The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1915-07-31
ming she would do So II q man fol-
lowed her she would ignore the fact

| heard If man touched her she would
rely upon the fire of her eyes. She
would never call out for help. Some
women were Just that silly
He bit hard upon the stem of his
pipe. What was all this to him? Why
should he bother his head about q
woman he had known but a few hours ?
All. why lie to himself? He knew what
Elsa, usually quick and receptive, did
not know. that he was not afraid OF
her. but terribly afraid of himself For
| things ripen quickly in the East, men
and women, souls and deeds And he
was something like the pariah dog:
spoken kindly to. 1t attached itself i'm
mediately and enduringly
/ He struck the Guilty against his boot
heel. Why not? 1t would be only for
two days, At Rangoon their paths
would separate; he would never see
| her again. He got up. He would go
| to her at once and apologize. And
thus he surrendered to the very devil
he had but moment gone SO vigor
ously discountenanced
He found her asleep in her chair
The devil which had brought him to
her side was thrust back Why she
was nothing more than a beautiful
child! A great yearning to brother
her came into his heart He did not
disturb her, but waited until five that
grave and sober hour. when kings and
clerks stop work for no logical reason
whatever-tea. She opened her eyes
and saw him watching her. He rose
quickly
Il was very rude little while ago.
Will you accept my apologies?"
ION condition that you will never
take your playthings and 60 home"
He laughed engagingly. you've hit
it squarely. 1t was the at of petu
liant child"
1T did not sound exactly like a
man who had stocked six months from
Singapore to the Andaman islands
But there is one thing must under
stand before this acquaintance contin.
ues. You said. Who knows what
manner Of man l am? Have you ever
done anything that would conscien.
tiously forbid you to speak to young
unmarried woman?"
Take care of herself? He rather be-
lieved she could. The bluntness Of her
question dissipated any doubt that re-
NAMED
mo. l haven't been that kind Of q
man." simply Il could look into my
mothers eyes without any sense Of
shame. II that is what you mean"
THAT is all care to know. Your
mother is living?"
Yes. But l haven't seen her in
ten years." His mother! His brows
met in a frown. His proud. beautiful
mother!
Elsa saw the frown and realized
that she had approached delicate
ground She stirred her tea and slipped
it slowly.
There has been a deal OF chatter
about shifty. untrustworthy eyes" he
said "The greatest liars have ever
known could look st. Peter straight
and serenely in the eye. It's matter
of steady nerves. nothing more. Some
body says that so and so is fact. and
we go on believing 1t for years, until
someone who is not a person but an
individual explodes it."
II agree with you. But there is
something we rely upon far more than
either eyes or ears, instinct IT is
that attribute Of the animal which
civilization has not yet successfully
dulled Women rely upon that more
readily than men"
And make more mistakes" with a
cynicism he could not conceal.
She had no ready counter for this.
DO you go home from Rangoon, now
that you have made your fortune?"
mo. am going to Singapore, |
shall make my plans there"
Singapore Elsa stirred uneasily. 1t
would be like having ghost by her
side. She wanted to tell him what had
really drawn her interest But It
seemed to her that the moment to do
so had passed.
"Vultures! How | detest them!"
She pointed toward sand bar nron
which stood several of these abomi-
nable birds and an adjutant. solemn
and aloof AT Lucknow they were
red headed. do not recollect seeing
one of them fly. But ! admire the
kites; they look much like our eagles"
And thus again the eye misleads
us. There Is nothing that dies 80
as the kite"
Little by little she drew from him
a sketch here, a phase there. She was
given glimpses into the life of the
East such as no book or guide had |
ever given: and the boat was circiing
toward the landing at Prone before
they became aware of the time.