The Glenwood post., 1924-01-03

| IlOQ.
"Ask yourself now. 1 insist-it is
my right"
Her merriment died.
Il am. And. Horace" she said. re-
garding him ly-"honestly-I
don't know the answer"
Yet in that moment, exactly. she
seemed to herself to have the answer.
Yes, something had gone out of her,
now and forever. Funny, but you
couldn't crack and make over YOUR
nature for nothing.
"Oh, you don't known" he said dark
ly. "Well, the tines come for you to
find out"
"Why? What's your interest in the
ancient point Haven't l the best
authority for saying that love wasn't
meant"
That's enough of that; 1 won't have
this attitude any longer. Plenty of
/, time-and kisses, too, it seems-for
! every whippersnapping nincompoop-
nothing at all for the man you mar
! ried-'
but, my dear Horace, 1 can't turn
myself on and off like a hot-water
| faucet! And the nincompoops never
taught me that the heyday of ro-
NANCE"
"Stop provoking me this way-w
'Willingly. Good-byl But, indeed
you mustn't think of me as stranger
Horace. assure you I'll always think
Of you as among my very best friends"
His dim face became flooded with
color
You're my wife, do you understand
that? My wlrew
"Wife is a relative term" she said
little family, again seeking to pass
him. "But I'll leave you now."
"1'm ID if you Will" said the man,
in terrible voice.
And, his dignity broken altogether,
he seized her furiously in his arms
The violence of that embrace aston
ished her. Still more surprising, per-
haps, was the wave of resistance, of
instructive repulsion even, that swept
through her
She succeeded in extricating herself
and backing away rapidly, shaken and
angry, vigorously rubbed with the
palm of her hand the cheek her hus-
bands lips had Just grazed. Still, her
fixed smile mocked him.
Don't you think, all things consid-
cred, that's quite a liberty?"
He lunged for her, saying gutturally: +:
I'll show you a liberty You for
get yourself-you need to be taught"
mo !-n-poStively. you don't know
me well enough for thisl Pleasel-
You brute! ="
She managed again, though with diff
ficulty, to lree herself from those vio-
lent clutchng arms. Her light airs
were gone. She had thought just now
that if Horace touched her she might
actually hate him; it had not occurred
to her that she would fear him, yet so
it was. Now, as he came after her
again, muScuarly potent and altogeth-
er wilful panic, suddenly and unac-
countably, took possession of her
Without having planned anything of
the sort, she wheeled abruptly in her
tracks and fled away from him.
| If flat was confession of weakness,
unlucEily it did not settle her difficulty
on the spot With dlsmay she heard
the large feet of Horace pounding af-
ter her down the path.
She ran as for life.
1t was sight for the gods, no doubt.
| In the still midnight, beneath the
serene moon, in this lonely place, Wild
ly and primitively beautiful, through
the groves and among the crags sped
the slim white-clad wife, dark hair
flowing after: and hard behind, grunt-
ing and snorting, menacing, too, chased
the heavy-built man, her husband.
! Different from the home life of the
| queen, indeed
On The open path his clumsiness was
equalized. She looked back, fearfully,
over her shoulder; he was gaining on
her, no doubt Of that. Instantly she
left the path, scrambling over the
/ rough boulders which flanked it here,
| plunging into the copses, If such they
were, bounding away through the vlr-
| gin woods, sure-footed as fawn With
n wild bursting Of foliage and cracking
of boughs, Horace leaped after her.
| On the. difficult terrain her superior
nimbleness gave her advantage; the
distance between them steadily wi
| dened Once she heard his hoarse
voice painting, "Stop! tell you, stop"
| Now the strange thrill OF the chase
the throbbing excitement Of the quar-
ry, set her blood afire. She thought,
Pursue. and Lowell" and, laughing
frantically to herself, flew the faster.
| And then, as she sped across a sweet
open space, glade no doubt, pow
dered with bright moonlight she
glanced back again, unwisely; alas,
her foot caught In a trailing vine and
she pitched to the sward. The mlsfor-
tune, which wasn't rectified in sec
ond. cost her her lead. Releasing her
self, rising dlzzily, she found the pur-
suer almost upon her-almost. but not
ouitp She inst pluded his fingers