The Odanah star. [volume] (Odanah, Ashland Co., Wis.) 1912-1916, 1915-02-12

His tone held more than gratitude. 1t
had the citation of discovery.
HE is going to make it harder than
I ever guessed" echoed her own
thought, in flutter of confusion.
eyes, it was strange our meeting on
the frontier in peace and then in war!"
she exclaimed at random. The sound
Of the remark struck her as too sub
dued; as expectant, when her purpose
was one of careless depreciation.
II have met great many women.
as you may have imagined" he pro-
ceeded. "They have passed in review.
They were simply women. witty and
frail or dull and beautiful, and one
meant no more to me than another.
Nothing meant anything to me except
my profession. But never forgot you.
You planted something in mind: a
memory of real companionship."
eyes, I made the prophecy that
came true!" she put in. This ought
to bring him back to himself and his
ambitions, she thought
"Yes!" he exclaimed, his body stiff
fleming free of the back of the seat.
"You realized what was in me. You
foresaw the power which was to be
mine. The fate that first brought us
together made me look you up in the
capital. Now it brings us together
here on this bench after all that has
passed in the last twenty-four hours"
She realized that he had drawn per-
ceptibly nearer. She wantedkto rise
and cry out: Don't do this! Be the
chief Of staff, the conqueror, crushing
the earth with the tread of five against
three!" It was the conQueror whom
she wanted to trick, not a man whose
earnestness was painting her deceit
blacker. Far from rising, she made no
movement at all; only looked at her
hands and allowed him to go on, con-
scious of the force of a personality
that mastered men and armies now
warm and appealing in the full tide of
another purpose.
"The victory that I was thinking of
last night was not the taking of Bor-
dir. It was finer than any victory in
war. It was selfsh-not for army
and country, but born of a human
weakness triumphant; human weak
ness of which nay career had robbed
me-" he continued. ut gave me
JOY that even the occupation of the
Browns capital could not give. had
come as an invader and I had won
your confidence"
"In a cause!" she interrupted hur-
riedly, wildly, to stop aim from going
further, only to find that her intona-
ton was such that it was drawing him
on,
"That fatality seemed to be working
itself out to the soldier so much older
than yourself In renewed youth, in
another form of ambition. I hoped
that there was more than the cause
that led you to trust me. I hoped"
Was ne testing her? Was he play
ing a part Of his own to make certain
that she was not playing one? She
looked up swiftly for answer. There
was no gainsaying what she saw In
his eyes. 1t was beating into hers
with the power Of an overwhelming
masculine passion and maturity Of
intellect as his egoism admitted COM
rade to its throne. Such is ever the
way of a man In the forties when the
clock strikes for him. But who could
know better the craft of courtship
than one of Westerling's experience?
He was fighting for victory; to crafty
q desire.
81 did not expect this-I--" the
words escaped unanimously and chok-
ingly.
He was bending 50 close to her that