Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-06-30

her. believed In her against reason.
against the world. against the ineffaec-
able past and against himself. And II
was too late. He no longer stood alone
His word was given.
Have pity on me-" he said once more
facing her. Let me save you!"
Il should despise myself and YOU
would despfse me-even moro than you
do now. cannot do less than share the
fate of those whose lives my folly has
jeopardized'
AT least 90 back TO then-do not stay
here. Beatrice. for Gods sake.-I can
not turn back. You have made me suffer
enough He stood before her now as
burned with an exultation in which the
| thought or life and death played no part.
She knew that he still loved her II
seemed for the moment all that mat
tered.
II cannot" she said.
Beatrice, do not deceive yourself.
Though my life Is nothing TO me-though
l would give II a dozen times to save you
| Il cannot do otherwise than go on. I
may be weak, but shall be stronger than
| my weakness. My word il given!'
He spoke with the tempestuous energy
| OF despair. The minutes were passing
with terrible swiftness. and any moment
the sea behind him might burst Its dam
| and sweep her and him 70 destruction.
Already In the distance he heard the dull
clamor OF voices raised I'm angry remon-
STRANGE at the delay. Only those imme-
diately about him were held I'm awed ST.
lence by the power Of his personality.
| Again Beatrice shook her head. She
| stood I'm the doorway which opened out
| into the garden. where the besieged had
taken refuge. There was no other way.
He advanced toward her. Instantly she
raised her revolver and pointed 1t at the
first man behind him.
IF fire." she said, mot even you will
-! be able to hold them back.
1t seemed to her that she stood like q
| frail wall between two overwhelming
forces--on the one side. Nehal with his
| thousands: on the other. Nicholson
alone. truly. but armed with a set and
pitiless resolve. A single sentence. which
had fallen upon her ears months before.
rose now out OF an ocean OF half-forgot-
ten memories: Nicholson is the best
+! shot in India, some one had said: The
never misses And still Nehal advanced
His jaws were locked. his eyes had a red
| fire I'm them. She knew then that the
hour OF hesitation was over. and that In
1 that desperate struggle she had, indeed.
| lost. Uncomfortable words OF warning
rushed to her lips.
"Nehal-turn back. Turn back
He did not understand her. He thought
she was still pleading with him.
II cannot-God have pity on us both"
! Then she, too, set her lips. She could
not betray the last hope OF that heroic
handful Of men and women behind her.
He must go to his death-and she to hers.
| She fired-whether with success or not.
| she never knew. In that same instant
another sound broke upon their ears-the
| sound OF distant firing, the rattle OF
drums and the high. clear call OF q
| trumpet. Nehal Singh swung around.
She caught q glimpse Of his face through
| the smoke. and she saw something writ
| ten there which she could not understand.
| She only knew that his features seemed
| to bear a new familiarity, as though a
| mask had been torn from them. reveal
/: ing the face OF another man. of man
where she could not tell. She had no
| time to analyze her emotions nor tho
sense of violent shock which passed over
her. She heard Nehal Singh giving sharp.
rapid orders In Hindustani. The room
emptied. She saw him follow the re-
| treating natives. At the door he turned
| and looked back at her. AT no time had
/ his love for her revealed itself more
| clearly than in that last glance.
1.-THE English regiment has come TO
help you," he said. Fate has interviewed
between us this time. May we never
meet again.!
He passed out through the shattered
| doorway. but she stood where he had
| left her, motionless. almost unconscious.
1t was thus Nicholson and tie colonel
found her when. moment later, they en-
| tered the room by the veranda- Col. Car.
michaers passionate reproaches died
you must not stop here" he said. You
have frightened US all terribly. The regf-
ment has come and 10 attacking. There
will be some desperate lighting. We must
all stick together"
She caught Nicholson's eyes resting on
her. She thought she read pity and SYM
patty in their steady depths, and won
dered il he guessed what she had tried
to do. But he said nothing. and she fol-
lowed the two men blindly and indiffer-
emily back to the bungalow.
To be continued tomorrow