The Mena weekly star., 1921-05-26
Obe Blue Moon A Tdle of the FIdtJUOOdS
HT DAVID ANDERSON
'l- . V z 2 2
 Copyright by Bobbs-Merrill Col

venrs. He's the-fhe-other man.
 The pearlhunter started; glanced quickly at her. She was rocking back and forth. the fingers of her thin hands lacing and unlacing nervously.
 The breeze from the door was gut, tering the candle He crossed the floor to close it. As he brought if around. 1t scraped small packet ahead of It along the floor He picked fl up and. after closing the door, car rsed It 10 the candle. It was not big gar than the length and width of a mans two thumbs and was wrapped in hrown paper He unralled it, The first glance. as the folds fell apart and blt Of cloth dropped upon the table brought a startled exclamation from him It was a red mask.
 The Iron -Gray-Woman left her chair and came to the table The two of them stood staring down upon the bi. Of flaming cloth
 A sudden impulse seemed 10 sweep the man. Involuntarily his hand felt for the pistol at his hip; he whirled toward the door. The woman clutched his arm. He caught the appeal in her eyes bowed his head; turned back to the table.
 tense bit of pantomime it had been, full enough of meaning. of hu- man interest. to anyone able to trace back through tine years the snarled life-threGds of the actors: the two river waifs staring down at the mask; the hard man striding away up the river road.
 The woman went back to her chair and resumed her quick, nervous rock ing.
 "And so he has come to thisl" she muttered. My poor poor cousin What must have been her fatel"
 She leant forward and sat still and thoughtful, her face propped in her palm. The man stood by the table, lingering the bit of cloth. his eyes. stern and severe. still irresIstibiy drawn In the direction the intruder had gone
 A hail came up from the houseboat. The sudden cry hah startled them both. coming so close as 1t did on the heels of that tense moment barely gone.
 Its the Boss I promised to go Epearlng with him tonight"
 Stepping to the door, he opened 1t and answered the hall; came back; slid the teakettle off the fire; closed the danper of the stove; and snuffed the candle.
 ''Now. mother, don't attempt to clear away the dishes. Leave them till get back. I'll only be gone a lit tle while"
 The woman made no answer. The red mask still lying upon the table caught his eye. Rolling 1t up. he hid t under loosened chink in the cabin wall. picked up his hal and started for the door; hesitated came back to the rocking chair.
 You won't be-afraid-?"
 She looked up at him in quick sur prise. A half frown clouded the luster of her eyes.
 'sWhat question '"
 He turned and left the cabin; closed the door after him and strode down the slope to the houseboat.
 The men who hunted the river mus sel along the Wabash before the days of the button industry hunted it for the pearl sometimes found imbedded between It's flesh and shell. Struggling up and down the streams. often sfngl-. sometimes in crews. they were q shift less, fiery, reckless breed-of feather with the buccaneers of other days, and led on by the same lure: a chance Hing at fortune A pearl of great value was sometimes found run. ming well up into the thousands. But the chance of finding such pearl was small. Still there was the chance. and it Is surprising what a certain type of men will endure for such chance. when the same ends might be at- tained, certain and sure. by patient in dustry.
 4 grizzied old river man sat with the nose of his skin damned up on the gravel by the how of the honseboat when the Pearlhunter came down the slope. The Boss they called him. the river men, because in his long years in the Industry he had managed to scrape together an "outfit' and work crew of "clammers" too poor to hunt alone Ills hands were still upon the oars. The Penrlhunter pushed the boat off and sprang in, directing the Boss to row around by the stern of the houseboat after the fish spear he had been filing that afternoon.
 -See y'u've moved" the Boss ob- served as the skin slipped out Into the stream.
 Mothers cough" was the answer. @She thought it would help her to get up there under the trees"
 That cough-itll git away with 'er, If she hain't keerful. She oughta have medicine"
 T told her so. but she won't have if."
 The Boss did not pursue the point. A woman's will was something he never took the trouble to question. Having rowed out Into the current, after the pearlhunter secured his spear, he turned the nose of the skin down stream aud shipped his oars long enough to light his pipe.
 Mother hung back a little right at the last" the young man said. his