The Washington times., 1913-03-05

to properly appreciate the beauties Of
I the wilderness.
| TO realize-that he had been too long an
emotional recluse. For six years he
had lived practically isolated and cut
on from the better half of existence;
femininity had formed no factor i'm his
cosmos; even since his return TO Ameri-
ca his associations had been almost ex-
clusiveiy confined to- the wives and
daughters of old friends the former of
whom favored him only with a calm,
maternal patronage, while the latter.
as species of human curiosity old
enough to be entitled to a certain
I amount Of respectful consideration, but
not to be taken seriously-"like num-
my" Whitaker told himself. not without
sympathy for the viewpoint of the
younger generation.
But now. Of a sudden, ne had been
granted flash of insight into the true
significance Of companionship be-
tween a man and a woman who had
something in common aside from COM
| munity Of their generation. Not two
hours altogether of such intercourse
, had been his, but it had been enough
| to infuse all his consciousness with a
vague and irking discomfort.
He wanted more. and wanted it ar
IDENTIFY; and what Whitaker earnestly
desired he generally set himself to
gain with a single-hearted earnest
ness Of purpose which was calculated
to compass the end in view within the
least possible period of time.
In this instance, however. he was
handicapped to evaporation by that
confounded ankle!
Besides, he couldn't decently pursue
the woman: she was entitled to a GER
tain amount of privacy, of freedom
from his attentions.
Furthermore, he had no right as yet
to offer her attentions. 1t seemed
necessary frequently to remind him
self of that fact, In spite of the vile
humor such reminders, as rule,
aroused.
He passed into one such now. scowl-
ing darkly in the face of an exquisite,
fiawless day.
One thing was settled, he assured
himself; as soon as he was able to get
about with comfort he would lose no
time in hunting up his wife's attor-
neys and finding out why they were
so delinquent in prosecuting her case.
Failing satisfaction in that quarter
well, he would find some way to make
things move. 1t wasn't fair to him to
keep him bound to the vows OF a
farcical union. He was not prepared
to submit to such injustice. He would,
II needs must; set detectives to md
him his wife, that he might see and
in person urge upon her his equal
right to release from an unnatural
bondage.
He had lashed himself into very
respectable transport of resentful
rage before he realized what way his
thoughts were leading him; but he
calmed down as quickly when. chanc-
ing TO lift his eyes from their alb
sorbed study of the planks composing
the yeranda floor, he discovered
motorboat drawing in toward the
landing stage.
At once a smile Of childlike serenity
displaced the scowL Instinctively he
gathered himself together to rise, but
on reconsideration retained his seat,
sallantry yielding to an intuitive
sense of dramatic values; a chair
bound invalid is a much more sympa-
thetic object than a man demonstrat-
ing q surprisingly quick recovery
from an incapacitating accident.
Nevertheless there seemed no objec-
tion to his returning a cheerful four
ish to the salute Of a slender arm,
brown and bare to where a turned
back shirt waist sleeve met a rounded
allow.
He watched the landing. charmed by
the grace and address OF IL.
At precisely the proper diStance from
the dock the motor ceased Its purring;
the boat swept on, white water crisp
ing beneath its stern, ripples widening
fanlike from its fiaHks and sketching
sweeping plumes of purple on the calm,
ultramarine surface-its speed at first
not perceptibly moderated. Gradually,
then, II yielded to the resistance of the
pa assive waters, moving slower and
slower until at length IL nosed the land