Show J frajt a OF W jr THE A TJ fw SUNSE U ij 1 uha 1 by bv nex rex beach copyright by harper cf brothers jl lal 1 l eggl CHAPTER XV continued IS 16 adreani matill ehe murmured As consciousness returns after a swoon so lid did realization return to alabre austin faintly uncertainly thinly tit nt first then with a swift strong effort ille pushed herself out of deb daves reluctant anus they stood apart frightened daves anzo anze was ana questioning alaire began to tremble and to to struggle with tier breath are ale we ave inrid she gasped alint have we done theres no DO use fighting it was altiere 11 Don dont tl 1 she tier her head and avoiding his hh outstretched hands went td the edge of the veranda rind leaned weakly against n pillar with her head lu in the crook of tier her arm dave followed her but the words lie he spoke were scarcely intelligible fl finally nally she raised her face to tits his not it Is useless to deny it now that we know but I 1 know until a moment ago ive known nil all the tinie time ever since tile first moment I 1 saw you lie he told her hoarsely to tile me youre all there Is nothing else matters ali and you love uio nio I 1 I 1 wonder it if im awake dream man inan she repeated m oro slowly oil why did you come so late inter so late 71 yes we must think it out the best way we can I 1 wonder what you think of me you must know theres no need for excuses theres nothing to explain except tho the that such grent great happiness could como come to a fellow like me inc happiness it means anything but that I 1 was miserable enough before what shall I 1 to do now wily why readjust your lifee afe he be cried roughly surely you wont hesitate after this thia but alnore did not to hear him she was storing staring out into the night again what a failure I 1 must bel she murmured finally nally fl 1 I suppose I 1 should have seen this coming but I 1 and in its his house tool this dress Is his tin and these jewels everything 1 she sha held beld up bor ber hands and stared curiously nt at the few rings she sha i wore asaf seeing them for the first tittle time how flow does that inako you feel dave stirred there was resentment in hn hla voice when lie ho answered your husband tins has tits his claim to you as everybody 1 knows to my mind lie tins lost tits his rights youre mine initial elnel ile iio waved a vigorous gesture of defiance ill take you away from hirn him at any cost ill see that lie he gives you up somehow youre all I 1 have of course the law laty provides a way but you understand how I 1 feel nebout divorce the mere mention of the word was difficult and caused to clench her hands were both too shaken to anik sanely now so lets walt wait theres something you must understand before we 40 ip any further dave int ulsted im poor I 1 gayent n thing I 1 can call call my lily own so im 1111 11 not at sure I 1 have any right to tn take you awny from till nil this lie turned a hostile rye eye upon their surroundings woney money menus mearis so little and its so easy to lo bo be happy without it anatro told him but im not altogether poor of course everything here Is eds but I 1 have enough all my life ive had everything except the very thing you offer und and how ive longed for that ilow how ive envied other people I 1 do you link ill be allowed somehow to have it yes yea I 1 ive something to say eny about that you gave me tho the right when you oll gave that kiss alaire ala re shook tier her head im not so sure bim it easy casy now while you tire ire here but how will it seem later rin im in no condition at this minute to reason rei ison perhaps as aa you say it Is 19 all a dream perhaps this feeling I 1 have Is just a passing frenzy dave laughed softly confidently its too new yet tor for you to understand but walt wait it Is frenzy witchery yes and more tomorrow and every lay after it will grow an and grow oil and growl trust vie uie ive watched it tn in myself so you cared en red for me from very first alabre questioned it ws was tho the comans womans woi mina curiosity the womans comans hunger to hear over and over again that truth which never faits to thrill and yet never fully satisfies oil oh even before that I 1 think I 1 when you anina to my fire thit evening in the chaparral I 1 knew every line or of your face every movement of your hotly body every tone of your voice as a nian man knows known and recognizes lila ilia ideal V iut tit it toot took time for rao inc to realize all lint jint you meant to me I 1 alnore nodded yes yea and it must have been the same with rue me she bho met its ills eyes frankly fran kly but when he reached toward her she held jilin him away no dear not yet act not not jintil wo ive liae ine the tight it would bo be better ur ui iri ir u i i both it if you went away now no nol no 1 01 I 1 leavo PO to say 1 ive ivell all ny lily life and youve just opened luy illy lips please I 1 after ive decided what to dot do once I 1 feel that I 1 enn control myself bettor better ril ill send for you iou but you yon must promise not to come until then for you ou would only inako inake it harder at last he took her liand hand and kissed tier her wrist just over her ber pulse ns as if to 0 o speed a message to tier her heart then into her rosy palm lie ho whispered it 11 tender something that thrilled tier