Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-02-03

woman kept up the fire. Her name was
Maggie, and she moved about the cabin like
a thin ghost. At night she slept in lean
to she'd and David kept the fire going A
man who seemed to know him well-John
Donaldson, he learned was his name-was
Maggie's husband, and every so often he
came, about dawn, and brought food and
supplies.
N lex himself had been totally incurious-
1 He lived sort Of animal life of food
and sleep, and later on of small ten
tatiVe excursions around the room on legs
that shook when he walked. The SHOWS
came and almost covered the cabin, and
David had read a great deal, and talked at
intervals. David had tried to fill up the
gap in his mind That was how he learned
that David was his fathers brother, and
that his father had recently died.
Going over it all now it had certain
elements that were not clear They had,
for instance, never gone back to the ranch
at all With the first clearing of the snow
in the spring John Donaldson had appeared
again, leading two sadded horses and
driving pack animal and they had started
off, leaving him standing in the clearing
and staring after them. But they had
not followed Donaldson's trail. They had
started west, over the mountains, and
David did not know the country. Once
they were lost for three days.
He looked at the figure on the bed.
Only ten years, and yet at that time David
| had been vigorous, seemed almost young.
He had aged in that ten years. On that
long ride he had been tireless. He had
taken the burden of the nightly camps and
had hacked a trail with his Ratchet across
snow fields, while Dick, still weak but
furiously protestingp had been compelled
to stand and watch.
Now, with the perspective of time behind
him, and with the clearly defined issue Of
noyiI oi,oc+ n raf,1 IA
west, he again went over the details of that
winter and spring. Why had they not
taken Donadson's trail? Or gone back to
the ranch? Why had they burned his
clothes, and Donaldson brought a new out
fit? Why did Donaldson, for all Dick
requests, never bring a razor, so that when
they struck the railroad, miles from any
where, they were both full bearded?
He brought himself up sharply. He had
allowed his imagination to run away with
him. He had been depicting flight, and
no one who knew David could imagine him
in flight.
Nevertheless, he was conscious of new
uneasiness and anxiety. When David re-
covered sufficiently, he would go to Norado.
as he had told Elizabeth, and there he
would find the Donaldsons, and clear up
the things that bothered him. After that
He thought of Elizabeth, of her sweet
ness and sanity. He remembered her at
the theater the evening before, lost in its
fictitious emotions, its counterfeit drama.
He had felt moved to comfort her, when
he found her on the verge of tears.
"Just remember, they're only acting"
he had said.
yes. But life does do things like that
to people,"
After a long time he slept in his chair.
The spring wind came in through the
open window and fluttered the leaves Of
the old prayer book the stand.
Continued in the next issue. Renew
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(Copyright, 1923, by Mary Roberts Rine-
hart. Published by arrangement with Nc
Clure's MagaZine.)