Show Y f i e f r- r 10 0 0 1 4 4 t H She II i B By J DA DAVID VID H I ANDERSON to S 4 Bl Blue M Moon 4 j le oon L JI L I I 4 kV 1 r l 4 cA C 1 11 T Tale a 1 e 0 of f th the e FI Flatwoods a t woo d s H Bobb Merrill Hobbs-Merrill Copyright by Company 4 Y 4 h ii 4 t t J fJ 0 WILD ROSE f. f 0 lit 14 Synopsis Never Never having known his father and living with his t ad mother on a houseboat on the Wabash Wabash Wa Wa- bash river the the r-the the only S. S name he has learns has learns from her a a. aBart apart part Bart of the story of her sad life lite t 1 The recital la is Interrupted by a a. fear tear i V ful rul tit fit of coughing But Dut Pearl- Pearl hunter learns how and why his mother left his father also that f he has the best blood of Virginia In his veins veins veins-he he a Ulan man an without a name a freshwater In Inthe i r- r r the Indiana dlana flats Bats of the Wabash k river CHAPTER I I Continued 2 Her eyes opened she looked up at him with feverish quickness Ive lived JIved twenty years without the world Ill I'll not go go back to It now But mother If we Just keep on this way you'll he you'll he hesitated at atthe atthe v the next word finally let it fall fall fall- fall dle die dle lCy Die I l she seemed to fondle the 9 word A small thing thine thing to to die I She sat musing as if It she found a r melancholy comfort in the thought But I shant shan't die she continued w with a hasty glance up at his hrs face 4 My Iy cough Is worse today because my ms r medicine is gone i The young man started k Your elecampane gone 1 l I took the last of It yesterday esterday sI Mother l I 1 rii He went to the cook ook stove and lifted the saucer from a small Jar In which Whitt t the roots were usually ste steeped ped It was empty and d 1 There was a great tene ten ten- e mis lis voice as he came back bath and bent ov o. her chair You l hall Khali wave ve va your elecampane te tea he said J I the If the roots are to be found in the l a gp sh sleep tonight In the old cabin u up there ere under the cool trees A ripple of pleased expectation of half awakened Interest broke the drear surface surface- of the weary face like face like a n faint glow back of a a curtain that i never raises He refilled the cup with cool water rummaged a spade out of the locker under ender the forward deck decle and was juston juston just juston on the point of leaping to the bank when he heard her speaking lIe He pok poked d his head hend back inside the curt curtains cur cur- thins t and she repeated what she had just said the Flatwoods where the Wild l i Han n lives Seems ome to me I once once heard i that there is such a man In these theses s I l woods s He lie felt felt carelessly carelessly along the rusty bitof bit bitof of ot the spade with his thumb I believe this Is the woods Maybe he's hes I mean hes he's he's hes not dant dangerous dan dan- t 7 Dangerous I J A gray ghost of a aman aman aman man man with a pitiful face They say he goes through the woods as still as smoke and leaves as little trail A A minute later he had leaped ashore climbed the bluffs and plunged into tb deep woods The root of the elecampane was much esteemed as a remedy for coughs but It was by no means menns dant No one knew this fact better r than the The small stream that feeds the waterfall wa Wa- S at at Fallen Rock Is known as y Wolf run run Following up along Its 4 course the presently cameto came cameto to a n tiny thread of water that joined It from the west west probably probably the outlet of some small pond tuck tucked d away among I the hills It is along the open margins of swamps and ponds and never In In the thick woods that the elecampane grows Believing from the warmth and dullness of Its water that the tiny stream came from a n pond rather than thun from a spring the tile fol fol- Sowed bowed it It It had grown so small that ther the r a began to fear It would t S disappear altogether when there came camer r a a break In the Ule forest line just ahead A scramble through a dense fringe of hazel and there It lay lay lay-a a little pond In the midst of a narrow glade In a pocket of the hills a delicate Inlay In Inthe Inthe r the forest The man mon glanced at the sun turned and hurriedly looked about forthe for forthe forthe the elecampane Along the east edge of the glade not far out from the 1 fringe of hazel he found it It-a It a clump of or some dozen stalks three or four ot of pt r them ready to bloom The rusty spade was ryas was soon at their roots roots probably probably the s first ground ever broken on the margin mar mar- gin of ot that pond Three plants he cut their stems close to the i ground shook the dirt from their clusters clus clusters 4 of fleshy roots and hurried down the tile tiny outlet back to Wolf run II It was upon the gravelly margin of n It pool that the stopped to wash the elecampane roots and cut them loose from the clusters in which lie Ite ha hail hau been carrying them He had bad finished the task and was storing them away inthe In Int the e pockets of his blouse when the song of a thrush from somewhere somewhere some some- where up the stream gradually worked itself across his consciousness The song puzzled him There were notes notes certain Certain little foreign fo flights a n r deeper witchery witchery that that he be could not have