Evening star., 1924-04-27

It'd neve. have happened, honey.
If somebody hadn't stuck a glass of
whisky at me. In the anteroom OF
the lodge, when I was going in for
the medal. There was lot of con-
fusion-everybody grabbing me and
talking at once And l WAS ratified.
l swallowed the stun before 1 knew
what was doing ."
He explained - pitifully, made
quately, over and over again; making
all sorts Of promises. about the fu-
ture; planning to run the farm and
get a job too; filing the quiet little
room with a Mapping of words.
you know it'd never have hap
pened if I hadn't been drunk. You
know that, Ell, don't you, Nothing
could have made me touch a card
You know it wasn't me, but. the
whisky, don't you?"
YES" she said soothingiy. IT
know. Sam. Well get along some
how"
Presently, Was Tunk Pearse
there? He passed by on his way to
town, and thought maybe
Tt was Pearse got the money"
Sam said bitterly, and yet with an
odd note Of conceit in his voice. You
don't think anybody but a profess
sional could have trimmed me like
that. do your
A hand seemed to reach down out
OF. the dark and clutch her by the
throat
'Pro-professional what"
That's so; I never told you, did T.
Pearse used to gamble for living.
There's just two or three OF US that
know it. He got into some-well,
some trouble once on account of it,
and promised to quit, and we've been
keeping it dark SOS to give him a
chance to start over. He hadn't
played for ten years. I guess, till last
night. Oh he added with bitter and
weary wistfulness, Elf he'd only wait
ed one night longer:"
Long after Sam slept she lay awake
facing the knowledge that probably
II she hadn't told Pearse about the
money and aroused his old dormant
instincts he wouldn't have played,
and Sam mightn't have lost. The bit
ter conviction seeped in that she was
as much to blame as Sam was Her
mind went over and over and over
it. And then fell at last to making
plans that were no plans. There
was nothing to plan with. She
stared into the cool, sweet-sm elIin z
darkness, past Sam and the children
and the little prairie house. down a
vista Of hopeless. empty years. With
the money his manhood might have
survived the loss of his arm-but
not without it. She saw. him slip
| ping into untidy.. crippled desuetude.
And herself loving him on to the end.
And she knew that he'd always love
her. Beyond that she expected moth
ing. Her heart was fun Of the quiet
ness of despair.
But toward morning she cried lit
tie, quietly, into the pillow. and that
eased her, and she slept for a while
x * % 4 sa-.
WHEN the first keen white ray
flashed at her level out Of the
east. she got up and pulled down the
| shades, so that Sam and the chill
dren could still sleep. and turned to
face her life. The waste of it, stretch
ing ahead of her on and on, appalled,
her.
:. She took her clothes and, walked
YEARLY into the sitting room to
dress. She was dressing .wearily
when tho sun found Sans medal
where 1t lay on the floor and lit it to
| cleaning light. She stood still for
a long time and stared at it Slowly
it lit, up the dark places of her soul.
Sam Pavitt had flung his life into
the boiling river on the chance
every one who knew about it agreed
that it was a slight one-on the
chance that he could save his friends
pinned in the engine cab. And then
forlornly, magnificently, almost hope
lessly, broken-armed and spent and
giddy with pain, took the chance that
he, could swim. across and stop the
train. He didn't think he could; he
thought 1t was death; but there was
| a chance, and he took 1t and jumped.
!. Sam never looked ahead. Maybe he
| couldn't. 1t was the same Sam who
had drunk the. whisky when his
| friends stuck 1t into his hand, and
| DeC al MS money anu ioSl ~ ~HeA
| his friends wanted him to play. Per-
| haps IL he had been wise enough to
! turn away, from the whisky and the
| cards he'd, have turned away from
the boiling river-all the other men
| did-and his friends in the engine
cab would have drowned and the
whole great hurtling passenger train
from the east would have piled itself
| in on top Of them-if' Sam had been
| wise! It was the fools sometimes, the
| gallant, unquenchable fools who
couldn't look ahead, who saved every
thing!
She picked up Sans medal and
kissed it and laid it gently, on the
1 table. He was hers, not as he might
! have been, but as he was, and shed
see him through
She finished dressing and went into
the kitchen and caught UP the milk
pail to go out and milk the cow. She
saw something sticking under the
Kitchen door, as If it had been. thrust
in from outside. u was long white
envelope She picked II up. II was