Show the e crippled lady of Peri bonka by james oliver curwood WV be lea E 39 1029 29 IZZA doron co rao ine CHAPTER XI continued 17 carla rose to her teet feet and gazed past him into darkness dark nesi and so strange ly y did her eyes dwell on empty space ace that poll paul could only lookyat look at he her r and watt for her to speck speak A way out she bald after a little BB as though to some one she was was seeing beyond their circle of light god cod coining to as ilki tills this taking us as back to freedom and life and tola this little world oura gone I 1 paul knew the thing he be wanted to say would come in a moment the thing he be had made up ills his mind to say any to her when became be came down from the routs it was abury a fury ot of emotion rolling up slowly through lila his birthright of stoicism into a storm of speech echa a of desire breaking loose a bit hertless against life as aa it had been given him to live a to turn it hta his own way at last before she he could move his arms were about her 1 I haat lived a bell in this place he be cried not because I 1 was afraid to die but because tn in dying I 1 knew I 1 would lose you only in life can I 1 hare you and I 1 want life because of that you say it Is god showing ug as a way out I 1 it Is IB just as aa true that god gave you yon to mo me hera bera that world up there means nothing to me except with you in it it too has tin been a hell for me me now im going tomake to make it a heaven I 1 wont let man made law and convention stand in ID the way of what Is right and intended to be you are mine and I 1 shall have you and keep beep you one way or the other well face ace the world together and tell it so or well go out there and never let t know we w uve live it is for or you to say which it shall bel be steadily her hanla had pressed against him and with tha t pressure carne came such a change in her I 1 face ace that thit the fler fier ceness 0 of pauls arms arma relaxed and he saw ab GO idol crushed and brok broken enAm in her eyes to the level of th taht t rula ruin he had sunk his own ideal 0 of carlo carla he let hermone her berl move away from him and stood with a grim set face before her im sorry he be said 1 I know you are thinking that 1 ii am vile and un on clean not that site elie spoke quickly 1 I would rather think I 1 am the one who ts la unclean that wits was fill all she said and he made no effort to answer her words be caine futile even impossible as she looked at him what he be might have said his pleading the arguments he be had bad hullt built tor for himi himself elf and nd for her crumbled under the tragedy which had come like a ilnyo into her white beautiful face a tragedy that was filled with appeal with pain and for a moment or two with an utter joneli ness as if she had lost something which could never come back to her lie he bad seen the same look in her eyes eibi the lie night her mother died then it had bad filled ailed him with a great pity now its tenderness its y yearning earn ing for a thing gone shoo shook khim blin to the foundation of hil soul ile he saw carla as be hari had always at wit ya known slie she would be when it came to her love for a man only a love that had no sear scar of agil ness upon it would she take to her hei breast anti and hold there the memory of love lore its burned butash out ash a love that was as crippled and blind but bu t clean she ille cherish with the sa red med faithfulness but ot of au an attar altar nun ant not such ft a love as he be lind had offered lier her a theft though it could be made a lesol legal theft from anat another her woman even as he felt fell tills this crushing crashing sense killits loss of her another emotion a freeing of 0 his hip spirit a AcIng with his grief en into him blot carla a as s she stool stood before him he could worship through throng all eternity the corla carla he had asked tor for yielding to him would have descended dl out of heaven to the level of his own debasement clearly as she had bad seen seem his passion and felt tho the crush of his arms carla now saw this change in him and slowly believing bellei ln J joyously a int miracle brou wrought ht itself in her face and all that paul hart had seen broken down built itself up again softness came into her mouth and sh bhe e smiled at him shall we g go 0 paul lie ile bowed boded his head then picked up the coit coat which had heen been tier her pillow and shook tile the anti annd from it 11 yes the cleft in the rock faces west and I 1 think the sun was setting when I 1 found it it if wol wo can get out before dark and malie make a rocket racket some ocemay one may be near enough to hear us lie ile lighted a torch and they walked across the ennd bond together at the pile of rocks he be took her hand band helping and guiding her until they came to the be beginning of the ledge rora where he be had looked down on her sleeping form beside tha tin ore bre ile he told her about it ef all they paused for or a moments rests rest carlo carla looked at the ore fire it in the pit of boom below them it was wai dying dring out i tte the yellow pw poo of light was u narrowing and growing dimmer A sob bob came in her throat we wont need ever to fo forget aget 1 she said no never Especial lythe the tittle little fire and you sleeping beside it adde 1 P panl aul they continued upward the fire alre was shut abut out the ledge widened and turned so they were going through a tunnel la in the rock where water had bad 0 once n c e mado made its way to underground d eptha depths they had gone only a short hort distance dl stanco when paul stopped and smothered his bis torch in the sand until I 1 its ts aade wits was after that they hey saw a pale reflection of light ahead of them when they readied reached it t they y could look up through a long ion narrow ow fissure assure that sloped steeply wa with th day at the top of it it was a two or three hundred yard climb littered with broken rock which halt half choked the ascent in places A mass close to them bad freshly fallen 1 I spoiled my ay shirt on that said poul paul 1 I loosened the stuff sad and came down with it I 1 hope there another other place like it ItI farther further up pant panl was breathing deeply from his exertions ex ert ions and carla was fighting for af 1 4 he H lighted a torch and they walked across acres the sand and together breath he could see where the sharp edges of the stones had bruised the hands which she was holding at her ber bie breast list her skirt was torn and through a reutin rent in her sleeve the whiteness of her ber arm revealed itself her face was streaked with rock dust an and it hollows which tie be had not noticed clearly before were in i i her cheeks and under her eyes over them was a broader light of day ile he could have flung a stone up to the level of the earth and beyond that was a sky of vivid blue still touched by the glow of a declining sun it 11 was this light descending in a pool upon them which made him see another carla the mellowing illumination Illuminat lon or the pitch pine the velvety softening of shadows the pale unreality of first daylight dai light had concealed things from him now they were revealed re aled betraying a change which could no longer keep itself behind the mask of her courage something in her ber had died since they left the pitch witchwood wood fire the ash of it was in her face the ghost of it in her eyes and she knew that he saw bow it and tried to smile at him bravely lie ile wan n anted ted to take her in his arms and his lips almost cried out the desire carla saw that too and when the thing of iron in him triumphed over both voice and act gratitude eased the anguish in her face im glad you yon understand she said as if he bad spoken Q and knew w what hot was in her mind 1 I might run away that would he enber tor for me I 1 could bide myself somewhere and a always love you nothing can kill those things memories and love I 1 would be satisfied to do that I 1 would be almost happy but I 1 must do the other thing I 1 roust go to claire it will be hind hard to do that 11 TO BB CONTINUED |