| OCR Text |
Show 1 ALICE of OLD ; VINCENNES :p By MAURICE THOMPSON ' hBE - 3l CapjAtht. 1500. by the DOWEH-MERRILL COMPANY ' ' 33; TYttftttt j"? tMfrM r M 1 M 1 1 M I II lt It I I 1 1 II 1 1 It I I I 1 1 1 I I I 1 l M l v.i..n..t,.v., ii i i-j. It bad been ninny yenrs xlnco n letter from homo had oonrn to 1'utlier Beret OTio Inst before tho one now In hand kind mndc lilin ill nf nostnlKla. fnlrly Blinking his Iron (Ictermiimtloti never to quit for u moment his lire work us n missionary. Kver since that iluj lie had found It harder to meet the ninny nnd stern demands of n most illllU'iilt and exactlnc duty. Now the mere touch of the paper hi hi Imml kiio him n Reuse of returning weakness, dissatisfaction nnd lonslm:. '1 he home of his boyhood, the rushing of tho Itlione, n seat In a shady nook of the garden, Madeline, his sister, prattling beside him and his mother IiikIiii; somewhere about the house -It all came back and went over lilm ami through him, making his heart sink strangely, while another volee. tin' sweetest ever heard but she was Ineffable In-effable and her memory a foi hidden fragrance. rather Heret tottered across tin for lorn little room and knelt before the c-ruelllK, holding Ills clasped bands high, the letter pressed between them. His lips moved hi prayer, hut made no hound; his whole frame shook violently. vio-lently. It would l)e unpardonable desecration desecra-tion to enter tho chamber of Kntht-r Ueret's soul and look upon his sacred and secret trouble, nor must we even speculate as to Its particular. The good old man writhed and wrestled before the cross for a long time, until nt last he seemed to receive the calmness calm-ness and strength he prayed for so fervently. Then he rose, tore the letter let-ter Into pieces so small that not a word remained whole and squeezed them so llrmly together that they wero compressed Into n tiny, solid hull -which he let fall through a crack between be-tween the floor puncheons. After waiting wait-ing twenty years for thnt letter, hungry hun-gry ns his heart wns, he did not even open It when at last It arrived. He would never know what message It bore. The link between lilm and the old sweet days was broken forever. Now, with Ood's help, he could do his work to tho end. lie went nnd stood In the doorway, leaning against the side. He looked toward the "river house," ns the Inhabitants In-habitants had named a large shanty which stood on tho bluff of the Wnlmsli not far from where the road bridge nt p. ..-sent crosses, and saw men until-i until-i urlng there. Meantime Itcnc do ItouWIlc had delivered de-livered Mine. Ilousslllou's letter with duo promptness. Of course such u service demanded pie and claret. What still better pleased lilm, Alice chose to bo more amiable than was usually her custom when he called. They sat together to-gether in the main room of the house, where M. Itousslllon kept his books, bis curiosities of Indian manufacture collected col-lected here and there, and his surplus firearms, swords, pistols nnd knives, ruuged not unplcaslngly around the walla. Of course, along with the letter, Uene bore the news, so Interesting to himself, him-self, of the boat's tempting cargo Just discharged at the river house. Alice understood her friend's danger felt It ill the Intense cuthuslasm of his voice nnd manner. She liad once been the men carousing on a similar occasion when she was but a child, and the Impression Im-pression then madu. still remained In her memory. Instinctively she resolved to hold Ileno by one means or another away from the river house It possible. So she managed to keep him occupied eating pie, sipping wittered claret and chatting until night came on and Mine. Itousslllon brought in a lamp. Thon ho hurriedly snatched ills cap from the floor beside him and got up to go. "Come and look ut my handiwork," Alice quickly said; "my shelf of pics, I mean." Sho led him to tho pantry, where a dozen or more of tho cherry pates were ranged hi order. "1 made every one of them tills morning anil baked them; hail them all out of the oven before tho rain came up. Don't you think me a wonder of cleverness uud Industry? Father lteret was polite enough to Hatter me; but you you Just eat what you want and say nothing! You are not polite, M. Itene do Hon-vllle," Hon-vllle," "I've been showing you what I thought of your goodies," said Itene, "Kating's better than talking, you know, so I'll Just take one more," and ho helped himself. "Isn't that compliment compli-ment enough?" "A few such would make me another hot day's work," she replied, laughing. "Pretty talk would bo cheaper and more satisfactory In the long ruu. Even the flour in these pates I ground with my own hand In an Indian mortar. mor-tar. That was hard work too." Uy this time Ileno had forgotten tho river house and tho liquor. With softening sof-tening eyes lie gazed at Alice's rounded checks and sheeny linlr, over which tho light from tho curious earthen lump eho bore lu her hand flickered most effectively. ef-fectively. Ho loved her madly, but his 1 'fear of her was moro powerful than his love. She gave lilm no opportunity to speak what ho felt, having ever ready a quick, bright change of mood nnd wanner when she Baw him plucking up courngo to address her In a sentimental iwny. Their relations hud long been somewhat fumlllnr, which was hut nnt-ural, nnt-ural, considering their youth and tho 'circumstances of their dally life, but Ajleo somehow Mil lifnt a certain dis tance open' lolwcen tlieni, m that very warm friendship could not suddenly resolve re-solve Itself into a troublesome passion on Itene's part. Wo need not nttempt to analyze a young girl's feelings and motives In uch a case. What she does and whnt she thinks are mysteries even to her own understanding. The Influence most potent lu shaping the rudimentary character of Alice Tarleton (called Itousslllon) had been only such ns a lonely frontier post could generate. Her associations with men and women had, with few exceptions, been unprofitable unprof-itable hi an educational way, while her rc.idlng In M. ItoussilUm's uttlc library could not have given her any practical knowledge of manners and life. Her affection for Itene was Interfered with by her largo admiration for the heroic, masterful and magnetic knights who charged through the romnnees of the Uoussillou collection. 