The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1920-12-02

naughty contempt, infinitely ranking.
He turned, and. without a backward
glance. stalked down the road to-
ward the village.
The Pearlhunter stood gazing after
him. The Red Mask-and he hadn't
struck! Three times ~affronted. and he
hadn't struck. Each time there had
been death In his eyes. What was
holding his handi Was he hiding his
time? II was not a pleasant thing to
contemplate, for any man can Kill
another II he waits his opportunity.
and takes him ut a disadvantage.
Why hadn't he struck Always the
question came back TO that. And
what was holding him to the Flat
woods1 The Pearlhunter whirled with
the thought, and looked back over the
fence.
The girl was gone.
The basket and bundles were still
scattered about the path. He climbed
the fence md began gathering them
up He had them all back In the
basket, and was leaning against the
fence, wondering how TO get them to
their proper owner, when a slight
rustic among One bushes reached his
ear. He glanced up; the girl stood
before him.
II was the girl Of the pool-the
Wild Rose.
The woods had hid them; the woods
had nursed them; the woods had set
them face TO face-the ~Pearlhunter T;
the Wild Rose-a m; a woman.
Strip away from life every nonessen-
tial: bare II of every husk Of sham
and convention; pare II right down
to the red, quick core, beyond which
|. is not possible to reduce II further,
and you come at last to n man and a
woman. Six million years the AL
mighty Artist practlced on such sec
ondary studies as stars and suns. and
peopling them with Theoretically d.
verse and curious forms Of life, before
trusting his hand on his final master
piece-a man a woman
They stood staring, as at that other
meeting at the pool. And that was
tlt thouSill hDi'Ci iitoSt III tiit iliilu VI
the northumberland other meeting.
And he had looked Somehow he
wished he hadn't; and yet he wasn't
sorry that he had. The thought drew
his eyes TO her feet. Shifting the
basket, his hand slowly stole up and
dragged off his battered hat.
The blue eyes under the sunbon-
net livened. The girl drew a step
nearer The bushes she had been
bending aside sprang back into place.
She drew another step nearer. As
she moved, an overhanging limb
caught the sunbonnet and dragged II
Off, displaying a very soft and glossy
mass of yellow curls. She turned,
disengaged the bonnet from the limb,
and was shaking the curls into shape
to replace IL when the P~earlhunter
made a quick step toward her with
hand appraised.
Don't" he cried. Don't"
A man of slow speech. with eyes
hard to wake, he wouldn't have be-
lieved such words were in him.
The girl stood fumbling the bonnet.
He watched one stray curl lose Its
place and come slowly tumbling down,
little by little. till II fell ,ver her
shoulder and lay upon the softly ris-
ing and falling bosom. From the curl.
he. raised his ewes to her face. He
saw a smile steal across II. 1t was
only n LITTLE smilo hut Ii grew under
his gaze till II reached up to her eyes.
and pinched the lids together. and
squeezed out a tiny ripple of merrl-
ment that ran out over her face and
settled In two round dimples that
teaslngly uptilted the corners of her
mouth-a good. winsome mouth.
fringed with full red lips and set
with wholesome teeth. The smile
e until II quite passed beyond her
control. She threw up her head; the
smile became a laugh.
1t was the only thing that could
have broken the restraint. The laugh
the slow smile that answered it
their introduction. She tied the on
net strings. while he watched her fin
gers as they formed the knot.
iiOt Stt(- uC Suit. IL WAS Tic
most wonderful thing I ever heard"
The girl laughed again-a laugh like
water tinkling over pebbles.
'The birds are my playmates," she
answered simply. "They fly down all
e me. l had to learn their lam
guage."
"You live In these woods?"
The Pearlhunter was a long time
asking that question.
mot far from the pool"
And you're o afraid?"
He glanced up the road toward the
village.
"Oh, ] live with Daddy" A shade
crossed her face. "Never before she
added, as II the first statement had
not quite satisfied his question.
Daddy Is not very well and I have
TO go to the store. Every time I've
one In the last few DAYS that man
| has tried 10 talk TO me. I WIS fright
ened to death today when he followed
me. tie never did that before. I'm
SO glad yon happened along; and I