believed possible to a thrush's throat The P had a nice car ear for th the sounds of the woods He HeI I stole tol cautiously up the bank banle The sound und when he had drawl Quite near 3 5 3 l f S did not appear to come from any tree but from some place down close to tb the water of another pool pool another another spot Just ahead where the water stopped to rest Parting the bushes with the utmost caution he crept up to the edge of the pool and peered forth A woman n a a girl sat girl sat on a lint flat rock Jutting out from the opposite bank her bare feet swinging In the water her body bent slightly back and propped on her r iw 11 a G 1 I iIIi iI I iGn i The Man Flattened and Held His Breath hands bands her face uplifted her puckered lips pouring forth the song that had drawn him to the spot A sunbonnet swung from her arm her shoes and stockings lay upon the rock beside half an nn armful of will wild roses A twig flipped back Into place as the strained his face a little closer The song stopped the girl whirled her ber eyes eos toward the tile swaying twig The Th than man flattened and held beld his liIs breath But the woodland song was done She slid back on the rock and reached for her her- her stockings and shoes Such feet I The rough shoes she picked up up dishonored them It would be giving the uncertain praise to say he be didn't look Besides It wouldn't be true He lie did look It is but simple Justice to him to state also that after the one glance glance glance-a a glance he could no nomore nomore nomore more help than the branch could help flowing flowing he he dragged his eyes away and md held them away till he heard the girl scramble to her ber feet on the roc rock As she gathered up her ber armload of or wild roses ue ne had leisure to observe her With the mass or Of color cotor close to her face It was hard to tell the one from the other tire the the flowers from the face where here the the roses roses left off orr and the face fae began Her lIer hair hung loose soft and waty the wary the kind of hair a roguish shaft of ot morning sun can change to spun gold lips III's like the song a s moment ago ngo upon them e eyes es like the little patch of sky at nt the bottom of the pools- pools eyes that opened wide that had nothIng nothing noth noth- ing lag to conceal She vi was as turning to spring to th the bank when hen the rose and quietly stepped through the tile bushes She whirled and the two stood starIng starIng staring star- star Ing at each ench other across the poo pool The Tho flowers straggled from her arms and down n upon the rocks The Pearl hunters hunter's eyes were the first tto to fall Dragging of off his his battered lint half halt awk awkwardly he bowed his head and strove for fora a word to Justify his intrusion But he was slow of speech Words came hard to him After a time his eyes traveled back hack across the pool past the patch of sky at the bottom up tip the side sille of the rock where her feet had bad dangled The rock waS vas b bare re The girl had hud gone f CHAPTER II The Red Mask Amazed at the woodcraft that had enabled the girl to disappear under his f very ry eyes ees without so much as the quiver of a a 0 leaf the crossed the branch on the rime riffle at the lower edge of the pool by springing from stone to stone and went up to time the rock There lay the flowers In scattered confusion confusion-a a tumbled mass massof massof massof of refreshing color the half an armful armful armful arm arm- ful of ot pink and white and red wild roses He lIe picked up three three three-a a pink a red a white white and and stood gazing down upon them The true woodsman woodsman woods woods- man Is ls instinctively a n g gentleman man He lIe did not know know know-he he did not try to know that that the the girl watched his every move from behind a big oak a few yards up the bank Like her somehow her somehow he muttered Wild Rose Rosel I It might be her name A name r I wonder what Its It's like to have a name I h L j A thought shadowed his face face the th old thought that always alwa's brought th the cloud doud His eyes yes narrowed the line lines of or his mouth drew tense Drawing the stems of the three roses through throng a buttonhole in hi his blouse he strode strod away down the branch back to Fallen Palle Hock Rock The languid eyes of th the Iron Iron Gray Woman turned toward him as ns h hi he sprang In over the sawing gangplank pushed aside the rumpled curtain ant an entered the tiny cabin of the houseboat house house- boat There was not so much fire ti Inthe Ir In the time eyes The fever was going down dowl with the sun The thought his returning returning returning re re- turning step had brought came out Ir In her first words They who own the old cabin mIght not like us to move in In They can only make us move ou out again was his cheery answer And mother you ou never s saw saw v such a view as you get from up there And you yon youcan can drink right out of the spring Something came to the face tace of ot the Iron Iron Woman that at had long beet beer beera beeta a stranger stranger there Not a a. smile smile smile-a a rippie rippie ripple rip rip- pie like the swath a chance breeze breezy ruffles across still sun water But you cant can't carry carry everything Everything And the first load lost shall be you