The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1920-02-07

warm furs. Her eyes gazed immersion
any and little wonderingIy at Msun-
COS bowed head; then they wandered
ABOUT the room. So this was where he
mad lived and worked during many
months! 1t was a bachelors room.
arranged at once for comfort utility
ana sloth. On one side was his cot.
permanently inclOsed in mosquito net
ing and having at its head a lantern
Tor reading in bed. Next to il, came a
high draughtsman's desk roughly
made of packing cases. On each end
or it, guttering candles, still lighted,
rose from mysterious pedestals, empty
bottles. disguised under cascades of
molten wax.
In the shadow of the high desk stood
the one utterly incongruous bit of fur
hiture, a glistening mahogany phono-
graph. Andrea's eyes passed it and
then went back to linger for an in
slant in vague wonder. Why had
NJ sungo never brought it out? Never
played it? She was not interested
enough to ask aloud.
Andrea's eyes finished their slow
circuit of the room and came back to
the white mans bowed head. He had
not moved and she herself had lain
very still. more through languor than
by vOlition. She had been i'm that state
OF subdued consciousness which
sweeps troubled humanity back to the
borderland of childhood, but now her
mind awoke. A deep flush stained her
neck and crept up through her cheeks,
carrying with it to her eyes a look of
sudden age. Her hand, imprisoned
under the mans cheek; doubled and
contracted into a hard little fist. He
looked up quickly and saw the transit
ton that hao some to her face. "Don't
give in to it," he said, throwing one
arm across her knees. Don't give in
to age. Do you think l I'D so blind
that L don't know where found you?
Why do you think l am on my knees.
It's in reverence before the glimpse
that | caught of the girlhood of An
drea Pellor. My arms are trembling
because they have dared to carry her
clean youth. soft and Iarm as il was
before the touch of the world and
years, and my heart is aching with a
memory that will never die"
white Man," said Andrea. her face
unsoftened. would you pay three
pounds for mel?
He stared at her. leaped to his feet
and started pacing up and down be-
side the couch, look of thunder on
his brow. "No." he said, II wouldn't"
Without looking at her he went to the
bookcase and. after q moment, drew
out a worn volume; then he placed a
chair close to the couch so that the
light of the lantern would fall over his
shoulder, sat down and began to read
aloud
Very gradually the hardened and
look in Andrea's eyes died
out, They grew wide again and dwelt
hreamily on the mans slim figure. She
saw many things about him she had
crisp and touched with premature
gray at the temples; his shoulders
we're broad and his hips very narrow. |
He had good boot leg" but his feet
we're small enough to preserve bal /
'nce even there. In spite of his height |
he was well-knit by grace of the life
ne had led.
He is very strong" thought Andrea /
is she remembered how lightly he had /
swung her into his arms. Then she /
began to think of other things about Z
him. He never was too tired to shave 4
,efore the evening meal. He had 4
shown an almost uncanny tact In fore /
seeing and preventing the embarrass-
ng situations that one would have
bought inevitable under the circum-
stances of their life together. He never
orgot. He had called her my dear
,irl' once and she had shown that she
lated it. 1t was enough.
How old are you. White Man?' she
sked. .
"Thirty-four, normally" he an
wered instantly, and went on with his
bsorbing reading almost without a
freak
Andrea fell silent, even her thoughts
topped talking. Gradually the flow
NJ voice possessed her, picked her ND
ghtly, bore her away and away. In
ther words, she slept as children
leep when put to bed in the good old
ray.
When she awoke, hours later. the
Dom was heavy with the ncrid smell
( lanterns burned too low, hut to
lake up for that. the rain had ceased
nd sunlight poured in through the
pen door. MsungO was sitting as he
ad sat. reading as he had been read
ig. The flow of his voice was ex-
city the same as though he himself
ad been caught I'm a current that
'ould not let him stop.
Andrea drew quivering breath.
he saw instinctively the workings of
is mind. He wished her to awake (
ithout awaking-to come TO the new :
ay with the selfsame smile in her
cart that had been there when she
ept He called upon her to play the
anne through and she decided TO do 1
: She = stretched her bare arms.
awned. rubbed her eyes with doubled s