The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-01-19
THE FARMER: JANUARY 19, 1911

THE F. such as the feathers on ducks back, and, similarly, the waters of failure rolled off it without his knowledge of their contact.
 One effect of Mary's rejection of him was to fire the mans passion as nothing else could have done. He coveted her now as he had never con ceived it possible for him to cover any woman. She was something more to him than a desirable woman. His love was a feeble thing, but his pas- sion had lept to devOuring fire. And in it's intensity he lost sight of husband altogether. Now he wanted her for himself, and cast about in his mind for any means that would help him to achieve his purpose.
 It was in the course of this search ing that he was brought to the brink of the chasm which lies at the feet of every adventurer. He looked at it and laughed. He looked at it again and became serious. And the third time his eyes sought the depths he turned pale.
 All his plans, and the plans of those other te whom he was bound, had prospered-all, that is, with one trifling exception. The freebooters were spread all over the country. They were masters of the situation. For all practical purposes they con- trolled the destiny of the land. It was theirs to hand over to whom they chose, to do with as they pleased. analand was in the throes of an an- archy which would eventually evolve lawful government. The question was, whence was that lawful govern ment to come?
 But for Guy Chalmer there was one blot on the outlook, one cloud no bigger than a mans hand. The suc- cessful attack on the convoy of muni tions of war, and the destruction of the whole, was a shadow that at times threatened ugly proportions. It was the fact of the destruction which had the disquieting effect. The loss had been great, but not calamitous. but the trouble lay in the possible answer to the question, Who had in- spired the destruction? What had been the motive? The whole thing was shrouded in mystery for those most concerned. And the mystery was too significant to be passed over lightly.
 It was this that had opened his eyes to the abyss gaping at his feet. There was an opposing force militat- ing against him and his fellow con- spirators, a force that possessed not only secret power, but also informa- ton. It was an enemy in hiding, an enemy they did not know, and whose attack they could not anticipate. On temperament such Chalm- CTS the matter was more disconcert- ing than upon men like Jerry Boyle and his other two comrades. They were most surely men of business when they come, and strive to nullify their effect. Guy had not the faculty of turning his back to the wall and fighting a hopeless battle, not that the xy1% I I1<l attitude. It was simply the spirit needed, and he did not possess it. His was the spirit that would hit out blindly in any direction when he found himself cornered; he could not fight with a deliberate cunning SC that every blow should tell.
 Thus, throughout the weeks follow. ing Sam GoodalPs disaster on the desert road, slight nervousness af- fected him in his more thoughtful moments, and, combined with Mary's steady refusal to see him, made him l irritable,and more than ever revenge full. A trifling defeat meant far more to him than a big success. The truth was, his vanity was the chief support of an impetuous courage which other wise lacked backbone. And now, fol the time at least, he devoted his | thinking moments to an uneasy con | temptation of the obstacles which stood between him and Mary, and the possibility of circumventing them. In the midst of his uncertainty ar event happened which was something | in the nature of the writing on the wall. An urgent summons reached him in his home in the deserted fruit garden of the Roof Grond summonins him to SitlagoH And the tone of i | left him no alternative but to obey Truth to tell, the messenger arrived at a moment when the past weeks o1 mental searching had borne fruit. 4 hay scheme was evolving in his brair for composing his desire with regard to Mary. Force must serve him And we'll he knew that in the pas months he and his friends had ac cumulated force enough for almos anything.
 | However, he set out for Sitlagol at once.