Mexico Missouri message., 1915-02-04

4
am waiting to obey"
She hesitated again, then said,
slowly:
Have your hair cut. It's the one
uncivilized thing about you"
For an instant Samson's face hard
ened.
NO" he said; II don't care to do
that"
"Oh, very well!" she laughed lightly.
I'm that event, of course, you shouldn't
do it," But her smile faded. and after
moment he explained:
you see, it wouldn't do"
What do you mean?"
81 mean that I've got to keep some
thing as it was to remind me of prior
claim on my life"
For an instant the girls face cloud
ed and grew deeply troubled.
"You don't mean," she asked, with
an outburst of interest more vehement
than she had meant to show, or real
lied she was showing-"you don't
mean that you still adhere to ideas of
the vendetta?" Then she broke off
with laugh, a rather nervous laugh.
"of course not" she answered her
self. THAT would be too absurd"
Would it?" asked Samson, simply.
He glanced at his watch. Two min
utes up" he announced. 1.-The model
will please resume the pose. By the
way, may l drive with you tomorrow
afternoon"
The next afternoon Samson ran up
the street steps of the Lescott house
and rang the bell, and few moments
later Adrienne appeared. The car was
waiting outside, and, as the girl came
down the stairs in motor coat and
veil, she paused and her fingers on the
banister frightened in surprise"as she
looked at the man who stood below
holding his hat in his hand, with his
face upturned. The well-shaped head
was no longer marred by the name
which it had formerly worn, but was
close cropped, and under the trans
forming influence of the change the
forehead seemed holder and higher,
and to her thinking the strength of
the purposeful features was enhanced,
and yet, had she known it, the man
felt that he had for the first time sur
rendered point which meant an aban-
donment of something akin to prin-
ciple.
She said nothing, but as she took
his hand in greeting her fingers
pressed his own in handclasp more
lingering than usual.
Late that evening, when Samson re-
turned to the studio, he found a mis-
sive in his letter box, and, as he took
it out, his eyes fell on the postmark.
1t was dated from Hixon, Kentucky,
and, as the man slowly climbed the
stairs, he turLed the envelope over in
his hand with a strange sense of mis-
giving and premonitiOn.
The letter was written in the
cramped hand of Brother Spencer.
Through it's faulty diction ran plain
| ly discernible undernote of disapproval
for Samson, though there was no word
of reproof or criticism. II was plain
that it was sent as a matter of cour-
apostate, scarcely merited such consid-
Grafton. 1t informed him that old
| Spicer South had been mighty pore
! ly," but was now better, barring the
breaking of age. Everyone was "tol-
CRADLE" Then came the announce
ment which the letter had been writ
| ten to convey.
| NOn Of he InII
had ended, and it had been renewed
for an indefinite period.
Some of your folks thought they
ought to let you know because they
promised to give you say" wrote
the informant. But they decided that
it couldn't hardly make no difference
to you, since you have left the noun
tains, and if you cared anything about
it, you knew the time, and could OF
been here. Hoping this finds you
we'll"
Samson's face clouded. He threw
the soiled and scribbled missive down
on the table and sat with unseeing
eyes fixed on the studio wall. So, they
had cast him out of their eouncilsl
They already thought of him as one
who had been.
In that passionate rush of feeling
everything that had happened since
he had left Misery seemed artificial
and dreamlike. He longed for the
realities that were forfeited. He want
ed to press himself close to the great
gray shoulders of rock that broke
through the greenery like giants tear
ing off soft raiment. Those were hi
people back there. He should be run
ming with the wolf pack, not coursinl
with beagles.
He had been telling himself that h
was loyal and now he realized that h
was drifting like the lotus eaters.
He rose and paced the floor, witt
teeth and hands clenched and tn
sweat standing out on his forehead
His advisers had of late been urginl
him to go to Paris. He had refused
and his unconfessed reason had beef