The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-03-03
CHAPTER XVI.
The Poison Linaers.

David stayed behind in Vincennes,
going back to his work at the trading
house of Francois Vigo. But he stayed
there only a week or two before his
loneliness made existence without a
sight Of Toinette an existence not to
he endured. He hated the sight of the
ill-smelling store, with its heaps OF
green skins, its cracking bundles OF
furs, hated the sight OF the cheerful
HOLSTERS and French who thronged the
streets Of the old capital, and loathed
the wretched Piankeshaw Indians VINO
slept in the doorway. Suddenly, one
morning. he told old Vigo that he
must leave; and the next day found
him once more in Corydon, where Ike
welcomed him with beaming face.
Still the breach was open! 1t Is so
hard for young men and maidens TO
lay down their pride!
To Toinette the days were almost
| unbearable. David acted like bear
with a sore head, she thought. 1t was
inst what she might have expected,
she told herself. 1t is perfectly silly
TO be so big and iinty, she was sure.
David had never spoken ten words to
her at any one time, since the day ne
had knocked everything into a cooked
hat by telling her he loved her. Peo-
pie who loved each other didn't act as
they did, she knew; why, whenever
they had been together she felt as
though something tremendous, some
thing bigger than she was, was In the
very air around and on the point OF
exploding. She didn't approve OF ex-
plosions, still less of things, nameless
forces, that were bigger than she was.
When she had talked to David in the
old days 1t was like talking to the heart
: of one of those terrible creatures OF
steel, about which Mr.. Livingston had
written her father-that great throb'
being caldron which they fed with logs
and which palpitated with fury and
: drove a boat from Pittsburgh to New
Orleans in a month. It was bigger
than she was and unmanageable ane
: it was not at all her idea Of love
: Whenever she thought about it, that i!
! to say about the atmosphere which wal
: Immediately and mysteriously evolved
] out of common day whenever Davit
: and she encountered, her eyes fllet
: with tears of vexation. As for beini
: sorry. that was another matter. Ii Da
b yid wished to be flint, she was perfect
: ly capable of being steel. Yet sh
9 thought about him every day.
e Her father, for the first time In ne
o experience, failed to be Of any help {
d her. At home, in New Orleans, sh
It had gone to him with the story Q
+ each boy who had danced attendanc
r upon her and he had seen them as sh
n did and together they had laughed eac
a cavalier into oblivion but she found
d impossible to discuss this new proDiel
Ie with him. 1t was no use telling nc
g father that she was afraid OF SOM
lie thing she couldn't name. If 1t wa
lie true that she had trembled from hea
to foot when she felt that the sparE
,e which flashed back and forth from IN
of steel and David's flint were DANCE
,g ously near a powder mine somewhel
70 inside her, that was her affair al
re she would have to drown it with h
n own contempt as best she might.
d. Accordingly. the little old gentlema
he who was sincerely troubled by the e'
oil dent breach between his daughter 81
be David, got small satisfaction fro
a. Toinette when he stuck cautions q
"a ger into the difficulty. There W
Bg nothing wrong and she was perfect
IS HAPPY and II David chose to be,
|IeI bear with sore lead tat was