Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-08-04
THE VALIANTS OF VIRGINIA
BY HALLE ERMINlE RlVES
Copyright by Bobbs-Merrili Co.

Of connerv hair" A fragment of
| verse ran through his mind:
"Tawny-fiecked russet-brown, In a
tangle of gold,
The bfllowy sweep of her flame :
washed hair,
Like amber lace, laid fold on roId'
Or beaten metal beyond compare
"Delicacy and strength! he NUT
tered, as he climbed again TO the
leather seat. THE steel piaoe ia sne
silk scabbard. With that face in re-
pose she might have been maid Oh
| honor of the Stuarts' time! Yet wheh
she laughed
The girl walked on up the highway
with a lifting stride, now ana lnen
| laughing to herself, or running lew
steps occasionally stopping by some
hedge to pull a leaf which she rubbed
against her cheek, smelling its Keen
new scent. or stopping to gaze ous
across the orange-green pelts OF
sunny wind dimpled fields, one hanu
pushing back her mutinous hair from
her brow, the other shielding her
ewes. When she had passed beyond
the ken of the stranded motor, she De-
gan to sing a snatch of cabin song,
her vivid red lips framing themselves
about the absurd words with hu-
morous exaggeration of the soft darby
recommendation Beneath its fun her
voice held haunting dreamy quaIty,
as she sang, sometimes in the plaze OF
sun, sometimes with leaf-SnadoWS
above her through which the nght
spurted down in greengilt splashes.
once she stopped suddenly, and,
crouching down by thorn-hedge'
whistled-a low mellow tentative pipe
and in a moment brown f1eeked
coyey of baby cartridges rushed out
of the grass to dart instantly back
again. She laughed, and, sprlnglng
M. threw back her head and began
bird song. her slender throat pulsins
to the shake and ready trill. IL was
marvelously done, from the clear iohs
opening note to the soaring rapture
that seemed to bubble and break all
at once into it's final crescendo.
Farther on the highroad Topped
around a strip of young forest, and
she struck into this for short cut.
Here the trees stirred family in
The breeze, filling the place with
leafy rustlings and wisperlngs;
vet 1t was so still that when
a saffron-b barred hornet darted
through with an intolerant high
KEYED hum, 1t made the air for an
instant angrily vocal, and a wood
necker's tattoo at some distance
sounded with startling loudness, like
cracking series of pistol shots.
In the depth of this wood she sat
down to rest on the sun-splashed
roots of a tree. Leaning back against
the scanned trunk, her felt hat fallen
to the ground, she looked like sol,ie
sea-woman emerging from an earth
hued pool to comb her hair against
a dappled rock The ground was
sparsely covered with gray-blue
bushes, whose fronds at a little dis
lance blended into haze till they
seemed like pillows of smoke sud
denly solidified, and here and there
a darting red or yellow flower gave
the Illusion of an under-tongue of
fame. Her eyes, passionately eager,
peered about her, drinking in each
note of color as her quick ear caught
each twigfall, each sound of bird
and insect.
She drew back against the tree
and caught her breath as a bulldog
frislked over a messy boulder just in
front of her.
A moment more and she had
thrown herself on her knees with
both arms outstretched "Oh, you
splendid creature!" she cried, you
big, lovely white darlingl"
The dog seemed in no way averse
to this sensational proceeding. He
responded instantly not merely with
tail wagging, but with ecstatic
grunts and growls. Where did you
come from?' she questioned, as his
pink tongue struggled desperately to
find a cheek through the whorl of
coppery hair. why, you must be
the one / was told not to be afraid
off,
She petted and fondled the smooth,
intelligent muzzle. LAS If anyone
could be afraid of you! Well set
your master right on that point"
Smiling to herself, she pulled one of
the roses from her belt, and, twist
ing wisp of long grass, wound it
round and round the dogs neck and
thrust the ragged rose-stem firmly
through it. Now" she said, and
pushed him gently from her, Ego
back, sir!"
He whined and licked her hand.
but when she repeated the command
he turned obediently and left her. A
little way from her he halted, with
a Sudden perception of mysterious
punishment, shrugged, sat down, and
tried to reach the irksome grass
wisp with his teeth This falling, he
rolled laboriously in the dirt.
Then he rose, cast a reproachful
glance behind him, and trotted off.