Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1913-09-25
CHATTER xxxlII-contInued.

believe in God"
Then seek your comfort there. I
find it in Harvesting the winds; in
forcing the powers of nature to do
my bidding"
The other did not speak, and the ST.
lence grew heavy. 1t was broken.
when it was broken, by a cry from
Oswald:
NO more" said he mo more"
Then. in a yearning accent. Send
Doris to me-"
Orlando started. This name coming
so close upon that word comfort pro-
duced strange effect upon him. But
another look at Oswald and he was
ready to do his bidding. The bitter
ordeal was over; let him have his
solace If 1t was in her power to give
it to him.
Orlando. upon leaving his brothers
brothers. message directly to Doris;
he left this for Truda to do, and re-
tired Immediately to his hangar In
the woods. Locking himself In, he
slightly raised the roof and then sat
down before the car which was rap
idly taking on shape and assuming
that individuality and appearance of
sentient life which hitherto he had
only seen in dreams. But his eye,
which had never failed to kindle at
this sight before, shone duly in the
semi-gloom. The air-car could wait;
he would first have his hour in this
solitude of his own making. The gaze
he dreaded, the words from which he
shrank could not penetrate here. He
might even shout her name aloud, and
only these windowless walls would
respond. He was alone with his past
his present and his future.
Alone!
He needed to be. The strongest
must pause when the precipice yawns
before him. The gulf can be spanned;
he feels himself forceful enough for
that; but his eyes must take their
measurement of it first; he must
know its depths and possible dangers
Only a fool would ignore these sleeps
OF jagged rock; and he was no fool.
only a man to whom the unexpected
had happened, man who had seen
his way clear to the horizon and then
had come up against thisl Love,
when he thought such folly deadl Re-
morse, when Glory called for the quiet
mind and hearth
He recognized it's mordant fang, and
knew that its ravages, though only
just begun, would last his lifetime.
Nothing could stop them now, moth
ing, nothing. And he laughed, as the
thought went home; laughed at the
irony of fate and it's inexorableness;
laughed at his own defeat and his
nearness to a barred Paradise. Os-
valid loved Edith, loved her yet, with
fame time would take long to
quench. Doris loved Oswald and he
Doris; and not one of them would
ever attain the delights each was SO
fitted to enjoy. Why shouldn't he
laugh? What lis left to man but mock
cry when all props fall? Disappoint-
ment alone was the universal lot; and
it should go merrily with him if he
must take his turn at it. But here
the strong spirit Of the man reassert-
ed itself; it should be but turn. A
mans joys are not bounded by his
loves or even by the satisfaction of
perfectly untrammeled mind. Per
Torrance makes a world of it's own
for the capable and the strong, and
this was still left to him. He, Or
lando Brotherson, despair while his
great work lay unfinished! That would
be to lay stress on the inevitable
pains and fears of commonplace hui
manity He was not of that ilk. In
tellect was his god ambition his mo-
tive power What would this casual
Blight upon his supreme contentment
be to him, when with the wings OF
his air-car spread, he should spurn
the earth and soar into the heaven
of fame simultaneously with his flight
into the OPEN
He could wait for that hour. He
had measured the gulf before him and
found it passable. Henceforth no
looking back
Rising, he stood for moment gaz-
ing, with an alert eye now, upon such
sections of his car as had not yet been
fitted into their places; then he bent
forward to his work. and soon the lips
which had uttered that sardonic laugh
few minutes before, parted in gen.
tier fashion, and song took the place.
of curses-a ballad of love and fond
est truth But Orlando never knew
what he sang. He had the gift and
used it.
Would his tones, however, have
rung out with quite so mellow
sweetness had he seen the restless
figure even then circling his retreat
with eyes darting accusation and
arms lifted towards him in wild Dut