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Show jiji;iniHiiMitiMMi)itiTintiiiiinMii!Mtmiiiiiinniri intnriiiittiniirtiiiiiirniiiiiinniirniiiniiiMiinitiiiiiiiijinnTtt'iunTtiiimiis j I The Shadow of the Sheltering Pines 1 A New Romance of the Storm Country 1 I By GRACE MILLER WHITE CopyriRht by the H. K. Ply Company jfiiiimmiiin.ni......iiii.m...M TONY'S OATH. ftynriMiH r,onHy it in I f i lt-nd !-sh. Tciitftiliel Ot-'.'(in, II vlns on a canal bn;it with fi brutal iatli'-r and a worn-out. dl oura''I tn"iU.r, wuii-(Iitk wuii-(Iitk Into a S'.tlviition urniy Kiill at Uliara, N. V. Tht-n- sin- m.-.-lM a ytmuK SalvatUm army tjiMtaiii, Philip M:icl :uuloy. I'liiih I ii-von. Tfn '.m fat :c r, rpliirn to t he b.at from a protnuterl Hpi"P ami itn-rmnnrcH itn-rmnnrcH Ik rian arraiiKil fur Tnnv to marry ft--i;!iialil Ir'.wn. a worthless worth-less companion. M i. I '"von objects, ob-jects, unit r'rlali heats 1 1 r. Thnlr quarrel reveals that there iw a secret se-cret hetween them In which 'I'ony Ih the central figure. Tony refuses , to marry Kfitfinald ail(l escapes a heating by Jumping Into the lake 'I'ony finds u baby's picture with offer of reward for Its delivery to Doctor Pendlehaven. She delivers the picture and the, doctor visits her mother. i CHAPTER VI Continued. 5 In another moment the (rlrl had (dripped olT hor wet clothes, had blown out the light anil was In bed beside hor mother. When Edith was assured the girl lent, she trawled out of the bed and lighted the lamp. She tried to collect tier thoughts, to lay u plan for the future fu-ture for herself and husband. John Pendlehaven had been there! I'endle-hiivon, I'endle-hiivon, tin; one man In the world she dreuded the mention of! Arid Tony had said he wou'd come back tomorrow tomor-row ! t She, turned and looked at the sleeping sleep-ing dice, half-hidden in Ihe blankets. Khe bad stolen this child from hor fat her, and now she had to escape the consequences of her wicked deed. She had to go away, and that quickly. If Khe had dared to face her husband's wrath, she would have, then and there, communicated with l'aul Pen-dlohaven. Pen-dlohaven. She reached out and touched Tonni-bel's Tonni-bel's face. v , "Baby, dnrlln', wake up," she said. "I want to ask you something !" Tony opened her slumber-laden eyes find smiled. "Don't go to sleep again." exclaimed Mrs. Devon, hoarsely. "Tell me this. Do you honest believe what you said about that thing on the card? About It bein' holy?" "Yep," asserted Tony, .with drooping droop-ing eyelids. -"You don't want to hurt Uriah and me, do you, honey?" The girl shook her head slowly, and n doubtful shadow settling in her eyes, seemed to make her wider awake. "I wouldn't hurt you, darlin'," she replied at length, "but sometimes, when daddy's beatin' you, I feel like wbackin' the life out of him. Why, today " Kdith stopped her by a fug at her sleeve. "If yon swore by that fard you brought, I mean If you took an oath, would you keep It?" she asked hoarsely. hoarse-ly. "You bet I would." There was amazement, surprise and eagerness In the young voice. "Didn't you tell me the feller said Jesus was a holy bird?" Tony nodded. Mrs. Devon gripped her fingers about the girl's arm. "Mebbe he's In the Dirty Mary here, only you can't see him, baby dear?" The woman's voice was slyly toned, but she shivered In superstition. "Tie's right here." affirmed the girl, thinking of a boy's earnest uplifted fioc and vibrant assurances. "Then say after i.e what I'm tbinkin' of." said Edith. Tony lifted her eyes to her mother's, but drew back when she d'scovored now tcrrtnte sue iooi-.eii. wane uie a dead person. "I swear by the livin' Jesus." began Edith, and then she paused. "Say it," Mio biss"d. "I swear by the livin' Jesus." Tony repented fearfullv. "I swear to my mummy never to ny nottiin' mean against Vrinh Devon, De-von, my daddy." went onMrs. Devon. Tony repented this. too. almost frightened into fits. She bad never seen her mother look and act so mysteriously. mys-teriously. "Now say this, kronin' in your "'ind you'll lie blasted to hell if you break vour word. 