The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1918-10-04
CHAPTER ~.

And the years passed, and Mark
Wallace grew grayer and older, and
more set and dispirited, with long al
ternating intervals of RESIGNATION.
when he took life as he found it and
was satisfied. But he always came
out of these into brief periods of I'M
rest, with the sense that he had awak-
ened from some lethargy that was
canning his soul as the alkali and the
winds of the plains had scanned his
face and taken the last particle of his
youth away.
NOW in Texas, now in Arizona; now
in some lonely border post in the
freezing Northwest, he remained cap
tain. He had no friends in Washing
ton. In time-in long time he would
reach his majority, no doubt, to be re-
heved soon after, and waddle, with
stout old majors of his own age, into
ornate clubs in army centers not quite
so far removed from civilization. He
looked upon this prospect with ironical
patience, and now and then asked
himself the unanswerable question
why he had remained in the army.
Eleanor was grown up and domiciled
permanently in Colonel Howard's town
house, and her letters had grown more
fnfrequent and perfunctory, until their
arrival became quarterly affair in
stead Of monthly event, and not al
ways that, either
And by and by the feeling came
over Mark that if ever he were to see
her again there would remain no COM
mon link between them. From doubt
ing his future he had come to doubt
himself. He doubted whether the des-
ert life had not blunted him, blunted
his finer instincts, and made him unfit
for social life-certainly rendered him
unfit for the guardianship of young
girl.
But that he had relinquished to Col
promisingly. Never in any of his let
tiers did he put forward the shadow
of his former claim.
Then, swiftly, and unexpectedly,
chance turned and beckoned him.
It came in the form of letter from
Colonel Howard, the first in two years.
Howard had, in the past, repeatedly
tried to induce Mark to take advantage
of opportunities that he had put before
him, but Mark had refused stubbornly,
until the Major had given him up in
disgust. Howard did not know, and
Mark did not himself understand, the
underlying idea in his own mind the
sense of subdued rancor against the
man who had robbed him of Eleanor,
coupled with the sense of sacrifice,
that he might withdraw all his claims
on the child.
Now, however, Howard made one
more attempt.
II want you to think this PROPOSE
lion over as quickly as possible" he
wrote, mot for my sake or yours, but
because your duty is to take the job.
With war with Germany in plain view
to the initiated, there are great things
doing in Washington, and I've been
offered my old post at the mobilization
department, which has been enlarged
beyond all knowledge Your work in
the West is better known than you
think, Wallace, and we want you here
wire II you can, and come by the first
train. This is official, SO don't wait
for divisional notification, which may
take days"
The letter reached Mark in one of
his periods Of helpless dependency.
Impulsively he wired back, accepting,
regretted as soon as the message had
been dispatched, but packed his suit
case, turned over the command to the
senior lieutenant, and took the train
for Washington.
AS he went East the years seemed
to fall from him like q dream. It was
q frozen labyrinth in which he seemed
to have been wandering; he seemed to
come to himself with a consciousness
At Year, wasted, but Of years Of action
ahead.
Colonel Howard eazed curiously At