The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1913-01-24

ger the weight of the thing he knew
the thing she was yet to know. He
would have given all he possessed In
the world for the power to shield her
from h blow that was yet to fall.
he drew her closer. She trembleC
IN the clasp of his arms. Her firm
full young breast rose and fell In
quick response to the driving heart
beats. His thoughts shot back to the
prophetic, perfect figure Of the girl at
nfteen. He fought off a certain de
l%icious. overpowering in%toxication and
forced himself to a bewildered contem.
platlon of her present powers of resist.
ance to the hard problems of life. She
was strong of body, strong of heart,
strong or spirit, but was she strongly
fortified with the endurance that must
stand mistaken through a period of
sorro" and shame and disgrace?
Again he looked into her half closed
eyes. He saw there the serene integ
rlty OF Mary Braddock. The light of
that woman's character was strongly
lntrenched in the soul Of Christine
Braddock. He experienced a sudden
sense of relief, of comfort. She was
made of the flesh and spirit that en-
dures, Product was she Of Thomas
braddock in his physically honest
days and Mary. his wife, in whose
veins flowed the strain of refinement
elementally so pure that the bitterest
things in life had proved incapable of
DESTROYING a Sinota 1rnr ~ ire .r,nat
ness.
what are you thinking OF. David?"
she asked, impressed by the look in his
eyes and the unconscious nodding. Of
his head.
OF YOU" he said. always OF you.
dearest"
Soon afterward he prepared to depart.
Later on she stood straight and tense
in the center of her bedroom, her hands
to her breast. waiting for her mothers
return. Vaguely she felt that some
thing harsh and bitter was to be made
known to her before she slept that
night.
In lowered tones David Jenison was
saying to Mary Braddock: "She must
be told everything tonight. 1t isn't
safe to put il off. She is strong, and
she knows hat | am stanch. Nothing
else should matter. We don't know
what tomorrow may bring. but she
must be as fully prepared for the worst
as we are. 1t isn't fair to her. Tell
her everything"
David hurried off toward the car line
bent on reaching Joey's home before
that worthy retired for the night.
At the top of a fight of stone steps
leading to the doors of an imposing
mansion across the street from the
Portmian home a m~otionless figure sat
as bleak as the shadows in which it
was shrouded. Like a m~alevolent gar.
goyle, it glowered out upon the de-
serted street. A tense, immovable chin
rested in a pair of clinched hands,
knees supporting the elbows. This des-
olate, forbidding figure had been there
for an hour or moreover since Chris
tines return from the concert. Not
once were the burning eyes removed
from the lighted windows across the
way. At last, long after the footsteps
Of the anxious Virginian had died
away in the night and the lights were
extinguished in the house opposite,
the silent watcher came to his feet.
We'll, they're through discussing
me-" muttered Tom Braddock. He
stalked down from his perch and vent
swiftly up the street, a gaunt, broad
shouldered figure whose step seemed
to suggest purpose more than stealth.
Hello, Brad" He betrayed no sur
prise, no sign of alarm. He did nc.
check his pace o look around.
"Confound you, Dick" he said, as IL
%pronouncing sentence. 'if you don't
quit logging me like this I'll kill you,
SO help me Cod What did you follow
me over here tonight for@'
You know why, Brad"
This is my affair." went on the big
man. Il was doing no harm. sitting
across there. Can't a man sneak of
for a single look at his own child-in
the dark at that-without being hound.
ed by Say, you must stop logging
me, d'you hear? I'm a human being
I've got feelings. | wanted to have a
look at her. That was my girl that
said good night to the swells back
there-mine! Did you hear how sweet
her voice was? Il" Something
came up in the mans throat to cut
on the words. and a long silence fell
between them.
Half an hour later a cab topped at
a corner not far from Pell street in
tersection. Two men got down and
picked their way through the vile
street, searching out the house num-
bers as they progressed. A man in
his shirt sleeves sat back in the
shadow of the t~umbledown stoop
smoking a pipe. The uncertain. timor-
GUS actions Of the strangers in
Thieves alley brought a fantastic
smile to his lips.
Looking for some one, gents?" de-
manded the smoker. without risirg
from the stool on which he sat leaning
the wall.
rs this No. 24?- Hello! It's Dick!"
O .e-~sl