Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-25

changing scene. 1t charmed her TO rest.
fulness as 1t had Gerry.
She smelt the stacks Of pineapples the
| heaped-up mangoes, the frying fish, and
| through his eyes she saw the blue skies
| dotted with white. still clouds and
| Bnmpsed the secret, hEh.walled gardens
! with their flaring hibiscus. trailing fuch-
sias. fantastic garden coxcombs and
! dark'domed mango and Jack trees.
She sat with Gerry beside the wreck
of CONSUL and. later. on the long, slim
coasting craft she listened with him to
| the creak of straining masts and stays
, and to the lap of hurrying waters. She
| followed him up the San Francisco. felt
| his impatlence with Penedo took the lit
| tie stern-wheeler and learned the fascina-
ton of river with endless, undiscovered
turns. They came to Piranhas. Here
she felt herself on familiar ground Let
ters from the consul's envoy had made
this place hers. Unconsciously she nodded
as Gerry described the tiers Of houses,
the twisted, climbing streets, the mlser-
able little inn.
Gerry told Of the happy days OF pom
derous canoeing and of the unvarying
strings of fish. He fingered over those
days. Thus far he had brought AliX with
him. He felt It. Now he came to the
morning when he must leave her behind.
He told her of the glorious break of that
ing mists. She saw him standing stripped
on the sandpt. She saw the canoe nos
ing heavily against the shore and his
pajamas tossed Carelessly across
thwart. She knew that she had come to
the moment of revelation She breathed
softly lest she should lose word for
Gerry was speaking very low. Then he
showed her Margarita. Margarita as he
had first seen her, kissing and kissed
by dawn.
a hard light came into Alix's eyes
Gerry felt himself suddenly alone. He
went doggedly on He told of the chase
and the capture, of how he and the girl
had seen the canoe drift into the clutch
of the eddy and swirl out into the river
and away. He told her of how they
laughed, and Alix shrank. Gerry paused,
his brow puckered. He wished he could
tell in words the battle of his spirit, the
utter ruin of his downfall. He could not,
and instead he sighed.
There was something in that sigh so
eloquent of defeated expression that It
succeeded where words might have failed.
1t called to AliN with the strong call of
helpless things. II drew back her mind
to Gerry. With him and the girl she
threaded the path to Fazenda Flores
It's ruin sprang upon her through his
eyes With him she discovered the traces
of an ancient ditch, with him and the
old darky she dug along that line through
long hot months. She met Father Ma
thias and found no flaw in his logic she
grew to know Lieber as the tale went on
and finally to love him because of all
things Lieber seemed to need love-some-
body else's love-most. She amused her |
self with Kemp and his drawl She tried
to keep her thoughts away from Mar |
garita, and at the coming of Margaritas |
boy she WINGED.
As he finished telling of the coming
of the Man. Gerry stopped short The |
thought came to him with tremendous |
force that AllX. too, had gone through |
that for him The impulse to get up and !
throw himself before her, and on his |
knees to thank her almost tore him from |
his seat, but he fought it down. He hur- |
red on with his story, He told of the |
coming of Alan and of the revelation he |
had brought.
And then in choked voice and only |
because he had set himself to tell the |