The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-04-01

she crouched beside him, putting
her hands by his on the stick and
wrenching 1t over with all her
strength. Tighter. tighter" she said
III must be tighter" But. to her dis,
may. at the last turn the improvised
cord snapped. and the released stick
new dozen feet away.
Her heart leaped chokingly. then
dropped into hammer-like thuddirg
He leaned back on one arm, trying
10 laugh. but she noted that his breath
came shortly as If he had been run
ming. Absurd" he said. frowning.
How such-a fool thing-can hurt"
Suddenly she threw herself on the
ground and grasped the foot with both
hands. He could see her face twitch
with shudderlng, and her eyes dilating
with some determined purpose.
What are you going to do?"
This" she said. and he felt her
shrinking lips. warm and tremulous,
pressed hard against his instep.
He drew away sharply, with savage
denial. "No-no! Not that! You
shan't! My lord-you shant!" He
dragged his nlmbing foot from her
desperate grasp. lifting himself. push
ing her from him; but she fought with
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! / can go to the house and send
Uncle Jefferson for the doctor and he
No! stop, ! say! Oh--Pm sorry if |
hurt you. How strong you are!"
Let mel"
No! 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! i would rather"
Let me! Oh, IL you diod!"
With oil the force of her strong
young body she wrenched away his
protestant hands. A thirst and a sick
ish feeling We're upon him. a 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
CONSEQUENCES 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 time he was conscious
OF q white desperate face haloed with
hair that was a mist OF woven spar
kles. At times he thought himself
a recumbent stone statue in a wood,
and her a great tall golden-headed
flower lying broken at his feet. Again
he was a granite boulder and she q
vine with yellow leaves winding and
ciinging about him. Then blank
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.
y
Inky clouds were gathering over
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. halting often at some
leafy rustic TO catch quick breath
OF dread. AS she approach he'd the tree
roots where the cape jessamines lay,
she had to force her fee. forward by
sheer effort OF will. At little dis
tance from them she broke stick and
with ii managed TO drag the bunch TO
her. turning her eyes with a shiver
from the trampled spot near by. She
picked up the flowers. and treading
with caution, retraced her steps to the
wider path.
She stepped into tho Red Road at
length in the teeth OF 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 had
there been. she would not have sought
1t. The turbulence of nature around
her matched. In way, her over
strained feeling, and she welcomed
the fierce bulge OF the wind in the
up-blowing whorls OF her hair and tho
drenching wetn. 81 Of the rain. She
tried 10 fix her mind on near things.
the bending grasses, the scurrying red
tdnncls and ilappng shrubbery. but
her thoughts wilfully escaped the
tether, turning again and again to the
events OF the last two hours She pic
turcd Unc' Jcffcrson's eyes rolling up
I'm ridiculous alarm, his winnowing