Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-08-15
convr,aht by Merrill Co.

/ sfdewise Now she raised herSelt,
kneeling in the feathery light, poth
hands clasped close to her breast.
trembling excessively with loathinB
and feeling the dun earth-hoor pll-
| low like a canvas in a theatre. Lit
/ tie puffs of dust from the protesting
ground were wreathing about her set
| face. and she pressed one hand
against her shoulder to repress her
shivers.
THE horrible-horrible- she
| said whisperingly 1T would have
bitten mel"
! He came toward her, painting, and
grasping her hand. lifted her to her
| feet. He staggered slightly as he
cid so. and she saw his lips twist to-
gether oddly. All" she gasped, or
bit you! 1t bit you!"
No" he said. 81 think not"
spoti''
Il did feel something. just that
first moment" He laughed uncer-
tainly. It's queer. My foot's gone
fast asleep
Every remnant of color left her
face. She had known a negro child
who had died of water-moccasin's
bite some years before-the child of
a house-servant. 1t had been wading
in the. creek in the gorge. The doc
tor had said then that If one of the
| other children.
She grasped his arm. "Sit down."
she commanded, here, on this log,
and see"
Her pale fright caught him. He
obeyed. dragged off the low shoe and
barred the tingling spot. The firm
white flesh was pulled up around two
tiny blue-rimmed punctures. He
reached into his pocket, then ren1en-
bered that he had no knife. AS a
| next best thing he knotted his hand
kerchief quickly above the ankle,
thrust a stick through the loop and
| twisted it till the 1igature cut deeply.
while she kneIt beside him, her lips
moving soundlessly, saying over and
over to herself words like these: 'I
must not be frightened. He doesn't
realize the danger, but | dol | must
be quite collected. 1t is a mile to tho
doctors. | might run to the house
and send Unc' Jefferson, but it would
take too long. Besides, the doctor
might not be there. There is no one
to do anything but me-"
She crouched beside him, putting
her hands by his on the stick and.
wrenching it over with all her
strength. Tighter, tighter" she
said. 1T must be tighter" but to
her dismay, at the last turn the i'm
provised cord snapped, and the re-
leased stick flew dozen feet away.
Her heart leaped chokingly, then
dropped into hammer-like thudding.
He leaned back on one arm, trying to
laugh, but she noted that his breath
came shortly as if he had been run
ming. Absurd" he said, frowning.
How such-a fool thing-can hurt!"
Suddenly she threw herself on the
ground and grasped his foot with
both her hands. He could see her
face twftch with shuddering, and her
eyes dilating with some determined
purpose.
What are you going to do?"
This" she said, and he felt her
pressed hard against his instep.
He drew away sharply, with savage
denial. "No-nol Not that You
shan't! My lord-you shan't" He
dragged his numbing foot from her
desperate grasp, lifting himself, push
ing her from him; but she fought
with him, clinging, painting broken
sentences:
'You must It's the only way: 1t
was--a moccasin, and it's deadly.
| Every minute countsi'
| "I won't. No, stopi How do you
know? It's not going to--here, lis
| tenl Take your hands away. Listen!
| Listen! I can go to the house and
send Uncle Jefferson for the doctor
and he-Noi stop, / say! Oh-Fm
sorry If / hurt you. How strong you
are!''
Let me-"
mo! Your lips are not for that
good God, that damnable thing!
You yourself might be-"
Let me! Oh, how cruel you are!
1t was my fault. But for me 1t would
never have"
| mo! l would rather"
Let me! oh, If you died!"
With all the force of her strong
young body she wrenched away his
| protesting hands. A thirst and a
sickish feeling were upon him, a cur
| ious irresponsible giddiness, and her
hair which that struggle had brought
in tumbled masses about her should
ers. seemed to have little flames rum
ming all over it. His foot had entirely
| lost its feeling. There was a strange
weakness in his limbs.
He felt it with a cool thriving sur
prise. Could it be death stealing
over him-really death, in this silly
crawling reptile? Death, when he
had just begun a life that seemed
so worth living?
| A sense of unreality came. He was
| asleep! The failure, the investiga-
ton, Virginia-all was a dream. Pres
emily he would wake in his bachelor
quarters to find his man setting out
his coffee and grapefruit. He settled
back and closed his eyes.
| Moments of consciousness, or
consciousness jumbled with strange
imaginings, followed. AT times he
felt the pressure upon the wounded
foot. was sensible of the suction of
the young mouth striving desperately
to draw the poison from the wound
From time to time he was conscious
of white desperate face haloed with
hair that was O mist of woven
sparkles. At times he thought him.
self a ,recumbent stone statue in a
wood, and her a great tall golden
headed flower lying broken at his
feet. Again he was a granite boulder
and she a vine with yellow leaves
I winding and cliuginr about him