The Yale expositor., 1921-02-10

| pockets. The easy smile left his face;
the real man came out-a wildcat,
fanged and clawed.
''Tll uncork this rotten old Jug" he
growled, IF you'll bolt the Flatwoods
and stop queerin' my game"
His lips snapped tight. His cards
were on the table. The Pearlhunter
pondered them in his deliberate way
and cast up the sum total of their ex-
act value.
| First. There would be no mob.
Otherwise he would have trusted to
that The meeting behind the Mud
Hen had fizzled.
| Second. He had no stomach for
| going into court.
Third "Queerin' his game" What
! did he mean by his game? He couldn't
have meant the Blue Moon, for he
didn't know the Pearlhunter knew he
had 1t. His game. That tense scene
! at the fence the evening before flashed
up clear as the river bed under the
| jack light: girl with basket;
frightened eyes yellow curl that rose
and fell upon q startled bosom.
"Ill stay where | am" he answered,
crisp and cold. 1.-THE law put me in;
the law can get me out"
The other shrugged his shoulders,
furious at the battling GOODNESS he en-
countered. And yet he couldn't afford
to give up his plans, or spoil them by
any untimely show of his real feel
ings. The easy smile came back.
"Those questions you were expect
ing to ask-I might answer them to
boot"
The Pearlhunter's fingers frightened
on the bar. He breathed deep. Those
questions! His life through, they had
haunted him. And the man before him
knew the answer. His face set hard.
Answer or not, as you please" he
said "but I'll not bolt the Flatwoods.
l was expectin' to ask about my-fa-
| ther."
The other whipped curious look at
him.
"Your fatherv' he snarled. The
| scowl on his face became 1t better than
the smile GAS like you as two peas;
with the same lot of fool, Sir Galahad
notions about the women-angels and
white lilies, and all that rot. He
crossed my path once too often, and
for the last time, seven years ago. He's
in hell now. And your mother"
The fist that stabbed out of the win
| dow fell almost short landing with
| snap instead Of crash, like lash that
can reach only so far 1t stung the
man on the point of the cheek and shot
his head back.
He staggered and threw up his hand
| to his face His other hand involun-
tarily dropped toward his hip. Well
| for him that it stopped before II got
there. The Pearlhunter had snatched
| the revolver from under his blouse and
held it just below the window ledge.
The man on the outside backed
away, his face stung to flame by the
blow. He felt for his knife seemed
| to remember where he had left it--be-
| tween the ribs of man. Anyhow, 1t
would have been as useless as the re-
volver. Noise precluded the use of
the one; walls and bars the other.
I'D kill you" he retorted finally, his
| tones steady, though strained, like the
! current that plays across the top Of
whirlpool, "only haven't time. There's
flock Of yellow curls and devilish
trim pair Of ankles waitin' for me
| down the road"
He had so framed the taunt as to re-
fleet on the girl his very thought dis
hnnnroH hn
turned and walked away.
The Pearlhunter seriously debated
| whether to shoot him dead and trust
| to fate for the rest. The revolver
| crawled up over the window sill. He
| grasped one of the bars to steady his
hand. A start Of surprise came to his
| face. The revolver went back below
the window sill. The bar was loose.
1t was almost unbelievable, but 1t
was so. For some reason or other II
hard not been fixed very firmly In its
| auger hole sockets There was play
a heartening amount Of it-between
| the upper and lower auger holes His
blood missed beat; then leaped the
higher.
iit JuhiihCh lit DuI lulO tnC lOWtT
socket. The bottom of the hole was
soft. The rain had probably rotted 1t.
He damned the bar again and the wood
gave. He put all his strength to 1t.
Each effort drove the bar little deep
err; gave It little more play at the
top. If he could only drive 1t far
enough so that the top would clear He
was working like a wild man.
Bearing down WITT all his strength,
he rotated the bar. The tremendous
exertion opened the cuts and scratches
on his neck and breast until they bled
afresh. He jammed the bar down
again; bore upon 1t with all his
strength; rotated It again and again.
Less than half an inch still held at the
top.
His exertlons brought the sweat out
upon his face. Another effort; ire
mendous; to the last ounce Of his
power.
His hands were like f1re-but the
bar cleared. He could move IL tiny
mite to the side Of the upper auger
hole. The clearance was ever so little