'I won't never tell that my f.ithcr heat my poor mummy, or that he's a thief and a liar '" A thick tearless sob lon-st from the woman's I'ps and brought an ejaculation from the L'iri. "I swear to it nil. honey nmnnnv.". Khe cried. "You believe me, Edie. darlin', don't you?" "Yis. I believe you." replied Edith, dully "Crawl into bed, and go to loop, baby dear." Sill roringly Tony Devon got back under the blanket. Then for more than an hour there was sfenee on the canal beat, silence that was broken only by the night noises nn':hlo. Then, extremely weak, the woman iirepared herself to go oat. It took her I'Hg time to write a note she tad to le-ive for Tony, and when that was finished she divided the money Hie doctor had left and stole softly from the beat. It was in Ihe foil blaze of a morning sun that Tonnibel opened her eyes and looked around the cabin. The other bunk was empty, ami her mother was not In Ihe cabin. In her night clothes, Tonnibel went to Ihe deck, shouting the naine, "Edith," her strong .voting voice repeating itself buck from the woods in echoes. Then she went (low n-stairs n-stairs again and began to dress hastily, and everv mono nt her fear was groving. She .spied the note pinned to the lainn handle mid stared tit It mutely as If dreading to know Its contents, but she unpinned It with fingers fin-gers that seemed to be nil, thumbs. Her legs were shaking so she had to sit down to read It. "Tony dear," it began. I "I'm going to look up Uriah. I took part of the money. We might need some. You can go to work some-whores some-whores If I don't come buck. Maybe some day you'll see me. Leave the boat where she Is so your duddy can find her. I love you, darling. Remember Remem-ber about your swearing not to tell on your Top, and don't tell I'm gone to find him. MUMMY." Tonnibel gave a gasping sob. They had all gone and left her stranded in a land of strangers. Because It was no longer her home, she began to love the silent old cnnal boat, and to wish with all her soul that Uriah and Edith would come walking down the cabin steps. For a long time she sat thinking, . looking out over the water, sometimes with tears flooding her lids, sometimes dry-eyed with fright. After a while she got up, took Gussie to the lake, where, much to the little animal's disgust, she washed her with a scrubbing brush and soap. Then she carefully washed herself, letting her feet nnd legs hang over the end of the dock until they, too, were as clean as her little friend. It was while she was sitting there with the pig in her arms that a canoe f t. ? f : 7 ' - ' i i, s. - 3 . ' t y..; .1 A Canoe Slipped Under the Overhanging Overhang-ing Trees, slipped under the overhanging trees and came toward the canal boat swiftly. swift-ly. She watched it coming with no show of interest. Directly in front of her the paddle remained suspended, and the boat came to a stop. Tonni-hel's Tonni-hel's heart thumped, then seemed to fall to the pit of her stomach. Here, right before her, was the Salvation man". "How do you do?" he said, smiling at her. "I see you're having a nice time." Tonnibel shook her head. "No, I ain't, and Gussie ain't, either, sue replied almost suneni. Ky a skillful twist of the paddle, rhilip MaeC'auley drew tiie canoe close to the dock. "Is this the boat you told me you lived on?" he asked, climbing up beside be-side her and holding the canoe fast by a rope. "Yes, the Dirty Mary." answered Toeniliel. witli a little catch In her voice. "Now I live on her, I mean today." to-day." "What do von mean by 'now you live on her?'" he asked. "Isn't this your home? Didn't you tell me that?" The girl's dark head drooped, and the shower of curls almost coverpd Gussie to her short hind legs. Tear drooped silently. I'hiPn touched her g ntly. "v,'here your mo'iter?" he questioned. Sue lif'eil her and Ioo':p fir him tht'eiiLth her tears. She wanted to confide in some one yes, she did want to I'll him. hut the oath she'd taken on the gentle Christ flashed into her mind. "She ain't home just at present," site replied in a low voice. Oh .how she wanted to ask him If he knew of any work she coitid do! As if he had read her thoughts, lie asked abruptly. "Can I do anything for you? 1 brought you rnls." She made a slight mo ement with her head but accepted the '-ard he extended. ex-tended. Then there drifted over the quiet summer day the toiling of the chimes from the university clock on the campus of Cornell!"" She bent forward to listen. It .struck one, and drawing her feet from