The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1911-04-13

~ ss'o"iAh E-apall rum sllle LsOtueIb,
and Will kill with my,own hands
the man who lays a finger upon me-.
Sir" said the captain. "this land. l
take It. Is the United States. AS the
ranking officer present, represent its
law. It is under my rule. AS to
your choice. | have nothing to say.
but as far, as regards other things. you
Will have to obey me here as any
other citizen of our 4country."
And | know nothing OF the United
States or Its laws" answered the man,
proydly. Il am law unto myself"
THE first lesson that the world
will teach you, Sir" returned the cap
tain, pointedly. f"is that that position
cannot be maintained: that the whole
fabric of civilization depends upon
concession by individuals OF natural
rights and upon the enforcement Of
these concessions by other individuals
to whom has been delegated that
rower.." :
II don't wish to learn It, and that Is
why will not leave this island" per.
sisted the man. "a,
1t was the woman who interviewed.
She stepped close to the man and
laid her hand upon his arm.
You said that In some fashion you
loved me. she urged.
In some fashion 4 do" lie replied.
1T grows late. Captain. can your
ship lie by the island until morning."
III you wish. certainly" returned
the captain.
"very well. Man. Will you then go
aboard the ship with these gentlemen.
and leave me alone here for the
.night?" p, =
alone. madam!" exclaimed the cap.
tain. 7;
Certainly. SIR" returned the won.
an. There Is not n harmful thing
upon the island. You can come back
In the morning and we will discuss
then what is best to be done. Really,
igentlemenn"'sie went on, with pite.
Gus tremble of her lllp. ffor one mo.
sment losing her control s'Tshave been
tried beyond the. sstrengthEof woman
to-day. tElf j can have "a quiet rest, II
In the morning VI 4sfts1sias t,i,,
/ Ss'3"Thatsis Ereas ohable,rlsisa the sur
igeon.i THE lady rs In no, state Yorr
this sdisc,isslon Z nor, Indeed, are you
sir" he continued. looking hard at
the man. ~ -
Very we'll" said the captain. Come,
Mr.. Charnock, you cannot refuse that
REQUEST; gentlemen. 8 Madam. good.
night" 1910
q He turned away, followed by the,
others. Charnock for the moment hes
itnted.
"Igive you one more chance" whls.
pered the woman IN his ear..'"I think
myself flt for the wife Of any man, do
you think SO? Do you love me? DO
You care for me as you did last night?
Can You think OF me as all that is
sweet and lovely and noble and pure,
and worthy OF any mans Affection"
She bent closer, toward him in the
intensity OF her feelings. The words
rushed from her. The man passed his
hand over his forehead.
81 can only say what I said before,
that love you still, that Twill marry
you. and that you ought to be-" &
That is enough" interrupted the
woman. "Good.by." w
She drew instantly apart from him.
"Mr. Charnock." rang the captains
voice, imperatively.
Slowly the islander turned and made
his way to the sea after the others.
The woman. thus left alone upon
the island, was face to face with a
crisis which could only be, met In two
ways. Either she must go away with
the man, or they must both remain OH
the island. 1t was possible that the
captain might!be induced to use force
to Take the man away, but that was
not likely, and II 1t were attempted.
she believed. with much foundation
for her belief, that the man who had
never been coerced by human being
except her would fight until he died
She could not so away with him: she
could not live with him on the island.
a future opened before him. She
had learned that afternoon on the sand
that II his identity could be estab
lished he would be man OF great
wealth, a power, factor in the
worlds affairs She had had her ex.
perience in life, her taste Of power. 1t
did not matter about her. 1t mattered
greatly about him.
She had given him final chance.
He did not love her as she would be
loved. He could not love her. 1t was
evident to her that he never would.
She had nothing to live for, nothing
to hope for, nothing 10 dream about.
There was one way Of cutting the
Gordian knot; she could die. And yet,
somehow. the instinct OF life was
strong In her heart.
She crossed the island IL ner side,
where she was hidden from tho ship,
and went down to the edge Or 49, wa.
ter. She even slipped Of tho garments
Of civilization. and stood forth, q. print
tive Eve and wadcd out little way
into the lagoon. The night had fallen
and she was calm in the screen Of the
U