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Show fk Questiop of Goufagfe They spent noma tlmo trjtiif; to pjtV ' tlio RiiRROBtlon Into practice, cuccijc Ini; tlnally In nuxklnfr n clumisy npllco, which tilt; drift pull uf the liomcM ills-jointed ills-jointed hopolesHly, "Il'ti np iim', Mr. Iltngbraml," milil the colonel; "vo'reln for It; there' nothtiiH like n lilucU-t.mlthnhoptlihiRtilao'TreKnttlien.'' lilucU-t.mlthnhoptlihiRtilao'TreKnttlien.'' Ttlngbrnml looked nt lihi watch and itnxr that It wan half-iaat ten. "How far nro xvo from the village, colonel?" lie nuked. "About cJffta tntlee, I recMofl." That Niltlrd the qiMneion' of rlepArt-ii rlepArt-ii ro for thn't day, and UlngbriHid waa nnnoyed to And hlmirtf feelliiff rather JiibUaut than illwippoliited qrrr tho xin-roidabloTilgJuji5VHe xin-roidabloTilgJuji5VHe helped tho colonel unhitch, And after an hour's hard xvork 1 1 irstiswaf i i i rm proud of you, Or.'bita. "W- they got tho buggy to tho top, of the hill, x hero they left It pi tbt de of the roud nml walked back to tho neurrst farm-hoiibr, farm-hoiibr, leudlng the homes. Since the colonel know nearly every Olio In tho valley, It folloxxcil thut they luul only to mention their need to ob-tnln ob-tnln tho lioupHall)y nd iiKHUtniue of tho fanner, who lent heiii mi nntl-i nntl-i Hinted carrlnge und refused to let thorn dcpiirt until after dinner. Adding the ilebxyH to tho tlmo consumed in the enre-) enre-) nl ilrlxliu? (iccrBsary to the preservation preserva-tion of tl(o farmer vclpo Ii) atnteol iiltlrcty, It n neur tho middle f the nftcinooij xxhcu they got hack toTre-' toTre-' Krtrtlicu, and thea Col. ltlroer Inciiteil upon taldng his companion up to the mountain for t,he remulnder of the dny. Itliigbr.-ind offered every reasonable ob-Jtctlon ob-Jtctlon lie could think of, l.noxvlnfc that nnothcr ltl to JlfHjerxxould ImurnB-tirnbly ImurnB-tirnbly Increase the pulp o leaving her; but In tho end dUcretlon was (swept nwny by un ocrx helming denlrp lo ee find talk with liei oiico more, nnl he yielded. They drove past the Ludlow a', end he tan In to tell his. hostess Hint be would not bo homo for tea. She mixv tho clinnge In him, and detujned h m to nk) If )iIk tjotlblphaddlsappearcd. "."(," he rnplLud, und llo aaxv tJie (ook of ileapoudency como Into hla ey ngaln; "und thnt Isn't tho worst of It; I'm going to do something that will make it infinitely harder," 'Arc yon (rolpj? o sje JTester?" yea." "Hoxv can that make it Iiarder7'l "I can't explain without idling you nil about 1 1, and 1 haven't tho cournje to ! do that now." 'Trill pie ono thing, at least. Ilae jour troublu aiiyt)dpg 9 do with Ilea-t-r' monej ?" Up kIiooU his hend, "I wbth It were nothing uoito than that. I haxeii't anything, ns oii,knojv, buj, I think I could cam a llxlngforliotliqf b." "And you uon'ttell mo wlittt.it In'i" ''I cannot." , 'Then tell hr Huifli, J-r-J bcllexe ahe hsa n right to leuyxv,'' Jle looked up ijulckly. "Yqu meat that shftenrea forma?" 'II haxo no. rjght fo pay it ahe has fold mo noihtugr-.but I pun'Jpelp tlijpk- Ii ing thnt alio does flha aeepied nfuloun and dlrnppoinlfi) xvhen youdldn'fi-omc homo iHhtiilirhV' Jtlugbfand ltjrrled from tlio house, renolxliiK tp linjnklijacngngiiipntxvlth eiilmly xxa)K(tji ataminerliig omiscfc aIlf and mWn ,ooii fup lilin b;x tl(e (icflt pf the ciirrlnfv, "A f lor I'vp done njiolled your da', n-drpgglu' you oxer thb country afoot, the very least xoii cau do In to let mo oyar1 you home 'xylth mo, nml the mo' eapoclnlly ua you e.xnn't niiiko un i xlnlt," Itliigbrund u;ive up Hgnln, for tlw aim-jilu aim-jilu li-iisoij that he had no xnlld objection ob-jection lo olfer, find half un hour Inter ho xvim Hitting op the veranda of "The l.niiics," deep In l;lie lnUBHion of the nieo problem xvli JV9 colonel a ilia-clisulim ilia-clisulim In xvlilcli tlio northern point of iexv fureil Imllfforently liecaueo the mind of its advocate was too busy with ipieatlonH auggeated by tho prca-once prca-once of Ileeter Latimer. All throngh the argument he xvas studying her face, aearchlng therein for the proof or the mtiiidlutou of