Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1930-01-23

names. Sandy" for instance, meant
nothing at all, and "Cissy" was as
vague, while the fact that they were
IN nldlng In Santa Orca, South Ameri-
ca, under the alias of Mr.. and Mrs.
Henry Wild didn't help q bit. The
ponce, he thought. would make nothing
OF the story. might, in fact, laugh at
MIN as q producer Of mares nests,
especially when they found how he
nad got his information. He salts
NED himself on this head. He satisfied
nlfnselI SO completely that he lost his
uneasiness.
II wa then he started to be wretched.
he had really been wretched all the
time underneath. 1t was because of
the girl CiSsy. He knew that it was
not a mans part to leave that girl
Clssy IN the lurch. He'd been touched
by that girl from the first. What pluck
shed shown. what devotion, what q
i1neness and nobility of love. Shed
given up an income, comfort, friends,
all she loved in life to stand by her
man. A great spirit like that deserved
the highest reward and 1t
was he who stood between her and
ner reward. He funked 1t,
left her there, white haired and pinched
n the gutter of a South American
town.
1t began to prey on his health.
There came the time when his depart
mental chief said to him: Aren't you
well, Sayce? Your work isn't up to the
mark. Dc you think you ought
to take your holiday earlier this year?"
A holiday-the word came to him
as a revelation. A holiday! That might
be the way to help her in the simplest
and most discreet way. He had a few
hundreds left to him by his aunt. He
might go to South America, to Santa
Orca and seek out the Wilds, tell them
the story and leave it to them to get
IN touch with Slick Sam who must be
known to them, and thus clear them
selves without bringing him in at all
His future would be safe, but q journey
OF six weeks out and back, say, two
weeks for search, was going to be diff
hcult. Three weeks was the absolute
maximum allowed for holidays by his
Office.
His chief treated his demand for
eight weeks leave as a demand for the
moon. Outside of really serious illness
he had never heard of such a thing,
The finality of his superior's manner
was like a blow in Owens face, but
like a blow in the face it reused a
certain fighting emotion. Who was
This heavy, pompous person to lay down
the law? Who was he to have the very
ordering Of a human beings life? Who
was he to set his potty little Office rules
against a noble wOman's right to hap
piness?
It was unreasonable Of Owen Sayce
to think like this, since offices cannot
be run without rules, but Owen was
no longer quite reasonable. The power
OF this thing had hold Of him in an
astonishing manner, his hunger for q
vivid experience had been famed up
to fever point. He must go. /.
His manhood and his honor demanded
that. He heard himself, to his own
aStOniShment, to his chiefs amazement
arguing the point. Saying fatty that
he had to have those two months. j.
Had to
That had to-" was an outrage to his
chief, but he was a little more reason
able than Owen. He checked his anger
and asked why Owen wanted those two
months.
Il want to go to South America,
sir" said Owen firmly.
South America!" If Owen had said
he wanted to go on ar exploring ex-
petition along the banks of the Styx,
his chief could not have been more
astounded. South America! You want
to go to South America? What dc
you want with South American"
Those 'yous" made Owen see red
He heard his voice say hardly: Il
have to go there, that is all, sir. /.
And l am going"
Owen Sayce was astounded at him
self, afraid, and yet elated. He had
smashed what little career the Office
stood for. He was out of a job, his
approximation was gone; to a clerk
who had grown into the cautious habits
of the groove all that looked very dan
gerouS. And yet he was free.
He could live his dreams, he could seek
out the Woman-and the larger life.
And then, could he have done less?
That woman had sacrificed everything
why shouldn't he?
He started his Odyssey for her sake
and he did not like it.
(To be cOntinued.)