Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-06


Let me go. I-can't-breathe'
You are hurting me-"
He released her, though he retained
hold of forearm so powerfully mat
the marks of his fingers were visible
for days.
The transition into the caVeman
period had been instantaneous, but 1t
was not possible to recover except
by slow degrees. So when he spoke
to her he spoke consistently.
Are you a fool? Didn't you know
it was death? What in Gods name
were you about?"
II had to come! 1t kept calling and
calling. l couldn't help it!
How dare you call me fool"" she
bazed out.
well, If ] ever saw one.
Let go my arm
Not until ] get you safe inside.
You come with me"
She fought him all the way around
to the smoke room door. He opened
it and pushed her roughly over the
high threshold and followed
You have hurt me-
Sure ] have. Hell, BY rights YOU
ought to be crumpled up without
whole bone in your body One slip,
one misstep. Don't you know
anything"
you have called me fool"
"Uh huh. You go below and change
your clothes"
You are insolent.'
Anything you please. Do you want
me to carry you?'
All the fury she could crowd into
her glance flew to his eyes. But she
never spoke the words which stormed
at her tongue. Something was form
ing in his eyes that reminded her OF
the morning in Venice. In another
moment he would pick her up and
carry her downstairs. Angry as she
was. she had not the courage to meet
such an event.
She flung her hair out of her eyes,
wrung it. made a loose knot of it,
turned and staggered-for her body,
minus the exaltation. weighed .unut-
terable tons-into the main saloon.
The door banged after her She
would never forgive him.
In these tremendous unforgettable
moments both had broken through
the shell OF civilization. They were
two human beings possessed of little
more than instincts. A man revels
in the recurrence Of primordial in
stincts. No woman does, because she
is afraid of instincts. Nature has
warned her that these are traps.
Naturally Ruth was first to recover
her poise, to resume her shell. She
was honest enough later to make al
lowances for his roughness, urged by
his terror for her safety. But she
could not shut out the feel Of his
arms. AS the shell closed over her
in it's entirety she was conscious of a
great depression.
1t was hours before William crawled
back into his she'll He hated it; he
knew it for just what it was-bound
airy lines, stone walls. meats. He
had had taste of such wonderful
freedom that he never wanted to re-
turn to the shell. He knew that
once he had it all buckled on again
he would review his conduct through
the old microscopic lenses which he
did.
He had acted like an abysmal brute.
He had hurt her; and things would
never be the same as they had been.
But her danger had driven him wild
And always the haunting memory of
her body, warm and palpitating,
against his He thought of it as he
dressed and tried to stamp out the
thought. 1t was with him in the
practically deserted dining saloon. in
the smoke-room later; it followed him
back TO his cabin, into his dreams
and it was with him in the morning
when the storm was thing of the
past
Calm returned; and the two picked
up life where they had dropped it
prior to the storm. BY tacit agree
ment they never referred to the cpl
sode. Then they came to Ceylon,
beautiful isle of spices; and the per-
verse little twist in their lives be-
came forgotten.
One afternoon, after the return from
Handy, William went alone to the
landing pier in the harbor Of Colombo
He saw the yacht Elsa in the off1ng
CHAPTER XIX.
So the yacht Elsa had turned up at
last? william eyed her gloomly and
with hostile speculation. He could