The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1915-10-15

powS9 % rnwar' 1eash, q least 10 this
instance. had Ito effect, not ouly on
the wounded man but on those VINO
attended him. Doctor Holder and thu
nurses were not slow to admit that
her magnificent courage, her almost
scornful self-assnrance. supplied them
with an incentive that otherwise might
never have got beyond the form a .
mere hope. There was something pos-
itively startling in her serene convto-
ton that Frederic was not to die ~
less a skeptic than the renowned
Doctor Holder conhded to Lydia and
her mother that he ncv believed IN
the supernatural and never again
would say there IL no God" with
the dampness Of death on the young
mans brow, a remarkable change had
occurred even as be watched for the
last fleeting breath. 1t was as II some
secret, unconquerable force had sud
denly interviewed TO take the whole
matter out Of natures hands. 1t was
not in the books that he should gOt
well; it was against every rule OF ma
ture that he should have survived that
first days struggle. He was marked
for death and there was no alternative.
Then came the bewildering, mystify-
ing change. Life did not take ito ex-
pected flight; instead it chung, flicker
ing but in~destructible, to It's clay and
would not obey the laws Of nature.
For days and days life hung by what
we are pleaHed to call a thread; the
great shears of death could not sever
the tiny thing that held Frederic's
soul to earth. There was no hour Ia
any Of those days in which the b.
wildered scientist and his assistants
did not proclaim that 1t would be his
last, and yet he gave the lie to them.
Holder had gone to James Brood at
the end Of the third day. and with the
sweat OF the haunted N his brow had
whispered hoarsely that the case wss
out of his hands! He was no longer
the doctor but an agent governed BY =
spirit that would not permit death to
claim its own! And somehow Brood
understood far better than the man Of
science.
The true story Of the shooting had
long been known to Lydia and her
mother. Brood confessed everything
to them. He assumed all of the blame
for what had transpired on that tragic
morning. He humbied himself before
them, and when they shook their
heads and turned their backs upon
him he was not surprised. for he knew
they were not convicting him OF A.
sault with a deadly nrearm. Later
on the story of Therese was told by
him to Frederic and the girl. He did
his wife nc injustice in the recital.
Frederic laid his hand upon the soft
brown head at his knee and voiced the
thought that was in his mind.
you m wondering. as l am, too,
what is to become of Yvonne after To-
day." he said. There must be IN
end. and il it doesn't come now. when
will II come? Tomorrow we sail. Ii
10 certain that she 10 not to accom-
father has said so. He will not take
her with him. So today must see the
end OF things
Frederic. | want you to do some
thing for me-" said Lydia. earnestly.
There was a time when l could not
have asked this OF you. but now l
implore you to speak to your father
in her behalf. love her, Freddy. dear.
! cannot help it. She asks nothing OF
any of us. she expects nothing, and
yet she loves all Of us-yes, all OF US.
She will never, by word or look, make
a single plea for herself. l have watched
her closely all these weeks. There
was v an instant when she re-
vealed the slightest sign Of an appeal.
She takes it for granted that she has
no place in our lives. In our memory.
yes, but that is all. l think she is
yeconciled to what she considers her
fate and 1t han not entered her mind
to protest against it. Perhaps 1t IL
natural that she should feel that way
about it. But 1t is-oh, Freddy, It is
terrible! II he would-would only IN
bend a little toward her. If he"
Listen. Lyddy. dear. l don't be-
lieve it's altogether uD to him. There
is a barrier that We can't see, but they
do-both Of them. nv mother stands
between them. You see, I've come to
know my father lately, dear. He's not
a stranger to me any longer. l know
what sort Of a heart he's got. He
never got ever loving my mother, and
he'll never get over knowing that
Yvonne knows that she loved him to
the day she died. We know what 1t
was in Yvonne that attracted him from
the first. and she knows. He's not
likely to forgive himself SC easily. He
didn't play fair with either of them,
that's what I'm trying to get al. l
don't believe he III forgive himself
any more than he can forgive Yvonne
for the thing she set about to do. You
see, Lyddy, she married him without
love. She debased herself. eve
though she can't admit 1t even ROW.
l love her, too. She's the most won
A--RI 1873