The Glenwood post., 1916-07-01

q
With cIsnehsd Teeth He Struck Out.
opening of those dust-covered bags
with their rusted metal fittings was
going to be another ordeal.
) The next day Gerry sat before his
unpacked bags. He had turned out
all their contents. On the bed, the
! floor, the table and the chairs was
piled such an array of linen and shoes
and suits Of various cut and weight as
he had once deemed the minimum with
which man could decently travel.
Now they seemed to him wasteful and
futile. The clothes did not carry his
, mind back as he had expected. The
starch in the linen had gone yellow.
He had always hated yellow collars.
The suits struck him as belonging to
someone else-all except one. One
sturdy suit of tweed had a cut that
was different from the others. OF all
the clothes 1t alone seemed to have
a personal note-the note he had ex-
pected to find In the bags and had
shrunk from.
Then he remembered. This suit had
been made by his own tailor. he had
worn 1t during a flying visit to Red
Hill. He had had it on the day he
left New York. He had worn 1t that
morning In Alix' room. Red Hill came
back to him, Alix stood before him.
Through the suit he saw her room, the
shimmering blue of her dressing gown,
her crown Of hair and her thin fingers
busy with 1t. He felt again the nip
Of the dear air as it had streamed in
through the open window.
The worst of the food was over.
Gerry engaged search party. All day
long they sought for Margarita and her
child. Towards night they found them,
the little boy tight clasped in his
mothers arms. Gerry laid them ten
derly in the canoe and in silence the
party crawled back up the river to
Piranhas. No one looked curiously at
the burden they carried up through
the main street. Eyes were tired of
the familiar sight. The hour of weep
ing, the allotted tears, were long since
spent. They buried them that night.
Gerry went back to his room. He
sat for long time looking out on the
starry river. Then unconsciously he
picked up the old tweed suit and hung
it carefully on chair. The rest of
his scattered things he swept uncere-
moniously upon the floor and threw
himself full length on the bed. He
was exhausted and slept.
He was up early the next morning.
He made the old woman bring water
and bathed In his room. at is WISE"
she said. For many days there will
be poison in the river" Gerry did not
answer. He closed the door and went
through his ablutions and toilet with
great care. His beard he had always
kept close clipped. Now he shaved 1t
OF. The tan Of his face looked like
mask above the fresh white of his
newly shaved jowls and chin. He
picked out the best Of his linen and
dressed. Lastly, he put on the old
tweed suit. It fell naturally to the
lines of his body all except the waist
band Of the trousers. He drew the
back strap a. close a. It woul6 70.
still the trousers were Z little loose at
the waist At arst he was puxsled,
then be understood. He looked at him
self In the broken glass with eos-
geous but sadly tarnished frame that
hung on the wall. His shoulders
seemed to carry the coat better than
before. He could hear Jones 4 Jones
say. IA splendid nt sir. You can't
pick It up anywhere"
Gerry turned from the glass with q
sigh, He was restless. The heavy
twssds seemed 10 bind his limbs and
chest, but he would not take them ofI.
He sat at the window and watched the
little stern-wheeler. splash up to the
bank. Luckily for her, she had been
three days late in starting up the river,
else that trip would have been her last.
Gerry tried to exert himself to the
trouble. Of packing and getting on
board, but he felt listless.' Why should,
he hurry back7 AK had waited, was
waiting, but not for him. He had not
waited for her. He must 70 back ana
tan her Of course, but what then9 =
sevalesAs cane down u shese