Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1915-04-02
CHAPTER xvIII-ContInued.

wait a minute" he said quietly.
THAT isn't all. thank you. Brand.
for your solicitious care for me-" He
emphasized the word noticably. But
have been doing some thinking OF my
own In the last half hour and my plans
don't seem to 60 on at all where yours
leave on. 1t might interest you to
know. before you 60, that l am going
to stay right here and tell the truth
from first to last-from the time you
came to Staten Island, until Mrs. Rey-
nolds received q letter from you the
other day showing that you had vol
unfairly squared a criminal transac-
ton for me at the bank"
As he finished Bob's fist came down
on the little center table and almost
shattered It, There was the vigor and
determination that Brand had had to
respect once before when he had
loosed his wiles on more gullible re-
cipient. But now. in this crisis. he had
not even considered the chance OF op-
position to his will. First astonished.
then thoughtful, his forid features
now revealed their old cunning.
You play the game big. Reynolds"
he said at last. Either this h q
holdup right, or you have gone clear
crazy"
All right. Rave all you want to.
Brand. II can't do any harm now.
told you last week there were two
ways to get out Of 1t all: One was
money and the other was to make
clean breast of It One can't have all
he wants all the time. You had your
chance ten days ago and you threw 1t
away. I gave you my terms and you
took advantage of my helplessness
and ignored them. You stayed away
and paid that paltry $4,000 at the
hank. You thought you would fright
On my wife; that your magnanimity
In releasing US from immediate peril
would impress her and that In the end
she would welcome the release you Of
fered. Well. you succeeded with her
hut not with me. For her sake was
almost inclined to let matters drop.
hut this terrible affair has changed 1t
al. We have taken human life. and .
lot of 1t, and some one has got to pay.
20 II anyone Is going to take the Lusi-
tania, you're the man who had better
hurry and pack his grip"
Brand stepped quickly to Reynolds.
= tower Of indignant rage. Trapped
or cornered he was always Brand; al
ways ready to put his back to the wall
and hght-in the open II he couldn't
hight from ambush. Bearded and al
most beaten now. he Quivered in his
wrath and shook q threatening fist
straight In Reynolds face.
You're Q big. blasted baby and an
nmbecile!" he cried. You play the
Quitter now and I'll make you regret 1t
to the last day Of your life. Ill fight
and I'll win a. I always have. You
cant keep . man with money In jail.
Those three words can't be grouped
In the same language! But what's the
tuse Of talking" he added disgustedly.
l"You can't lay down now II you want
Ito. You haven't got the nerve to send
that girl there to the penitentiary for
six or eight or ten years. to come out
h broken woman-not enough Of her
left to suggest who she was. Do you
know what prison does to men. Roy
tnolds? Breaks 'em-body. mind and
Isoull Well. what will 1t do to . wom-
an, theni To your wifef For II we 60
Ishe goes with u. I've told you that
land I mean It. % ! guess my blufrs
iabout - strong - yours."
He turned partly to Dick and. - II
10 cinch his threat. added:
and I'm not sure but that our vir-
btuous friend here will be keeping ~
company. That's law and you know
H."
Bob" cried his wife. creeping to his
lside and Guiding against him - II she
paw In Brand some hybrid monster
Whom she really feared. TN 90. Any.
thing you say. dearl I'm not afraid
mot afraid" Weeping softly. in obvi-
bous contradiction to her courageous
island. she nestled closer to his side. :.
We stand upon the brink Of . high
Iprecipics and looking down are OBJ
Ioessed with . strange desire to jump.
The thought Of life has vanished In .
vale Of endless depths-the hold on 1t
Il inflnitesimal. A bird flying over.
head. startled BY the strange intruder
In his realms. drops . twig he 10 carry.
ting 70 his nest. The tiny bit Of wood
IAutters to the mountain top and at
1.-THE precise moment that We have all
hut signed our passport to other worlds
lIths twig falls at our feet. The sound
lof It 10 scarcely audible. but slight ~
1T 10 We hear 1t, turn. and the spell Of
jselfabsorption and abandon IL broken.
I'VE lose no time In climbing back to
terra, hrma
So Reynolds. possessed with the
hdsa OF sslfsacrincs- self-destruction
NJ ecessary-anything to bring to Jus
Ltics the man he blamed for all his
wrongs and for the awful climax that
had just come. grew stronger In his
purpose. more fascinated In the pur.
port Of Il. with every word that Brand
|used to dissuade him. Even Brands
|Seiterated threat concerning Jane had
nost its power. but the sound of her
voice came to him like the sound Of
the falling twig. II restored not the
instinct Of self-preservation for self
alone. but the sense Of duty to her.
He. the one who had sworn to protect
nsr. was the only one who could pro-
oect her now. n he failed her and
unoalined the sting Of conscience By