The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1915-12-23
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BY MAUD COBB.

TITS q curious story" said Ha,o.
nersley. land | don't know quite
which It illustrates more. the power
Of! men and women to rise on step.
ptng.stones Of their dead past, or the
regenerating force Of love. However.
here you are: Anna Devine, the eel
ebrated actress, used to spend her
summers at a famous place In the
North woods, now torn down. It's only
a:memory: with us who used to go
there. But we had gay times there,
and Anna was always the biggest dare
devil Of the lot of US.
There was a young fellow, a guide,
Just an ordinary. simple woodsman,
but made like a Greek god. Apollo
We used to call him. He took the name
good-naturedly.' and probably never
heard of Apollo before Anna Devine
was struck by his appearance, as any
woman would be.
"Just for a joke she determined to
make the young fellow fall in love
with her. We were all in the secret
In fact. she confded 1t to us.
"The climax came sooner than was
expected. Anna had staged the scene,
merely telling us to be at a certain
spot at a certain time. Sure enough,
when we arrived, Jim Quantock vas
on his knees before Anna, pouring
forth a food Of rapture and all that.
And Anna was as demure as a saint
until she looked up and spotted US.
"Then she burst iato a peal of such
hooking laughter that Jim was aghast.
How she let loose on him! Fury sue.
ceeded mockery-and all the time 1t
was a game. She asked him how he
could have the presumption to aspire
to marry her, how he could dare to
violate his duty as a. guide, a mere
hired servant-she rubbed that in
and tell her such nonsense. When she
got through with him he was as limp
as a rag. He was just standing with
open mouth, amazed at the transfer.
nation.
Then he looked up and saw us,
and he spotted the game. He doubled
his fists and stepped toward US. l
can tell you I didn't feel particularly
happy Just then. with six feet of mus.
cular manhood advancing on me. And
was the nearest. However, he
stopped short and turned upon Anna.
And the; speech he made. while 1t
lacked the huency Of the actress,
didn't lack dramatic effect. He told
her that she was q depraved woman.
that no decent woman in any class
tricked the man who loved her. His
scorn seemed to shrivel up the actress.
And when he went on to denounce
her, telling her that the day would
come when she would regret the hon.
est love she had thrown away, Anna
just stared at him with wide, terrified
eyes, and said not a word.
Then he turned on his heel and
strobe away into the forest. Anna
turned to me with a pitiful smile.
81 guess he spoke the truth, ana ]
don't often hear it, she said. will
you kindly take. me back to the hotel?'
well. time went on, and from that
day Annals nature seemed to change.
l saw her act that fall and l was
amazed at her performance. Gone was
all the old charm that had c%aptivated
thousands. She seemed a mechanical
creature going through a mechanical
part. The subtle power was lost for
ever.
"F1ve years passed. Anna Devine
was now playing subordinate parts in
small companies. Sometimes a mana.
ger would advertise her name and she
tried to come back, but she never
could. She was gone-all that had
been VS. gone, and in place of her
was a woman who was strange even
to herself. I guess it was about this
time that she began taking drugs.
1.-THE end disappearing, and
Anna realized it. She had run through
her money. she was living in a cheap
furnished room somewhere in q
squalid part Of the town. She had al.
ready bought the carbolic acid. She
was. sitting upon the edge of her bed,
gathering courage to take the draught.