Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-03-24
THE BREAKING POINT
BY MARY ROBERTS RINEHART

To his relief, Dick acQuiesced He had DE- =
come oddly passive; he seemed indeed not
greatly interested. He did not even nouce
the haste with which Bassett removed the
evidences of their meal, or extinguished the
dying fire and scattered the ashes. Nor, wnen
they were mounted, the care with when they
avoided the trail. He followed, in dead ST.
lence They made slow progress.
By mid-afternoon they were obliged 10 rest
their horses and let them Craze, and the ne
cessity for food for themselves became insist
ent Dick stretched out and was 1mmedlately
asleep but the reporter could not rest Inc
magnitude of his undertaking obsessed him.
They had covered perhaps twenty miles
since leaving the cabin, and the railroad was
still sixty miles away With fresh horses
they could have made it by dawn OF the next
morning. but he did not believe their jaded
animals could go on much longer Inc
county grew worse instead of better A pass
ahead, which they must cross, was 1ull OF
snow
He was anxious. too. as to Dicks phys-
cal condition The twitching was gone, but
he was very pale, and he slept like man
exhausted and at his physical limit But
the necessity of crossing the pass OeIoie
nightfall or of waiting until dawn to do IL,
drove him back from an anxious reconnoiter-
ing of the trail at o'clock, to rouse inc
sleeping man and start on again
Near the pass. however, Dick reused hlm-
self and took the lead.
Let me ahead, Bassett," he said, peremp-
tOrllY,
He'll take care of you if you'll give him
chance"
Bassett was glad to fall back. He was
exhausted and nervous. The trail frightened
HIM 1t chung to the side of rock wall,
twisting and turning on itself; it ran under
milky waterfalls of glacial water, and higher
up it led over an ice field which was CLASSY
bridge over a rushing stream beneath.
Once across the ice fields, Dicks horse fell
and for time could not get up again. He
lay making Intellectual efforts to rise, his
sides heaving his eyes rolling in distress.
They gave up then ana prepared 10 make
such camp as they could
With the setting of the sun 1t had grown
bitterly cold. and Bassett was forced to light
fire. He did it under the protection or the
mountain wall, and Dick, after unsaddling
his fallen horse, built rough shelter OF
rocks against the wind. After time the
exhausted horse got up, and there was no
forage, and the two animals stood discon-
ISOLATE, or made small, hopeless excursions,
noses to the ground, among the moss and
| scrub pines.
Before turning in Bassett divided the re-
naming contents of the flask between them,
! and his last cigarettes. Dick did not talk.
! He sat, his back to the shelter, facing the
fire, his mind busy with what Bassett knew
was bitter and conflicting thoughts. Once.
| however, as the reporter was doing on Dick
| spoke.
"You said told you there was girl" he
said. Did 1 tell you her name?"
| mo"
"Al right Go to sleep. thought If I
| heard it, it might help"
Bassett lay back and watched him.
Better get some sleep, old man." he said.
! He dozed, to waken again. cold and shiv-s
| ering. The fire had burned low, and Dick
was sitting near it unheedng, and in deep
study He looked up, and Bassett was shock
ed at the quiet tragedy in his face.
Where is Beverly Carlysle now?" he
asked. COR do you know"
yes L saw her not long ago"
| "Is she-married AGAIN."
"No. She's revived The Valley, and she's
in New York with it,"
| Dick slept for only an hour or so that
night, but as he slept he dreamed. In his
! dream he was at peace and happy, and there
was a girl in black frock who seemed to
be part of that peace. When he reused,
however still with the warmth of his dream
on him, he could not summon her She had
| slipped away among the shadows of the
! night
| He sat by the fire In the grip of great
despair. He had lost ten years out of his
| life, his best years. And he could not go
back to where he had left off. There was
F.! nothing to go back to but shame and re.
morse. He looked at Bassett, lying by the
| fire, and tried to fit him into the situation.
Who was he, and why was he here? Why
had he ridden out at night alone, into I'M
known mountains, to find him?
Continued Tuesday. Renew your subscrfp.
tion now not to miss instalment Of
this splendid story.