Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1917-09-15
NM ~ W Ea Ea na Ea M nn na - E Y
: THE COWARD. :
"a Ha
"a sR
n BY EARL REED SILvERS. Ea
I)

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in her hands, looked with unseeing
| eyes across the water.
II can never marry you now" she
said listlessly.
The rather good-looking man sitting
beside her opened his eyes with I'M
affected surprise. The scar on his left
cheek grew livid.
"Why?" he asked.
Because you're coward"
The girl spoke evenly, as if she were
commenting on the weather, but there
was finality to her words which
brooked no argument. There was
something about the set of her mouth
and the smooth curve of her chin
which told Ned Randolph that further
words would be useless. Nevertheless,
he refused to accept dismissal without
an attempt to justify himself.
"Why am l a coward?" he per-
sisted
you know the answer as well as l
do" she said shortly.
"But I can't SWIM"
"That doesn't make any difference.
You might have tried to do something"
"But there wasn't anything | could
do"
The girl dropped her hands in her
lap and turned searching eyes toward
the man beside her.
do you think that If I had been a
man and someone was drowning not
twenty-five yards away, | would have
run to the dock and would have tried
to get in a boat? No, l would have
jumped into the water and swan out
to him."
Myrtle, you're unreasonable. l
couldn't have done any good in the
water"
ut was the most humiliating ex-
pefience I've ever known" the girl
continued. "There you stood on the
beach, with half the hotel looking on,
yelling for help as if you were child.
Why didn't you do something's"
II did the only thing possible. |
called for help and then went to the
rescue in a boat"
ayes, and before you got half the
way, Jim Turner ran down from the
porch and swan out to the man who
was drowning. Now everybody says
he's a hero and you're a coward"
sand do you think so, too?'
Eyes" There was a hopeless final
ity to her answer.
Bravery doesn't always consist In
doing something that is rash and fool
tsh," he said.
"You don't know how much it would |
have meant to me if you had proved
yourself hero" she said. "My family |
have always counted heroism as the
one best thing in life. Five of my an |
cestors were in the Revolutionary war,
and my two brothers are down at Fort |
Myer."
"And you think that ought to en-
list?
eyes"
sit wouldn't do any good"
"Why"
Because I'm physically unfit"
you're surely big enough She
rose suddenly to her feet. ut won't |
do any good to talk about it," she con-
tinued. TT couldn't help wondering
why haven't you done something |
about the war, and now I know.
You're afraid"
'I'm sorry you should think that"
he answered. maybe sometime you'll
find that you are wrong"
'I'm glad that found out about you
before it was too late" the girl went
on, ignoring his words. 81 was fool
lsh to consent to marry you, anyway.
We've only known each other for
few weeks, and you haven't told me a
single thing about yourself except that
you've been to Europe for two years
and have come back to rest from bust
ness. You didn't even tell me what
kind of business it was"
SIS it all over, them"
Eyes, it's all over"
For a moment Ned Randolph stood
dis if debating further ex-
planation. Then, without a word, he
turned and made hts way to the porch
IF the hotel. After he had gone Myr-
lie sank down upon the sand, her head
n her hands. For long time she lay
luiet, and then she discovered a small
lying In the sand where Ned
1ad been standing. She picked it up
md examined it curiously. 1t was a
Victoria Cross, and on its back was in
;cribed the name of Theodore Ran
lolph. She found Ned sitting in the
ar corner of the veranda. Her face
she went to him directly,
holding out the insignia of honor.
81 found this on the sand" she
said softly. is it yours?"
Yes" he answered. Its mine."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
II was going to this morning. But
when you called me coward decid-
ID to let you judge for yourself, and
10 | didn't say anything"
"And were you soldier in France|
Eyes, in the second year of the war
enlisted. I've spent two years in the
renches."
"Were you hurt?"
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