site stood white motionless tile lip ilin dim illumination of the porch until lid he had pone gone and not until the lost last sound hound of ills his motor haddley hadd linart died led away did she stir then she pressed tier her own lips to the palm lie he had caressed aud and walked slowly to tier her room CHAPTER XVI the crash the several lays days following davos daves unexpected call nt at las palmas alabre spent silent ln in ft delightful reverie site she had so often wrestled with lah the ho question of divore divorce e flint alint she hall begun to weary of it she pave gave up trying ut at length and for tile the time being rested content in till the knowledge that site she loved and ans loved A week passed posed while she hugged tier lier thoughts to tier breast and then one evening she rodo roda homo home to learn that ed lind returned from san Ant antonio onlo but ed was III and lie he did not all benr nt at dinner it had been years since either cither lint dared invade the ho others privacy and now Inns as tier her did ili riot not send for her alagre lid did riot not pre pres sunke urne to offer her services us as burso As a matter of fact she considered this quite unnecessary for she felt sure pure that lint lie he was either cither suffering the aftereffects after effects of it visit to tile the city or else that lie he lacked inched the moral courage to undertake on nn explanation of tits his hurried flight from tho the ranch in either cither event she was glad ho he kept to tits his room when austin made his on the lay day following tits return his bleared eyes his puffy pasty cheeks checks ills his shattered nerves showed plainly dream mani she murmured enough how lie he had spent ills his time thae although lie he wits waa jumpy and irritable lie ho seemed determined hy by an assumption of high spirits and exaggerated friendliness to overt criticism since aladro spared lint him all reproaches ila his efforts seemed to meet with admirable success now eds opinion of Avo women lilen afis not high for tholo with whom choin lie he habitually bitu ally associated were ero of small in find and seeing that lita 1118 wife continued to manifest it a complete indifference to his past net nations ions lie decided that tits his apprehensions had been groundless I 1 if f alagre remembered the guzman affair tit at all or if she hall had suspected him of complicity in it time hall had evidently dulled her suspicions and lie ho was a little sorry lie had taken pains to stay away so fo long before many days however he be discovered con cred that this indifference of hers was as not assumed and that in somo way or other ia was accustomed whon when he returned exhausted liti from a debauch to seeing in tits lilg cifes eyes n strained ini misery scry lie had learned to expect in her bearing a sort of pitying hopeless resignation but this time she was not in tho the least depressed on the contrary she op all penrell happier fresher rc aher and younger than he had seen tier lier for a long time it wag mystifying when ono one morning he be overheard her singing in her room ito ji was shocked chocked over this phenomenon noni enon ho he meditated with growing amazement and a faint stir of resentment in his brenat tor he lived a self acl centered center cd life considering himself the pivot upon which revolved all the affairs tt if his little world to feet feel that lie ha had lost even tile tho power to ninke make lua ida wife wafe unhappy argued that ho he had overestimated his importance at length havin having If sufficiently recovered hla health to begin ominio drinking ng again lie he yielded one evening to nn nil alcoholic impulse and just ns as bade jilin him good night clumsily sought bought to force till nil explanation see here I 1 lio lie shot tit nt tier the lie matter with you lately lie iio bmw that hint lie had startled tier her nud and alifi t she eho made on nn effort to collect tier her wondering thoughts youre nebout ns As ind and wifely ns as n itono stono idol am I 1 tiny anny different to what I 1 have always been humph you bern been exactly sympathetic of lito ito hero I 1 come homo sick and you treat ino like one of tho the help dont you think I 1 JIM have feelings jovo covol I 1 im lonesome alagre regarded hlin him speculatively then shook tier lier hend head ns as it tn in answer to some thought in nn an obvious and somewhat too 66 mellow effort to bo be friendly ed 11 continued i dont lets go on like this aladro you blame mo me for going away so much lout hut when im homo home I 1 feel like nn an later inter toper you trent tile like a cow im sorry ive tried to bo everything I 1 should im tho the interloper nonsense I 1 it if we only pot got along ruong together na as well ns w e spent to io from tho the outside it bo be bud bad nt at nil all nut but youre too severe you seel baem to till think 11 k a roan man should bo be perfect well none of us tire and im no worse than tile majority wily lylly I 1 know lots of follows fellows who forret forget themselves and do things they but they dont tile jonii an by it they have wives ani homes to RO go to when its till nil over bilut have I 1 youre ns as glad to seo see mo inc ila as if I 1 lind had smallpox kl nyle abeth n mess mesa of things but married life what young