Mra. l.udloxv'a aaser-tlon, aaser-tlon, and toimp)tlpg.llmelfuy trying to Imagine what llejitcr xvould say if ho phoiihl tell her ot hi Iptopded departure depart-ure and tho reason for It. After an early tea the colonel excuaed himself, riding oft with Henry to the west furm, n port'on of tlio ontto lying , tw o miles f artlmr back on the inquntaln. When they wer left alone together, lllngbrand maile u commendable cttort to keep the strenm of conversation tloxv- Ing In trivial channels; but hi 1 thought But so peraltitly toward the feud, and it buirlug upon IhiHi their llxes, tlmt he hgi) spoken of It almost before he knew what lie wua aajlug. "I nhould think it xvould be it constant source of anxiety to you," he said, lr- rclexantly. "Perhaps it would, if I knew xvhat it , I xvas," alio answered, demurely. "Pardon me I mustluxxo Wen think' Ingnloud. I meant tho feud." SI. eJillcd nt hl preoccupation. "1 supposed that was what jou wero Jlllriklhg of No, I can't sny thnt It is exactly ex aource of nnxiety, nlthough, of course, 1 should lie glml enough If the ltyuumH xxould lenxe the roiinlry. It Isn't pleasant lo have tho enmity of MUeli people." "Hut your father oml brother-jlon't jou foinetiinea feel niivlottvnn tbelrae-count?" tbelrae-count?" K1ii)b1iooU her head. "That would lie difltojal; It xvould Imply a doubt of Jhclr ability to take cure of them-,h0lxcs." them-,h0lxcs." Ulngbrand wns thoughtful Com moment, mo-ment, und then he said "ll'nndrcndful state of nlTnlls, though, MIhh Hester) 1 should think It would bo it perfect nightmare to you." "It seems terrible to you, no doxibt, but jou must rcinomln-r that xxe nro used to Itor, nnyxxay, as nt ntly naonti can bo uced to such thing. I should feol qul.to tnl xrlthoilt tho feud." "1 pitvyoii yourcour.igs" "Tliat's odd. I didn't supposo n man oyer cm led n xxomnn the possenalon of such on ordlnni j virtue ns courage." "Pethnps It Isn't so commonplace a jou Imagine." "Oh, I menut xxlth gcnllemen: of course, It enj-s Itself thnt women nro roxvnrda, but thnt Is only another xxny of sayllig that men are brine." "Pin not qui to sine Hint l folloxvjoxir logic. Would you nillidglxlnginoyour definition of courage?" "I'crlinps l xx ill after jou'xe toldine yours." Klligbmnd reflected ninoincntbefoio nnsxxcring. " Possibly my detlnttion is not .qnllo alncere. I linxn ulunys thought that the truent eouraBo con- , slsted In doing right xxhen it In easier and safer to do xxrong In otherxxordB, Hint It requires n lilgher kind of cour-ngo cour-ngo to suffer Injury thnn to reaent It. I'm licgiuniiig tciKusiiect.hoxxcxer, that this test enn lc npplled only to mnrtj rs and to cownnlsto the hitter, because they psu It n,s l plra fornonnlstnnce." "I think that Is n little beyond my depth," replied Hester, snipping n rose from the clambering bush that coxcrcd tho epd of tho xernudn nml beginning to trim the ola!s into dahlia-like precision pre-cision xvith her hclssora, "X haxo nl-xxaya nl-xxaya thought of n linno man ns ono who whs simply not nfrnld of tiny thing; one of xxhom itcpuidbesnldthathcdld not knoxv xxliqt fenrxyns." "T nt nlxvnjs seemed to me llkcdu-biou llkcdu-biou ,inlso. If ono doesn't knoxv the scuball' n of fear, there ennbolittloxlr-tue ennbolittloxlr-tue In being brave. To my mind, the man wh ienll7cs tlio danger and jrct eomiieli himself to face It, though It may be with pallid faeo und slinking kneOB, deservcB the preater citdlt." "I suppo'io that's true; only I never pot thnt far Inter the subject lx fore. 1 don't often i-canon nbout aiich things, because I supporo you xxould any lie-citusu lie-citusu n xx oman doesn't rear.on nbout unj thing; but It doesn't seem ncces-unry; ncces-unry; life isn't mi much n question of motltfg n of dtedfl: It Isn't so much xvhat ono tliliiliHiiHxxhiitonedoe, And father boj-s ono doca xxhathlsnnceHtorB did." "In thnt case I ought to be a brine man," said lllugbrniid, smiling; "my forefutliers xxtro Scottish clansmen, and they hnxen't (eft n record of piany other xlrtucs," i "Is your mime Scotch?" "Yes; tradition h.ta It that our nn cestors xxeio the hernfds of thecinn, and thnt the iinme come from their custom of xx hilling n lighted brand In 0 clca n n signal for the gathering of (ho hosts.'' "How sxxcetly romnntlcl It sounds liko n bit out of dear old 8Ir Walter. 