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Show VIM' HEAVEM $V BY CUVE ARDEN V. v'MT v tmc on ini coiaMwy Bending closer, he removed th hands from her head, and raised It back against hi breast. "What' troubling my dearest, on this day of daysf' She looked up into the ardent gray depths so close above her; then at the photograph upon the wall. His look followed hers, and quick comprehension comprehen-sion dawned. "Ah r he ejaculated. "Well?" "Don't you ee?" she asked. "AH this Is Impossible IM His eye hardened a little; and he loosed her. "You and I hae gone too far, now. to draw back because of scruples, Barbara Bar-bara I" "They are not scruples! It Is a matter mat-ter of honor." She half raised her left hand, showing the little band of diamonds. dia-monds. With one swift movement he had seized the band and ripped oil the ring. "Honor be d d. thenl" She sprang up, alarmed at hi violence. vio-lence. He towered over her, hi face blazing. "Do shed the remnants of the pnr-son's pnr-son's daughter, my dear girl I Face things squarely I You drifted Into this engagement when a mere child, not realizing all It meant. Aa ynu developed, devel-oped, It reused to OH your life. Ills nature did not satisfy yours. I saw that at once. But until I knew your heart was free, I could do nothing save keep away!" He laughed bitterly. bitter-ly. "I have wanted ynu and craved for your love, day after day, night after night, all these desolate months here together like like two Icebergs In the Oarden of Eden J Do you think now, when I have got It, I am going to 1oe It again? Would he or any sane man wish It or expect It after all this? Don't you realize what the world would think now?" She looked puzzled over this sentence, sen-tence, not having been acquainted with a malicious-minded world beyond her old horizon. But she knew the truth of every other word be uttered. Her HUGH'S PHOTOGRAPH SYNOPSIS. Livln in th small English villa of Darbury, old-fashioned old-fashioned and sedate place, Bar. , bara Stockley, daughter of a widowed mother, la seen to ele-brat ele-brat har marrlaa to Hugh Rochdale, rlcb and wall connected. con-nected. Barbara la adventurous, and has planned, with an aunt, an airplane trip to Australia. Major Alan Croft, famous as an aviator, la to be th pilot. At her Brat meeting with Croft Barbara Bar-bara la attracted by hla manner and conversation, different from th cut-and-drled conventions of her email town. They set out, Barbara, her aunt, Croft, and a mechanician. Word In a few daya come to Darbury that the plane la missing and Its occupants occu-pants believed lost Croft and Barbara, after th wrack of th airplane In a furious storm, reach an apparently uninhabited Island In th Pacific ocean. Th other two membera of the party had perished. The two castaways cast-aways build a ahelter. In Croft's absence Barbara la attacked by a cannibal. Croft rescuea her. Croft discovers a party of blacks, apparently reconnolterlng. Croft flies up an electrical guard which acare off an attacking party. Secure from Immediate danger, Croft and Barbara settle down to make th beat of things. Croft, who has traveled much among aavagea, makes friend with the blacks. Croft and Barbara Bar-bara fall In love. Th man betrays be-trays his passion but restrains it The gjrl desperately tries to remain loyal to Hugh. Th man demand "marriage" and a husband's hus-band's rights. Th girl aets duty before Inclination. "Isn't the present Joy uflelent? You are mine and I am, your. Don't let us spoil the glory of It all!" For a long moment there waa silence si-lence In the darkening but . . . Then tills man, who bad ever been wont to sweep aside all obstacles to hi will, bent his head slowly, and kissed In turn the small hands clasped upon hit breast "We must keep our faith In eacn other whatever the future brings," he whispered. And tenderly, almost reverently, he kissed her Up. PARTTHREE Deep Chords 7 A ring of stokes, lolling drnnkenly to one side, encircled the hut, at a distance dis-tance of about twenty yards. With a small rock for hammer, Alan was pounding lliem Into the ground, during dur-ing the hour before sunset. He had conceived the Idea of building a palisade. Occupation 1 It was whnt they craved. Though neither confessed the fact to the other, both tacitly acknowledged ac-knowledged the need. They seized on any excuse that would supply food for their thoughts, toll for their limbs, fatigue for body