girls think it Is A wife mast learn to give and take anke ive riven given what have I 1 taken she asked him in ili it a volca voice that quivered ed bd made tin nn impatient gesture oil oh dont ile he so literal I 1 I 1 mean that place wro averre annn and wife Ws its up to you sou to be a little more broad gauge in your lour views bic a in other words you want mo me to ignore your sour conduct Is alint it im afraid we e cant argue that ed tit all right dont lets try ry to arguo it lie laughed with what ant lie ho consid cred nn admirable show of magnanimity 1 I into hitte arguments id much rather lla havo 0 a good night abb sa D hut ut when lien lie ho stooped over her alaire held ilia him off on and turned tier her head bead no I 1 sho she said you kissed ino inc for al I 1 dont wish to kiss you dont bo be silly he insisted come now I 1 want a kiss alafare thrust him back strongly and iro ile saw that tier her face hod hid whitened oddly enough tier lier stubbornness an jilin out of all ronson reason and lie ho began a harsh remonstrance lint hut lie halted when she cried eitl I 1 must st tell you sou something ed its till nil over nil and tins lini been for a long time were going to end it T end nd it we cant go on living tog together why should we u so sq divorce la Is that it nodded well ill bo be d d I 1 kd ed was dum duin founded this rather sudden lie ho managed to inquire oil oh no youve suggested it more than once 1 I thought you believe in divorces stomach cm happened happ enear 1 I hino have changed my mind humph I 1 people dont change their minds tit in it minute lie ho cried angrily Is there sonic other man inan now ed bit austin lind no faintest idea that its ills alfo afo would answer in ili the affair nia tive for lie had long ago learned to put implicit confidence lit in tier lier nad tier her life so open that lie could not imagine that lit it hold held it double ln in tel cst therefore her reply struck jilin him speechless yes fit ed sho said quietly there la Is another illan it was vai likelier like her not to evade sho tool had never ned lied to him eds mouth opened ills ida reddened lye a protruded well lie stammered belll Wel ll I 1 then after a moment who la Is 4 11 tho greaser giesser or the cowboy 2 lie ile laughed loudly disagreeably it ennst liu be one or tho the other for vou sou haven t seen airy anny men except them another man muni I 1 well youre cool about I 1 it t 1 I nm lim glad you know the truth Nutt buttering ering to himself ed rondo made a chort excursion around the room then paused before his wife with a acer f an on lili 1119 ilpo HP did it ever occur to you vou that I 1 might object he demanded glittre eyed him scornfully what right have you ton to object rl JIM could not restrain n gleam of curiosity say who la Is it aint I 1 to know that much bucht As alaire remained silent ho he let iet his eyes rove over her with ft a kind of 0 angry appreciation youre pretty to stampede tiny mail he be admitted yes and youve youre got money too to ill apt its tile ho bonger I 1 were wera tarred with the same barap you dont really believe bellevo tant aha abs told him sharply eliy wily not lot had enough op port unity I 1 dont see fieo of Y aw IV well ph T was a fool to trust you y alaire eyes were very dark nud very bright na as site sho saidi said 1 I wonder how I 1 linao managed to live with you as long us I 1 liucc I 1 knew you were weak nas tyso I 1 was prepared for boino thing like this atut I 1 giever thought you were a downright criminal until criminal how about that tiff air you cant go much lower eil ed and you cant keep ino ine hero here with you 1 I cant keep you cw lie prowled growled well perhaps not I 1 suppose youve got enough on oil tile ino to secure at divorce but I 1 can air settle of your dirty linen oh dont look III alko ic that I 1 I 1 nunn you spend n night with david law lie leered tit nt tier her then followed follow pd it step as she drew back dont you touch met ino 1 she die cried A flush was ana deepening ads purple cheeks ilia hla voice ans peculiarly brutal and throaty ns lie ho sald tim till dc cree entered yet and an long RS na lire are mrs I 1 have rights yes and I 1 intend to exer elso them hem made lie ino jealous jen luiis and ito ho made dindo to encircle tier her with tits his arms anna and was half but when felt the lie heat of tits hla breath in tier face a sick loathing parang up within tier her n mid lid set setting tin glicr or abnel against the wall she sent ecat jilin him reeling whether she struck jitni or merely pushed him away kho never knew for the instant of nf their struggle bho M llanil in 1 I with indignation dIg nation and fury profit I 1 ng liy by tier she klio dodged part I 1 litin tied to tier room will locked dierso I 1 f in sho she heard him in uttering profanely clyl heard him approach tier chamber more anore linn once then retire uncertainty but slie sho knew jilin too well to lr be afraid anter that night she wrote two lot let one to judge ellsworth tho the other to dave law 0 0 jose josa sanchez rode to lo the morales house feeling somo ionic concern aver the sun summon inions that took him thither he wondered what hat could have induced general Lon longorio gorlo to forsake tits his man many important duties lit in order to inake the long trip |