Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-07-27
The Brides Dead

or force Nor had played the gentleman in his
neipessness. Nor mad i. We had not In us the Stun
Of heroes; at of instruments of torture we
were of who would confess to anything. abjure
swear falsely, beg for change our so-calieo
religlons-anyt hng. The bride had learned to de-
spse us from the bottom heart. She despised
us still would have staked my last dollar or.
better my hopes escaping from Faralone. that as
man wife she and the groom would never n'e To-
gether again. felt terribly sorry for the groom.
He had had 1. been utterly inefficient helpless.
babyish and cowardly-yet the odds against US mao
seemed overwhelming. But we Journeyeo
down the the distance between US and
FarallorA grew more. 1 kept thinking OF men whom
l had known; physically weaker than the groom
/. who had Faralone offered to bully them would
fought him and endured his torture TIL they oieo
In my immediate past. then. there was nothing OF
which l burningly ashamed, and In the nor
too distant hoped separate from the bride
and groom and them hear or them
n this world again. At that had real affection
BRIDE real admiration. On the yacht before
trouble showed me had bid fair to become
fast enduring friends. But that was all over
a bud nipped the conduct and circumstance
the fruit could much as set For many
days L avoided her eye: had avoided ad-
dressing her: had exerted my ingenuity to Keep
out of her sight. 1t is terrible thing Tor man TO
be thrown daily into the society OF a woman VINO
has found him and who despises him. MIND SOUL
and bone.
The stream broke at length from the forest and.
swelled by stable tributary flowed broad ano deep
into rolling. park-like landscape Grass spread over
the counrys fluctuations and looked In the distance
like wekept lawns; and at wide intervals splendidy
grown liveoaks lent effect OF calculated naming.
Here flight for muscles were hardened 10
walking, became and swift. / think there "eTo
hours when must have covered four miles. ana
long. upward slopes must have made
better than three. There is in swift walking. when
the muscles hard the wind long and the atmos-
phere exhilaratng buoyant rhythm that more. per-
haps than merited of vaorous conduct
smoothes out the creases in a mans SOUL And 80
quick is man to recover from his own baseness and
ape outwardly inner feelings. that
found myself. presently walking with high mead
and mind full OF martial thoughts.
All that day, except for short halt at noon. we
followed the river the great natural park;
paralleng its convoutions and now cutting dag
onals Late In the afternoon We came TO the eno OK
the park land. A less precpitous formation
OF gistening quartz marked Its boundary, and into
a Of this the stream. small river,
plunged with accelerated speed. The going became
dificult The walls OF the assure through which
the river rushed were smooth and water-worn. I'M
possible ascend; and between the brink OF
the river and the base of the walls were con-
gestions Of boulders. damned driftwood and tam
gled alder bushes. There were times when we
had to crawl upon our hands and knees. under one
log and the next. To add to difficulties
darkness swiftly falling. and were glad. indeed
when the wall Of the assure leaned at length SO far
from the perpendicular that able to scramble
up It. We found ourselves upon levelish little
meadow grass. the Of it there
and gigantic live oak between two OF whose
roots there glittered spring On all sides OF the
meadow except that toward the river were super
impending cliffs of quartz Along the base Of these
dense growth of bushes.
Well rest here" said the groom. What a place.
It's a natural fortress Only way into it." He
looking down at the noisy river and consider
ing the steep slope had just climbed. See this
BOULDER" he said. It's wobbly II that damned
longshoreman tries to get here. all we've got to
choose the psychological moment and push
him."
The groom looked quite bellicoss ana daring.
Suddenly he flung his fragment OF q cap high into
air and. at the OF his lungs cried LIB
ertyr
The echoes answered him. and the glorious, abused
word tossed from cliff to cliff. the river
and back and presently died away.
At that. from the very branches OF the great oak
stood in the center OF the meadow there burst
titanic clap Of laughter and Farallone. literally
bursting with merriment. dropped lightly in
midst
only speak for myself I frightened
it deliberately and neutrality-suspicious. into q At.
And for fully five minutes could command either
of my legs. The groom. 1 believe, screamed. Tho
bride became whittier than paper-then suddenly the