Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1916-02-10

her burden in Sandry's lap. showerinf
him with the blood of the bleeding
hearts. She did not look at him. Their
they trotted away around the corner
TO the shed and Sandrys lips tight
ened pitifully as he gathered up each
smallest spray of the woods-treasures
| Where she stood back against the
wall, one hand at her puIsing throat
Miss Ordway saw that tightening oil
the lips, the droop that came into the
mans whole face, and her eyes mar
rowed and hardened like q cats.
That night she came to him in the
eating room
Walter" she said. I'm stuck in
the middle of chapter. viii you 90
over few pages with me and give me
the benefit of mans ideas?"
He smiled
I'm afraid mine will not be OF much
account, but such as they are you are
welcome to them"
They will answer" said Miss Ord.
way, "a woman cannot write from her.
self for men-she must write from
man to man. I'll bring my manuscript
out here"
And turning. she went from him to
the sanctuary of the little south room
When she returned she carried hand.
full OF closely typewriter pages.
They drew up one of the pine
benches. spread out the manuscript be-
tween the catchup bottles and sat down
together.
Instantly with the touch of the shift.
ing sheets in her fingers Miss Ordway
seemed to drift away from the per.
sonal. She became detached, absorbed,
swallowed up in the thran OF work
and Sandry had feeling of what such
a work must mean to one.
Now see" she said, half excitedly,
here is the point about which | am
a trifie in doubt. But | will have to
sketch the situation for you so you
can get a grip on it,"
She turned toward him, spreading
out fiat on the paper one exquisite
hand. Among her other hidden vani.
ties, Poppy Ordway cherished an inor.
dinate pride in these hands of hers
and she knew their value andtheir Do
tency to the last atom.
With an unconscious appreciation
Sandry now looked down at 1t where
II spread across the page. Uncon.
sciously. too, his mind caught a shad.
owy comparison-the memory of the
olive-colored. slim hands OF the girl
Siletz But she was speaking and he
looked again.
Now suppose my hero is confront
ed with a man-his friend, 1t hap.
pens-who, in the plausible and un.
Improbable methods of modern bust.
ness. has calmly become possessed of
my heros wealth. There is no DOS.
sible way OF touching the swindler. for
1t has been done in a manner that
gives it the seeming Of legality. Yet
the victim knows in his heart that the
other is a thief. Now here is my
point"
Miss Ordway was talking slowly as
IL Nol OIlG listen.
ing would have suspected that the
words she uttered were purely me-
chanical. having been written out and
memorized that afternoon. and that
her mind was busy with a different set
of ideas. In fact, this was what she
was thinking. tabulating rapidly a set
of items
Widening eyes-aroused interest.
abnormal. Fingers tapping the table
startled nerves. No suspicion. but as
constituent at SO unique a coinci
dence."
Aloud she was going on: Suppose
my hero to be modern man of aver.
age good principles. could he bring
himself to steal back deliberately an
amount equal to, or compensating for,
the amount stolen from him, and not
consider himself a criminal? Could he
go out among men with his head up,
not deeming himself thief? And
would the modern man of average
honor do such thng?"
Miss Ordway was leaning forward |
seemingly absorbed in her problem,
her eyes on Sandry's face, where con
fiicting' expressions were struggling |
for the mastery.
I'm a moment" she was saying to |
herself. eager as a hound; Tin a mo- |
ment he will commit himself" for the |
bright. blue glance of the young owner
bit, he opened his lips, shut |
his hand upon the oilcloth and his jaw |
hardened with tautened muscles.
mo! He wouldn't be thief-that
would be the right law"
Every nerve in Miss Ordway's body |
Jumped, though there was no outward |
sign, as the tension that had been
growing between them snapped with |
he voice of SiletZ.
The girl had stopped on the far side
If the room. unnoticed by either, and |
now she stood leaning forward with
her hands upon the table. her braids
hanging beside them. The shadow of |
her parted hair was over her eyes.
Miss Ordway's fingers crawled into
1er palm rigid with desire to intlict |
bodily pain upon this unlimited blum
lerer. But Siletz was of the wilder |
ness and she did not know she had |
faux pas She knew