The Glenwood post., 1924-07-03

WutMxs ne knew tnaI No W0nUo0 nef
close. all Of the seductive beauty; to
whisper that he loved her. To zee her
smile, to see her happy in his arms.
That she stood there. so much at his
mercy, 70 entirely at his command. her
.nerveless hands in his, awaiting his
win, beaten to 1t. sobered him.
She had never been SO willing be-
fore. Had she been swept away by
the beauty, enthralled by the magic
Of the passionate night3 Had he7 He
could not follow the train Of his
thought: processes went on, but were
undirected, and uncontrolled. He had
acted instinctively before, and did 10
now.
he wanted her none the less. What
was the matter with him7 What held
him backi She stood, there by him.
She was his. His wife. He wanted
her more, far more. But not like this.
Never like this Not bent to his will.
He could. said his racing mind, have
her as Bob Wells. Az decent chap,
his name a. clean as his heart. Was
his heart clean9 He wondered. His
name he'd force them to clear. Then
and then only
Very slowly, reluctantly almost. his
hand dropped from the hlken shoul-
der, leaving, az remembrance, the silk
punched and rumpled.
'T-must-tell you" he broke the
long silence, cropping for expression
that came with difnculty, 'that l.
want you he faltered. and me
bowed her head again.
Al, 30 Wells remembered with dis
tinctness, az she had bowed 1t In the
temple, before the eager-eyed priests.
Did the hands in his tremble!
II want you to F.. 90 with mo =.
to the foreign land. little WIFE," he
said at last.
He thought he heard her sigh gust
treeG He was not sure. he was very
glad that 4 torrent Of rebuke did not
fow from. her, chiding him for 80.
what she must have known. Then, 10
gently that he was half unaware Of 1t,
she released her hands from his and
stepped back.
He must say something. Something
to relieve the tension which fingered.
He wantsd to be alone. and. in the
same thought, wanted her with him
still.
"see, o-Hana, /" he said In q bright,
forced voice, "do you see the little
lightl"
Her head turned. and Ellen slimpsed
twinkle showing beyond the wall Of
the low hill. He saw the lovely profile,
and glsam upon her face like q sin
gle drop Of light.
There was-oncs-a miracle there"
His voice was uneven, but stronger.
"The fourth lesser demon was caught
in the sacred tree Entangled, doubt
less. through the mercy Of the gods, or
he would have accomplished much mis-
chief" Wells spoke very rapidly. "A
boy saw 1t, and thought 1t was kite.
He fetched a priest, who, Of course,
being acquainted with such. matters ~
demons, knew better. So shrine was
built. and hermit paid to pray there
day and night. And whoever Is sick,
or has bowlegged children, or plague
of insects n his fields, goes there and
prays with the hermit. For pay. The
money paid the hermit by the priests
wns money we'll laid out ). the shrine
Ii very rich ="
Then, in a confident voice: "The
hermit. and you. and I, and the old
woman In the street, are the only ones
vct ,x <hc Rocktx,oI t. v,avv, lot -
O-Hana /. . :. goodnight, child +. :"
Her hand did touch his breathless
second as she passed from the room.
No /. 1t had been his wish that 1t
had :. yes. it did :. no -.
Wells stepped to Kaminari's corner:
the hideous visage was friendly, he
wondered that he had feared 1t once.
"I make VOW" he said, falling into
the accustomed Japanese. ITO you,
since you have witnessed this newest
devlltry of mine. There is a knife
between my wife and myself, until
:" he felt that he was speaking
foolishly, insanely, to this image,
stopped an instant, then added, tri-
fie red In the face: II love her, old
IVY IA A<hsAohs SPoAth NcAy AONS
but. II you want that vow fulfilled
and copious tapers burned before your
august self. get busy and keep her
away from me. Otherwise, some day
Z. :. I may not be decent enough :"
BE left the thought unfinished, and
was soon asleep.
Old Hisu, returning late, entered the
room softly and lit the night lamp.
marveling that 1t had burned itself
out. She adjusted the quilted silk
about Wells. very gently. 90 a. not to
disturb him. kneeling to do 70.
Tnen she saw. where It had dropped
when Ellen had bowed her head in
submission, curved comb Of unmis<
taxable design.
aha halA n ~ tha Wsa,e thA 1,aftne