1 should ulxxaya beliexe thut, xxhetherlt is true or not." Itlngbrmid laughed shortly: "You haxo a tine xxomnn's admiration for valorous deeds, Imxcn't xou? A peaceable peace-able man find himself ruther out of tho running.'1 She looked up In surpiiso lit tho cynical cyn-ical outburst. "I think thut's u little unkind," she said, quietly; "but If you V'lll Insist upon thrqxxtng doxx-n tho challenge," she paused unci trimmed off the lust remaining petals of the rose, "I don't begin to understand hoxx- nnj-truo nnj-truo xvomun could respect a man who Isn't braxu; Pmsurcltxxouldn't bo possible pos-sible forme, if for no other reason than that I am my father's daughter. There has never been n, cqivurd. aninpg the iHxtimera since tho day w hen the good old bishop xvcut to the stake." lie had known xvell enough xvhat she would say, but the verbal confirmation of bin com let ion cnnio to him like the : sentence death to a criminal who has ixen proved guilty. ITfi rnsn nnd walked i tho length of tho xcrnndn, coming back to lean against the railing opposite her. i "You've said a hnrd thing, Miss Hester," li.t began, "and I hopo jou'll forglxemo for having proxoked It, I xvlshpd tnsay something entirely illiTereut to tell you something of myself " 1 hey both loolicd nropud ut the nound of horse' hoof on tlie grnxel of the nxenue, and axv the colonel nirl his sou tiding toxxuid tho house. Hester rose nnd xxuited for him to finish. "It's of no consequenet'," ho xxmt on, "or, nt least, you wouldn't think sonoxv. Will you tell mo good -by, Mirs Latimer?" She KUtTeied lilin to tnko lur hand, xvonderlng a little ut his abruptness. "Surely you are not going bo early?" she said. "Yes, I think I'd better," 'Put xxo hhul see jou ogalu Boon, han't we?" she nsked, He was hated from replying by the nitrnncn of tho colonel, xvho prottsted warmly ugalust hi early departure, mldingi "Cj-an't yoi ptop invjille longer, long-er, and then take one of the haxvsses (o rldo doxvn?" "No, thank you, eolonel; I think I'd better bo going; and I'll enjoy the walk. Good night." Tho flush of thu summer sunset xx nH still In the xxestern sltj w hen he reached the end of the nxenue. "I can't go doxvn there nnd meet Tom und bin xxifo," ho liui-ed; "Helen xxould drixo ine croy xxlth iUestlniiH that 1 can't answer to-night I'll go the other way and walk till they've gone to bed," Ho turned out of the nveuiieniid took the road leading to tho bend of Mc N abb's covo, Bauuteilng nloxxly nlong nml going oxer tho exenta of the past few weeks for tho liundrrdlh time "l' no uso niguiiig the thing," ho muttered, "not the least In the xxoild 1 can't change my nature, and who xxonld desplso mo If slm knexv xxhat u miserable crnven 1 null I don't believe I could bear that; ami jut H'h hauler than deuth to lump lcr noxv. I know I could mnko her loxo mo I snxv It in her ej'es to-night, nndl aliould have iiuide n xx Icked fool ot mj elf In mint lie minute. If tho colonel hadn't come Hollo who's that?" Ho turned nt the sound nf n gallop lug horse behind him mid xxalted until llcnrj' l.ntimer reined up beside tin fool path. The eolonel' son I'lnneed quit kly mound Into the gntlierlngiliisk and then leaned oxer mid hamUil mc volvcr to Itlugbnuid. "father saw joi I in u up tlils-ii-wnj,"heexplnlnril,"iinii he tnj-s j'ou'd better tote that. You mightn't need it in n bundled jenrs, but if you did you'd need it right much." Itlugbrnnd took the weapon nxxk-xvmdly nxxk-xvmdly ns n man handles uiifnmllliu tools. "I'll carry it because j'on xxen kind enough to bring It, but I doubt If I'd havo tho dexterity to make us, of it; however, I imagine there's not likely to bo nny occasion. 