Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-12

Phillip, that was written around your
picture. an old picture of YOU it must
have been. which fell out of your pocket
when I was undressing YOU that night
after your fight with Roscoe. l recog-
nized the locket it was incIosed in as
Mr. Hunters I had often seen it on his
watch fob, and it's engraved with his in
itials.'
1T fell out of my pocket said Philip,
incredulously.
Yes she said, that puzzled me, too.
for while, and finally l figured it out
You must have found tt
That night in Roscoe's cave. when
was waiting for him. l had forgotten it
until this moment"
II knew it must be like that" she said.
something like that. And wasn't it
s" she began
Hunters code as we'll as mine? Yes.
We made it up together when we were
boys he said. land we used it occasion
ally even after we left the Point. We
wrote in it. both of us, as easily as in
English, and read it the same way"
Her young arms still held him fast.
Philip. he must have been sorry
an Old old picture of you. dear. and the
ink of the letters is faded. He's carried
it with him ever since, as a reminder OF
the wrong he did you, and of his cow
ardice in letting you suffer under it
II suppose it was that from the first. =
She let the sentence break off there, and
there was long. long silence.
II suppose that's true he said at last
Il suppose ! might have saved him then.
from Roscoes dart. l can think of a
hundred ways that it might have hap
pened-the accusation against me. mean
without his having any part in it, Then
he said rather abruptly. "Fanshaw told
you the story, didn't he?'
She asSented. "MoSt of ii. that is.
Perhaps rot quite all he knew.
Il don't know it all myself he told
her. that is, / have filled it in with
guesses. l knew about the girl Hunter
was half mad about her. and she. sup
pose. was in love with him. Anyway,
he came to me one night-the last time
ever talked with him-raging with ex-
element The girls father had found
out about him and meant, she said. to
kill him, and perhaps her. too. Anyhow.
again. We took drink or two together
before l started. and ] suppose he must
have drunk himself half mad after that.
for he started out right on my trail and
did what you know. | have always sup
posed until just now that he had used
my name as his own with her. to screen
himself from possible trouble. But that
may not have been the case. He may
simply have spoken of me as his friend.
THE girl was in love with him, and it
would be natural for her to give her
father my name instead of Hunters and
make the accusation against me. | sup
pose he thought that 1 could, probably.
clear myself easily enough. without in
volving him. and that the whole row
might blow over without doing any ire
parable damage to either of us. And then.
when it didn't blow over-when it got
worse and meant ruin for somebody-the
fact that he hadn't spoken at first would
have made it ten times harder to speak
|
sent word to me once, when l was under
arrest. to ask if ] would see him. and L
refused. I was VERY HIS speech was
punctuated now by longer and longer
rauses but still Jeanne waited. ''Nety
sure of the correctness of my own atu-
tude then. Correct is, perhaps. the exact
word for it. ] wouldn't turn hand to
save mana man who had been my
friend. too-from living out the rest of
his life in hell He shuddered little
at that and she quickly laid her hand
upon his lips.
THAT was long ago. she said. You
can see now what god. perhaps. would
have seen and done then. And. if you
did wrong. then it's you who have suf-
fered for it-you who have paid the. pen
atty. You have paid for the thing you
left undone as well as for the thing he
did. But we must not talk about 1t any
more. now. You're not strong enough. l
ought not to have spoken of it at all, but,
somehow, | couldn't wait any longer
Just this much more, Jeanne. and then
We will let it go: You see now, don't
you. dear. why l said l never could go
back to the world. never clear myself of
the old charge at Hunters expense-Perry
Hunters eXpense-noW that he is dead;
and don't you see that that's as inpos-
sible now as it was when l first said it,
1t was with half laugh and half sob
that she kissed him.
"Oh my DEAR she said. what does
the world matter. This is the world here.
You and l. The space of this great bear
skin we are lying on. The past can't
come between us, md what else is there
that matters? Come. it's time for you
to take another nap. Are you warm
enough out here, or shall we go back to
the hut?"
I'm warm. soul and body. thanks to
YOU he said.
But It was Jeanne who went to Sleep
since that last explanation, a
wonderful great, soft calm seemed to en-
velop her. She slept there like a child
beside him, his hand still half clasped In
hers.
(To be continued tomorrow