Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-09-27

WITH QUICK STROKE HE CUT A SINGLE
LEAF.
there were no lights on the schooner.
When still remained obdurate he
he"- She paused You may have
heard Of it He killed one of my men,"
'Impossibler' CALCULATED Boyd.
"Oh. but it isn't impossible. Any
thing is possible with INSCRIPTIONS
men where there is>no law. They halt
at nothing when in chase of money.
They are different from women in that.
never heard of a woman doing MUIR
der for money"
"Was 1t really MURDER"
Judge for yourself. My man came
down for supplies. and they got him
drunk-he was a drinking man-tben
they stabbed him. They said China
man did 1t in a brawl, but Willis
Marsh was to blame. They brought
the poor fellow here and laid him on
my steps. as If / had been the cause
Of it. Oh, 1t was horrible. horrible!"
"And you still stuck to your post?
said Emerson curiously.
Certainly! This adventure means a
Tgreat deal to me, and, besides, / will
not be beaten"-the stem of the glass
with which she had been toying snap
sped suddenly-''at anything"
The unsupported luxury Of the din
hing room and the excellence of the din
ner itself had In a measure prepared
Emerson for what he found in the liv-
ing room. One thing staggered him-a
Ipiano. The bearsllins on the floor, the
big sleepy chairs, the reading table lit
tered with magazines, the shelves of
books. even the basket of fancy work
all these be could accept without fur
ther parleying. but a piano-in Kalvik!
Again Boyd withdrew into that ST.
lent mood from which no effort on the
part of his hostess could arouse him,
and 1t soon became apparent from the
listless hang of his hands and the dis
tant light in his eyes that he had even
become unconscious Of her presence in
the room.
After an hour. during which Elmer
son barely spoke. she tired Of Fraser's
anecdotes. which had long ceased to
be amusing. and. going to plano, shut
fed the sheet music idly, inquiring:
/ do you care for muster" Her re-
mark was aimed at Emerson, but the
othe. answered: MY favorite hymn
is the Maple Leaf Rag Let her go.
professor"
Cherry settled herself obligingly and
played ragtime. She was in the midst
OF some syncopated measure when
Boyd spoke abruptly, please pay
something"
She understood what he meant and
began really to play, realizing very
soon that at least one of her guests
knew and loved music. Under her
deft fingers the instrument became a
medium for musical speech. Gay
roundelays, swift, passionate Hunga-
rian dances, bold Wagnerian strains
followed in, quick succession, and the
more her utter abandon the more GER
tainly she felt the younger man re-
spond. Then her dream filed eyes
widened as she listened to his voice
breathing life into the words. He sang
with the ease and iexibility of an
artist, his powerful baritone blending
perfectly with her contralto.
/ For the FIRST time she felt the mans
personality, his magnetism, as If he
had dropped his cloak and stood at her
side in his true semblance.
! 'Oh. thank YOU" she breathed.
/ '"Thank you," he said. 'T-I-that's
the first time in ages that I've had the
heart to sing. I was hungry for mu-
sic; was starving for it. I've sat in
my cabin at night longing for 1t until
my soul fairly ached with the silence"
He took a seat near the girl and con-
dnued to talk feverishiy, unable TO
give voice to his thoughts rapidly
enough.
Ennsar amhled cfumsilx into the con-