New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1917-09-07

'''lhi'H H'IH me paper out to his
brother. John read n few lines and
dashed it into n corner Of the room,
"TlI"re's this much about 1t. John.'
stephen continued. "Thc woman played
thai part night after night-playcd II
t" the life, mind you. She made her
reputation in 1t. That's the woman
W" unknoWingly let sleep beneath this
roof The barn is the place for her
and her sort !"
Johns clrnchcd fists were held firm
~ t" his sides. His eyes were blazing.
"lhatS enough, stephen! :" he cried.
NO, 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 Il guest at Rayn-
nam castle, do y0u?-Hnynham castle,
the threshold. If she goes there, she
go"S- Well?"
An anger that was almost paralyZ-
ing, II 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
clard. where the tangled moonlight lay
upon the ground in strange, fantastic
shadows: across the narrow strip Of
field, Il field now Of golden stubble; up
tn" hill which looked down upon the
farm buildings and the churchyard.
II" sat grimly down upon II great
'oWller, filled with !; hateful sense of
unWrraked passion, vet with Il sheer
tlnnkfuIneSS in his heart that he had
escaped the miasma of evil thoughts
which Stephens words seemed to have
rr"nt"d. The fancy seized him to face
these half-vrilcd suggestions of his
brother, 81 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
who" outlook upon life. The coming
of harvest, the care of his people, his
sports, his cricket, the early days upon
tn" grouse moorS, had all suddenly
lost their interest for him. Life had
become a 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
III" valley below. Almost at his feet
lay the little church with its grave
yard, the long line of stacks and barns,
the lnhorers' cottages, the bailitf's
house. the whole little colony around
which his life seemed conferred. The
summer moonlight lay upon the ground
almost like He could see the
sllcaveS of wheat standing up in the
most distant of the cOrnieldS. Beyond
was the dark gorge toward which he
had looked 50 many nights at this
hour.
Across the viaduct there came a
blaze of streaming light, II %serpentlike
trail, Il family heard whistle-the Scot
fish express on its way southwark
toward London. His eyes followed 1t
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
had become Il passion with Stephen,
and which had its grip, too, upon him
a waste of life, a burying of talents?
He rose to his feet. The half-formed
purpose of weeks held him now, def
mite and secure. He knew that this nil
of his to the hilltop, his rant
contemplation of the little panorama
which had become so dear to him, was
in Il sense valedictory.
After all, two more months passed
efore the end came, and it came then
Without IL moments warning. 1t was
, little past midday when John drove
through the streets of Market
in his high dogcart, exchanging
situations right and left with the
radespeople, with farmers brought
nto town by the market. with ac- |
luaintances of all sorts and condi. {
ions. More than one young woman
RON the shop windows or the pave
rents ventured to smile at him, and !
he few greetings he received from the {
and daughters Of his neighbors I
as gracious as they could possibly {
'e made. John almost smiled once. in q,
he act of raising his hat, as he real ,
zed how completely the whole charm |
# the world. for him. seemed to lie in G
ne wOman's eyes. d
At the crOssways, where he should
ave turned to the inn, he paused while
mOtorcar passed. 1t contained a S
who was talking to her host.
he IA not in the least like Lou G
sc, and yet instinctively he knew that Fl
he was of the same world. The per- 1
nction of her white-serge costume, her b
mt so sInartly worn, the half-insoIent
mile. the little gesture with which she &c
iised her understanding about her 4
nlocked the flOodgates. C
Market Ketton had seemed well II
nOugh a few minutes ago. John had h
lit a heSlthy appetite for his midday II
zeal. and a certain interest concerning a
deal in barley upon which he was ii