Cleveland County herald., 1920-08-05
CHAPTER X.
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A CdTe1ul unalySlS Ol SnlrIeNS $ 1eel- 1ngs toward Bryce Cardigan immedi. ately following the incident In Pen. nington's woods, had showed her that under more propitious circumstances she might have fallen in love with that tempeStuous young man in sheer rec ognition of the many lovable and man. ly qualities she had discerne0 in him AS an offset to the credit side of Bryce's account with her, however there appeared certain debits in the consideration of which Shirley always lost her temper and was Immediately quite certain she loathed the unfor- tunate man.
 He had been an honored and (for aught Shirley knew to the contrary welcome guest in the Pennington home one night, and the following day had assaulted his host, committed great bodily injuries upon the latter's en- ployees for little or no reason save the satisfaction of an abominable temper, made threats of further violence, de- clared his unfaltering enmity to her nearest and best-loved relative, and in the next breath had had the insolence to prate of his respect and admiration For her.
 However. all of these grave crimes and misdemeanors were really insig- hificant compared with his crowning offense. What had infuriated Shirley was the fact that she had been at some pains to inform Bryce Cardigan that she loathed him-whereat he had looked her over coolly, grinned little, and declined to believe her! Then. seemingly as if fate had decreed that her futility should be impressed upon her still further. Bryce Cardigan had been granted an opportunity to save, in a strillingly calm, heroic and pain ful manner, her and her uncle from certain and horrible death, thus plac- ing upon Shirley an obligation that was as irritating to acknowledge as it was futile to attempt to reciprocate.
 That was where the shoe pinched. Before that day was over she had been forced to do one of two things acknowledge in no uncertain terms her indebtedness to him, or remain silent and to be convicted of having been, in plain language, a rotter. So she had telephoned him and purposely left ajar the door to their former friendly relations
 Monstrous! He had seen the open door and deliberately slammed 1t in her face. Luckily for them both she had heard, all unsupported by him as he slowly hung the receiver on the hook, the soliloquy wherein he gave her pointed hint of the distress with which he abdicated-which knowledge was all that deterred her from despis- ing him with the fervor of a woman scOrned
 The fascination which lighted candle holds for a moth is too well known 10 require further elucidation here In yielding one day to a desire to visit the Valley of the Giants Shir- ley told herself that she was going there to gather wild blackberries She had been thinking of certain black berry pie, which thought naturally in duced reflection on Bryce Cardigan and reminded Shirley of her first visit to the Giants under the escort of a boy in knickerboclers.
 Her meeting with Moira McTavish that day. and the subsequent friend ship formed with the woods-boss daughter. renewed all her apprehen- Sions. On the assumption that Shir- ley and Bryce were practically strangers to each other tan assuInp ton which Shirley, for obvious req sons. did not attempt to dissipate), , Moira did not hesitate to mention Bryce very frequently. Yo her he was the one human being in ne wofia utterly worth while, and 1t is net ural for women to discuss, ire quently and at great length. the subject nearest their hearts. Moira described Bryce in minute detail and related to her eager auditor little un- conscious daily acts of kindness, thoughtfulness or humor performed by Bryce-his devotion to his father, his idealistic attitude toward the Cardi- gan employees, his ability. his indus try. And presently. little by little. Shirleys resentment against him faded, and in her heart was born d great wistfulness bred of the hope that some day she would meet Bryce Cardi- gan on the street and that he would pause, lift his hat, smile at her his compelling smile and forthwith pro ceed to bully her into being friendly and forgiving-browheat her into ad- mitting her change of heart and glory ing in it.
 To this remarkable state ot mind had Shirley Sumner attained ar the lime John Cardigan, leading his last little trump in vain hope that it would enable him to take the odd trick in the huge game he had played for fifty years, decided to sell his Valley of the Giants.
 Shirley. as explained In preceding uhapter, had been present the night