cabin at night longing for It until
my soul fairly ached with the silence"
Ito took u seat near the girl and con-
tinued to talk feverishly, unable to
giva voice to his thoughts rapidly
enough
Fraser ambied cluinsily into the con-
versation. Emerson listened tolerant
ly, idly running through the maya
zines at his hand, his hostess watch
ing him covertly. Suddenly the smile