Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-10-04
81 NINA W1Lcox I N

~ NINA w
CHAPTER VI (Continucd)
There was a tremulous eagerness in
the lighters manner as he made an
swer.
Say" he began. '"You an me is
failures in our lives. What. yours was.
1 don't know nor care, though I bet
1t was a con- game or gambling. But
That don't matter. You got q good
face. an I'll trust you II you trust me.
We both want ter try this garden idea
We can't go down much further then
we are already, an we might get
some comfort out Of planting. So III
make you a offer. You sell this here
junk and that'n be a bit Of money to
start on. I'll throw. up me Job. and
come down here q n work on shares.
You don't pay me nothin'. but you
eed me and lets mo sleep here. until
the money begins to come in. Shares
from that on. What do you say?"
II say it might be done" said
Adam, awed by the ease with which
his world kept turning around under
his feet. Lets talk. about it some
more"
And * for an hour they sat in the
sun, discussing and planning and play
ing with the unlikely scheme, as
though it had been a fascinating toy.
And Gomorrah. the cat, came and re-
garded them critically from a little
distance, undisturbed even when
Equality appeared and made friends
with the fighter. And the fighter pull
ed Equality by the ears and said It
was a fine dog, and Adam asked il he
knew what allied the creature, and the
tighter did, and furthermore. UNDER
took his cure.<At the end Of the hour
it was arranged that the junk-all Of
Twas to be removed next day, and
that. following its disappearance, the
fighter was to come, and the garden
was to be begun. At parting the>two
shook hands heartily.
"Woolcraft is my NAME" said. the
man. Pleased we got this settled, La.
Fargo. I think we'll get along good,
Il know it," said Adam. smiling.
parted, he kept thinking Of the name,
until he remembered some long-dead
ringside story of q probable cham
pton. an accident and defeat. All with
out detail, but the name seemed to fit
the memory. And as he prepared for
the morrow, and the coming Of the
trucks, he seemed to see a vision. of
the ring; that square under the cruel
oHt0 ~ooNS SAS q VI lIl0 CIuCI
mob, its slack ford fence sagging like
a hangman's rope about it. The cruel,
brutal faces Of men-beasts, staring un
like mad angels through 4 cloud Of
smoke; the stripped, sweating two
whom they watched, the blood trick
ling evilly Down white flesh, the SWELL
Ing pruise that grew from white to
black; and in his ri was the roar
of the animals who swayed and bel
lowed the ribald cries that covered
the dull sound of blows, the sharp
count, then the murky air. ... Defeat.
He, looked about him. at the flower
beds. Defeat? Wooicraft the defeated?
He wondered. 80.
And as the days passed and the gar
den grew, shaping slowly and painful
ly out Of chaos, he wondered more.
Woolcraft had no mea idea of what
the place should be, and insisted that
the plans should be worked out as q
whole. 1t seemed too large an UNDER
taking at first glance, but, as time
passed, Adam began to see that the
scheme was good. and worked with a
great JOY in living. that is latent In
all Of US, continued to- grow in him,
answering to the work and to the girl
who continued to make her. daily visit
When she returned from the avia-
ton meet, the dog was better, but not.
Adam assured ther,srweH aenough to
leave. He had followed the events Of
pers, and knew that she had made an
exhibition fight. She told him a little
about 1t. and then exclaimed upon the
garden. He watched her face eagerly,
as she admired his work; and he
thought again how marvellously she
was poised. when he stood by and
listened to her making friends with
Tho r~i1o- A~h<np Al -I~- of~ h~A
goneS, after one Of her, brief visits, he
would strive and scheme to have
something new to show her next day.
One time fate helped him by the send
ing of a pair of ferrets, which, from
the manner Of the boy who brought
them, were accustomed to boarding
in this place, and paying for their
keep by being let out to whomsoever
needed their services.
Miss Endicott RAJ there when they
arrived, and laughed with him over
their antics. She laughed just when he
did, and their eyes met over every
little trick. Oh! the blessed meeting Of
It! And it went right on; a chain of
days like golden clouds. drifting by,
taken for granted, like the sky and
the rain. and all good things. And one
afternoon, when the bulbs were be-
ginning to push their noses out Of the
earth, and the green of the nignon-
cites sprinkled the earth In the little
square dishes, and she had admired
both. he could not help but stand at
the gate and watch her out Of sight,
She went up the street without look
ing back. her slim figure a delight and
a despair. and he saw her reach the
very step of her house. And then. with
dismay, he saw a a who had evil
IDENTIFY been turned from the door,
greet her with delight and with evt-
dent intimacy. Even at this distance
he could tell that she was glad to see
this man, and at recognition Of him a
wave Of horrid uneasiness swept over
Adam. for the visitor was his cousin,
Breckenridge Allen. He saw the two
enter the house together. laughing.
and then turned into his garden, bang
ing the gate after him %furiously. In
side. he was obliged to spring aside in
order to avoid stepping upon q tiny
green snake, which lay summing itself
in the path. At the sight, Adam swore
so loudly that Woolcraft left his work
near by to ind out what the matter
was. When he saw the serpent gliding
of he smiled.
you. mustn't get scared Of it!' he
said. you got to expect 1t. Snakes
have q way Of setttn' into gardens, o
But Adam only answered with a
mystifying growl.
CHAPTER WI.
Driftwood.
All through the afternoon Adam
pondered his situation. The sight Of
Breck as he greeted Miss Endicott-
his graceful assurance. his charm OF
manner, the very turn Of his neat
head, bespoke the wide difference be-
tween his position and HIS cousins.
Bfeck had AvAryfhinn ENaraR frnatAA