Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-06-29
The mans eyes met her gaze steadi-

A~' ~ Cy 20 NV AL oo0S SS~oOA
ly but gradually his body began to
tremble: He put one hand out to The
spare chair as though to steady him.
self. Il want you to believe me-" he
said in a low voice, when 1 tell you
that what o ask is impossible"
His eyes wandered from hers. II
hadn't believed it," he said, half to
himself, II know it now"
He turned as though to leave her.
wait cried Andrea. Her neart. had
sunk within her for she believed him.
There vas something in the way he
spoke that even went beyond persua-
sion and robbed her of her mainstay-
her anger against him. Out she
stammered and stopped. "Oh, what
is to become Of me?"
"If / could taxi you back, I would
now" said the man duly. when
you asked to come with me ] knew. Of
course, that o were unaware of the
fact that l was not returning. An i'm
pulse drove me to grant your request
on the grounds that it is really of very
little consequence what happens to any
given individual. Impulses pass but
decisions are often irretrievable; this
was one Of Them"
"Why?" asked Andrea earnestly,
and then repeated more urgently,
Why is it," Later, in thinking over
what he had said she was amazed
that tho words, as they fell from his
lips, had seemed the essence of good
sense.
The mans eyes wandered toward
the ~aeroplane but he did not answer
her insistent question. mo real
harm will come to you," he said in
stead. but even SO ] am sorry. Logic
is a ~treacherous thing" he added abb
sently, when applied to humanity. I
told o hat l didn't deal in person.
alities. l lied. There is something
person that melts cold reason"
He left her abruptly and DISAPPEAR
ed within a nearby hut She watch
ed him go with a feeling of partial
fdesertion that gradually was absorbed
by a sensation that was new to her
a consciousness that when this extra
ordinary man spoke he left his words
behind him. not as transientS but as
permanent guests of the mind. There
was something stark about his frank
ness as though it had been caught in
some whirlwind Of life and been strip
ped of conventional clothes in the way
of meaningless phrase but for all its
~nakedness it inspired not fear bat a
rebellious trust.
CHAPTER Nv.
Andrea swallowed a lump in her
throat. II WON'T will not cry" she
said aloud. II shall " cry again.
I'm really having a good time.
tainly not bored now and only a fool
would cry over that" She settled
down to her breakfast in arnes for
got that she detested. eggs fried. ate
every scrap Of the toast, most OF the
marmalade, and drank three cups OF
tea Then she sat back and let her
eyes amuse her.
The craars activity had ~centered
about the newest and smartest of the
huts. Women were cleaning it on,
not only with brush brooms but with
motstened rags. Around it many
men were working. some digging
trenches. others cutting an extra door
in its side. Presently still others be-
gan to arrive in a seemingly endless
procession, bearing posts. stripped OF
their bark and cut to uniform length,
and great bundles Of withes and
thatch grass.
She watched them work with a won
der at what they were doing tina,
grew wagner and vaguer until she
drowsed INT finally dropped sound
asleep in her chair. She awoke two
hours later to find the white mar
standing before her, clean-shaven,
lNICoA -SySo, oAACiIiAS VI SOAp dIO 1&DOh'
ing almost dapper in khaki helmet
shirt, breaches and puttees.
We'll, MI. White Man?" said An.
drea.
He smiled a slow smile of relief as
though he had been. dreading her first
words. "Will o come now" nc
asked.
She arose, started to follow him and
stopped with a gasp. Why" she ex-
claimed, her eye fastened on the hut
that had been the scene of labor. II
was transformd. Before 1t now stood
a veranda with a thatched roof. En-
closing the veranda, the hut and a
tiny garden at its back. was a mighty
%stockade, each post of which was
~sharpened to. a needle point. From
the extra door ran a covered way as
strongly built as the stockads and
which connected the hut with it,
neishbor-that>i n which the white
If1Ana had diaeppeArad.