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Show j(:!!miinu!i:;miiiimiiimiimmimimiiiiimmimminmm'iiiimm I THE BLUE MOON II 1 A TALE OF THE FLATWOODS I "By DAVID AJVDEK.SOJV Copyright by the Bobbs-Merrill Company CHAPTER XI Continued. 14 "O'nn you KMiii mure cuiniitiorV" she "I'll swim In It. If It will tret me up." The fill In iif licit, miiistcni'il the cot-tun cot-tun unit luil ii mi the wiiinnl. He did lull even wince. The stinf of it. hud ficcome to tiim n necessity, the grille f'll me.ins to nil cml tlnit must lie ae-comilisheil. ae-comilisheil. Wlilimit tonight tliere could he no tiimdrriiw. Slin siitnniiod more of the coiion. In id it on Hie fiish n'ld lillliilnf ell It lliere. drew the blouse Inicl: lulu 1 1 i , suiiiotheil Ihe pillow under tils Lend nnd went to t'.ie kitchen. lie heard the rattle- of t lie stove, nnd knew that she was preparing hlni HiiinethiiiK to eat. It moved him. foi he knew how pitiful little that kitchen held, and yet she was goinf; to share It with him the best of it share It with a smile, and the grace of a princess. prin-cess. He swore to himself that there should be food In that kitchen toi.-ior-row. Hhe was back In n surprisingly short time, hearing a tray of such fooi) as she had been able to prepare lmstKy some I roth, crisp toast, a poii.'ted egg, and black coffee. 1 Tie was sound asleep. She tiptoed hack to the kltehci, set Ihe tray on the stove hearth where it would keep warm, re-entered the room, drew a ehalr up beside the sofa, and kept the buzzing flies away from his face while he slept. Noon came nnd passed. Several times she went to the kitchen to mend the fire and keep the tray warm ; many a time she slipped from window to window, and listened at the doors for stfiind of the hunters that somewhere combed the woods. The shadows turned eastward and still the man slept. The diy had worn away to mid-afternoon mid-afternoon when he tossed restlessly and (lung h;n right arm above his head. The movement seemed to provoke the hurt. I7e came awake with the quick Intuition of the woodsman knew he had slept long. He started to rise. She sprung up and laid her hand on his shoulder. "But I mustn't impose on you like this." be protested. "Didn't you Bay a little hit ago that I was the doer?" That dry smile that always started In his eyes llvst, crawled out across his face. "Then I command you to stay right where you are." she answered to the slow smile, as she hurried outto the kitchen and carried In the tray: Slip sat down beside him on the couch, fixed his arm easy In the sling, put sugar in the black coffee, nnd evpn buttered his toast. The f'eaiihunter had never lived In such luxury. It was a dream like some of the stories of fairies and enchanted palaces his mother used to tell of years ago in the long winter evenings on the houseboat. house-boat. He half feared that he might not really he awake: that, after all. It might turn or.; to be some trick, like that of the gorge that closed. She rose, pushed away the table and helped Mm back upon the couch. "Try to sleep," she said, while smoothing the pillow nude- his head ill MPS" m 1 Ljm J y ) The Man Bc.h Dreaded Most to Sec. "and ain every bit of strength you can. if you mi.s! go tonight." Her manner seemed not to invite a reply rather seemed to forbitf une. lie closed his eyes and settled himself into tlie luxurious novelty of the situation sit-uation the happy privilege of obeying such a nuric. She moved the table 'jack by the window, re-ai ranged the work basket and v.;si- of roses, and went to the kiulun wiili the tray. lie opened his e. cs ihe n.cnine she was gone. It was fiii-ihest Iron-, his thoughts to s;end another moment of that wonderful day in shop. I!is great regret was xn:it In- al'vady silent so much of it illlillllllllllilllllllHllllllllllllllllllJllllllllJl that way. Whatever was to happen, It was no time to sleep. The girl, busy with the dishes, heard Ihe conch creak, and pitied him in his restless pain. "Wll.l Iiose:" She almost dropped the cup she was wiping. That call was not Inspired by pain. No pain in the world ciptld have wrung ll from him. She hurried back inio ihe room. He had risen and was standing near a window', a look on his face thai made her half afraid of him, his eyes like a blade half drawn. He had lean! a step. How he heard it-sensed it-sensed I; enly il;e hunted know. The girl sprang lo his side, her eyes followed the motion of his hand, and her lips turned white. A man was coining coin-ing up the patli the man both dreaded dread-ed most to see. Handsome, jaunty, debonair, smoothfaced smooth-faced except for the aggressive mustache mus-tache slightly shot with gray, the notorious no-torious bandit swung along up the walk. The Pearlhunter stood crouched forward. His hand dropped to his hip. closed over the butt of the revolver, then slowly unclosed. He was taking his arm out of the sling when the girl caught him, shook him, dragged him back. "Quick !" she cried, pushing him across the floor, "My room ! licliind the curtains!" At the door he hung back, his head still over his shoulder. "I reckon I must hide!" he muttered, still glaring back toward the window. "But not there! The kitchen?" "No, my room. It's safest." She pushed him behind the curtains. "But if he comes In?" "He won't !" He caught a glimpse of her white, hard as the face of the," hills, and the blue In her eyes like bright steel touched with flame. A quick glance at the tiny slit between be-tween