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I i r r. r G self 1 In n the realization he added with a n happy laugh that you ou are areL If L mine you oU go In the morning you will come to my door If It you want Vant me to Of or course Mark Then good Then good night dear Good night Mark King was astir long before dawn While water ater heated and bacon sizzled siz ho he rummaged through the storeroom at the rear of ot the house gathering what he meant to put Into his pack for the four or five fi days days' trip As he returned from the thelast thelast thelast last Journey to the storeroom he confronted Gloria fully tully dressed f He dropped his arm load arm load and filled If- If his eyes eres with her Gloria had come comei i i down t Gloria I he cried tJ A more radiantly lovely ely Gloria he had bad never looked upon She had hind slept and rested she had bath bathed d and groomed and set herself In orP or P der He gathered her herup up Into his arms so that her heels boot swung clear r. r of the floor Do you know do you guess ha have hae e you the faintest suspicion how I love you Its It's sweet of ot you he told her softly to Ito get up and come down and see seer r me off Oh said Gloria I 11 am going with you ou Not once had King dared thInkS thInkS' think S' S that she should go with him Into the mountains on this quest of ot his He lie pondered and stared at her Dont you ou want me asked Ole Glo ria tin Arent Arenlt you glad Mark It was not on any spur of the moment mo mOo ment went but after long deliberation that she had decided that she would go with him If It It were rumored that she had bad gone out of ot town with Gratton If Gratton wanted to be beugly beugly ugly and feed teed r rumor mor then on top 2 of at that If she appeared within reach of ot a reporter without a husband there would be talk If It It were answered answered an an- that she was married to Mark King there would be the question And where my mj dear Is this Mark King From upstairs last ast night she had hind heard fragmentary tary tarp outbursts from trum the Judge license Gloria Glo Ole Irregular no Now ria meant to kill the snake outright not to allow the scotched reptile to writhe fre free She was married she was going with her ber husband Into the wilderness on the most romantic romantic roman roman- tic of at all honeymoons The papers were free treo to make much of ot that Of Ot course I want you ou said King slowly Glad Glad that you ou want to come with me Cant Can't you see that I 1 am the gladdest man on onearth onearth earth But ButS ButI But But- S I 1 have already written a n message message message mes mes- sage I 1 wanted to send end to a girl girlfriend girlfriend friend In n S Sun San an Francisco I was goIng go go- Ing to have It phoned In to her It tells her Im I'm Im I'm married To 10 you Mark And that were we're off oft on the most wonderful trip together Into the heart of at the wild country God bless you he said saM heartily But Gloria glancing at him swiftly saw that his eyes ejes were clouded Of Ot she said If It course you dont don't want a girl along along- You said suM lust last night that you weren't afraid i r of ot anything Brodle Brodie and his men I Ii could do That hat 1 they didn't even en tt know where to go o That they'd thed never know where to find you ou r rT T Yes And I meant It It But ButHe ButHe But But- He want wanted her with v him she wanted to come Was as there really any danger would there be danger anger to her If It he lie thought so i that there was the faintest hood of at harm to to her he would say no no matter what the yearning In his heart But If It they made a quick dash In and out two days each way not over oyer one day at ot Gus Ingles Ingles Ingle's In gle's caves They could go In In one way any come cOllie out another The They had ut at least a full days day's head start of any possible followers No In hie heart ho he did not believe c that there would bo be any danger dancer to Gloria Further the thought ht struck him that she would not be altogether 1 safe here there was venom CHom In Gratton Gratton knew from Gloria's Glorias GlorIas GlorIa's Glo Glo- rias ria's own lips Ups that she had bad brought the message from her father fattier In Coloma hence benco Gratton might suspect sus sus- suspect sus- sus pc t. t and Brodle after otter him that ti f Gloria was In possession of at old r Loony Honeycutt's secret Instead eK r- r of at seeming hazardous to take Gloria Gloria Glo ria with him It began to appear that his new responsibility of L guarding her from all nIl harm had begun be be- F Fl l gun already and that he could best protect her from any aray possible evil by having her u nh always s 's with him King estimated they would be bey y gone five days das and then making due allowance Vonce for any reasonable delay provisioned pro for tor ten Gloria I was Us much In Interested c ested Jn In In everything r. r rind and l nd relied looted I k out 1 lo UI the mountains 1 s eagerly when King hud hind swung her herup herup herup up to her saddle on mackie the tall sober faced horse Xou ou are not afraid that I can take care of at you are you Gloria he asked And Gloria laughed gaily answering answer answer- ing lug My dear Mr Man I 1 am not the least bit afraid of ot anything In aUthe all aU the