1'or although Itene was unquestionably brave and moro than passably handsome, he had no armor, no war horse, no shining lance and embossed shield the difference. differ-ence. Indeed, was groat. Perhaps It was the light and heat of Imagination shining out through Alke's face which gave her beauty such a fas-diluting fas-diluting power. Hone saw It and felt Its electrical stroke send a sweet shiver through ids heart while be stood before her. "Vou are very beautiful tonight, Alice," he presently said, with n suddenness sud-denness which took even her alertness by surprise. A Hush rose to his dark face ami Immediately gae way to a grayish pallor. His heart came near stopping on the Instant, lie was so shocked by his own daring, hut ho laid n hand on her hair, stroking it softly. Just a moment she was at a loss, looking a trifle embarrassed; then, with n merry laugh, she stepped aside and said: "That sounds better, M. Itene de Itonvllle; much tettor. You will be as polite as Father Heret after a little more training." Sho slipped past lilm while speaking speak-ing and made her way back again to the main room, whence she called to him: "Come here. I've something to show you." He obeyed, a sheepish trace on ids countenance betraying his self con Rplnnsness. When he nunc near Alice, she was taking from Its buckhorn hook on the wall a rapier, one of a beautiful pair hanging side by side. "Papa Itousslllon gave me these," she snld, with great animation. "Ho bought them of an Indian who had kept them' a long time. Where he came across them lie would not tell. Hut look, how beautiful! Did you ever see anything so line?" Guard and hilt were of silver; the blade, although somewhat corroded, still showed the tine, wavy lines of Damascus steel and traces of delicate engraving, while hi the end of the hilt was set a large oval turquoise i "A very queer present to give n girl." said Itene. "What can you do with them?" A captivating flash of playfulness came into her face nnd sho sprang bnckward, giving the sword n semicircular semi-circular turn with lfer wrist. Tho blade sent forth a keen hiss as It cut tho air close, very close to Hone's nose. He Jerked his head and flung up his hand. She laughed merrily, standing beautifully beauti-fully poised before him, tho rapier's point sllghtlv elevnted. Her short skirt left her feet and ankles free to show their graceful proportions nnd the perfect per-fect pose in which they held her supple body. "You see whnt I can do with tho colechemarde, eh, SI. Itene de Hon-vllle!" Hon-vllle!" she exclaimed, giving him a smllo which fairly blinded him. "No-tlco "No-tlco how very near to your neck I can thrust nnd yet not touch it. Now!" She darted the keen point under his chin nnd drew it away so quickly that the stroke was like a glint of sunlight. sun-light. "Whnt do you think of that hh n ulco and nccurate piece of skill?" She again resumed her pose, tho right foot ndvnncod, tho left nrm well bnck, her lissome, finely developed body leaning slightly forwnrd. Heno's hands were up before his face In a defenslvo position, palms outward. Just then a chorus of men's voices sounded In tho distance. Tho river 31ic rtiptrr nvi miMrii;rt crtjucros pattern pat-tern (! Jlathtnj lines house was beginning Its carousal with u song Alice let fall her sword's point ami listened Itene looked about for his cap "I must be going," he said. Another and louder swish of the rapier made him pirouette and dodge ngaln with great energy. "Don't." he cried, "that's dangerous. You'll put out my eyes. 1 never saw such a gill!" She laughed at him and kept on whipping whip-ping the air dangerously near his eyes until she had driven him backward ns far as lie could squeeze himself Into n corner of the room. Mine. Itousslllon canio to the door from the kitchen and stood looking In nnd laughing, with her hands on her hips, lly this time tho raplor wus making mak-ing a crisscross pattern of flashing linos close to the young man's head while Alice, In tho enjoyment of her i-xcrcise, seemed to concentrate all the glowing rays of her benuty In her face, her eyes dancing merrily. "Quit now, Alice," he begged, half in fun and hnlf in abject fear, "Please quit- I surrender!" She thrust to the wall on either side of him, then springing lightly backward back-ward a pace, stood nt guard. Her thick yellow hair had fallen over her neck nnd shoulders In a loose wavy mass, out of which her fnco beamed with a bewitching effect upon her captive. Heuc, glad enough to have a cessation cessa-tion of his peril, stood laughing dryly, but the singing down nt the river house was swelling louder and ho made another movement to go. "Your surrendered, you remember," cried Alice, renewing the sword play. "Sit down on tho chair there and uiako yourself comfortable. You are not going go-ing down yonder tonight; you nre going to stay here and talk with me and Mother Itousslllon. We are lonesome and you an' good company." A shot rang out keen and clear, there was a sudden tumult that broke up the singing, and presently more tiring ut varying Intervals cut the night air from tho direction of the river. Jean, the hunchback, came lu to say that there was h row of some sort. He had seen men running across the common com-mon ns If in pursuit of a fugitive, but tho moonlight was so dim that ho could not be sure what It all meant. Keue picked up his cap and bolted out of the house. Continued Next Issue. |
