The L'Anse sentinel., 1923-02-23

looked when first she entered his life
Ia golden-haired girl, blue-eyed,
white-skinned, red-lipped, tall and
slender and beautiful. He had never
forgotten, and an old, sickening re
morse knocked at his heart. He rose
and climbed out Of the canon and to
the top Of the mesa. where he paced
to and fro and looked down into the
weird and mystic shadows, like the
darkness of his passion, and farther
on down the moon track and the gilt
tering stretches that vanished in the
cold blue horizon. In that endless,
silent hall Of desert there was a
spirit; and Cameron felt lowering
near him what he imagined to be
phantoms of peace.
He returned to camp and sought
his comrade.
II reckon we're two Of kind" he
said. ut was a woman who drove me
into the desert. But come to re-
member. The deserts the only place
I can do that"
"was she your wifeT asked the
elder man.
"No."
A long silence ensued. The camp
FIRE wore down to ruddy ashen heap.
IT had daughter" said Cameron's
comrade. "She lost her mother at
birth. And II didn't know how to
bring up girl. She was pretty and
gay. It was the-the old story"
His words were peculiarly signift
cant to Cameron. They distressed
him. He had been wrapped up In his
remorse. II ever in the past he had
thought Of anyone connected with
the girl he had wronged, he had long
forgotten. But the consequences of
such wrong were far-reachlng. They
struck at the roots of home.
swell, tell me morer' asked Cam
eron earnestly.
ut was the old, old story. My girl
was pretty and free. The young bucks
ran after her. / guess she did not run
away from them. And was away a
good deal-worklng In another town.
She was in love with a wild fellow. /
knew nothing of 1t till too late. He
was engaged to marry her.. But he
didn't come back. And when the dis
grace became plain to all, my girl left
nome. She went west. After a while
l heard from her. She was we'll
working-llving for her baby. A long
time passed. I had no ties. drifted
west. Her lover had also gone west.
In those days everybody went west.
l trailed him, intending to kill him.
But lost his trail. Neither could
find any trace of her. She moved on,
driven, no doubt, by the hound of her
past. Since that have taken to the
wilds, hunting gold on the desert"
"Yes, It's the old. old story. only
sadder, I think" said Cameron; and
his voice was strained and unnatural.
"Pardner. what Illinois town was 1t
you hailed fromr
"Peoria."
"And your--your nameT went on
Cameron, huskily.
"Warren-Jonas Warren"
That name might as well have been
a bullet. Cameron stood erect, mo-
tionless, as men sometimes stand mo-
mentarily when shot straight through
the heart. In an instant, when
thoughts resurged like binding flashes
Of lightning through his mind, he was
a swaying, quiyerlng, terror-stricken
man. He mumbled something hoarse-
ly and backed into the shadow. But
he need not have feared discovery,
however surely his agitation might
have betrayed him. Warren sat brood
Ing over the campfire, oblivious Of his
comrade. absorbed In the past.
Cameron swiftly walked away In
the gloom, with the blood drumming
thick In his ears, whispering over and
over:
"Merciful G-di Nell was his daugh-
teri"
As thought and feeling multiplied,
Cameron was overwhelmed. Beyond
belief, indeed, was It that out Of the
millions Of men In the world two who
had never seen each other could have
been driven into the desert by memory
Of the same woman. II brought the
past so close. II showed Cameron
how inevitably all his spiritual life
was governed by what had happened
long ago. That which made life sig
nificant to him was a wandering In
silent places where no eve could see
him with his secret. Some fateful
chance had thrown him with the IA.
ther of the girl he had wrecked. 1t
was ncomprebensible; II was terrible.
i II was the one thing Of all possible
happenings in the world ~ef chance
that both father and lover would have
found unendurabie.
Something within him cried out to
him to reveal his identity. Warren
would kin him; but It was not fear of
death that put Cameron on the rack.
He had faced death too often to be
afraid. 1t was the thought Of adding
torture to this long-snftering man. All
at once Cameron swore that he would
not augment warren's trouble,- or let
him stain his hands with blood. He
would tell the truth Of Nelrs sad story
and his own, ana make what amends
he could.
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