world this morl I ITher There Ther were red spots In Glorias Gloria's cheeks when they started King King sought to guess at what might be bethe bethe the emotions of ot a young youn girl going on with Glorias Gloria's present emotional emotion al 01 adventure vain adventure vain task of If a mere I Iman man seeking to fathom those troubled troubled trou trou- bled feminine depths depths marking marking that she was a little nervous and dis dIs- trait I know the place Gus Ingle tried to describe he said as well as asI asI asI I know my old lint hat Or at least Id I'd have said so until he mentioned the third cave Ive I've been there dozens of at times too but Ive I've got to see seemore seemore seemore more than thun two caves there yetI yet I 1 wonder do wonder do you jOU suppose well we'll I find It as he sa says s 's st At t least well we'll see about It It And whether there thele be heaps and piles of red red gold as the tale be sure our trip Is going to be worth the two da days days' s ride Ill I'll show you such chasms and gorges and crags as youve you've never nefer turned those two I lovely eyes of ot yours on Mrs Gloria King As the they Journeyed King observed ob oh- served that Gloria displayed none of that t c chattering singing gayety of ot their former torme rides together he remembered remembered remembered re re- re- re sympathetically that she had had hind very little sleep last night and that she had endured a wear wearisome some twenty-four twenty hours before and that the long ong nervous strain under which she had struggled must certaInly certainly have told upon her both physically and mentally So believing believing ing that she would be grateful for silence he grew silent with her King well before ml midday ny reached the spot In which from the first be hel had planned that they would would- noon He was quick to help her to dismount dis- dis mount and noted that she came down stiffly the eyes which she Ehe turned to him hill were heavy with fa fa- fa tigue Maybe Mabe I shouldn't have ha let you yoa come ome after atter all Ill dear he suld said con tritely These are harder trails than weve we've ridden before and weve we've had to keep at It steadier The tiThe last two days daj's have been hard bard to get et through with she said as she yielded to his Insistence and sat down on the warmed sun pine pineneedles needles I am sorry I am soso soso soso so- so so so- so so- so He didn't allow her to run down the elusive word Nonsense he lie told her heartily Youve got a right to be tired But when youve you've had some ome lunch and acup u a cup of ot hot coffee you'll be top tip again You'll see King unsaddled and aud tethered the horses borses built his little fire Ole and went about lunch getting with a Joy he had bad never known In the old accustomed accustomed tomed routine before Now and then ho glanced toward Gloria he could not help that But he be saw that she was lying back her eyes closed and while white his heart went out to her he did not force his sympathy on her She seemed to be asleep But Gloria was not asleep Never had her mind raced so It was done dune and she was Mark Kings King's wife Higher and higher loomed that fact tact above all other oilier considerations But there were other considerations her father hurt f she lio he did not know I how badly her mother m mystified by now perhaps Informed of Glorias Gloria's marriage Gratton with the poison polson extracted from his fangs tangs had the I fangs still somewhere Brodie Brodle Bro Bro- die dle with the horrible face She Sim I shivered and stirred restlessly and King who saw r e everything thought I that she had dreamed a bud bat dream But Dut lunch us ready he came to toI her with plate and cup And again I Gloria did her be best t to smile grate grate- fully You are arc so o good gOld to me Mark she said Her lIer ears oyos rs were wore thoughtful thought ful would he lie he good to her hert Even Evon when when but but she was too weary to think I 1 I want ant to learn how to be good to you wife wiCe of or mine he lie said ver very gently That is s nil all on earth I ask Just to make IJ huppy You love lovo me so o DI much uch Mark she asked ns us one who wondered at nt what the rho bo had read In his low and glimpsed In la his c eyes Gloria he Ire told her Iler gently I 1 dont don't understand thIs tills thing the they cull call love lo yet t It Is too new too wonderful wonder ful tuL But I 1 do know that In all ull the world there Is la nothing else that mat tc tern She looked at him long and curiously curl curIo ou OUM y You lou would do anything you could to make me happy Anything Mark I pray with all aU my heart and soul that I always may I 1 IGlorIa IGloria Gloria seemed to rest through the noon hour and to brighten When she saw him the second time look at the sun she got up from the ground and said Time to go Im I'm ready And after atter that banquet I feel teel all me again 1 I He laughed and went oft off after atter the horses singing at the top of ot his voice She stood very still aUlI looking off oll after attel him her brows puckering Into a shadowy frown Oh If It ahe she could only read herself as he allowed allowed al al- lowed her to read him If tf she could only be as sure of or Gloria as she abe was of Mark If It she could only look deep