The weekly Iberian., 1919-11-15

! VIII not.
Her anger had died and in Its place
had come into her eyes something ter
rlbiy potent, the unforgcttablc look
OF hunted thing ut bay.
. Il want to ask you" continued An
drea, 'to implorc you, to take me back.
II not tonight then tomorrow Flying
or on foot. If only we could start now.
VIII say that It has all been my fault,
that you did nothing beyond what |
asked you to do in bringing me with
you. If only-if only you will take me
back. VIII you?'
The man clenched his teeth. 81
would If | could. I've told you that
already" he said almost In n whisper.
Then his voice grew clearer and colder.
1T would take eight days by any
means Mt my disposal-cight days
there and eight days back. | can't
afford II and nothing would be saved
or gained ns far as you are concerned.
1t would only entail loss / have no
right to give"
His mood hardened Andrea's. "You
mean that when 1t comes to choosing
between my personal loss and yours,
you see no reason to hesitate"
The man flushed under his tan and
his eyes cleaned as though her words
had given them new life. mine would
not be personal loss" he said. 81
am not loafer nor am here for my
pleasure"
81 see," said Andrea my life
against the interests of your employer.
Are you foreman?"
He shrugged his shoulders and ig
nored the question. "Your life?" he
| said. "What are you worth, after all?
| The best specimen of woman In this
camp represents an investment on the
part of the husband of two pounds
ten shillings-say three pounds at the
most Every girl child she bears and
| rears brings him a hundred per cent
return. and in addition she keeps house,
| cooks. chops wood, totes water and
tills his fields.'
Again Andrea jerked him out of his
role with her inconsequence. "What
does tote mean?' she asked rather icily
"To tote means to carry, fetch, lug,
bear"
THANK you" she interrupted. "By
the way, did you mean TO measure me
against that three-pound standard?"
81 did" said the man.
She threw out her arms in a gesture
of disclosure and laughed. "To think
she said, that it's only few weeks
since / was knocked down to the high
est bidder Mt twenty thousand year !"
mot you" said the man quickly.
'He wasn't buying you. You never
even thought 1t. happen to know him,
perhaps better than you do, and can
assure you that the tinsel and the
pomp he was bargaining for, innocent
enough in themselves, would have be-
come despicable and tainted by his
possession"
He was silent for a moment; then,
just as Andrea's lips were opening to
remark, he added. "Fm glad you
brought him to my mind. The thought
of him has freed me from my regret.
You're here, I'm glad you are, and you
shall stay. The only question is
whether you are going to sulk or
whether you will smile and accept the
cure of the philosophy of contrasts"
"That's new one" said Andrea.
"Not at ALL" replied the man. The
philosophy Of contrasts is based on
the idea that rut and death are one
and the same thing"
you've missed your vocation, White
Man." said Andrea flippantly. "You
should get your pulpit and turn mis-
sionary to society"
'Tve got the face of the earth for
a pulpit" said the man easily, "and
| couldn't do with less"
81 had suspected that there was
something colossal about you," replied
Andrea quickly. "and now / know
it. It is your impertinent self-sutli-
cheney"
you misunderstood me-" interrupted
The man. himself unmoved. "What ]
mean by that fiamboyant statement
was that no philosophy has ever lived
except through example and one can't
fulfill the creed of contrasts with less
than the whole world for play
ground"
"And has it never failed?"
His eyes wandered to the half
wrecked aeroplane. "Yes ii has failed
once"
"A case Of physician cure" began
Andrea and stopped. His eyes had
swerved back to hers and the naked
look of regret in them frightened her.
well" she continued, glancing away
hastily, "do you really want toto
convert meY"
He started in his chair and If he
had been thinking of his personal
troubles, promptly forgot them. Had
It been merely a chance shot, he spec
ulated, or was this young lady pos
sessed of that rarest Of virtues,
auirk Of mischief in the face Of adj
yersfty? "Women know no conver-
sion except through love-" were the
exact words he had used. He recalled
them perfectly, and watching in silence
a telltale flush rise from her bare neck
into her hot cheeks, he perceived that
she also remembered.
"Oh!" cried Andrea, II think you are
horrible"
II haven't said anything" remon-
Strated the man.