The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-07-17
CHAPTER Ill
The Red Mask

"A
ena bled the girl to disappear under his
very ewes. without so much as the
culver of a leaf, the Pearlhunter
crossed the branch on the rifle at the
lower edge of the pool by springlng
from stone to stone and went up to the
rock. There lay the flowers in scattered
confusion-a tumbled mass of refresh
ing color; the half an armful of pink
and white and red wild roses. He
picked up three-a pink; red: white
and stood gazing down upon them
The true woodsman is instinctively a
gentleman. He did not know-he did
not try to know-that the girl watched
his every move from behind a big oak
a few yards UP the bank.
Like her-somehow," he muttered.
'Wild Rose! 1t might be her name. A
name! I wonder what it's like to have
a name!"
A thought Swallowed his face-the
old thought that always brought the
cloud; his eyes narrowed; the lines of
his mouth grew tense Drawing the
stems of the three roses through but
tonhole in his blouse, he strobe away
down the branch back to Fallen Rock.
The languid eyes of the Iron Gray
Woman turned toward him as he sprang
in over the saving gangplank, pushed
aside the rumpled curtain and entered
the tiny cabin Of the house boat.
There was not so much fire in the
ewes. The fever was going down with
the SUM- The thought his returning
step had brought came out in her
first words.
"They who own the old cabin might
not like US to move in
"They can only make us move out
again." was his CHEEKY answer. And,
mother, you never saw so such a view
as you get from up there. And you can
drink right out of the spring. And
there's a thin little broad blade OF
waterfall pitching between the prongs
of the cliff and tumbling down among
the rocks of the coolest little pool you
ever saw. It will put you to sleep
nights just to listen to that waterfall"
Something came to the face of the
Iron Gray Woman that had long been
a stranger there. Not smile-a ripple,
the swath a chance breeze ruffles
across still water.
But you can't carry everything"
Everything. And the first load shall
be you."
MET"
ut would set you coughing to climb
the slope"
The woman dropped her eyes. After
all, weakness is not a pleasant fact to
face. The loss of power, the inability |
to do accustomed things, always comes
as a shock Life had brought to the |
Iron Gray Woman little enough-pit- |
fully little enough. But though life |
I~o o,,I M O g
to sit helpless and watch it go.
HAPPY the young man sensed nothing |
Of this, but was already busy gathering |
such of their meager stock of
household goods as it would be abso-
utely necessary to carry up to the |
cabin under the cliff if the coming |
night was to be spent ashore. From her
,hair-for that cough must not be pro-
1oked again-she helped him plan and
pack; a scant task truly, and soon fin
shed.
Ashore at Last.
Nothing remained but the actual go
ng ashore. His mother came first, as
he had said. While packing, he had
planned to help her up the hill to the
spring and leave her there while he
'wept the old cabin, aired it out, put
Up the cook stove and otherwise made
he place as sweet and inviting as
possible for her occupancy.
Just before passing through the
'umpled curtain of the house-boat she
stopped and gazed over the tiny cabin.
Just one look before 1 CO." she said.
He was astonished at the wistfulness
n her tones.
why, mother, you can come back
any minute /
1T has been my home for twenty
ears" she said as she turned away,
Ter tone more the voicing Of reflec-
ion than the statement of a fact.
Across the gangpiank and up the
lope among the trees he led her-car- !,
led her-with all the tenderness due
rom a man to his mother; for the .
rom Gray-Woman had the manners
nd speech of a '1ady of high degree" I
nd she had taught him al she knew. /,
lie had brought along a cushion, which
e spread for her upon a moss -uphol- |