Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1920-01-23

/ me-OnIy one. she turned from him.
threw her bare arms across the table
and dropped her face against them.
What is to become of me? What do
/ care about women? | care about
myself, about Andrea Pellor.
II am glad that you do" said the
man, and added grimly, IF you cry,
if you even stare to cry, / shall go
to bed"
Andrea threw back her head and
turned her face toward him. II am
not crying" she said quietly. land l
will not"
Her anger had died and in its place
had come into her eyes something ter
ribly potent, the unforgettable look
of hunted thing at bay.
Il want to ask you," continued An
drea, ito implore you, to take me back.
If not tonight, then tomorrow. Flying
or on foot if only we could start now
/ will say that it has all been my fault,
that you did nothing beyond what /
asked you to do in bringing me with
you, if only-if only you will take me
back. Will your"
The man clenched his teeth. 81
already" he said almost in whisper
Then his voice grew clearer and colder.
1T would take eight days by any
means at my disposal days
there and eight days back. can't
afford it and nothing would be saved
| foV. 1o6
1t would only entail loss | have no
right to give"
His mood hardened Andrea's. "You
mean that when it comes to choosing
between my personal loss and yours,
you see no reason to hesitate"
The man flushed under his tan and
his eyes cleaned as though her words
had given them new life. Mine would
not be a personal loss," he said. 81
am not a loafer nor am here for my
pleasure"
II see," said Andrea. MY life
against the interests of your employer.
Are you a foreman?'
He shrugged his shoulders and ig-
nored the question. your life?" he
said. 'sWhat are you worth, after all?
The best specimen of woman in this
camp represents an investment on the
part of the husband OF two pounds
/ ten shillings-Say three pounds at the
most. Every girl child she bears and
rears brings him a hundred per cent
return, and in addition she keeps house,
/ cooks, chops wood, totes water and
tiIls his fields"
Again Andrea jerked him out Of his
role with her incOnseQuence. "What
does tote mean?" she asked rather Jelly.
ITO tote means to carry, fetch, lug.
bear
THANK you," she interrupted. by
! the way, did you mean to measure me
against that three-pound standard?"
! II did," said the man.
She threw out her arms In gesture
of disclosure and laughed. ITO think, !"
she said, that it's only few weeks
since was knocked down to the high
est bidder at twenty thousand year !"
'sNot you," said the man quickly.
HE wasn't buying you. You never
even thought it. happen to know him,
perhaps better than you do, and can
assure you that the tinsel and the
pomp he was bargaining for, innocent
enough in themselves, would have be-
come despicable and tainted by his
possession.
He was silent for a moment; then,
/ just as Andrea's lips were opening to
a remark, he added, I'm glad you
brought him to my mind. The thought
of him has freed me from my regret.
1 You're here, I'm glad you are, and you
shall stay. The only question is
whether you are going to sulk or
whether you will smile and accept the
cure of the philosophy of contrasts"
THAT'S new one" said Andrea.
s'Not at ALL" replied the man. The
philosophy of contrasts is based on
the idea that a rut and death are one
and the same thing"
i you've missed your vocation, White
Man. said Andrea dippantly. you
should get your pulpit and turn mis-
sionary to society"
"I've got the face of the earth for
a pulpit" said the man easily, land
/ 1 couldn't do with less"
Il had suspected that there was
something colossal about you" replied
Andrea quickly, sand now l know
it. 1t is your impertinent self-suffi-
cheney"
'sYou misunderstood me-" interrupted
the man, himself unmoved. *What
mean by that famboyant statement
was that no philosophy has ever lived
except through example and one can't
fulfill the creed of contrasts with less
than the whole world for play
ground"
"And has it never failed?"
His eyes wandered to the half
wrecked aeroplane. eyes, 1t has failed
once"
| "a case Of physician cure" began
Andrea and stopped. His eyes had
swerved back to hers and the naked
look Of regret in them frightened her.
''Well," she continued, gIancing away
hastily, "do you really want TOTO
convert met"
He started in his chair and If he
had been thinking of his personal
troubles, promptly forgot them. Had
it been merely chance shot, he spec
ulated, or was this young lady pos
sessed of that rarest Of virtues,
4