Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1935-11-28
before he beat down these swarminss


on. "You come into Barry's life with
enough sense-after while-to know
what she is: lovely as morning, brave
as bullet, honorable as sword,
chaste as water. You have the criminal
luck to make her fall In love with
you-the one thing that could happen
to make her life about ten times hard
er to handle.
"What do you think about then?
About the help you can give herr
About the way you can bring her to
her happiness, as well as yours?
About the honor and conscience and
courage that's in her even to try to
fight thing she'd go to hell to get?
No! You think about how unfair she
is to you. You think you ought to
walk in and wipe out twenty years OF
her father in a week, with the honor
Of last promise to boot. You think
she ought to see that your happiness
is all that counts, all that makes the
world fit to grow little apples in.
"She puts up with that-for the
only reason under Gods sky there
could be for putting up with 1t. And
you drive ahead between your binders
till you drive on to the last edge Of
the one thing she hoped to keep you
out of. And when that one thing hap
pens too, what do you do? Like
shot. You leave her to stew. You let
her kill her own heart so that you'll
go on your way; and you go on 1t.
Go on it with your head full of the
most important thing in the world, a
fundamental of all decency outraged,
all good in everything ended because
you, you were made to look like fool
for few days in another mans little
mind. Ireland, you ought to lie down
on that floor and die"
Halls teeth were clenched terribly
upon red anger, curdling shame, panic;
and he turned so that Kerrigan
shouldn't see those things stinging into
his eyes. For an instant he thought he
could keep his voice unshaken-in
cool, ironic smoothness that would
wither Kerrigan. $50 she had it hap
pen," he said; "she had Crack catch
me there-so that I'd be free, so that
I'd" The urgency of his despair came
thick into his throat, and he broke off.
Kerrigan's stiffness filled the room
cruel steady, discriminating; and Hal
had to keep his scalding vision on him
so that something shouldn't snap in his
head, signal for madness. The brown
eyes watching him could never have
been warm, never friendly, never mer-
ciful; frozen in accusation, personal
ity was gone from them-even the
personality of contempt. Dread braced
itself hard in Hal as Kerrigan rose, a
judge at Doomsday, with the extinct
cigarette far from homogeneous in the
corner of his merciless lips.
"Vain," he said quietly: "Vain, stuck
up, self-indulgent, flabby, without faith
| except in the Importance of money.
Why did I think you weren't so
cheap"
The last word dashed Hal to his feet,
and it took all his quivering strength
to force definition upon the thick
words that came of themselves: "Ker-
rigan, you're liar. A G-d-d-d liar!
And if you were young" Something
was strangling him inside his throat.
1t was as if torture, finally released
upon him, came to full impact upon
the numb obstinacy of his faculties,
with faulty balanced rocking to show
that something must plunge massively
away in the next second. Hal found
his desperate voice again, and in a
quicker anger he cried at Kerrigan:
You're right. It's true-every rotten
word of it's true"
He went to Kerrigan, took his big
| arms above the elbow, and sank his
forehead awkwardly to the bulky shoul-
| der. Heaven forgive me-" he said In
| the calm of an exhausted breath. "Yoll,
| Colonel, you've got to forgive me-
YOU" He rolled his head a littl
| against the shoulder for want of an
words, then let it rest there.
| In a moment Kerrigan's hands cam
up under Halls elbows and moved thel
| gently. I'm glad you didn't like
any better'n 1 did," he said, his void
low, riumphant-deeply comfortin
around an odd sort of humility.
1
Like a divine intercessfon to spar
them both an impasse of embarrasS
ment, the telephone bell broke int
startled clamor, and Hal went to
without looking at Kerrigan. 1t wa
Sister Enthusiastically now to go.
you'll call Barry up, Colonel" Ha
said quickly. "To be sure she's there
You'll keep her there: do anything
tell her anything to keep her ther
safe till l can get to her, till'-Hal'
/! voice lowered to pitch of bite
shameful l can kneel in dirt to her.
Kerrigan nodded saying hurriedly
Eyes, but move: get back soon's you
can"
six hours outside" said Hal, glanc-
ing at his watch. Back by midnight
sure. And, Colonel, look-do anything,
anything to me, but don't ever talk to
me like that again, will you" 4
"D'you spec l could, even if 1 ever
had to?" he said softly.
When Hal got to the place Where
Sister Anastasia was waiting, HE felt
he was somehow serving Barry in dis