, 1917-01-11

ut the hearth, and old Patrice read
happily from his beloved Arcadia"
She drew the fiat board on which the
cornrneal had been baked to golden
brown out from the fire, set the roast
ed wild turkey on the table. pushed
back a flying lock of hair from her
flushed face, and reused her father
from his book. 1t was her happiest
birthday feast in the new land.
In the evening the old gentleman
logged off on horseback to General
Harrison's farm, to pay his respects
and be served with a glass of Ma
deira. Toinette preferred to remain
at home-Mr. Blackford would call,
perhaps David as well. She finished
her work and sat down to amuse her
self with some embroidery, a candle
made of the wax of the myrtle berry
throwing its light upon her flying fin
gers. The summer dusk fell rapidly
around her. The night closed in,
heavy, warm, full of sleepy sounds of
bird and insect. Someone's feet at
the doorstep, a hand raped at the
door. Toinette lifted the latchpin. 1t
was David.
She swept him a curtsy.
One of the functions of woman's
dress is to snatch a man out of his
dull shufilings upon earth and show
him a world glorified. That function
was performed in this case. David
saw Madame Recamier Che had heard
of such a PERSON. curtsying to him in
the house of Patrice O'BannOn. Ma
dame Recamier spoke, and 10 it was
Toinette:
why don't you say how you like
tt?"
1t was evidently the gown Of cob
web that was meant.
Exceedingly well. . Excuse
my asking, but is that all of it,"
"Imbecile! The latest from Paris |
It's too bad to waste it on you"
well, Welt" David pretended a
dry Indifference.
TOinette turned up her nose. why
weren't you at the weddings?"
Couldn't. 1 was off on a hunt"
Lucky"
"No-only a couple of deer"
The brides were sweet"
She sat down at her n~eedlework
once more and David, seated in the
dinly lighted room, his high linen
collarband cleaning palely between
his dark face and the somber blacks
of his ray and his coat, watched
her in silence. When he spoke it was
70 fyrrA1Y1aa a anau sYrIfArt.
Congress has voted to increase the
army by twenty-five thousand men,"
he said abruptly, and has provided
for the enlistment of fifty thousand
volunteers in addition"
She let her hands fall to her lap.
"Does that meal war is sure2'
Not yet. But they talk OF it freely.
England will yield to none OF our re-
quests"
She smiled proudly to herself at mis-
use OF the word our" He went on
with his news:
"Mr. Clay wants a stronger navy.
Curious isn't it2 that Kentucky
should be in harmony with the sea-
board states in this.
"Yes-they called us the wild men
on the Ohio last winter"
He smiled at her flash of resent
ment. Are you still as eager for
wal us you were once?"
Toinette shuddered. 1t was unnec-
essary to reply to the thrust.
David went on evenly:
wei. Che whole time of the con-
r ra'.er IN with the debates.
Def" 0fing point. The
president seems likely to get what his
message asked for in the way of tim
Der for shipbuild-Toinette look at
mel"
She looked up, startled at he
change in his voice, and saw what she
had feared-and vaguely longed for
was about to ONE. David had risen
to his feet. The room seemed sud-
denly filed with u tremendous tensity.
Her heart beat uncontrOllably she
calmly threaded a needle anew.
40 you know what failure tsp he
flung at her. The torrent of his heart
rushed out with the words. 81 have
struggled" he said harshly, but l
give up now. / work from daylight
to dark, l read at night at the law, 1
weary myself with arguing with Ike
RlnckCord. These things ought to
make up my world for me. But they
don't. There isn't any world for me
unless you" He checked himself.
then began anew. 81 think about my
self. | go back over my life-all its
poverty-every miserable line of its
starved existence. And then-I think
about you. . l want to know
what right you have to make part of
my world. It's not your world. L
don't belong there. Why DO you come
into mine? You ought not to be in