The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?, 1918-09-05

how despicably. selfish she was. + She
was regretting the entrance into her
life Of that score Of brave men. and
the women who had lost them were no
doubt weeping in anguish. Barbara
felt the sting of her own weakness and
the utter uselessness Of her life.
: SEVEN my servants are doing some
thing for those men," she told her.
self when she heard burst of laugh
ter from the direction Of the lower
dining hall. "They don't know am
in the house," she added thoughtfully.
Il am an atom in this world and each
Of those men lisa king" Barbara pom
dered then as she had never pondered
before. Her own insignificance, the
desperate reality Of war and its suffer
ing, together with the misery that must
come in the wake of battle, oil these
thoughts held Barbara HeathcOte In a
grip Of introspectton. So long did she
sit in the darkness that before she
knew it the troops billeted on her had
ceased their laughter and flung them
selves down on veranda and garden
lawn to WOO sleep as best they might.
Barbara Jumped up and peered
down at them and the tears blurred
her sight. A pale moon threw heI
radiance on the upturned faces of the
men and on their rifles and caps. An
occasional murmur told Barbara that
sleep had not at yet claimed them.
With sudden inspiration Barbara
went into the drawing room and be-
gan singing gently so as not to startle
the men. Her voice fltering through
the open windows swept like the
touch of angel wings over the soldiers
emotions, and not one Of them spoke
word.
A young lieutenant surreptitiously
brushed the moisture from his eyes
with khaki-colored sleeve. His sweet
heart had tried to sing for him that
song at parting. bat her voice had
broken.
Stop! Barbara's voice, too, had
broken. She jumped up and went
swiftly into the moonlight among the
soldiers. They arose as one man at
her coming and stood looking at the
slim white figure.
ing out here" she said breathlessly.
"You must all come inside. will have
all the room necessary" She fm1led
when they demurred, and commanded
in q most adorable manner. please
let me have my way" she said. Il
have never done anything in my whole
life for anyone save myself. Phase let
me do what can now" And because
she was crying Barbara fastened tt
help jenkins make. up the many beds
in the great house. 1t cheered her
considerably to be doing some trifing
thing in the war movement, and out OF
the Joy she derived from making up
those beds Barbara knew that never
more could she be happy while there
were those in the world less fortunate
than she. .<
The troops remained only until the
morning Of the third day, and when
they had marched off with their bands
playing and q smile on their lips Bar
bara wept as If her heart would break.
BedfOrdshire was impossible to nef
after that. The life. of ease and lux
ury was not to be borne. She could
not sit idly by and wait for news from
the front she must 60 and be part
Of that working contingent and do her
mite. 49,
Barbara knew that somewhere some
day, after the great war was over, she
would again stand beside the young
lieutenant commander who had slept
beneath her roof on the way to battle.
His eyes had told her that he would
come back to her, and Barbara was
living only for that day and for the
good she might do to be worthy of him.
II am glad" thought Barbara. "that
lived on the line of marching. Other
wise might never have known Lieu
tenant Commander Blakely." She
smiled softly apd added, land yeti
,,.,,s% e,,rolu hovo mot him S0mo DIV ~