The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1917-06-28

All the same, I'm sure Jose amt carvI
ing no epitaph for you. From what
I've dug out of Rosa, he's acting for a
third party-somebody with pull and a
lot of coin-but who it is I don't know.
Anyhow, he's cooking trouble for the
Austins, and I want to stand from
under"
Now that the speaker had dropped
all pretense, he answered Dawes Ques-
tons without evasion and told what
he knew. 1t was not much, to Dawes
way of thinking, but it was enough to
give cause for thought, and when the
men finally parted it was with the un-
Outstanding that Strange would
promptly communicate any further in
telligence IN this subject that came
his way.
On the following day Dawes duties
called him to Brownsville. where court
was in session. He had planned to
leave by the morning train; but us he
continued to mediate over Strange's
words, he decided that, before going,
he ought to advise Alaire of the fell
lows suspicious in order that she
might discharge Jose Sanchez and in
other ways protect herself against his
possible spite. Since the matter was
one that could not we'll be talked over
by telephone, Dave determined to 60
in person to Las Palmas that evening.
Truth to say, he was hungry to see
Alaire. BY this time he had almost
ceased to combat the feeling she
aroused in him, and it was in obedience
to an impulse far stronger than friend
~ anxiety that he hired a machine and,
shortly after dark, took the river road.
The Fates are malicious jades. They
delight in playing ill-natured pranks
upon us. Not content with spinning
and measuring and cutting the threads
of our lives to suit themselves, they
must also tangle the skein, causing us
to cut capers to satisfy their whims.
At no time since meeting Alaire had
Dave Law been more certain Of his
moral strength than on this evening;
at no time had his grip upon himself
seemed tirmer. Nor had Alaire the
least reason to doubt her se%lf-contrOl.
Dave, to be sure, had appealed to her
fancy and her interest; in fact, he so
dominated her thoughts that the i'm
aginary creature whom she called her
drcam-husband had gradually taken on
his physical likeness. But the idea
THAT she was in any way enamorcd
Of him had never entered his mind. In
such wise do the Fates amuse them
l selves.
!, Alaire had gone to her favorite after
dinner refuge, n nook on one of the
: side galleries, Where there was a wide,
swinging wicker couch; and there, in
: a restful o~bscurity fragrant with flow
i, ers, she had prepared to spend the
! evening with her dreams.
! She did not hear Dawes automobile
arrive. Her first intimation Of his
presence zane with the sound Of his
heel upon the porch. When he up.
peared, it was almost like the mate
REALIZATION of her uppermost thought
stepped forth full-clad.
She rose and met him, smiling. Elbow
did you know / wanted to see you?"
e she inquired.
l Dave took her hand and looked down
at her, framing a commonplace reply.
t But for some reason the words lay un
e spoken upon his tongue. Alaire's in
0 formal greeting, her parted lips, the
e welcoming light in her eyes, had sent
them flying. 1t seemed to him that the
i dim half-light which illumined this
nook emanated from her face and her
person, that the fragrance which came
8 to his nostrils "a the perfume of her
breath, and at the prompting Of these
thoughts all his smothered longings
| rose as If at a signal. AS mutinous
Il prisoners in a Jail delivery overpower
their guards, so did Dawes long-re-
pressed emotions gain the upper hand
Of him now, and SO swift was their
f uprising that he could not summon
more than a feeble, panicky resistance.
e The awkwardness Of the pause which
followed Alaire's inquiry strengthened
the rebellious impulses within him, and
quite unconsciously his friendly grasp
>, upon her fingers frightened. For her
part, as she saw this sudden change
sweep over him, her own face altered
. and she felt something within her
=. breast leap into life. No woman could
: have failed to read the meaning of his
sudden agitation, and, strange to say,
: it worked a similar state Of feeling
in Alaire. She strove to control her
Z self and to draw away, but instead
u found that her hand had answered
his, and that her eyes were flashing
recognition of his look. All in an In
slant she realized how deathly tired
{ Of her own struggle she had become,
and experienced a reckless impulse to
cast away oil restraint and blindly
meet his first advance. She had no
: time to question her yearnings; she
seemed to understand only that this
man offered her rest and security; that
in his arms lay sanctuary.