The Washington herald., 1921-04-24

I
ter of pork and beans. Then SOM
berly the potatoes. Then profound
ly the biscuits. Il have been re-
volving it in my mind. There amt
no use waitin' any longer for Sven
gally. Might as well eat now
From my excellent vantage point
on the couch ! watched the prog
ress Of that meal Ross, muddled,
glowering. disappointed; Etienne,
eternally blandishing, attentive.
ogIing; Miss Adams. nervous, pick
ing her food. hesitant about an
swering questions, almost hyster-
ical; now and then the solid. iit-
ting shadow of the cook. passing
behind their backs like a dread
naught in a fog.
used to own a clock which CUR
| gled in its throat three minutes
| before IL struck the hour. i know.
| therefore. the slow freight Of An
ticipation. For / have awakened at
| J in the morning. heard the clock
gurgle and waited those three min
utes for the three strikes / knew
were to come. Alors. In Ross
ranch house that night the slow
freight OF Climax whistled in the
distance.
Etienna began il after supper
Miss Adams had suddenly displayed
lively interest in the kitchen lay
out and could see her in there.
chatting brightly at George-not
with him-the while he ducked his
head and ratified his pans.
| MY frca'" said Etienne. exhsling
/ 10
patting Ross lightly n the shoulder
with a bediamondei hand which
hung limp from q yard or moro OF
bony arm. II see ] mus be frank
| with YOU Firs. because We are
] rivals; second. because you take
| these matters so serious. IL am
Frenchman. love the women"-he
threw back his curls, barred his yei-
low teeth. and blew an unsayory
kiss toward the kitchen. 1T is, j
suppose. a trait of my nation All
Frenchmen love the women-pretty
women Now. look: Here / am
He spread out his arms. Cold out
side, j detes' the col-l-l, Snow:
II abominate the BILE
snow. Two men! This"-pointing
to me-"an this" Pointing to Ross.
"I am distracted, For two whole
days stan at the vihdow and tear
my air, 1 am nervous. upset, pr-r-
| rofoun1y distress inside my cad,
An suddenly-behold! A woman, a
nice. pretty, charming, innocen'
young woman! !. naturally, rejoice.
I become myself agsin-gay, light
'earted, 'appy. / address. myself to
mademoiselle: il passes the time.
That. m'sieu', is wot the women are
for-pass the time, Entertainment
like the music. like the wine!
They appeal to the mood, the
caprice. the Temperament. To play
| with thees woman. follow her
through her humor. pursue her-ah'
that Is the mos delightful way TO
sem the hours about their business
Ross banged the table. shut up,
you miserable yellow pup" he
roared. II object TO your pursuin'
anything or anybody in my house.
Now. you listen to me, you" He
picked up the box OF stogies ana
used Il on the table as an en-
phasizer. The noise of il awoke
the attention of the girl in the
kitchen. Unheeded. she crept into
the room. 'T don't know anything
about your French ways of love-
maxim, and don't care. In my
section of the country, it's the best
man wins. And I'm the best man
here. and don't you forget IL!
This girls goin' to be mine. There
amt going to be any playing. or
philandering. or palm reading about
IL. I've made up my mind I'll have
this girl. and that settles il. Ny
word is the law in this neck O the
woods. She's mine and as soon as
she says she's mine. you pull out
The box made one final, tremendous
puntustion point.
Etienne bravsdo was unrufned.
"Ah! that is no way TO win a wom-
an" he smiled. easily. Il make
prophecy you will never win 'er that
way. No. Not thees woman. She
mus be played along an then
keessed. this charming. delicious lit
tie creature. One keess! An then
you ave her" again he displayed
his unpleasant teeth. Il make you
a bet / will keess her
As a cheerful chronicler Of deeds
done we'll, II joys me TO relate that
the hand which fell upon Etienne's
amorous lips was not his Cwn. There
was one sudden sound. as OF mule
kicking a lath fence, and then
through the swinging doors OF OBJ
Iivion for Euenne.
i had seen this blow delivered. II
was an aloof. unstudied, almost ab-
sent minded affair. ] had thought
the cook was rehesrsing the proper
method of turning. hspjack- ..
Silently, lost in thought. he stood
there scratching his head. Then he
began. rolling down his sleeves
You'd better get your things on.
Miss. and we'll get out Of here, he
decided. "wrsp up warm.
heard her heave a little sigh of
relief as she went to get her cloak.
sweater. and hat.
Ross jumped TO his feet and said: