Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-03-10

IN many ways, out always Win noto
of utter positivepess IN bis tone: me
you in the penitentiary."
cts get out Of this quick" unused
Ashe a little bitterly, ''or have some
hayseed, sheriff take me In like. a stray |
pup. A city boob like me that gets
himself lost Just out Of sight Of home |
wouldn't last long with sheriff after
him."
He walked on swiftly. still was the
sun high but long ago had 1t passed the
zenith. He could form little idea how
far be had come. He struck out In q
direction which he hoped would even.
tuslly lead him to Jockworth and kept
| to it as steadily as he could. He must
get back to the house before Hsddon
did anything.
He couldn't understand just how the
lawyer was In q position TO denounce
him since It had been Haddon himself
who had brought him into Mrs. Steth-
erils home. But he was not playing
Haddon's game now, but his own. Had
don was q lawyer who understood such |
| matters.
SO Ashes hurried seeking for the
way out Of the woods became a matter
Of supreme Importance. II he failed
then he stood In a fair way to pay |
heavily for his failure, perhaps with
many years Of bis life. In one OF the
nicely balanced scales Of his destiny |
there trembled his joyous freedom: in
which today, more than ever, seemed
to him utterly damnable. His quest
| became q game for immeasurubly great
| stakes. A glow Of excitement crept
| over him. And with It came the re-
| curing knowledge that before him was
set a problem which any plowman, OF
the valley could have laughed at but
which to him was harder than robbins
national bank.
Lower rolled the sun, seemingly to
his fancy to be dragging a palpable
darkness closer, inch by inch. Once he
stopped with the sudden strong convic-
ton that his back, not his face. was
set toward I.ockworth. But again he
went on stubbornly. There must be no
retracing the steps. II he. were going
In the wrong direction, then he had
better 70 as fast and as far as might be.
| AT last, unavoidably, there came 70
brain hard against his emotions. tight
ing them down. In spite Of him an
excitement had gotten into his blood
such as he had never known even In
his skirmishes with the law. In the
city he had always had the assurance
that he was a man and 1t was only men
against whom he must strive, men and
man made institutions. But here he
was pitting himself against the forest. q
thing which was bigger and older ana
stronger and sterner than man. a
thing which began to crush him, to
mock him, to trick him by blind trails
|, into the undoing Of his own efforts. AS
an hour went by and another the sense
of baffled hopelessness grew In him, II
seemed to him that he was lighting
against an iron thing SO mighty that
It sneered at his insigniHcance and had
no need to fight back. 1t bad only 70
wait, just as 1t had waited through the
, calm centuries: IT had only 70 ns ne
on watching him, contemptuous OF
him. And still was he as powerless a.
though It were a great octopus with
him In its many arms.
His heart was beating quickly. And
he knew that It was less because OF MS
! fastening, less because Of his thoughts
E Of Haddon, than because OF that strange
dread which comes to a man from the
mere fact of being lost. u,v the very SsSs. %Sto
spells de'Rair ;I ,orsSssa The e%S'Se %ss %et aen''
q A sudden little laugh thrilled through,
I him. A laugh coming. he knew not
i whence, seeming to partake OF some
thing OF the sparkle and music OF the
brook he was crossing, to incorporate
, into itself something OF the gay sun
light through which 1t came 10 MIN,
Startled, he stared about him, turning
d this way and that. Again the souhd o'
y laughter floatcd to him deliciousiy.
In truth 1t was like music, bringing
to him as 1t did the leaping hope OF
being no longer lost, Ike sunlight IN
that no longer did the WOODS wear thc'r
shadows like threats.
...n nothing excepting the
! nicture in his imagination which the
swift brush Of his fancy had painted
about a laugh. A girl couldn't laugh
IiLe that and not be at once pretty ana
bright eyed and tantalizing.
III ook here" he called, after a little.
"rhis isn't fair! Come out Of the tree
trunk in which you're hiding, or UP
ont OF your favorlte pool Of water and
: let me see what sort OF wood nymph
, you are"
For a space nothing but the singing
a of the brook and the sunlight lying
warm over the world. And then. true
I enough. there she was just stepping out
; from the great blackened hollow OF a
giant oak, quite as his fancy bad
, painted her, merry gray eyes. iaugnihs
{ red mouth, tumbled but bewilderinSly
4 attractive brown hair.
"It was 80 funny" she informed him
r gayly. "You were lost ~ -,
"And you've been watching me-! %
q he reproached her. while I've been
Q racing madly e' -,
us it an Indian. Big Sister," came
D a thin, excited voice from the hollow
= tree. "a n nice indiana"
e Come out and see, Ronnic." the
:. Big Sister laughed In answer. And
don't shoot him. For ! rather think he
: must be a nice Indian"
Ronnie came forth little by little,
accommodating. His eyes were wide
S with interest and bright with eager
y ness. Behind him In chubby and very
I dirty hand he trailed a very excellent
a gun fashioned from a redwood board
u while to make his warlike nature the
more marked a feather from q blue
birds wing was stuck into d string tied
y about his curly head.
= Ashe transferred his friendly ly grin
l. from this three -yenr.old cherub mas
}, querading as human little boy tc
. the Big Sister. Big? II there was an!
word In the dictionary which didn't be
q long to her 1t was this one which Ron
O ME had bestowed upon her from thu
Is depths Of his alteration. There wal
e nothing big about her, unless It wer'
?. her eyes.
n Hello" offered Ronnie, v!sibi!
ID swelling up and taking on q swagge
= befitting the occasion, his eyes the Will
~ filed with his curiosity. His littl