Charlevoix county herald., 1910-10-01
CHAPTER (.
Miss West's Request.


The surprising change in her held
me speechless. All the animation of
the breakfast table was gone; there
was no hint OF the response with
which, before. she had met my non
aensical sallies. She stood there,
white-lipped. unsmiling, staring down
the dusty road. One hand was clench-
ed tight over some small object Her
eyes dropped to it from the distant
road, and then closed, with quick,
tndrawn breath.
Her color came back slowly What
ever had caused the change, she said
nothing. She was anxious to leave at
once. almost impatient over my de-
liberate masculine way OF getting my
things together. Afterward l recalled
that | had wanted to explore the barn
for horse and some sort of We
hicle to take us to the trolley and
that she had refused to allow me to
look. l remembered many things
later that might have helped me, and
did not. At the time, / was only com
pletely bewildered. Save the wreck,
the responsibility for which lay be-
tween Providence and the engineer of
the second section, all the events of
that strange morning were logically
connected; they came from one cause,
and tended unerringly to one end.
But the cause was buried, the end
not yet in view.
Not until we had left the house
well behind did the girls face relax
its Nnse lines. I was watching her
more closely than l had realized, for
when we had gone a little way along
the road she turned to me almost pet
ulantly. please don't stare so at
me" she said. 10 my sudden confusion
81 know the hat is dreadful Green al
ways makes me look CHASTITY"
Perhaps it was the green" l was
unaccountably relieved. do you
know. few minutes ago, you looked
almost pallid to mel"
She glanced at me quickly, but
was gazing ahead. We were out of
sight OF the house, now, and with
every step away from it the girl was
obviously relieved. Whatever she held
a
But she was conscious of it every sec
Ond. She seemed to come to de-
cision about it while we were still in
sight of the gate, for she murmured
something and turned back alone, 60
ing swiftly, her feet stirring up small
puffs of dust at every step. She fas-
tened something to the gate post
I could tho DprynIc haste with
which she worked. When she Joined
me again 1t was without explanation.
But the clenched fingers were free
noT. and while she looked tired and
worn. the strain had visibly relaxed.
We walked along slowly in the gen.
.eral direction Of the suburban trolley
line. Once man with an empty
wagon offered us a lift, but after a
glance at the springless vehicle de-
clfned.
THE ends Of the bone think they
are castanets as 1t is," l explained.
II the lady
The young lady. however, declined
and we went on together. Once. when
the trolley line was in sight, she got
a pebble in her low shoe, and we sat
down under a tree until she found the
cause of the trouble.
Il don't know what I should have
done without you," blundered.
Moral support and-and all that Do
you know. my first conscious thought
after the wreck was OF relief that
You had not been hurt?"
She was sitting beside me where
big chestnut tree shaded the road, and
/ surprised look Of misery on her
face that certainly my words had not
been meaat to produce.
Ind my first thought" she said
slowly. "was regret that THAT /
hadn't been obliterated, blown out like
"A candle. Please don't look like that.
j am-oniy talking"
But her lips were trembling, and be-
cause the little shams OF society are
forgotten at times like this, leaned
over and patted her hand lightly,
where it rested on the grass beside
me.
You must not say those things" |
-expostuiated. Perhaps, after all, your
friends"
81 had no friends on the train
Her voice was hard again. her tone
final She drew her hand from under
mine. not quickly, but decisively. a
car was ia sight, coming toward US.