Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-05-28
CHAPTER v-Continued

-
The first time he ever saw Brena
Selcoss was one morning when he had
come back from a vacation of several
weeks at some ranch among the pecan
trees in Coleman. His vacations had
become a mystery to other young men
who were employed; all that appeared
necessary was for Jim to go to Comp
ton Parmalee and tell him when he
would be back. 1t was ascribed to his
magic quality of persuasion. Some
said that If Hennepin smiled and
asked In his inviting, breathless man
ner there would be no surprise to find
that the President of the United States
had allowed him to take the whole OF
Alaska under the Homestead act. And
vet though no one In Dallas then
knew 1t, this was the man of I'M
checked wild youth, who had beaten a
train conductor almost lifeless in the
Baltimore station and had killed his
riding horse with a stone held In his
strong young hand.
Brena was sitting at an early break
fast when he came in. He did not
speak to her; he merely stared. After
a while, without taking his eyes away
from her, he put his gun, his coat
and his bag into chair behind him.
He still gazed at her and she, aston
ashed gazed back. He suggested
Apollo; he suggested vaguely the sud-
den appearance of the fairy prince.
He was giving an exhibition Of his SUI
III rlwr 4fNeJff In
and memorable insolence; but 1t was
also a supreme compliment, the best
he knew how to bestow
''Well,'' said he at last. "It's spring
time"
He spoke as If he had been a mes
senger from Destiny, as If spring were
Brena's time and that time had come.
1t was like sentence of a court.
With a quirk about the corners of
mis- mouth, he walked boldly toward
her and looked down into the dish Of
cereal on the table beneath her eyes.
Nothing but MILK" said he. No,
by Cd, you shan't have milk on your
rice! It's an outrage. You are the
young queen and / am the captain of
the palace guards. And I'm off in a
borrowed motorcar to get you the rich
est, thickest pint of cream in the city,
and the speed laws can't stop me-"
This absurd young man, with his in
FAINT smile, his athletes body and his
elementary hungers, leaped out down
the steps, into q new touring car In
which he had come, cut out the muf-
dier and was gone.
He came back with cream. His aunt
said, "Jim, you are crazy" But he was
not crazy. He had an instinct for Gre
ating romance; he made the Illusion
when he wished because he had
learned that adventures, particularly
those with women, failed or succeeded
according to the distance from the
humdrum world he could lead on as a
guide into the tropical and gaudy-fow-
cred jungle of Change.
He became Brena's knight. He said
so himself. He told her that for her
to contemplate going to work was alb
surd-it was an improperly like feed
ing American Beauty roses to army
mules. Brena laughed and went to
work on Monday morning; but Jim
Hennepin had struck the right note
when he had told her he would be her
knight. She said, II do like knights
not for myself, because / am SO
healthy"
Eyes, you burst with It," he said,
docking at her forehead, her throat,
her wrists. 1T is my distraction"
Nevertheless 1 like knights because
they are knights"
II am the originator Of the knight
idea," he said. Somebody has told
you it was King Arthur or some one
else. Mere plagiarism! Come with
me this evening on ride to Waco"
He took her everywhere and his
aunt scowled.
Jim, she is only seventeen" Mrs.
Wilkie said, painting.
"She looks twenty-five" he an
severed.
"But 1t leads nowhere" said the
aunt. Nowhere except to scandal"
Scandal" replied Hennepin yawn-
ing. "Nonsense Also piffle! A man
takes beautiful girl around for the
same reason that you'd wear dia-
mond tiara If you had one, especially
If It had been given you by some
broker. It's just symbol of ones
ability to have the right things. It's
ego"
'Ts that all, Jim?"
eyes," he said, lying glibly
Because you haven't the money to
be married, JIM" she said, moving
her mouth over SO that 1t looked like a
newly punctured pink opening. She
liked to live near immortality; it gave
her vicarious pleasure. She had a
magazine picture of certain French
actress tackled up beside her looking
glass. She would have been sorry II
Brena had suffered misfortuns from
Jim, but also she would have been
glad just as one, though sorry to hear
OF a distant acquaintance dFing, has a
thrill of interest In finding a familiar
name In the esituary notices.