The Monticellonian., 1915-01-28
CHAPTER xi-contlnued.

CHAPTER Xi-Continued.
She was at the door of her mother
room, which was like an antique shop
Old plates lay on top of old tables
with vases on the floor under the
tables. Surrounded by her treasures
Mrs. Galland awaited the attack; moi
as soldier awaits it, but as that ven
cradle Roman senator of the story
faced the barbarous Gauls-neitheI
disputing the power of their spears
nor yielding the self-respect of his own
mind and soul. She had lain down in
her wrapper for the night, and the
light from a single candle-she still
favored candles-revealedh her features
calm and philosophical among the pill
lows. Yet the magic of war, reaching
deep into hidden emotions, had her
also under its spell. Hel voice was at
once more tender and vital.
Marta, l see that you are all on
wiresi"
Yes; jang1ing wires, every one,
jangling every second out of tune.
Marta aequiesced
Marta, my father"-her father had
been a premier of the Browns-"al
ways said that you may enjoy the lux
ury of fussing over little things, for
they don't count much one way or an
other; but about big things you must
never fuss or you will not be worthy
of big things Marta, you cannot stop
a railroad train with your hands. This
is not the first war on earth and we
are not the first women who ever
thought that war was wrong. Each
of us has his work to do ard you will
have yours. !. does no good to tire
yourself out and fly to pieces. even il
you do know so much and have been
around the world"
She smiled as woman of sixty
who has a secret heart-break that she
had never given her husband a son
may smile at daughter who is both
son and daughter to her, and her
plump hand, all curves like her plump
face and her plump body, spread open
in appeal.
Marta, who, in the breeding of heI
generation, felt sentiment as more oil
less of lure from logic, dropped be
side the bed in sudden burst of sen
timent and gathered the plump hand
In hers and kissed it.
Mother, you are wonderful" she
said. Mother. you are great"
After a time. her ear becoming &C
customed to the firing as a city dwell
ler's to the distant roar OF city traf
fc, Mrs. Galiand slept But Marta
could not follow her advice If, tran
silently at least, she had found some
thing of the peace of the confessional
the vigor of youth was in her arteries
and youth cannot help remaining
awake under some conditions. She
tiptoed across the hall into her own
room and seated herself by the win
dow The symbol of what the ear
had heard the eye saw-war, working
in tones of the landscape by day with
smokeless powder; war, revealed by
its tongues of flame at night. Ugly
bursts of fire from the higher hille
spread to the heavens like an aurora
boreals and broke their messengers
in sheets of fame over the lower hills
the batteries of the Browns sprin
king death about the heads of the
gunners of the Grays emplacing theil
batteries Staccato flashes from
single point counted So many bullet.
from an automatic, which directed by
the beams of the search-lights. fount
their targets In sections of advancin.
infantry. Hill crests. set of witt
flashes running back and forth. de
marked infantry lines Of the Brown
assisting the automatics.
There were lulls between tn
crashes of the small arms and tn
heavy, throaty speech of the guns
lulls that seemed TO say that bot
sides had paused for q breathin
spell; lulls that allowed the battle i
the distance to be heard in its pervs
sive undertone. In one of them, whe
even the undertone had ceased for
few seconds, Marta caught family tn
groans of wounded man-one of tn
crew of Gray dirigible burned b
an explosion and brought in his agon
softly to earth by billowing piece c
envelope which acted as parachute
Fighting proceeded in La Tir i
stages of feroeity and blank silence
The upper part of the town, whic
the Browns still held. was in dari
ness; the lower part, where the Gray
were, was illuminated.
Another one of Lanny's plans!
thought Marta. He would have theT
work in the light. while we fire GU
of obscurityi"
Soon all the town was in darkness
for the Grays had cut the wire ID tn
main conduit shortly after she ha