The Mena weekly star., 1917-12-13
CHAPTER XII.
In Which There Is a Further cI..h

reaction. She could see things clearly and calmly enough to perceive that her love for Monohan was fraught with factors that must be taken into ac- count All the world loves a lover, but her world did not love lovers who kick cd over the conventional traces. She had made a niche for herself. There were ties she could not break lightly, and she was not thinking of herself alone when she considered that, but of her husband and Jack junior, of Linda Abbey and Charlie Benton, of each and every individual whose life touched more or less directly upon her own
 She came down to breakfast calmly enough
 She told herself that in first seeking 1 the line of feast resistance she had manifested weakness, that since her present problem was indirectly the out, growth of that original weakness she would be weak no more. So she tried to meet her husband as if nothing had happened, in which she succeeded cut wardly very well indeed, since Fyfe himself chose to ignore any change in | their mutual attitude.
 She busied herself about the house that forenoon, seeking deliberately 8 multitude of little tasks to occupy her hands and her mind.
 But when lunch was over she was at the end of her resources, Jack junior settled in his crib for a nap Fyfe went away 10 that area back of the camp where arose the crash of falling trees and the labored puiiing of donkey en- 1 zines She could hear faint and far the voices of the falling gangs that | cried "Tim-ber-r-r-r
 She longed for some secluded place to sit and think or try to stop thinking. And without fully realizius the direc. | ton she took she walked down past | the camp. crossed the skid road, step ping lightly over main line and haul back at the donkey engineers warning and went along the lake shore X path wound through the belt of brush and hardwood that fringed the lake. Not until she had followed this l LID OH AnE Httk nl u llAlit south of the bay did she remember with a shock that she was approaching 1 the place where MonOhan had Begged her to meet him. She looked at her watch Twothirty. She sought the shore line for sight of a boat, wonder ing if he would come in spite of her refusal But to her great relief she saw no sign of him. Probably he had thought better of it, had seen now as she had seen then that no good and an earnest chance of evil might come of such a clandestine meeting. had taken her stand as final.
 She was glad, because she did not want to go back to the house. She did not want to make the effort of wander ing away in the other direction to find that restful peace of woods and water. She moved up little on the point until she found a messy boulder and sat down on that, resting her chin in her palms, looking cut over the placid sur face of the lake with somber eyes. And so Monohan surprised her. The knoll lay thick carpeted with moss. He was within few steps of her when a twig cracking underfoot apprised her of some ones approach. She rose, with an impulse to fly, to escape meeting she had not desired. And as she rose the breath stopped in her throat.
 Twenty feet behind Monohan came Jack Fyfe with his hunters stride, soundlessly over the moss, rife droop- ing in the crook of his arm. A sun beam striking obliquely between two frs showed her his face plainly, the faint curl of his upper lip.
 Something in her look arrested Mon chan. He glanced around, twisted about, froze in his tracks, his back to her. Fyfe came up Of the three he was the coolest, the most vigorously self possessed. He glanced from Mono han to his wife, back to Monohan After that his blue eyes never left the other mans face.
 What did I say to you yesterday?' Fyfe opened his mouth at last. But then might have known was wasting my breath on you Y
 Well" Monohan retorted insolently, "what are you going to do about iti This isn't the stone age"
 Fyfe laughed unpleasantly.
 Lucky for you. You'd have been eliminated long ago." he said. No, it takes the present age to produce such rotten specimens as you"
 A deep flush rose in Monohan's s cheeks He took a step toward Fyfe, his hands clinched.
 "You wouldn't say that if you weren't armed" he taunted hoarsely.
 "No? Fyfe cast the rife to one side. It fell with a metallic clink against a stone T do say it, though, you see. You are a sort of yellow dog, Mono han You know 1t, and you know that know it. That's why it stings you to be told so.'
 Monohan stepped back and slGped out of his coat. His face was crimson.
 "I'n teach you somethingr he snarled.
 | He lunged forward as he spoke. shooting a straight arm blow for 1 Fyfe's face. It swept through empty air for Fyfe, poised on the balls of his feet, ducked under the driving fist and slapped Menohan across the mouth with the open palm of his hand.
 Tag" he said sardcnically, You're | it."
 Monohan pivoted and. rushing, swung I