The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1915-10-02
CHAPTER XXX.
Apples Of Istakhar.


The swinging arc light suspended
above the street crossing sputtered
and died down to a dull red dot OF In
candescence as Griswold returned
Margery's note TO his pocket and
walked on.
There are crises In which the chief
contention looms 80 large as to leave
no room for the ordinary mental proc
esses. Griswold saw no significance
In the broken line OF Margery's mes.
sage. The one tremendous revelation
the knowledge that the dross-creat-
Ing curse had finally fallen upon the
woman whose convictions should have
saved her-was blotting out all the
subtler perceptiye faculties: and for
the time the struggle with the sub
merging wave of disappointment and
disheartenment was bitter.
He was two squares beyond the
crossing OF the broken-circuited arc
light. and was still following the curve
OF the lakeside boulevard, when he
came to the surface OF the submerg-
ing wave long enough TO realize that
he had entered Jasper Grierson's por-
ton OF the waterfront drive. The great
house. dark as 10 it's westward gables
save for the lighted upper windows
marking the sick room and It's ante
chamber, doomed in massive solidity
among its sheltering oaks; and the
moon. which had now topped the hills
and the crimsoning smoke haze, was
bathing land and lakescape In a Hood
OF silver light. whitening the pale yell
low sands OF the beach and etching
fantastic leaftraceries on the gravel
OF the boulevard driveway.
There was no inclosing fence on the
Mereside border OF the boulevard. and
under the nearest OF the lawn oaks
there we're rustic park seats, Jasper
Grierson's single concession 10 the
public when he had fought for and
secured his property right-of-way
through to the lakes margin. Griswold
turned aside and sat down on one OF
the benches. The disappointment was
growing less keen. He was beginning
to understand that he had made no
allowance for the eternal feminine In
the localized Fidelia--for the feminine
and the straitly human. But the dis
heartenment remained. Should he
stay and fight II oHt? Or should he
take pity upon the poor prisoner OF
the conventions and seek TO postpone
the day OF reckoning by flight?
He had not fitted the answer to
either of these sharp-pointed queries
when q pair OF lightfngered hands
came from behind TO clap themselves
upon his eyes. and a well-known voice
said. Guess"
"Margery!" he said. and she laughed
with the joyous unconstraint OF a
happy child and came around to sit
by him.
Il was doing time out on the veran-
da, and | saw you down here In the
moonlight, looking as II you had lost
something" she explained, adding:
Have your"
II don't know; can you lose that
which you've never had7" he returned
musingly. And then: yes; perhaps
did lose something Don't ask me
what 1t is. hardly know. myself"
you have just come from Doctor
Bertie's?" she inquired.
yes"
And Charlotte doesn't want to
marry your"
Heavens and earthl" he exploded.
Who put the idea into your head that
wanted TO marry herr"
"You did"-calmly.
Then, for PHYS sake. let me take
IL out, quick. II were the last man
on earth, Miss Farnham wouldn't
marry me; and II she were the last
woman. ! think I'd go drown myself
in the lakel"
The young woman OF the many met
amorphoses was laughing again. and
this time the laugh was letter-perfect
imitation OF schoolgirl giggle.
MY" she said How dreadfully
hard she must have sat on you"
please don't laugh" he pleaded;
unless you are the heartless kind OF
person who would laugh at n funeral
I'm down under the hoofs OF the horses.
NJ last. Margery. girl. Before you