Western Kansas world., 1914-12-26

cnocrIm word: no fear Of collapse dx1-
turbed him.
Through watching him Mark waa
beset by . new temptation When
their turns were ended Roman and
the men Invariably fiocked to the near
est saloon and there drank repeatedly
whisky and brandy mostly-unfil
vfgor returned to their wornout bodies
1t was false vigor, Mark knew, and
short-lived But there were times
when the thought of the hour of sur
cease from fatigue. of spirited outlook.
lured him almost irresistibly.
And one evening he followed Roman
and his companions to the bar
whisky" he ordered
Roman put out a restraining hand
You better not drink" he counseled
gravely -Or only beer"
Mark laughed recklessiy and re-
peated his order. Thrice he drank
The weight dragging at his limbs
lifted, the misery ranking in his heart
dissolved He was cheerful, talkative.
soon maudlin- Before he reached home
the whisky had possessed his unac-
customed brain; he was staggering.
drunk. Roman undressed him and
put him to bed without supper. But
he had had his period of forgetfulness-
The next day he paid-and the crav-
ing gnawed more sharply. That eve
ming Roman, understanding, avoided
the saloon and led Mark by straight
course homeward. Thereafter it was
his custom, until Mark saw the care
and forbade.
You needn't be afraid 1t costs too
much Everything" he added with a
bitterness for which Roman had not
the key, costs too much"
20? But you are tiredt. Unit you
are not strong Wy do you not leaf
the vork?''
Give up now, after holding on this
fari l guess you don't mean that
But some day I'll get where 1 want
I'll have life by the throat" 1t did
not seem melodramatic to him. Then
I'll make it pay for this-on its knees" +"
Roman shook his head gravely, as
at blasphemy.
You shouldt not say 20. Always
life iss the master But you are tiredt."
And in the midst OF the ordeal by
fire he fought his first battle. At times
he was almost grateful for the physi-
cal WEAKNESS that distracted him from
the inner struggle.
He learned then how insensibly
ground. She had become vague. of
little substance; she was story he
had read a long time ago. But she
was real, too in that she was a habit.
There was a memory that accused
girl, for once warm and yielding,
in the last glory of the sunset, cling
ing to him with the tremulous cry:
You won't forget me out there?" He
had made a vow. Within a
twelvemonth he had clasped another.
That other was both real, intensely
real-and near. He tried to avoid
her; it was not easy.
Kazia went about, quieter than ever,
what she felt too deep for words, too
solemn for laughter. She did not again
break into song. But no one seeing
her eyes could have doubted what had
come into her heart. And she gave
to her lover with both hands, knowing
no thrift in love.
Her happiness awed, sometimes al
most frightened her, but she would not
question it, When her sixth sense
stirred, she shamed it into silence.
She saw in her lovers eyes a trouble
that deepened as the days went by,
heard it in his voice, felt it when he
clasped her.
One evening-the last before the hot
wave broke; but he did not know that
he dragged himself homeward. be-
lieving he had come to the end of his
endurance.
but 1 suppose 1 haven't he sighed.
Probably I'll just go on and on-but
some day I'll drok. I wonder why I
do it, 1 wish the end would come
soon-now." He thought he meant
that.
Even the bath brought no relief. He
sat down to a supper against the very