Into her ber heart as ns she looked Into his Did she love lore Mark King Twice she had bad been sure that she loved him But that Olat was so 80 long ago And now that she had al allowed allowed allowed al- al lowed him to carry her ber out of the What now Oh If she had only let him go on alone this morning If It f she ahe had remained where she could rest and think and thus come to see clearly even Into her own troubled heart They came about four tour o'clock to a small meadow Gloria drew rein and looked at him with large eyes across the lwe twenty I II ty paces separating themI them I I I cant can't go any further she said bleakly Im Tm tired out l I He was quick to see a gathering of ot tears and swung down from his horse and went to her with long strides his hla own eyes filled with con con- cern Poor little he said hum hum- bly Ive let you do yourself up And It was his duty his bis privilege and no ones one's else In the world to shelter her to stand between her herand herand and all hardship In a moment he was unrolling a pack making a temporary tem rem temporary couch for tor her and commandIng command command- Ing her lovingly Just to lie down and lo look k up at the treetops above her and rest while w he staked out the horses Gloria threw herself herselt face down on au the blankets She did not know what possessed her she fought for tor repression biding hid bid hiding ing her face from him Out of a hideously stern world a Ii black blaek spirit had leaped upon her ber- berIt It clutched ather ather at her throat It dragged at her heart She was so ao nervous that now and again a fierce tremor shook her from head to foot toot Dusk gathered while King worked over his fire The The aroma of at boiling bollIng boll boil Ing coffee rose crept through the theaIr theair theair air blended with the aromas of the woods He set out his dishes upon a topped flat rock ruck replenished his fire threw on some fresh cut green cedar boughs for tor their delightful fragrance fragrance fra tra grance and went to call caU Gloria Gloria too tired bodily bodUy and mentally to wage a winning battle against those black vapors which flock so frequently about luckless youth had suffered and yielded and gone gorie down in misery Hers was wai a state of overwrought nerves which forbade clear thinking which distorted distorted distorted dis dis- and warped and magnified A uA cup of ot coffee and a bit of ot supper sup per King said gently feel feela a lot better She rose wearily and toll followed owed him saying absently I am not hungry It was good ol ot you OU to go to all of ot this trouble 1 I Iam am afraid I am not much of ot a camper Tuckered out he thought Clean Olean tuckered out And finally when she pushed her cup away and let her two hands drop Into her lap he gathered the dishes and carried them away to the nearest pool to wash them When he came back to her In the hush of ot the first hour of ot night he thought that he be understood her need for silence and spoke only infrequently and briefly And now he said taking up his short handled ax I III am going to tomake tomake tomake make for tor my ladylove love the finest couch for tor tranquil restful sleep that mortal ever had As he strode away toward a 11 grove of ot firs be he was waa lost to her eyes before he be had gone a hundred paces He worked swiftly grudging every minute away from her And then he ho stopped sat down upon a log lOB and flied filled his pipe with slow fingers Hed He'd force himself to smoke one pipe before he be went back to her thinking that she ahe would be for a few tew moments alone Almost with the first puff putt ol of smoke there came to him Gloria Glorias piercing scream His heart beart stop stopping plug ping be he Jumped up and ran through the trees to her shouting Gloria 1 J JIm Im I'm coming What Is It r Theres something there In the bushes she cried excited excited excitedly ly lYe I l heard It moving He Be looked where she pointed Down by the creek was a fat tat old porcupine dimly seen In the fringe of the campfire But King did not nol laugh His Ills first Impulse upon him strengthened l h by y GI Gloria's Glorias helplessness helpless helpless- ness he lie took her ber Into his arms arm holding hoMing her ber close to him Oh Olt cried Gloria She wrenched away from him violently You You you hurt me Let me go gel I I She burled her face In her hands he sa saw w her ber shoulders lift and droop he heard her sob Ob Oh I was a fool fool If His Lila arms had bad dropped to his bis sides and he stood for tor a moment speechless speech less staring at her as across a chasm shadow Gloria he bewildered But Dut now w h tier her r hands t too were at her her sides clen and r nervous her white face tace was lifted and she broke out passionately Into hot words he saw her ber breast heaving and sensed that she ahe was stirred to depths never ne until now plumbed What he could not glimpse were the vague unreasonable reasons the distorted horrors borrors grinning at ot her among the spaces of at black gloom into which her ber spirit had sunk his bis comprehension found never a clew to a condition which in Gloria was wan hardly other than an inevitable result result re re- sult suit of at nil all that had gone before I was mad half last night she panted There was no way to turn That |