Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-06-28

hAA1 Nv ARAt6tA ~
of the seat. She was sitting upright
almost rigid in her chair, and her eyes
were on the landscape outside the
window. / followed their line Of
sight and saw at nice that we were
passing through some great country
estate. An enormous house, a great
white p%alatial structure of style Of
long ago, perched upon a nearby hill.
1t looked as big as the castles Of
Europe, and on the hillside were
Clustered such out-buildings as stables
and garages. There were wide
sweeps Of meadow, a curving drive
way, and in the most astounding
contrast the deep fastness of trop-
ical jungle. For we were in the in
teiiior of southern Florida, as YER
dant a place as is to be found in all
of North America.
Human senses are not entirely re-
liable. On the witness stand | could
not swear exactly what | saw. As if
caught in the frozen fascination with
which the girl watched the passing
panorama, | was still following the
line of her vision. 1t seemed to
me that | caught a glimpse of some
thing yellow in the thicket-a curious,
brilliant yellow in great splashes of
color. 1t was just a glimpse, and
yet | had dim reasons for thinking
that the yellow form was living.
1t might have been just a gayly col
ored plant, or a flash of bird wings,
or ever a tawny dog. | should say
that its size might correspond to that
of an m hound. 1t might have
been a yellow calf, or perhaps only
the sunlight against dark water. 1t
didn't matter anyway. The only
thing that did matter, or that | re-
member for hours afterwards, was
that the girl suddenly slipped down
to the floor in a dead faint.
In an instant she was in my arms.
| don't remember how she came
there. | have no remembrance of
exertion in leaping to her chair or
picking her up. She was simply
there when | again looked into her
face, her slender body against my
breast, her head resting on the muscle
of my left arm, her white face up
lifted, and unconsciousness upon her
If | had a single impression as !
carried her to the women's room, ii
was certainly not of her weight. She
seemed to have no weight at all. But
| did see the lovely shadow her eye
lashes made against the wilderness of
her face.
A woman picked up the silken wee
end bag that the unconscious girl car
lied, and drew the curtain for me
She was a large, cherry-faced matror
capable and determined, and under
ordinary circumstances | would have
felt perfectly safe in leaving my pa
tient in her hands. But in this ease
| went to work to effect the recovery
myself.
1t was the most simple for of or
binary faint; so | sent the woman fol
smelling salts.
Maybe she's got some in her bag,
she suggested.
| peered into the pretty conceii
that the had brought, but
found no perfumed salts. It was q
far different thing that met my eyes
like to think that my face gave no
sign, that the woman had no inkling
of the little SILVER Of wonderment
that went through every nerve.
What | saw would not have been
unusual under different Circumstance
es. In the bottom of a trunk OF
pushed into the cushions of an auto
mobile seat, or even in a suit case
perhaps | would not have glanced
twice at it. But in this bag, with
the most intimate articles for daily
use, it seemed incongruous to a hor-
rible degree.
1t vas a dark, ugly automatic PTS
toll, brand-new and with a full mag
azine of cartridges.
Reviving the unconscious girl was
the work of a moment. But it al.
most made me miss my station.
Her eyes opened and rested upon
me. | do not know with what white
magic that glance was instilled. But
it went deep into me, and left a cur.
ious warmth and citation. | know
that no other eyes had ever looked al
me in quite that way, or had the same
effect upon me. Perhaps it was
their curious darkness, or even theil
haunting sorrow that could not pos
sibly be denied.
Continued next week.