St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1910-08-20

downward to his lost pistol But
why not let me S. what busi-
ness OF yours?'
None | confessed. sBut come,
Frank Liston! Let us talk this ont!"
You're woman. he objected.
you i. = He eyed me doubt
fully. You're not old"
Amy woman worth the name is old
enough for that"
But women-ladies"h ne corrected.
dent can't !"
Listen. boy" turned on him.
"This is bad enough. big enough, for
you to die OF. you strong. young
thing, with mother at home maybe,
and sweetheart" How he WINGED at
that! And you stop to think whether
we, you and I, two human beings. can
talk it out! And three days ago You
didn't stop at doing it,"
He shook his head You don't I'M
| derstand. No woman can! | don't
see why it is, myself. but SO it is."
After minutes brooding ~. :.
Suppose the people at home don't
| find out! Can go back, and al
| ways think some day they surely will?
| You don't know what she's like. She
believesi" The inarticulate young
| creature paused, struggled with some
inner pocket, and held me out a pie
ture. A girl with starry. trustful look!
| Again my eyes filed.
| what is it," he again asked.
| "Only thinking how she would have
| looked tonight, when the cable came.
You would have been well out Of it,"
| could not spare him now.
He pondered. ''But If she really
Knew
| women" broke IN, know far
more than you ever dream. Look at
me. You say / am not old! You say
I don't understand. Why, lad, it's
simple, simple as the tides, and
| death, and life! Why? Who can say?
But SO It is.
when we came down here" at last
he softened, II never meant :.
/ Everyone knows that" treasured
him. ITS only this. You had been
kept thirsty in a desert. Thirst Is
natural. Deserts are torments. Then
/ you came where there were only gut
/ ters. Saints and heroes resist! But
you are neither And must you die,
4 because you fall short Of the best?
i It's hot here, and strange. and dis
/ turbing. That woman, yesterday. felt
defiled at being under the same roof
/ with you. Today. 1t seemed. poor lad,
that you were copy for harry Of Q
| newsmonger. You forgot that what
ever lay against you, you'd never been
coward. You had risked all this,
4 rather than leave dying girl. You've
stood like a man. ready to pay: why
default now?"
| He raised his head little, not meet
ing my eye. II couldn't leave her!r
1.-THE others did," / laid my hand
on his shoulder.
| Suddenly he broke out with his pent-
up horror IF you only knew how lit
tie / liked til Time and time again
they say, Come ashore with us! And
you don't 60. There's your girl at
home! And you write letters. You
read stale books, you smoke pipe after
pipe and but then
there comes q time, you never know
Ewhy
I aAh, lad! Who does? But Il
you're lawed, pick up the pieces and
] go on. I'm often in New Hampshire;
| some day TIL see that girl OF yours.
| Shall she be wearing black, and liv-
Ing under silent dread, half knowing,
half fearing to know?"
] "But the trial. the court?" He OBJ
I jected.-
Write her today, don't leave II. to
chance!" pleaded. TELL her you've
been in scrape, bad one. That
you tumbled in, lad, because you were
a man, and for the same reason you
did not crawl out! That girl Of yours
will ask no questions!"
would you do that?" At last his
eyes met mine.
Good morning, you early birds!"
Mrs. Browne, in what Fairhaven would
surely deem unseemly deshabille,
came .clumping towards us. Does
your aunt take fresh butter, miss, or
| guava? Better send both? Her coffee
is ready. and yours. too, Frank
aThank you, / want it, }" said Frank
Liston slowly, ITO brace me for let
| ter home. One they will get by New
Years"
4 .My Bob's civil engineering in Ecua.
dor!" Mrs. Browne watched Franks
retreating figure, as he vanished
among the croton and poinsetta
bushes. "And, deary, deary me-" she
went on, after a moments wistful 81
lence, "if It amt queer world. I've
just got this cable. Another boat and
200 boys coming down for New Year!
Back pay in their pockets. and three
days shore leave!