Me Mel I It would set you coughing to cUmb the slope The woman dropped her eyes After all an weakness Is not a pleasant fact to tc face The loss of power the to do accustomed things always comes as a shock Life had brou brought ht to the Iron Woman Iron little tittle enough pitifully little enough But though life be ever eyer so bare so-bare bare and gray gray no one likes to sit helpless and watch It go t Ing of this but was already busy gathering together such of their theil meager stock of household goods as It ii would be absolutely necessary to tc carry up to the cabin under the cUff cliff If the coming night was to be spent ashore Nothing remained but the actual going ashore His mother came first as he he had said While packing he had planned to help her up the hill hm to tc the spring and anti leave leaver her there while he swept the old cabin aired it out ont put up the cook stove and otherwise made nade the place as sweet and inviting as possible for her occupancy Just before passing through the rumpled curtain of the houseboat she stopped and gazed over the tiny cabin Just one look before I go she sY d. d He was astonished at the wistful wistful- Mess In her tones Why mother you can come back any any minute It lilt has been my home for twenty years she said as she turned away her tone more the voicing of a reflection reflection reflection tion than the statement of ot a fact Across cross the tile gangplank and up the slope among the trees he led her her her- carried her with her with all an the tenderness due from a man to his mother forthe for forth forthe th the Iron Woman Iron had the tIe manners manners man man- ners and speech of ot a n lady of high degree and she had hud taught him all she knew He lIe had brought along a cushion which he spread for her upon a upholstered moss-upholstered ro rock k With the spray of the waterfall In the air with the cup eup In her hand the cool coal spring within reach he lIe left her and hurried back bacle to the tha houseboat The sun was dipping low toward the distant bend In the river when the last of ot the moving was done A purple twilight hat hall given place to dark before he had the cabin put to rights mother his his mother in her easy chair and anel supper on the table a n bass hass taken from the nets orly that morning fruit from the woods baked baled potatoes potatoes pota toes t toast ast crisp and brown and tea which she had left her chair long enough to draw In the contented silence that often falls after the evening me meal l. l the man mansat mansat sat covertly studying her face T f fever had gone It was was a face almost serene She appeared as he watched her to be listening to the sound of or orthe the waterfall floating In through the open window upon the pulse of the night The move nune had bait had done done her good He lIe thought how beautiful she must h have ve how been how beautiful still sun Her lIer words wards that afternoon came back to him the him the only word word that had ever come to him out of the past The Tho desire to l I learn arn more grew in him and yet vet he dreaded to speak The Iron Iron- IVe Gray Woman man was not one to Invite confidences And yet a n man ought to know something of the manner of his coming Into the world The cabin had settled to deep quiet the lap of the waterfall had swelled to full tun strength upon the silence when the cabin door banged open and anda a man stormed in The whirled up out of his chair and faced him The Intruder was as a man of forty possibly ly more lacking somewhat of the height and massive build yet still sun what would be called caned caneda a big man tight man tight and well wen set up up- up smooth shaven except for an aggressive sive mustache faintly shot with gray He lIe wore a slouch hat bat top boots frock coat cont and a very fancy and much be flowered vest Ills His blue eyes eyes the the kind of blue that turns black when U. U J A J roused roused had had an on uncomfortable knack of ot seeming to see everything in sight They were Just now flitting furtively a n bit contemptuously over the tall tan fig eg- egure figure ure are of ot the young man facing him Youre the fellow they call the The gray eyes of the man addressed were blazing his fingers manifesting an almost uncontrollable inclination to tuck themselves into his palms but he held himself and answered civilly They do call me that What are you doing In this cabin Is ls It yours No difference whether it Is or whether It Isn't Its It's no place for river scum to wash ashore A stranger ought to be pretty sure of himself before he says a n thing like Uke that especially when he says It the way the Man Vest the in Vest the s said ld It lie He didn't know the Pearl hunter not not as the river river- river men men knew him or him or he would have considered a long time first Almost any river man along the Wabash could have told him that things would happen Things did happen Still It probably would have been Just the same anyhow A wildcat couldn't have dodged the toll calloused fist that stabbed across the candlelight candle candle- light It caught the Intruder fiat flat In Inthe inthe the mouth and und pitched him back against the door which slammed to the wall and thus saved him from goIng goIng going go- go I Ing clear to the floor He was vas up |