and mind. For. deep In the heart of each, below all the ecstasy of their Joy together, lurked grim fenr not fear of each other, btit fear of themselves; above all, fear of nature, of her smiling face and Irrevocable Irrevo-cable laws. Resolutely, each hurled the skeleton out of sight, covering ft with a hundred pretty-colored reeds. But sometimes, unexpectedly, it stirred below the thick layers, stretched out Its skinny arms. . . . "I'll bring the river down here some day," the Inventor of modern aircraft observed, thumping In a stake with hla stone-age hammer. Why are you smiling In that vacant manner?" "Alan," she murmured, "you have been a revelation. I thought you bully, only Intent upon getting your own way, regardless of everybody." "Well?" He laughed gently. "Haven't I got It?" "Ah, but not until It proved to be my way too." "Merely because I realized It would be worthless otherwise. I learned that first of all the many thing you taught me." "I?" "Yes, you." ne raised her chin possessively. "Don't you think yon have been a revelation, too? And hasn't the 'spirit' of the lslnnd ynu spoke about been a revelntlon to us both? It seems to me," he laughed, "the only thing to save the world from being choked by materialism Is to wreck It on a desert Island I Make everybody begin life afresh, back In prehistoric days." Barbara caught at this Idea. "But," she said, following the train of thought It engendered, "If all discontented discon-tented people hud the chance to come, wouldn't every tree be crowded?" "Not at all. Only a handful would arrive. The mnjority are too peacefully peace-fully asleep to realize they are being choked. Commercialism Is the god they worship. AUhough, when there Is nothing better to do, they go to church In their best clothes." "You are very bitter!" she exclaimed In surprise. To Barbara, this man had ever been full of surprises; but she had spoken the truth when she had called hltn a revelation. For, during the two months since Christmas, he had been so at every turn. Not until love opened her own eyes; until she knew the meaning of passion herself, and understood the tempestuous force of Ills, did she realize the strain under which he had been living. Slnet Christmas night the nature she had thought arrogant had revealed a thousand thou-sand wonderful mysteries. As a tree, cold and hidden In the snows and frosts of winter, responds to the glory of spring, so he had opened In the glory of their love. She drew away from him, and clasped her arms round ber railed knees. Mountains, dark and threatening threat-ening to those whose way lies across them, are little heeded when shrouded shroud-ed In mist, below which the sun shines. But now and then a Jagged peak thrusts through ; and, with the Journey' Jour-ney' progress, more appear behind. . . . Generally, these frequent peakr were Instinctively shunned; but today to-day Alan went on recklessly. "After all, marriage was made for man, like all other conventions. We are not their slaves. What do forms and ceremonies matter here? They are often tosh. A pauper marries an heiress, and vows to endow her with all his worldly goods! If he did, he would have to take the clothes off his back and go stark naked. Ton and I would vow to forsake all others, when there Is nobody here to forsake. You would hardly want to elope with Babooma? If you did, I should soon catch you. That's another point : we couldn't separate' -If we wnnted to! So what would be the good of a wedding? wed-ding? Of vow we couldn't possibly break?" "Bigger issue to face than useless scruple." It I the old, old conflict. Ha it th usual end? (TO BE CONTINUED.) quench that light In bis eyes, and her own foolish weakness In his proximity. Abruptly, he went to her and took her by the shoulders, eaylng nothing, but gazing Into ber face aa If searching for something he wished to learn there. Suddenly, apprehension In her eyes deepened to horror; a cry burst from her Hps; she became rigid In his hands. With such precipitate haste did the whole Incident occur that she could never afterward clearly remember how It happened that, In a flash, the face of the whole world changed. . . . She waa conscious of a dark bulk, a savage sav-age face she knew well, looming suddenly sud-denly np amid the trees of a spear arm uplifted, preparatory to hurling the weapon Into the back of an unsuspecting unsus-pecting enemy. ... ' Her man was In danger t That waa her only coherent