The Comrade. (Winnfield, La.) 1890-1914, 1910-10-14

20, God,' cried the man, recurring
again to that bitter thought, Il had
him in my hands and spared him.
But you spared him for my sake"
said the woman; think Of that"
For your sake" declared the man,
pointedly. II would and should have
killed him"
Thou shalt not kill" said the wom-
an softly.
IAN eye for an eye, and a tooth
for TOOTH" returned the man. He
and you between you slew my heart
His death would be no murder, but
retribution."
But it was in part my fault" re-
turned the woman, bravely making her
confession.
II will never believe it. 1t cannot
be-"
and yet it was, but you shall have
the whole wretched story to-day, and
you shall judge. This much l will
say, that though all that he said was
true, yet hold myself blameless and
innocent. The world judges me
harshly, and it may be that you will
find its judgment just. Yeti do not
hold myself as on trial at this moment,
but YOU"
Il do not understand
There are many things that you do
not understand, my friend"
II would that I had been left in ig-
norance."
May, that is not mans wish, but
a child's.'
"Of one thing I am certain"
And what is that"
THAT l should have killed him."
NAY" said the woman again, that
is not child's wish, but brute's."
You said YOURSELF" he flashed at
her, that there were some things a
woman could not forgive, and this
is one that man puts in the same
class"
The woman sighed. There occurred
to her at the moment no answer which
was adequate to the stark realism of
this fact. The conversation had reached
an impasse beyond which it could not
progress without the full and com.
plete explanation which now there was
neither time nor opportunity to give,
for the boat from the man-of-war was
approaching the shore. The woman
stepped resolutely down the strand to
meet it, and the man, after slight
hesitation, followed her.
So soon as the boats keel grated on
the bottom in the shallow water
middle-aged officer rose from the stern
sheets and stepped ashore followed
by a younger companion in the uni
form of sergeant of marines. A
little squad Of privates in the bows
landed and fell in line with martial
celebrity and precision. The officer in
charge, who wore the white tropic uni
form of lieutenant commander, now
faced the people on the island who
had instinctively divided into two
groups, one on either side of him.
To the right stood the man and be-
hind him the woman, to the left Lang
ford, back Of him his crew. It was
to the latter that the officer first ad-
dressed himself.
Sir he began, * am the execu-
tive officer of the United States
cruiser Cheyenne, detached on special
service. We raised this island this
morning, ran it down, circled It, saw
the yacht yonder-"
He paused.
1T is my yacht, sir, the Southern
Cross answered the other. "My
name Is Langford."
"Glad to meet you, Mr.. Langford.
Mine is Whitaker" #
The lieutenant commander touched
bis cap as he spoke. Langford lifted
his, and the two shook hands.
We saw" continued the lieutenant
commander, what appeared to be
some sort of fracas with the natives,
and fired gun to attract attentions,
and Capt. Ashby sent this boat party
ashore under my charge to do what
ever was necessary. Perhaps you can
explain how you came to be en-
broiled with the natives"
Sir" said the woman. And the
fact that she addressed him in his own
language, and with the cultured ac-
cents of the well-bred and the we'll
educated, caused the officer to start
violently the island is mine"
Mr.. Whitaker turned and looked
deliberately at her, his surprise only
equaled by his admiration. The tunic
that she wore was a rough garment,
and shapeless, but few vestments were
better calculated to set off her ex-
quisite proportions. The grace and
beauty OF her figure, the nobility and
intelligence Of her face took added
luster from the contrast of the utterly