The Detroit times., 1913-11-05
1.-THE VALIANTS Of VIRGINIA"
Of Pure 4
lively in Il UoI;oE
Character

$40 lie pondered this "a moment
then thrust II into one OF the empt,
pigeonholes OF the desk. On the lat
ter stood an old-fashioned leaf-calen
dar: the date II exposed was Ma,
I4th Curiously enough the same date
would recur tomorrow. The page bore
a quotation: Every man carries his
fate on a riband about his neck. The
line had been quoted in his fathers
letter. May lith,-how much tha
date and that motto may have meant
for him.
He put the calendar back. filled his
pipe and sat down facing the opel
bow-window. The dark was myster
iously lifting, the air filing with a soft
silvergray translucence that touched
the wild growth as with fairy goss
amer. Presently. from between the
still elms. the new sickle moon climb
ed into view. From the garden came
la plaintive bribery. long-drawn anc
wavering and then. from farther away
the triple mellow whistle OF whip
poorwill.
The place was alive now with bird
Z otes, and he listened with a new de
light. He thought suddenly, with a
kind OF impatient wonder. that never
In his life had he sat perfectly alone
In solitude and listened to the voices
OF the night. The only out-of-doors he
knew had been comprised In motor
whirls on freQuented highroads, sea
shore, or mountain months where
bridge and dancing were forever on
the cards, or else such upto-date
camping" as was INDUCED in at the
Fargos' shack on the st. Lawrence
He sat now with his senses alert To
q new world that his sophisticated eye
and ear had never known. Something
new was entering into him that seem
cd the spirit OF the place: the bless
ing OF the tall silver poplars outside
the musical scented gardens and the
moonlight laid like a placid benedic-
ton over all
/ He rose to push the shutter wider
and In the movement his elbow sent a
shallow case OF morocco leather that
had lain on the desk crashing TO the
floor. II opened and q heavy metallic
object rolled almost to his feet He
saw at a glance that II was an old
fashioned rusted dueling-pistol.
The box had originally held two pis
tols. He shuddered as he stopped to
| pick up the weapon, and with the
crawling repugnance mingled q pang'
Ing anger and humiliation. From his
very babyhoOd II had always been 90
that unconquerable aversion to the
touch Of q firearm. There had been
moments In his youth when this un'
reasoning shrinking had filed him
with blind fury. had driven him to
strange self-tests Of courage. He had
never been able to overcome II. He had
always had a natural distaste for the
taking OF life: hunting was an unthink
able sport TO him, and he regarded
the lusty pursuit Of small feathered
or furry things for pleasure with a
mingled wonder and contempt. But
analyzation had told him that his pc
| culiar abhorrence was not mere out
growth OF this. 1t lay far deeper. He
had rarely, OF recent years, met the
test. Now, as he stood In these I'M
accustomed surroundings, with the
I cold touch Of the metal the old shud
dering held him and the sweat broke
In beads on his forehead Setting his
teeth hard. he crossed the rooms, slip
ped the box with its pistol between
the volumes OF the bookcase. and re-
turned to his seat.
The bulldog, aroused from q nap,
| thrust a warm muzzle between his
knees. IT'S uncanny, Chum." he said,
As bis hand caressed the velvety head.
why should the touch of that fool
thing chill my spine and make my
flesh tiptoe over my bones? Is It q
mere popularity OF temperament?
Some men hate cats-eyes. Some can't
abide sitting on plush. l knew a chap
once who couldn't see milk poured
poured from a pitcher without getting
goosefosh. People are born that way,
but there must be cause. Why
should hate a pistol? Do you sup
pose was shot In one OF my previous
existences?"
For a long while he sat there. his
pipe dead, his eyes on the moonlight
ed cut-of-doors. The eery feeling that
had gripped him had gone AZ quickly
as II had come At last he rose,
stretching himself with a great boyish
yawn, put out all save one of the
candles and taking a bath-robe. san.
dale and a huge fuzzy towel from the
steamer-trunk, stripped leisurely. He
donned the bath-robe and sandals and
went out through the window 10 the
garden and down to where lay the
little lake ruffling silverly under
the moon. On It's brink he stopped.
and tossing back his head, tried to
initiate one OF the bird-calls but was
unsuccessful With rueful laugh he
threw of the bath-robe and stood an
instant glistening, poised In the moon.
Hight like marble faun, before he
dove. straight down out of sight.
Five minutes later he pulled hini-
self up over the edge. his flesh ting.
| ling with the chill OF the water. and
drew the robe about his cool white
shoulders Then he thrust his feet
into his sandals and sped quickly back
He rubbed himself to a glow, and
blowing out the remaining candle
stretched himself luxuriously between
the warm blankets on the couch. The
dog smiled inquiringly at his hand
then leaped up and snuggled down
close at his feet
The soft flooding moonlight sent its
radiance into the gloomy room, touch.
lag lovingly its dark carven furniture
and bringing into sharp relief the 1.-THE
contour OF the figure under the feecy
coverlid. the crisp damp hair, the ex
pressive face, and the widen-open
dreamy eyes.
John valiant's thoughts had fed n
thousand miles away, TO the tall pirl
who all his life had seemed to stand
out from his world. aloof and unsur
Observation-Disclosures Fargo. He tried to
lpicture her, perfect chatelaine, grace
full and gracious at tall white snIen