the water, she got up. She had promised to lie at Pendlehaven Pendleha-ven place at two o'clock. "I got to go now," she said apolo-get'cnlly. apolo-get'cnlly. "Much obliged for bringing me" some more salvation, mister! Mebhe I'll see you ugnin some time. Mebbe I will." "When?" demanded rhilip, the blood running swiftly to his face. He felt a sudden renewed Interest in the solemn sol-emn girl, and be didn't want her to Jeave him at all. "I dunno," she answered, putting Gussie under one arm. "I mightn't be home when you come." "Can I come tomorrow?" the boy urged. "Yep. you can come," said Tonnibel, with tilling throat, "hut if there's any one around, don't stop." Tills was all the warning she dared give him. Then she paused long enough to see him jump into the canoe, and for a few minutes she stood watching the craft as it danced away ou the water toward Ithaca. Then sin started for the doctor's. CHAPTER VII. Tony Finds a New Home. Many a person turned in the street nnd looked at the bareheaded and barefooted bare-footed girl as she made her way through the city with a little pig snuggled snug-gled In her arms. Tonnibel was hurrying hurry-ing to I'endlehaven place, for she had promised Doctor John she'd come tc his office at two o'clock that afternoon, after-noon, and, If she didn't, he might take it into his head to visit the Dirty Alary. When John Pendlehaven came Id and saw her he noted how pale she was. "Your mother," he began "She's gone away visitin'," gasped Tony. "I don't know where she Is." "Didn't you see her this morning! If she was able to get up, then she's better. Isn't she? Is she?" Tonnibel bobbed her head. "I guess so," she mumbled. "When I woke up, she was gone. I guess she went to find " She hesitated, then ran on, "to see some one we know. Sc me and Gussie come to tell you she's better." "Sit down," urged the doctor.. Again the curly head shook negatively. nega-tively. "I got to go," she told him, swallowing swallow-ing hard. "I just got to go." Then as her homelessness presser down upon he, she began to trembls convulsive sobs shaking her from hea' to foot. The doctor forced her into s chair. "There," he said sympathetically "Now tell me what has happened." "I can't," came in a gasping sigh. "Put mummy's gone away, mebbe forever,- and I got to find work. And and I don't know how." Doctor Pendlehaven looked a her thoughtfully. All through the flight the wan face had haunted him. Suddenly Tonnibel put her nan 1 Into In-to her blouse. "I brought back what's left o'f the money," she said, holding it out. "Mummy took some. You don'f care about that, do you? She needed It awful, aw-ful, mummy did ! But I couldn't keep this because I dickered with yovt last night about the picture, and yoi done your share." "Keep it," exclaimed Doctor John, huskily. "No," b'aid Tonnibel. "I couldn't ever sleep a wink if I did." And.sjie tli rust the roll of bills Into hla hand, giving a long sigh as if she were glad to be rid of it. It might have been this action on her part that brought to quick fruition the resolve that had begun to live the iiiol oeiore wiicu jucioi i eiiiiiena-ven eiiiiiena-ven had tramped along the boulevard to Ithaca. From what she had told him now, she had been left alone. Then there was no one to ask permission of to help her. "Where's your father?" he said, abruptly. "I dunno," answered Tonnibel, a little lit-tle sulkily. Site didn't intend ever to speak of Uriah to anyone. "Then you are all alone, now that your mother's gone? Do I understand you haven't any relatives?" "Not anybody," she hesitated, "at least, not now. Not anybody but Gus-sie-I'iglet here." She touched the little animal with exquisite tenderness. " Doctor I'endle-havin I'endle-havin leaned oer and. placing one linger under the girl's chin, raised her face to lus. "Ciime with me," lie said sortly. Tonnibel followed him through what seemed to her long miles of halls. W hen lie ushered her into a room and closed the door, she stood a moment taking in all its magnificence. The atmosphere at-mosphere was laden with a heavy per-fu:i' per-fu:i' ot' (lowers, and '-4.M1 siie saw sometime.' else. A man lay partly propped up in bed, his burning gray eyes staring ;rl her. -zzzz. i "There! New I'll teach you to bile me ai-ain." J I'll- L.LI CUiSTlAOJL'.jiJ.) |
