The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1914-04-10

lamp duSteQ IL thoroughly, anu Wneo'
ing it back, set it under the portrait
which had SO attracted him. He
washed the glass from which he had
dined and filed it at the cup OF the
garden fountain, put into it the rose
from his hat and set it on the read
ing-stand. The small china dog
caHght his eye and he picked 1t up
casually The head came off In his
hands. It had been bon-bon box and
was empty save for narrow strip OF
yellowed paper, on which were writ
ten some meaningless figures: l1-ZS-
$40. He pondered this moment,
then thrust it into one Of the empty
pigeonholes of the desk. On the lat
ter stood an old-fashioned leaf-calen-
dar; the date it exposed was May
18th. 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 14th-how much
that date and that motto may have
meant for him.
He rose to push the shutter wider
and in the movement his elbow sent q
shallow case of morocco leather that
had lain on the desk crashing to the
floor. 1t opened and a heavy metallic
object rolled almost to his feet. He
saw at glance that 1t was an old
fashioned rusted dueling-pistol.
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 unconquerable aversion to the
touch of firearm. There had been mo-
ments in his youth when this unrea-
soning shrinking had filed him with
blind fury, had driven him to strange
self-tests Of courage. He had never
been able to overcome it. Analyza-
ton had told him that his peculiar
adherence was no mere outgroWth or
this. 1t lay far deeper. He had rare
ly, of recent years, met the test. Now,
as he stood in these unaccustomed
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 its pistol between the vol
umes of the bookcase, and returned to
his seat.
The bulldog, aroused from a nap,
thrust a 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 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 great
boyish yawn, put out all save one OF
the candles and taking bath-robe.
sandals and 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 I'M
successful. With 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 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 a
thousand miles away, to the tall girl
who all his life had seemed to stand
out from his world, aloof and unsur-
passed-Katharin 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.
After time his hands stretched out
to the reading-stand and drew the
glass with its vivid blossom nearer,
till, in his nostrils, Its 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 riband
about his neck" ne muttered drows'y,
and then, "Roses red
roses
And so he fell asleep. !,
To he Continued