Mexico Missouri message., 1917-11-08


aries in the newspapers, or anything
like that"
The man got upon his feet rather
unsteadlly.
"Thats the limit" he said deflnl-
lively. 'I'm q man now, Corona; too
much Of man, hope, to hide behind
another mans grave. I'm going back
to Brewster, todayw
The young woman made a quaint
little grimace at him. "How are you
going to get there?" she asked. "It's
twenty miles, and the walking is aw-
fully bad-in spots"
"But I must go. Can't you see
what everybody will say Of me?--that
1 was too cowardly to face the music
when my time came? Nobody will be-
lieve that wasn't consenting party
to this hide-away w
"Sit down." she commanded calmly /;
and when he obeyed: "From day to
day, since I began coming out here,
John, I've been trying to redlscover
the man whom met just once, one
evening over a year ago, at Cousin
Adda's house in Guthrieville: can't
find him-he's gone"
Corona |" he said. "Then you rec
ognized me?"
mot at first. But after a while
things began to come back; and what
you told me-about Miss Richlander,
you know, and the hint you gave me
of your trouble-dld the rest"
"Then you knew-or you thought
was q criminal2
She nodded, and her gaze was rest
ing upon the nearby gravel heaps.
"Cousin AIDA wrote me. But that
made no difference. I didn't know
whether you had done the things they
said you had, or not. What die
know was that you had broken your
shaclSles in some way and were try
ing to get free. You were, weren't
you?"
II suppose so; In some blind fash
ion. But 1t is you who have set me
free, Corona. 1t began that night in
Guthrieville when 1 stole one Of your
gloves; 1t wasn't anything you said (;
1t was what you so evidently believed
and lived. And out here: was SIM
ply raw savage when you first saw
me. had tumbled headlong into the
abyss Of the new and the elemental,
and If am trying to scramble out
now on the side of honor and clean
manhood, 1t is chiefly because you
have shown me the way"
"When did 1 ever, John?"-with an
up-glance of the gray eyes that was
almost wistful.
always, and with a wisdom that
makes me almost afraid of you. For
example, there was the night when /
was fairly on the edge Of letting Jib-
bey stay in the mine and go mad If
he wanted to: you lashed me with the
one word that made me save his life
instead Of taking it. How did you
know that was the one word to say?"
"How do we know anything?" she
inquired softly. "The moment brings
it's own inspiration. 1t broke my
heart to see what you could be, and
to think that you might not be 1t,
after all. But came out here this
morning to talk about something else.
What are you going to do when you
are able to leave Sunrise Gulch?"
"The one straightforward thing
there is for me to do. shall go back
to Lawrenceville and take my medi-
cine"
"And after that?"
"That is for you to say, Corona.
Would you marry convict2"
"You are not guilty"
"That Is neither here nor there. They
will probably send me to prison, just
the same, and the stigma will be mine
to wear for the remainder Of my life.
1 can wear it now, thank God! But to
pass 1t on to you-and to your chill
dren, Corona if could get
my own consent to that, you couldn't
get yours"
Eyes, could, John; got it the first
time colonel-daddy brought me out
here and let me see you. You were
out of your head, and you thought you
were talking to Billy Starbuck-in the
automobile on the night when you were
going with him to the fight at the dam
1t made me go down on my two knees,
John, and kiss your poor, hot hands,"
He slipped his one good arm around
her and drew her close.
"Now can go back like man an5
fight it through to the end" he exulted
soberly. "Jibbey will take me know
he is wearing himself out trying to
make me believe that he can wait, and
that Verda understands, though hS
won't admit 1t. And when it is all
over, when they have done their worst
to me-"
With a quick little twist she broke
away from the enclrcling arm.
y "John, dear" she said, and her voicC
was trembling between a laugh and 4
K sob, "Tm the wickedest, wickedes
!, woman that ever lived and breathed-
y apd the happiesti I knew what yol
e would do, but I couldn't resist thu
= temptation to make you say 1t. Lis
r ten: this morning colonel-daddy got