The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1921-01-08

strings TIA. held It ard whipped them
into a knot. Then the girl steppec
hack. The man crawled through the
window-with extreme care not 70
scar the ground outside.
It is past all knowing how her hands
happened to get into his. He bent his
head and laid his face upon them;
suffered them to slip out of his fingers
at last; and turned away.
He was gone on the instant-gone
as q shadow goes-never knowing
that for long and long the dull window
framed a white face listening for
some sound of him to come back out
Of the night.
The woodcraft of the Pearlhunter
was profound. 1t was about all life
had taught him. but it had taught him
that. With the logical precision o.
schoolmaster passing from one step of
a problem to another, it led him
straight to the trail of the man he had
been following q short time before
which. of course, took him in the d.
rection of Fallen Rock. The man he
| followed had doubtless gone back to
the village by this time. This prob
ability he had already estimated and
set down in his reckoning at Its
proper value. But he had another pur-
nose In turning his steps toward Fall
en- Rock. He was deliberately going
back to the cabin.
With every caution to leave no trail,
he picked his way through the woods
TO the edge of the bluffs, stole over
and down toward the cabin. The first
glance at the black bulk Of 1t, squat
| ted in the deep gloom under the up
standing rocks, brought him to in
| slant pause. There was light with
in. He crouched down in the bushes
to consider what this unexpected cir
cumstance meant before venturing an
other step.
No sound came from the cabin. Tha
night was intensely still. Not an oar
stirred the river. The waterfall alone
fretted the silence. The PearlhunteI
flattened himself In the weeds and
bushes and foot by foot worked hii
way until he was able at last to bring
his face level with the tiny opening
With his eye close, the chink afforded
a tolerably clear view Of the interior
of the cabin. He barely restrained
cry at what he saw.
STOPPED over the small, hair-coveret
trunk, his hat of, stood the Red Mask
.. He had pried open the lid and hat
laid the contents of the trunk on
, with seeming care in rather nea
, heaps upon the floor. In his hand h
held the picture of the 1ron-Gray
' Woman.
( The Pearlhunter's gorge rose at see
t ing his mothers picture in such hands
I and his breast burned to dash into tn
e cabin and settle his score with TN
8 i sacrilegious wretch once and Tor al
But it was not his to do as he please
e that night. His activities for the mt
d ment were limited to keeping his ey
|. | fast to the chink.
e The man by the trunk strafghtene'
e carried the picture to the candle an
j, stood looking long upon 1t. He LAID
i to his lips. again and again. as II \
IS would drink up the beautiful rae
from the card. He pressed the pictul
e to his bosom; held it again to II
candle and whispered to it in tom
3, that did not carry to the ear OF Il
Ir amazed listener. He strobe up an
r down the room; and there was on n
face a look that no man had probab
10 ever seen there before, and probab
would never see again.
ID After long moments he reused hi
r. self, unbuttoned his vest, and put q
I'd picture carefully away in an inn
e pocket. The watcher outside the We
n WINGED; his lipr drew together in
lie tense line. But there was much to
* seen just then. The man inside nj
a. risen, crossed the floor, put the thin
back in the trunk, closed the lid al
IN picked up his tat. Next moment t