The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1915-07-10

power to thEar- death, at least ID this
instance, had its effect. not only OF
the wounded man but on those who
attended him. Doctor Holder and the
nurses were not slow to admit that
her magnificent courage, her almost /
scornfuI self-ass1rance, supplied them /
with an incentive that otherwise might /
never have got beyond the form Of Il
mere hope There was something pos
itiveIy startling in her serene conTic /
ton that Frederic was not 20 die No /
less q skeptic than the renowned /
Doctor Holder confided to Lydia and |
her mother that he now believed in 4
the supernatural and never again |
would say there is no God" With /
the dampness OF death on the young /
mans brow, a remarkable change had /
occurred even as he watched for the
last fleeting breath It was as If some
secret, unconquerable force had sud
denly interviewed to take the whole
matter out Of natures hands It was
not in the books that he should get
we'll; If was against every rule OF na-
I ture that he should have survived that
first days struggle He was marked
/ for death and there was no alternative
I
/ ing change Life did not take its ex-
! pected fight; instead it chung. flicker
/ ing but indestructible, to its clay and
would not obey the laws Of nature
For days and days life hung by what
we are pleased 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 in
-
| wildered scientist and his assistants
did not proclaim that it 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 on his brow had
whispered hoarseIy that the case was
out of his hands! He was no longer
the doctor but an agent governed by a
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 humbled 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 as
sault with q deadly frearm. Later
on the story of Therese was told by
him to Frederic and the girl He did
his wife no 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 are wondering. as l am, too,
what is to become of Yvonne after to-
day" he said There must be an
end. and if it doesn't come now, when
, will it come? Tomorrow we sail 1t
+, is certain that she is not to accom-
pany US. She has said so herself, and
. father has said so. He will not take
her with him So today must see the
end OF things
. Frederic, l want you to do some
thing for me-" said Lydia, earnestly.
There was a time when could not
have asked this OF you, but now
implore you to speak to your father
in her behalf love her. Freddy, dear
1 cannot help it She asks nothing Of
any OF US, she expects nothing, and
Z yet she loves all OF us-yes, all OF US
She will never, by word or look, make
I a single plea for herself. have watched
her closely all these weeks. There
, was never an instant when she re-
/ veaied the slightest sign Of an appeal
I She takes 1t for granted that she has
no place in our lives In our memory
; yes, but that is all I think she is
i reconciled to what she considers heI
3 fate and it has not entered her mind
e to protest against it Perhaps it is
natural that she should feel that way
e about it. But it is-oh, Freddy, II is
y terrible! If he would-wouid only IN
: bend a little toward her. II he"
Listen, Lyddy, dear 1 don't be
lieve it's altogether up to him There
is a barrier that We can't see, but they
do-both of them My mother stand:
between them You see, I've come II
know my father lately, dear. He's not
a stranger to me any longer. I know
: what sort of a heart he's got He
never got over loving my mother, and
he'll never get over knowing thai
Yvonne knows that she loved him Il
the day she died. We know what i
was in Yvonne that attracted him from
the first, and she knows He's no
g likely to forgive himself so easily. He
/ didn't play fair with either OF them
q that's what I'm trying to get at.
T don't believe he can forgive himself
II any more than he can forgive YvOnnC
e for the thing she set about to do You
s. see, Lyddy. she married him withou
e love. She debased herself ever
d though she can't admit it even now
J. I love her, too. She's the most won
derful woman in the world She's 90
e the finest instincts a woman evel
o possessed. But she did give hersel
y to the man she hated with all her soul
If and-well, there you are He can't for
e get that, you mow-and she can't
u Leaving me out Of the question alto
e gether-and you, toO-there still re
II mains the sorry fact that she has be
Of trayed her sisters love She love
n him for herself now, and--that's .Wha
Ie hurts both Of them. It hurts becaus
u they both know that he still love