The Odanah star. [volume] (Odanah, Ashland Co., Wis.) 1912-1916, 1915-02-26

| turning to Westerling, her curiosity
apparently aroused as matter Of cour-
| tesy to his own interest in the sub
| ject.
| "Who do you think. he accused?
| Why, you," he added, with peculiar
| laugh.
! She noted the popularity Of the
laugh discriminatory.
"Oh!' Her eyes opened wide In
wonder-only wonder, at first Then,
as comprehension took the place of
wonder, they grew sympathetic. THAT
explains!" she exclaimed. Ellis hate
| full glances were those of delusion. He
was going mad, you mean?'
eyes," said Westerling. "that-that
would explain til"
ct have been told that when people
| go mad they always ascribe every in
jury done to them to the person who
happens to have excited their dislike"
she mused.-
(Which seems to have been the case
here" Westerling assented. He did
not know what else to say. His pride
was recovering its natural confidence
in the infallibility of his judgment Of
human beings. He was seeing his sus-
picions as ridiculous enough to con-
vict him of brain as disordered as
Bouchard's.
Marta was thinking that she had
been skating on very thin ice and
that she must go on skating till she
broke through. There was an exhila-
ration about it that she could not re-
sist: the exhilaration Of risk and the
control of her faculties, prompted by
purpose hypnotically compelling.
Both were silent, she watching the
sky, he in anticipation and suspense.
The rose went violet and the shadows
over the range deepened..
''The guns and the troops wait.
With darkness the music begins!" he
said slowly, with a start of stern
fervor.
"The music-the music! He calls
it musjc!" ran through Marta's mind
mockingly, but she did not open her
lips.
"They wait, ready, every detail ar
ranged" he continued proudly.
The sky merged into the shadows of
the landscape that spread and thick
ened into blackness. Out Of the drawn
curtains of night broke an ugly fash
and farther up the slope spread the
explosive circle Of light of bursting
shell. '~
"The signal" he exclaimed.
Right and left the blasts spread
along the Gray lines and right and
left. on the instant, the Browns sent
their blasts in reply. Countless tongues
of flame seemed to burst from count
less craters, and the range to rock In
torment Of crashes. In the inter-
vening space between the ugly, saw
age gusts from the Gray gun mouths,
which sent their shells from the midst
of exploding Brown shells, swept the
beams of the Brown search-lights,
their rays lost like sunlight in the vor-
tex of an open furnace door.
Splendid splendid" exclaimed
Westerling, in sweep Of emotion at
the sight that had been born of his
command. Five thousand guns on
our side alone! The world has never
seen the equal Of this!,,'
Marta looked away from the range
to his face. very distinct in the garish
illumination. It was the face of a
maestro Of war seeing all his rehear-
sails and all his labors come true in
symphonic qualification to the eye
and ear; the face of man Of trained
mind, the product Of civilization, with
the citation of a party leader on the
floor Of parliament in a crisis.
Soon, now!" said Westerling, and
looked at his watch.
Shortly, in the direction Of Engadir,
to the rear of the steady flashes
broke forth line after line of flashes
as the long-range batteries, which so
far had been silent, joined their might
Ter voices to the chorus, making con-
tinuous leaping burst of explosions
over the Brown positions, which were
the real object of the attack.
"The moment I've lived for!" ex-
claimed Westerling. sour infantry is
starting up the apron of Engadir! We
held back the fire of the heavy guns
concentrated for the purpose of. sup
porting the men with an outburst.
Three hundred heavy guns pouring in
their shells on a space of two acres!
We're tearing their redoubts to pieces!
They can't see to fire! They can't
live under it.! They're In the crater
Of a volcano! When our infantry is
on the edge of the wreckage the guns
cease. Our infantry crowd in-crowd
into the house that Partow built.
He'll find that numbers count; that
the power of modern gunfire will open
the way for infantry in masses to take
and hold vital tactical positions! And
I-no-no, their fire in reply is not as
strong as I expected"
Because they are letting you In!
It will be strong enough In due sea-
son!" thought Marta In the uncontrol-
liable triumph of antagonism. Five
against three was in his tone and in
every line of his features.