the curtains behind which she knewjhe Pearlhunter was standing, a very positive and vigorous shake of her finger that said plainer than words to stay there; and she rose and walked with a firm step to the door. A narrow nar-row inch she opened it and with her left hand, held it so. with her right shoulder propped against it in such a way that her right side and arm were concealed. The man on the outside of the door drew back a slpp. and, with a sweeping sweep-ing bow too sweeping, even for the Flatwoods his hat came off and his handsome face put on its most nffabje smile. "And how Is my wood fairy this afternoon?" aft-ernoon?" The girl made no reply. Her. face, framed in the narrow opening, changed not a shade. Nothing so disconcerts a man ns to have his advances met with silence. Some of the lines and wrinkles that did duty for the smile left the bold face of the renegade. "It was so very lonesome In the village, vil-lage, with the men all hunting that desperado, tnat i thought I n wnm out and spend the afternoon with you. and talk over with you some very charming charm-ing plans I have formed. You have what I believe to be a wonderful vo'.-e. While, to my great regret, you have never sung for me. yet, as I have passed back and forth through the woods in my business of looking up timlipr , options. I have sometimes heard you s'ng. You undoubtedly have a great voice. Now. I am rich, with no one to spend my money on. What better could I do with it than give to the world a great singer? If you will go wiilj me, you shall have the best training the world affords." He put one foot up on the door-step, his face beaming If such a face can beam. The Pearlhunter stiffened in his place behind the curtain. The girl never changed a hair's breadth in the narrow opening between the cheek of Ihe door and the janihi Her cold silence si-lence was apparently too much even for the hold man Hint faced her. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" "My father is away tills afternoon. I can not invite you in." It was the first word she had spoken spok-en a word cold and hard enough : hut Ihe brazen Intruder seemed to take encouragement front it. "Then permit me to Invite myself." He advanced a step. laid his hand to the door, pushed lightly. The narrow-slit narrow-slit between cheek and jamb widened not a hair. The passions of a Prussian noble were behind that face oulside. They began to break through its thin veneer ve-neer of politeness. He pui his hat back en. but still kept his latnd on Hie door. "1 might choose to come in." The girl made no answer; neither did she suffer the door to yield. The last vestige of the smile left the man's face. "1 might demand to come in" something some-thing close kin to a snarl slipped Into his voice "to search this cabin for that notorious desperado, the Red Mask, the murderer of Louie Solomon." Solo-mon." "The Red Mask is not in this cabin." cab-in." The answer came slowly, and there was a peculiar emphasis upon the word "in," doubtless unconscious. To the listener behind the curtains, it was iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii as if she had said : "Not In the cabin, just in front of it." The pressure on the door increased. The Pearlhunter saw the girl brace her body against It. The door began to give a tiny mite at first an inch two inches He could stand It no longer. He was In the very act of sweeping the curtulns aside when the girl's right arm, the one hid behind the door, dropped to her side. Her hand went into the folds of her dress. When it came out it held the revolver he had cleaned and put in order the night he-fore. he-fore. She cocked the weapon and leaped back. The door flew open. The man on the step barely saved himself from sprawling In upon the floor by clutching the door jamb. When he regained re-gained his balance, he was gazing into Hie muzzle of a very steady and dependable de-pendable looking six-gun. At first Rush he actually thought it was a joke. "You wouldn't shoot a man?" His voice had lost its jaunty assurance. assur-ance. , "No," came the cold, crisp answer down the steady barrel, "but I'd shoot a snake." There was no chance of misunderstanding misunder-standing her. "Damn'd if I don't believe you would !" ' "You know how to find out." He - knew. He slowly raised his hands. The expression in his eyes might have meant any number of ilwl He Studied the Eyes Back of the Revolver. things: first of all, that he bowed to necessity; second, that lie would come again. Astonished, mortified, baffled that, most of all; baffled he doubtless salved his pride with that second thought: He would come again. The girl sensed something of what smoldered smol-dered deep in the bold eyes eyes that a good woman could hardly meet without with-out dishonor. But there were plans afoot and she trusted them. "Listen! I'll jive you time to get out of sight, if you wul'.; fast. If you look back, or if you are in sight when I think the time is up. I'll shoot; and I'll hit what I shoot at." He studied the eyes hack of Ihe revolver. re-volver. What he saw whirled him around, his hands still up. and stalled him hack down Ihe path. The farther lie went the faster he went. In less lime than she bad thought, he had pass-"d the turn and disappeared. Shi; closed tlie door, laid the revolver revol-ver on the table beside the sewing basket, bas-ket, crossed the room to the sofa. The Pearlhunter had come out from behind the curtains, admiration running riot in his eyes. "I wish I knew some way to tell j on." he said, "how proud 1 uia to know a girl like you. I don't know a man that could have done it. And him tlie Red Mask! Before you l' feel like a a tailor.'