1'leuBO thank jour father for mo." Ho dropped tho pistol Into his pocket nnd stood looking nfter Henry im tb latter cantered back toward "Tho Lnn rcls;'' then ho remaned hluxxnllt nnd his gloomy meditations;, '1 (linking about It aftcrxvard, be never knew Just hoxv far he hud none Ho hud un Indistinct recollection oi coming out upon tho clilT oucc, oppo site the furnace, and of stopping to luol down Into tho flerrtm,ilnf (heeil) ol.i lighted by tho Intel uiitlenl Hint) of he burnlngirns, Aflcrthntheremom in-i.d that tho io.nl made detours ink the forest and cmUic out upon IheclliT alternately for whqt srrrped uiliitnueo ot scxcral miles. Hii kx.t clear Impression Im-pression xxns tho picture of u deep ci:t ) In tho tnountaiu lying bufoie him in the obscurity of fathumlesH diukuen', ho. felt lather .than snxv tlmt .he xxn looklug Into Its depths from the xerg'-of xerg'-of n picclplce; and he noticed that tl sTindoxv of n great tree laino betwn him nml the stars. Uwuh here thai lb mysterious warning of tho umlefini' nemo which tells of iippio.iehing (In ger begnn to muko Itself felt, and xv hen lie recognlzid Its admonition hi n nlized thnt It bad been piessing upi i litm all along, mid thnt he hml bei too preoccupied to heed It. J,ow, box ever, It refuneil to le ongei li'noji and ho felt cold little i hills of nppiehn. siou ciceplug oier him iih he pe u aiouud Into the shadow h of the t, e . 'What n contemptible coxwird 1 r.n' bo muttered, Btiuggllng to bin i Ii i. self ngnlnst the lim.eixlng nine 'atanding hcjq s.liixering liku n eb,l in n doik roam) 1 duh't iletene I bo called n iiiunl"c Then he turned to letiuco his stepi-toxxard stepi-toxxard Tiegirthcn; but he li.ul no' left tho Bhadoxv of tho tieo xxhen twi men appeared ix'foiu hlni fla Htiddenlj and as Bilenlly ti If th'y htid dioppul from tho branches oxer hia bend. "Th'ovv up yer han'ii, dein yol" com minuted thu one neai rut him, advancing xxitli rifle half luised. Itlugbrand saw his opportunity ns distinctly ns It itudetnlls had been wri ten In letters of flreon tbomurkj luul. ground. Though both of the men l..i guns, neither of them covered him he had only to draxv Ida revolver iim step behind tho tred,fiGlitlilgorpaili..i Ing from that stronghold ns the urgency ur-gency of the case demanded, It xvns all slmplo euough, nnd his mind vvns cear to dlrcott ut n,ial IiIh piilsli'd limbs refused to obej, and nlimxt be fore ho knew what ho was doing he was standing with uplifted hands, h teeth chattering und IiIh knees slinklm? In a pltiablo ngoliy 0( fegr ro cnploia guvo blui no tlmo lo pro test. "You go on ahead," said tho one xvho had spoken, addressing his companion. com-panion. "iS'ovv, then, full In, Mr. 8. Jest thur ix-'lilnd him, nn' don't jou nov' look cross-eyed, 'les ye'rp hankerln' lo gel u bullet th'oo yer hald, March!" Kingbrnml did ns he xvas told, follow-Ing follow-Ing the shadowy outline of his guide, who turned to the left Into the forest A they stumbled nlong In the dark-ncfl-i, ho knew thntu brave man xxould liuxo jet turned defeat Into xlctory; thej' bad not j'et dlearmed him, and he saw hoxv easy it xxould bo to make tho chances of a struggle ut least equal by shooting the man In front. Tlio thought re tinned again and again with urgent insistence, but ho could not bring himself to the point ot notion; and the opportunity vanished xv hen the file-leader Btopped at the Ixittom ot u small sluk-holo In the plateau, und, turning upon him uuddciilj', pinioned lila linns to his aide with u few tuuiRol a I ope, "What nro you trying to do xx 1th ine, unjxxaj?" he demanded, while thuj xvero pushing him forxxaid to n spot of blucknesH appearing liko tho mouth of n xxell between two bowlders. ".lout jou xx'iilt n mliiute, un' jou'll Be"o; xxo don't 'low to liuxe no levcnuoia n-spjln' tound this jeru mounting." "Hut I'm no roxenuo otlleei; jou ahoiild knoxv that If you kiiuxvunythlng at nil about me," '"llint'u ut, hoxv it may bo; xxo don't 'low to tnlca uo chnlneeu, nohow. Now, . . i i ii ii i n. liliigbtnutl bit bis toneriio to keep iiom crying out us they thrust him for- "Th'ow up yur han'o, den, yot" xxnrd Into the black linle belxxeen the ' units, tlieie xxns it I "'do Bpnsntlof of falling into meuMiu depths.end i ing In n Bhnrp Jeik of thorrpeniounc his bodj. nnd ho remembered no more Co ilimioJ next xveok |