St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-09-14
Harrington
Copyright 1908. by the Mcclure Company
q Copyright. 1907. 1908, by the RideUay Company

| then
Then she turned and ran away from
your
"Yes," he said, swallowing painfully.
THAT pleased you" / stormed. ito
| brighten woman in the woods
/ set about packing my traps, grum-
bling various sarcasms. the last NUT
! terings of a departed storm, for al
| ready l realized that / had taken out
my own modification upon him, and
was stricken with remorse.
'T wouldn't have frightened her for
the world" he finally said. and his
voice and his body shook with a
strange violence. IT wouldn't have
| frightened her to please the angels in
| heavenn
| 1 stared at him helplessly, nor could
1 find words to answer or control the
| passion that my imbecile scolding had
evoked.
"You think / told liew he cried.
"You think / lied when said could
not help speaking to her!'
mo, no." I said earnestly. 81 didn't
mean
"WordsP' He swept the feeble protest
away, drowned in a whirling vehe-
mence. "And what does it matter?
| You can't understand. When you want
to know what to do you look back into
| your life and it tells you, and / look
back-ah!' He cried out, uttering
half choked, incoherent syllable. II
look back and it's all-blindi All these
things you can do and can't do-all
these infinite little things! You know,
| and Keredec knows, and Glouglou
knows. and every mortal soul on earth
knows but I don't know! Your life
has taught you. and you know, bit /
| don't know. / haven't had my life.
| It's gone! All / have Is words that
Keredec has said to me. would burn
my hand from my arm and my arm
from my body rather than trouble her
1 or frighten her, but l couldn't help
| speaking to her any more than can
help wanting to see her again"
He paused, wiping from his brow a
heavy dew, not Of the heat, but like
that on the forehead of a man in cru
cial pain. 1 made nervous haste to
seize the opportunity and said gently,
almost timidly:
''But If it should distress the lady?'
40S@LuOH i COulQ Keep away o0L
| I must know that"
81 think you might know it by her
running away-and by her look"
said mildly. Didn't your
''Nov' And his eyes flashed an added
emphasis.
'eWell. WELL" said. 'Iet's be on our
way"
81 don't believe she was distressed"
he went on. There was something,
but it wasn't trouble. We looked
straight at each other / saw her eyes
plainly, and it was"-he paused and
sighed. a sudden, brilliant smile upon
his lips-''it was very-it was very
stranger
There was something so glad and
different in his look that, like any 9th
er dried up old blunderer In my place,
felt an instant tendency to laugh. 1t
was that heathenish possession, the
old insanity Of the risibles, which
makes a man think it humorous thing
that his friend should be discovered in
love.
"But If you were wrong" said. '9f
1t did trouble her, and If it happened
that she has already had too much
that was distressing in her life
"You know something about herv' he
exclaimed. "You know
ST do not" interrupted in turn. Il
have only a vague guess. may be
altogether mistaken"
what is 1t that you guessT' he de-
manded abruptly. 'fWho made her
suffer?'
ST think it was her husband" said,
with a lack of discretion for which !
was instantly sorry, fearing with rea-
son that ! had added a final blunder
to the long list Of the afternoon-''t
Isl added. "if my guess is right"
"Is he alive?" he cried sharply.
"I don't known returned emphatic
ally. Probably am entirely mistaken
in thinking that / know anything Of
her whatever. I'd rather not say any
more until do know"
every WELL" he said quickly. "Win
| you tell me then?'
''Yes-if you will let 1t go at that"
THANK you" he said and. with an
! impulse which was but too plainly one
| Of gratitude. offered me his hand.
took it. and my soul was disquieted
within me. for it was no purpose Of
mine TO set inquiries on foot In re-
gard to the affairs Of Nine. d'Armand.
It was early dusk. From the court
| yard Of the inn came the sounds Of
| laughter and chattering voices. Be
fore the entrance stood a couple of
open touring cars. the chauffeurs en-
gagged in cooling the rear tires with
buckets OF water brought by person
age ordinarily known as GlougIou.
whose look and manner as he perform
| ed this Office for the leathern digni-
| taries so awed me that | wondered
had ever dared address him with any
| presumption OF intimacy
| AS we turned to enter the archway
we almost ran into tail man who