The Comrade. (Winnfield, La.) 1890-1914, 1910-09-16
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But a step divided them. That step
she took. With a sob of relief she
fell upon his breast, naturally, newt
ably. His splendid arms swept her
close to him. Her own hands met about
his neck. With upturned face she
looked upon him in all the abandon
ment OF perfect passionate surrender.
lie bent his head and kissed her, the
hrst time in all his years that his lips
mad been pressed upon another mouth.
lie chung to her there in that kiss as
II to make up in one moment for all
the neglected possibilities of the past,
as II never in all the bringings forth
OF the future should such another op-
portunity be afforded him. He felt
Tor the first time in his life the beat
OF another human heart against his
own, the rise and fall Of another hui
man breast, the throbbing offanother
human soul. Tighter and tighter
his arms strained her to him. She
gave herself up in that mad delirious,
awful moment to the full flow of long
checked passion, and kiss for kiss,
pressure for pressure, and heart beat
for heart beat, she made repsone.
It. was too. much. It was the man
who broke away. There was nothing,
no experience, no remembrance to
teach him. It was all surprise. He
thrust her from him slowly. Her hands
fingered about his neck, but his back
ward pressure would not be denied
He held her at arms length, her hands
outstretched to him, her bosom pant
ing, her eyes shining, her cheeks
atlame in the gray dawn. Yie]iing,
giving up to him absolutely, yet some
thing, the magnificent metal Of the
man, the restraints through which he
had gone, the long battles with his
own passion, rose to his soul and gave
him mastery once more.
Woman! woman!" he whispered
no mere local name would represent
her now. She was humanity to him
Woman" he whispered, my God!
my God!'
He turned away, sank down on one
of the great boulders that he had
thrown aside and buried his face in
his hands, his body shaking with emo
lions he could scarce define but we'll
understood. The woman threw herself
down on her knees before him and
took him once more in her arms.
Man" she said, Il love yout''
She drew his hands away from his
face; she laid her own face in his
bleeding palm and kissed It.
man. she said, her lips wet with
his own blood in sort of wild, bar
barrie sacrament, MANI love your
He stared at her as one distraught.
He, had dreamed Of this, he had mag
ined it, he had prayed for It, he had
hoped for it, but no revelation that
had come to him in the years of their
association equaled in its binding
brillfancy, in its intense illumination,
the revelation in that woman's voice,
in that womans eyes, in that woman's
touch.
"Man," she said again, Il love you,
Do you understand! Do you know
what it means"
d Then he found his voice. He took
her hand and pressed it against his:
heart.
4 know" no whispered. Il under.
stand here"
He rose to his feet, stopped, caught
her BY the. shoulders and lifted her to
his level. A piece Of rock i'll bal.
anced on the edge Of the cliff fell
crashing. The place was dangerous.
Without word he slipped his arm.
beneath her. lifted her up as ne might
have done child and carried her. out,
upon the sand away from the heetlins