The Washington herald., 1921-04-17

Ken4siek 70
Then. as II she drew down a curtain in front
Of her emotion, she shut out personalities by
a sudden shifting Of the conversation; but
the gaze Of her eyes as they turned back
toward the lake, all golden now in the light
Of the fare beyond the rim Of the pines. deep
ened into brooding sadness which did not Lift
with Hendricks coming
tall man. Of Htheness which always re-
minded me Of panther. he came out Of the
house kh soft step which suggested
stealth. His smile. affabIe enough and show.
ing his remarkably even white teeth, never
extended to his eyes, which seemed to watch
the world as If 1t were a jackpot His glance
went over Constable and myself, appraising
US rightly as stage settings. and rested ques-
tioningly upon Lefty Williams. Beneath It
she flushed hotly for a moment, then con.
t9lled herself into glaze Of good manners
which strove to ignore her host where's
Ted?" he demanded Of her at last.
He'll be up in a little while" she said,
and did not mention Stratton. Edith Ken
the cause Of the omission. but the girl seemed
not to notice it, talking to me with furry
of words I might have found annoying had
I not glimpsed the worry In her eyes as she
watched the road and known that she was
watching for Leffen with more than the
ordinary anxiety Of a. social responsibility.
Her relief as he came IN sight was SO evident
that Constable smiled at her
To be in love in the North Country In
the springtime!" he said with q laugh that
was almost q sigh. What wouldn't we old
timers give to win back that guerdon?"
Il wouldn't want it." Edith Kendrick said
suddenly.
Not. fatterins to me. is it," Kendrtck
laughed nastily.
The straight look she gave him shouted
that she had not been thinking Of him. He
met it with careless contempt that had in 1t
the consciousness Of power. They faced each
other with unveiled hostility as they arose to
greet Ted Leffen. Then, just as quickly, with
the residence of long training. they snapped
back into their ordinary attitude Of conjugal
contentment as the boy turned in from the
road.
He brought in his coming something of
the freshness Of a lusty wind and Constable
and gave him greeting hardly less enthusi-
astic than was Letty's. Our pleasure In his
sudden good fortune reflected think, that of
the district for Ted Leffen had never been
any mans enemy but his own. Gay, blithe,
and hopeful, he had come to the North Coun-
Try as free lance prospeetor. His courage
and Inability had inspired Stratton, who had
been for years a prophet Of the Porcupine,
, to stake the boy. For months he had been
hunting along the Missinaibi, coming into
Golden City only for supplies.
On one Of these trips he had met Kendrick,
who was always on watch to win the friend
ship Of young prospectors. setting his spider
traps for their entrance. From that time
the hard drinking which men came to con.
meet with Lefen's name went on whenever
the boy appeared. Whether or not he had
met Lefty Williams before he had started to
drink we did not know. Nor did we know
whether or not his marriage to ber, presaged
50 casually by Edith Kendrick, would change
his ways. All we did know was that Ken
son. he was using Lefty Williams to strength.
en- that hold. His manner toward the girl
revealed his intention. but she affected to
ignore It In absorbed attention in Leffen.
That the boy really loved her was unrnis.
taxable as he watched her. Pride in her
shone in his eyes 30 honestly that grew
ashamed Of my judgments on her. What II
she were q wsatherbeaten little bird Of pas
sage? She was going to give Leffen some
thing that Edith Kendrick had surely never
given to her husband. She was getting q
devotion that swept aside everything but It's
own faith. No wonder that Constable
beaned on them both and that Mrs. Kendrick
stared at the boy and girl as If they were
ghostsNef day she had long sought to for.
Eai In the glow Of such happiness emily