The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1914-06-04

ing neT from MIN, Dut sue lOu6HI Win
him, clinging, painting broken SEN
tences
You must! It's the only way. 1t
was-a moccasin, and it's deadly.
Every minute counts!"
II won't. No, stop! How do you
know? It's not going to-here, listen!
Take your hands away. Listen!-Lis-
ten! l can go to the house and send
Uncle Jefferson for the doctor and he
No! stop. l say! Oh-Fm sorry If l
hurt you. How strong you are!"
Let met"
mo! Your lips are not for that
good God, that damnable thing! You
yourself might be-"
Let me! Oh, how cruel you are!
1t was my fault. But for me it would
never have"
NO! l would rather"
Let me! Oh If you died!"
With all the force of her strong
young body she wrenched away his
protestant hands. A thirst and sick
ish feeling were upon him, curious
irresponsible giddiness, and her hair
which that struggle had brought in
tumbled masses about her shoulders,
seemed to have little flames running
all over it. His foot had entirely lost
its feeling. There was a strange weak.
ness in his limbs.
Moments Of half-consciousness, or
consciousness jumbled with strange
imaginings, followed. At times he felt
the pressure upon the wounded foot,
was sensible of the suction Of the
young mouth striving desperately to
draw the poison from the wound.
From time to ttrae he was conscious
of white desperate face haloed with
hair that was mist of woven spar
kles. At times he thought himself
recumbent stone statue in wood
| and her a great tall golden-headed
flower lying broken at his feet. Again
he was granite boulder and she q
vine with yellow leaves winding and
clinging about him. Then a blank
a sense of movement and of troublous
disturbance, of insistent voices that
called to him and inquisitive hands
that plucked at him, and then voices
growing distant again, and hands fall
ing away, and at last-silence.
Inky clouds were gathering ovel
the sunlight when Shirley came from
Damory Court, along the narrow wood
path under the hemlocks, and the way
was striped with blue-black shadows
and filled with signing noises. She
walked warily, hating often at some
leafy rustic to catch a quick breath
of dread. AS she approached the tree
roots where the cape 1essamines lay
she had to force her feet forward BY
sheer effort of will. At little dis
tance from them she broke q stick anC
with it managed to drag the bunch Il
her, turning her eyes with a shivel
from the trampled spot near by. Sh'
picked up the flowers, and treadint
with caution, retraced her steps to thu
wider path.
She stepped into the Red Road a
length in the teeth of a thunderstorm
which had arisen almost without warn
ing to break with the passionate in
tensity of electric storms In the South
There was no shelter, but even ha,
there been, she would not have sough
It. The turbulence of nature aroun'
her matched, in way, her over
strained feeling, and she welcomes
the fierce bulge Of the wind in tn
up-blowing whorls of her hair and tn
drenching wetness of the rain. Sh
tried to fix her mind on near things
the bending grasses, the scurrying re-
runnels and Tapping shrubbery, bu
her thoughts wilfully escaped tn
tether, turning again and again to tn
events of the last two hours. She pic
tured Unc Jefferson's eyes rolling u
! in ridiculous alarm, his winnowin
arm lashing his indignant mule in hi
flight for the doctor.
At the mental picture she choke
with hysterical laughter, then cringe
suddenly against the sopping bari
She saw again the doctors gaze Iii
from his first examination Of the tin
punctures to send swift penetrar
glance at her. before he bent his gres
body to carry the unconscious man t
the house. Again fit of shudderin
swept over her. Then, all at ono
tears Came, strangling sobs that ber
and swayed her. 1t was the discharg
, of the Leyden jar, the Il -sing Of tn
tense bow-string and It brought r
lief. After time size grew quiete
He would get well! The though
that perhaps she had saved his lii
gave her a thrill that ran over hi
? whole body. And until yesterday 81
, had never seen him! She kneeled
the blurred half-light, pushing her w
} hair back from her forehead and sm
! ing up in the rain that still fell fas
} In few moments she rose and went o
r At the gate of the Rosewood laI