Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1917-08-31

him. Supposing she were to be theref
Stephen, watching him, read his
thoughts. and for a moment lost con-
troll Of himself.
"Were you thinking about that wom-
am" he asked sternly.
"What woman"
"The woman whom we sheltered
here, the woman whose shameless pic
ture Is on the cover of that book"
John swung round on his heel.
stop that, Stephen ~ he said men,
acingly.
"Why should ~ the older man re-
torted. Take up that paper, II you
want to read sketch of the life Of
Louise Maurel. See the play she made
her name in-Ta Gioconda'!"
"what about itT
Stephen held the paper out to his
brother. John read few lines and
dashed 1t into corner Of the room.
There's this much about 1t, John"
Stephen continued. "The woman played
that part night after night--played 1t
to the life, mind you. She made her
reputation In II. That's the woman
we unknowingly let sleep beneath this
roof The barn is the place for her
and her sort ~
Johns clenched fists were held firm
ly to his sides. His eyes were blazing
"That's enough, Stephen ~ he cried.
mo, it's not enough !" was the fierce
reply" 'The truths been burning in my
heart long enough. It's better out
You want to find her a guest at Rayn-
ham castle, do you?-Raynham castle,
where never a decent woman crosses
the Threshold If she goes there, she
goes Well?"
An anger that was almost paralyz-
ing. sense of the utter impotence Of
words, drove John In silence from the
room. He left the house by the back
door, passed quickly through the or
chard, where the tangled moonlight lay
upon the ground in strange, fantastic
shadows; across the narrow strip Of
field. field now OF golden stubble, up
the hill which looked down upon the
farm buildings and the churchyard.
He sat grimly down upon a great
bowlder, filed with hateful sense Of
unwreaked passion, yet with a sheer
thankfulness In his heart that he had
escaped the miasma of evil thoughts
which Stephens words seemed to have
created. The fancy seized him to face
these half-veiled suggestions Of his
brother, so far as they concerned
himself and his life during the last
few months.
Stephen was right This woman who
had dropped from the clouds for those
few brief hours had played strange
havoc with Johns thoughts and his
whole outlook upon life. The coming
Of harvest, the care Of his people, his
sports, his cricket, the early days upon
the grouse mOOrs, had all suddenly
lost their interest for him. Life had
become task. The echo of her half.
hooking, half-challenging words was
always In his ears.
He sat with his head resting upon
his hands, looking steadfastly across
the valley below. Almost Mt his feet
lay the little church with its grave
yard the long line of stacks and barns,
the laborers' cottages, the bailifrs
house, the whole little colony around
which his life seemed conferred. The
summer moonlight lay upon the ground
, almost like snow. He could see the
: sheaves of wheat standing up In the
most distant of the cornflelds. Beyond
was the dark gorge toward which he
had looked so many nights at this
, hour.
Across the vladuct there came O
I blaze of streaming light, serpentllke
> trail. family heard whistle-the Scot
/ fish express on Its way southwark
I toward London. His eyes followed II
out of sight. He found himself think
, ing Of the passengers who would wake
: the next morning In London. He felt
: himself suddenly acutely conscious OF
;. his isolation. Was there not something
: almost monastic In the seclusion which
e had become n passion with Stephen
and which had its grip, too, upon him
3 a waste Of life, burying of talents'
r He rose to his feet. The half-formed
$ purpose of weeks held him now, def
Q mite and secure. He knew that this Pill
{ grimage of his to the hilltop, his rapt
contemplation Of the little panorama
4 which had become so dear to him, was
- In sense valedlctory.
!,
a After all, two more months passed
> before the end came, and II came ther
without a moments warning 1t was
n little past midday when John drov,
i slowly through the streets of Market
$ Ketton In his high dogcart, exchanging
r salutations right and left with tn,
tradespeOple, with farmers brought
n into town by the market, with &C
: qualntances of all sorts and condl
lions. More than one young woman
G from the shop windows or the pave
Z. ments ventured TO smile at him, anC
@ the few greetings he received from tho
h wives and daughters of his neighbor,
were ms gracious as they could possibly
be made. John almost smiled once, II
/ the act of raising his hat, as he real
lied how completely the whole charm
Of the world, for him, seemed TO lie II