The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1919-12-27

ABOUT the room. SO this was where he
hao lived and worked during many
months! 1t was a bachelors room
arranged at once for comfort. utility
ana sioth. On one side was his cot,
permanently inclosed in mosquito net
ting and having at its head a lantern
1or reading In bed. Next to 1t, came a
nigh draughtsman's desk roughly
made of packing cases. On each end
OF 1t, guttering candles, still lighted
rose from mysterious pedestals, empty
bottles. disguised under cascades Of
molten wax.
In the shadow Of the high desk stood
the one utterly incongruous bit of fur
niture, glistening mahogany phono-
graph. Andrea's eyes passed It and
then went back to linger for an in
slant In vague wonder Why had
M'sungo never brought 1t out? Never
played 1t? She was not interested
enough to ask aloud.
Andrea's eyes finished their slow
circuit Of the room and came back to
the white mans bowed head. He had
not moved and she herself had lain
very still, more through languor than
by volitiOn. She had been in that state
of subdued consciousness which
sweeps troubled humanity back to the
borderland Of childhood, but now her
mind awoke. A deep flush stained her
neck and crept up through her cheeks,
carrying with 1t to her eyes n look Of
sudden age. Her hand. imprisoned
under the mans cheek, doubled and
contracted into hard little fist. He
looked up quickly and saw the transit
ton that hao some to her face. Don't
give In to II" he said, throwing one
arm across her knees. Don't give in
to age. Do you think l AN so blind
that ! don't know where i found you?
Why do you think am on my kneess
It's In reverence before the glimpse
that I caught Of the girlhood Of An
drea Pellor. My arms are trembling
because they have dared to carry her
clean youth. soft and warm as 1t was
before the touch Of the world and
years, and my heart is aching with
memory that will never die"
white Man." said Andrea, her face
unsoftened. would you pay three
pounds for meT
He stared at her, leaped to his feet
and started pacing up and down be-
side the couch, look Of thunder on
his brow. NO." he said, II wouldn't"
Without looking at her he went to the
bookcase and, after a moment, drew
out worn volume: then he placed a
chair close to the couch so that the
light of the lantern would fall over his
shoulder. sat down and began to read
aloud.
Very gradually the hardened and
cheapened look In Andrea's eyes died
out. They grew wide again and dwelt
dreamily on the mans slim figure. She
saw many things about him she had
never noted before. His hair was
crisp and touched with premature
gray at the temples; his shoulders
were broad and his hips very narrow
He had a good boot leg" but his feet
were small enough to preserve bal
once even there. In spite of his height.
he was well-knit by grace of the life
he had led.
"He Is very strong" thought Andrea
as she remembered how lightly he had
swung her into his arms. Then she
began to think of other things about
him. He never was too tired to shave
before the evening meal. He had
shown an almost uncanny tact in fore
seeing and preventing the embarrass-
ing situations that one would have
thought inevitable under the circum-
stances of their life together. He never
forgot He had called her my dear
girl" once and she had shown that she
hated It. II was enough.
"How old are you. White Man?' she
asked.
Thirty -four. normally" he an
swered instantly. and went on with his
absorbing reading almost without
break
Andrea fell silent. even her thoughts
stopped talking. Gradually the How
Ing voice possessed her. picked her up
lightly, bore her away and AWAY. In
other words, she slept us children
sleep when put to bed In the good old
way.
When she awoke. hours later. the
room was heavy with the acrid smell
OF lanterns burned too low. but to
make up for that, the rain had ceased
and sunlight poured In through the
open door. M'sungo was sitting a. he
had sat, reading as he had been read
Ing. The flow Of his voice was ex-
actly the same as though he himself
had been caught in current that
would not let him stop.
Andrea drew Quivering breath.
She saw instinctively the workings OF
his mind. He wished her to awake
without awaking-to come to the new
day with the selfsame smile In her
heart that had been there when she
slept. He called upon her to play the
game through and she decided TO 90
Il She stretched her bare arms |
vnvnod. rubbed her eyes with doubled