.' She looked up at him. tried to smile; the smile was a failure. Her lips quivered: her eyes fell. To Hie Pearl-hunter's Pearl-hunter's amazement she dropped down on Ihe sofa and burst into tears. lie slood shifting from one foot to the other, puzzled and helpless. It was beyond him. He sat down beside her. reached fori li his one free baud and laid it upon her hair. "Why don't cry! It's all over now !" He frowned in an effort to think of something else to say. But all he could think of was: "Don't cry." and that didn't seem to do any good, lie was thinking some very uncomplimentary tilings about his clumsy and awkward self, when she looked up. The man stared. She was laughing a nervous little laugh right through the tears. The laugh astonished til in more than the tears, but it was an immense relief re-lief to him, just tlie same. "My. Isn't it silly for me to carry on like this! And over nothing!" iiiiiti:mi!ui!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiuiiiur. "Noiliing !" "Well, hardly anything." "And you weren't afraid?" "Not with you here." Tlie half-hesitating statement pleased the man pleased him Immensely. Im-mensely. "And you're not afraid now ?" "Only that they might find yuu. Why should I be?" "Then I must follow htm." He rose from the sofa. Hat he had none It was tramped to rags In the dust and dirt of the village undar the wide reaching limbs of the oak but tie began hitching together the strips and tatters of his blouse. The girl sprang up and faced him. "Y'ou ! Why, you can hardly stand." "We must find out whether he goes back to the village or down to Kallen Rock. Everything depends on knowing know-ing that." He made a step toward the door. She got before him. "I'll go." "You !" "Why not? I know the woods, and they're safer for me than you just now." She was at the door of the kitchen before he could stop her. her haste the greater, perhaps, because she knew he would stop her. He reached her arm just as she raised the latch. "No ! It's my place!" "It's your place to stay right here and gnin strength for your big plan tonight. Why, It's only a little ten-minute ten-minute run and I. know every bush and tree." His plan! Everything depended on it on bis being able to carry it through. He could not move till the time came, and that would be when the dark came. It would ruin everything every-thing to be seen too soon. And yet be must know which way the man went. Much depended on whether he fed his horse now, or went on to the village and came back after night to feed him. Tlie Pearlhunter hesitated, wavering between a very keen and unspoiled un-spoiled chivalry and a very iflsistetr expediency. "If he should catch you !" She laughed merrily. "Not even you could catch me in tlie woods." She flung open the door. He stretched forth his arm. "No, no! I can't " But she was gone. CHAPTER XII. Box Twenty-Three. The Pearlhunter stood In the kitchen door, feeling no little disgrace, and watched the lithe form of the girl dart in among the bushes that lined the cliff where it looped east, enclosing the little pocket of level woods where the cabin stood. He saw her stop suddenly. She stood listening a moment mo-ment ; came flying back. To the question on his face she answered an-swered by closing the door and mo- !.. 1,1... Intrt ta ntnin rnnm linH tO tlie window by the sewing table. A small boy camp whistling up the path. "It's the grandson of the good old storekeeper I told you about," she whispered. They both laughed as she pushed him toward the curtains, laughed though it irked tlie man no little to go into hiding at Hie sound of every footstep foot-step in a girl's room at that, while she stood guard. ' "Ask him about the hunt today." he whispered. "And above all, ask him if he met a man." She nodded and pulled the curtains close. The next moment she had opened the door. "Well. Billy! Glad to see you. Come right In." Billy did come in. But Billy wasn't speaking. Through the little gap in Hie curtain the Pearllmnrer could see him standing just inside the (loot. Billy w as by no means a prepossessing youngster barefooted, thin shinned, very decidedly pigeon-toed. His sharp little face was elaborately and picturesquely pic-turesquely freckled. There were freckles enough for a big face, and Billy's fhee was small, so small that some of the freckles had to stand up edgeways to find room. But his eyes, in the midst of their speckled surroundings, sur-roundings, looked out sharp and bright from under his frazzled straw hat. They were very busy just then In taking tak-ing down, one by one. eery feature of Hie room, from wall to wall, l'rom carpel car-pel in loft joists. The girl closed the door, put an arm about the slim little mite tit'der ihe ragged hat and led him to Ihe .ilg easy chair the sirickeu old man's chair near tlie middle of the room; brought the smaller rocking chair from her sewing table and sat )td by bim. Tlie little felluw tried 'o lean back in the big chair. It was far too deep, lie sat up straight, swinging his feet, and continued his methodical survey of the room. "How In the world did yew ever find your way, Billy, out here In the woods?" The sharp little eyes looked hio companion over coolly; a tiny a!iade contemptuously. ITO BR CONTINUED.) |
