Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-07-16

and a really lovely frOCk,
should have had to come so far for a
man! Cheer up! You've found two;
one dung-hill bantam and-and me-
He laughed, not silently and still
not quite aloud. 1t. was an extraor-
binary sound. 1t awoke in Andrea a
chord of memory. 1t was not the
stereotyped laughter of the stage; it
was more specialized than that. Then
she remembered. His was not the
laugh of an individual; it was the
clipped, staccato, maddeningiy deliber
ate, "Ha! Ha! Ha!-Ha! Ha! Hal" of
chorus and c~onspirators in the Ballo
in Maschera.
IT ask you, who could have inn
voice thickenins to a sinister in
tensity, he added. IT could, damn
your soft carcass. Women! Fair
women! Ha! Ha! Ha! Dreams Of
fair women! Carr! Spawn Of hell!
Pestilence that sleep by day and Turk
in the shadows of night and wine!
Damnation of the filthy byways of the
world, parading in the sweet likeness
Of God!"
Andrea suddenly looked up,
straight into his blazing y "You
clear voice. Il am a woman. weak.
mfserable-never SO miserable as in
this awful night-but I'm not a cow
ard. I can forgive not you but what
| you say, for you cried out just now
from a hell Infinitely deeper than
mine.''
The blaze of light in Maccloster'a
eyes died to a brooding glow. There
was something in Andrea's face, some
illumination of the clean soul within
her, that spoke with a sure voice,
louder. more personal---very. than words.
He answered the valiant spirit that
had not feared to rise to meet his
own revelation.
1.-The gifts that women may bring
in their hands," he said with a whis-
pering sigh, 'love, tenderness and
Manchester. had the world at my feet
for a single night. Drunk with adul-
alton. drunk with wine, I went out to
seek the gifts that women bring in
their hands," His voice dropped to q
bitter, half -fippant note Of self
hooking. Smallpox and worse in a
single night. Ha! Ha! Ha!"a
t~hunderous, terrible for the freight of
rage that it carried. 1t rolled and
echoed across the silent night like the
roar of q stricken lion. Scarcely had
it died to stiffness when to Andrea's
ears came a clear command, calm as
the voice of an executioner, "Lie
down, Andrea"
Before she could quite obey a rifle
spoke, there was the "Phut!" Of a
leaped suddenly, weirdly, from his
shoulder into the air. Instantly he
leaned down and with one hand pick
ed up Andrea lightly and held her
suspended between himself and the
shore. zone more. Trevor! you lousy
bantan!" he beloved. zone more to
save me the trouble Of wringing the
neck OF your little chtcken!"
AS he finished speaking, Trevor
shot again. A look Of acant sur
prise passed over the ACE Of the
punter nearest to . Andrea. He
crumpled up, sank as though all his
bones had suddenly melted and fell,
facetdown, to the bottom Of the boat.
His pole, released. slid with q swift
swish into the water. Manchester
promptly placed her on the seat be
remaining punters who had paused in
terror. He stood up, took the .iller
betweens the tremendous calves Of his
legs and proceeded to fill and light q
pipe. you see?" he said quietly.
"H won't shoot again. How do I
know? I'll tell you"
He half seated himself. elbow on
hllSc} Ln0 Ll110E UL1OCE SA0 SIOOA a Va
his leg. IA little brain work" he
continued conversationally. Trevor
meant 10 kill q Niger but not that
one--not the one next to you. He was
shooting at the bow-boy and he hi
the stroke-oar! How do know?
Well, it's what any man would do, let
alone n OF the best shots that ever
drew trigger. He would pick on the
crew beginning farthest from the
point where he needed all his nerve.
Now the Bantam knows what h
knew well enough before only he
knows It . damned right better and
that 10 that no man living can shoot
In moonlight and tell where 4 bullet
will TO-
"He won't shoot again.' he finished,
turning to her with 3 ghaely smile.
Sogyou'fe sAfe-eafe with me.
don't ASK you to love me- for my looks.
only for myself"