The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1914-02-28

The box had originally held two
pistols. He shuddered as he stopped
to pick up the weapon, and with the
crawling repugnance mingled a pang-
ing anger and humiliation. From his
very babyhood it had always been so
that uncomfortable aversion to the
touch of firearm. There had been mo.
ments in his youth when this unrea-
soning shrinking had filled him with .
blind fury, had driven him to strange
self-tests of courage. He had never
been able to overcome 1t. Analyza-
ton had told him that his peculiar
adherence was no mere outgrpwth Of
this. 1t lay far deeper. He had rare
~, of recent years. met the test. Now,
as he stood in these vnaccustomed
surroundings, with the cold touch Of
the metal the old shuddering held
him, and the sweat broke in beads
on his forehead, Setting his teeth
hard, he crossed the room, slipped the
box with it's pistol, between the vol.
umes Of the bookcase, and returned to
his seat.
The bulldog, aroused from a nap,
thrust q warm muzzle between his
knees. TITS uncanny, Chum!" he said,
as his hand caressed the velvety
head. why should the touch of that
fool thing chill my spine and make
my flesh tiptoe over my bones? Why
should l 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 moon
lighted out-of-doors. The eery feel
ing that had gripped him had gone as
quickly as it 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,
sandals and a huge fuzzy towel from
the steamer-trunk, stripped leisurely.
He donned the bath-robe and sandals
and went out through the window to
the garden and down to where lay the
little lake ruffling silverly under the
moon. On its brink he stopped, and
tossing back his head, tried to imi.
tate one of the bird-calls but was un.
successful. With a rueful laugh he
threw off the bath-robe and stood an
instant glistening. poised in the moon.
light like a marble faun, before he
dove. straight down out of sight.
Five minutes later he pulled him.
self up over the edge, his flesh tin
Cling with the chill Of the water, and
threw 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 can
die, stretched himself luxuriously be.
tween the warm blankets on the
couch. The dog shifted inquiringly at
his hand, then leaped up and snug
gled down close to his feet.
John Valiant's thoughts had fled q
thousand miles away, to the tall girl
who all his life had seemed to stand
out from his world, aloof and unsur-
passed-Katharine Fargo. He tried to
picture her, a perfect chatelaine, grace
full and gracious as tall, white, splen-
did lily, in this dead house that
seemed still to throb with living pas.
sions. But the picture subtly eluded
him and he stirred uneasily under the
blanket. e'-''"~--~
! After time his hands stretched out
to the reading.stand and drew the
glass with It's vivid blossom nearer
till, in his nostrils. it's musky odor
mingled with the dew-wet scent OF
the honeysuckle from the garden. AT
last his eyes closed. Every man car
ries his fate on q ribapd
about his neck" he muttered drowsily
and then, Roses re-,
roses I"
And 80 he fell asleep.