Grainger County news. (Rutledge, Tenn.) 1917-current, 1919-05-08

years ago you occupied the pedestal.
How do matters stand now?"
'In the presence of my wife, such re-
marks are hardly in good taste" / said,
inwardly boiling.
He drummed the ground with his
foot and hummed little tune.
by the by, you fulfilled the prom
ise You then gave? Have you become
the great artistf"
when | married l found something
better in life"
You mean something easier. You
thought you could rest on your laurels.
How do you suppose | spent the last
Eve years, l. who had no laurels to
rest onT'
II understood you had gone to New
Guinea"
did you ever hear the purpose2"
mo; 1t was n queer place TO go
to, whatever the reason"
I'm every way l had been a fall
ure," he declared impressively. Il
was resolved TO turn that failure into
triumph"
ITO accomplish which you buried
yourself In New Guinea swamp"
"Yes, went to the only real teacher,
nature herself. Among the deep
morasses and cane-bralles Of reek-
ing tropical swamp sought for twelve
weary months, months of dirt, prlva-
ton and disease till from among the
acres of rushes had selected one per
feet reed.
look at IT, Notwithstanding it
blow through III For it represents
the five years Of life which you have
consumed in incidence"
would you care to hear my one
little accomplishment, after five years
Of the cruelest concentration"
Isabelle nodded eagerly, but In n
frightened manner; her hands were
clenched tightly against the tendrils
OF the honeysuckles, as though she
were bracing herself for an ordeal.
I began to laugh nervously. Where
upon Adrian wheeled sharply on his
heel and faced Isabelle. Again he
blew into the pipe; a low note, the
purr of a distant tuning-fork, trem-
bled from the frail reed; it grew in
volume TIL II resembled a broken mel
Ody.
Faint and dizzy / pressed the tips
of my fingers against my eyelids to
clear my mental and physical vision.
When raised my head, the terrace
and porch were both deserted.
was alone. Only black shadows in
the garden, the sharp outline of the
cliff, and an Unreasonable GOODNESS
81 sky and ocean.
The surety that some unforeseen
rarisIs was upon me, like the sting of
a whip forced me back to thought
and action. I called loudly for Isa-
belle; descended from the terrace
plunged into the garden. Nothing
there but solid darkness, checkered
shade, and narrow strips of moonlight.
i OF course, Isabelle, unable to en-
dure such an unnatural strain, had
slipped unobserved into the house and
Twas probably resting in her own room,
In a leisurely saunter / retraced my
steps to the house, entered it by a side
door, and ialf-way up the stairs gave
la peculiar whistle, which had always
been private signal between Isabelle
and myself.
There was no reply. The house
seemed very still.
/ repeated the whistle in higher
| Key and followed 1t up with thump
on the bedroom door.
! Then from the west side of the
house | heard once more the sound of
the hateful reed and that wonderful
medley of which Adrian Hope alone
was the master.
rushed down the stairs and back
to the terrace again.
ran down the drive into the road
way and made for the spot. AS l ap.
lproached the sounds, they drew imper.
ceptibly away from me. When
Preached the outside wall, the music
was ascending the cliffs toward the
broad Pacific.
started to climb the bluff; at every
step the reed grew fainter and the
ocean more insistent.
The reed l could no longer hear
but there, on the point Of the tallest
cliff, one foot advanced to the edge
of the abyss, her hands stretched forth
In an agony Of supplicatiOn, saw lisa
/ belle; saw the shine in her hair, the
folds of her frock, even the rings upon
lher fingers, so clear so sharp, so def
mite was the moonlight on that memo
rable occasion.
| "Oh. Adrian, take me! teach me
teach me- too"
/ The despair Of lifetime was con
centrated in her voice. Her form still
shaking with emotion.
i saw her step forward, saw the
white flash of her dress, the downward
sweep of her arms, and then-beyonG
the cliff nothing but sky and sea.
A few seconds-they seemed veal
and was standing on the same spot
and gazing fearfully from the tall
cliff onto the jagged rocks and broker
waters a hundred feet below me.
And over all spread the steely, clean
cut brilliance Of the desolate moon.
I x,oofinpal Sborac tfI,o IS+&Io 15.