thought Instantly she had whipped out the revolver, and, with deadly calm, raised It . . . A sharp report and a puff of smoke; a wild howl of pain and fear; then a stream of blood oozing from the black shoulder In front of her, as the smoke cleared away. Those were the outward out-ward Impression of which her mind was dimly aware; but they seemed unreal, un-real, of no account. She heard the spear fly wide Into the tree at her side; then Babooma's running footsteps foot-steps and retreating cries. . . . Croft, astounded, bad barely caught a glimpse of the dark face which he had often seen covertly watching him, before It was momentarily blotted out In smoke. He started forward In hot pursuit: then, arrested by a choking cry, halted abruptly, and looked at the girl. . . . Rhe stood motionless: her eye, luminous as stars, fixed upon him. her mouth a little open, the still smoking weapon lying at her feet. It had been no mild Idea of causing Babooma fear which had Impelled her action, but a furlons. savage desire to kill! She had hurled herself to the rescue, regardless re-gardless of all else. Afterward, all power or desire to move seemed to lenve her. A veil fell from before her eyes; and a brilliance streamed In, Illuminating, scorching-full scorching-full of such ecstasy ttat she stood as though transfixed, paralyzed with the wonder of It all, gazing upon him whom this brilliance had newly revealed. . . The breath caught In the man's throat; the blood raced madly through his veins; bis eyes blazed, answering the glory of her own. I,tke the Wagnerian lovers after drinking of the love potion, they stood a few feet apart, under the sun-flecked foliage of the trees, awed for a moment mo-ment by the miracle. She raised her hand at last, as If Inviting. . . . The spell broke. Instantly his arms were around her. With an Inarticulate cry. she was swept off her feet, clasped to his throbbing heart, his burning Hps pressed hers, her hands clinging round his neck. . . all her Individuality merged Irrevocably Into his, as a stream, falling through arms of rock, merges Into the resistless waves of the ocean. . The sun was sinking, a fiery ball In an almost violet sky. Its last rays shimmering shim-mering golden-red across the water, when at last the two returned to the but on what wonderful Christmas day A new world greeted their eyes at every turn. Never had reef or sea or sky appeared so splendid. The superb, absolute egotism of newly found lovers enveloped them both : no thought save of each other disturbed the Bhlnlng hours. Like one still walking In a dream-world, Barbara entered the central hut. gay with Its decorations. The line of golden light entering with her pierced the dusk within ; and, falling fall-ing upon the opposite wall, drew her eyes unconsciously that way. . . . She stopped. ' Hugh's face smiled down at her, with all it old confidence I Violently the dream-world crashed around her as she met the faithful, doglike dog-like look she knew so well. Had he been there In flesh and blood, she could hardly have been more disconcerted. She felt as a traitor might, when meeting meet-ing the unsuspicious eye of the sovereign sov-ereign he has betrayed. For, however faithful she might remain In word and deed to her bond, her heart would ever be traitorous. His ring was still on her finger: It seemed to burn there, an outward sign of the world of fact with Its prosaic realities, Its duties. Its sense of honor, Us materialism. Its sacrifices. sac-rifices. . . . A cold foreboding swept over her. It was as if In the midst of glorious sunshine, a thunderclap had sent It warning of , storm not far away, . , She sat down, propping her face upon her hands. In self-abasement fearful, yet behind all, exultant. ex-ultant. . . Thus A lan after going to fetch water aifd remaining to bathe found her, upori hi return. He set down the basin, tjlen bent over her. "Wha(is the matter?" She hfof dK"t JMV from hi touch, f " PART TWO Continued. 10 "If a d d lonely position for you I" he exclaimed. Then he rose, with audi precipitancy that she nearly fell. He began walking up and down outside the hut. ' Instead of hurrying away, she hesitated, hesi-tated, watching him in bewilderment-conscious bewilderment-conscious of a strange longing to re-muin re-muin near him, to saunter together on the shore, as was sometimes their habit at night. - But when, at last, he paused near her, he made no such suggestion. "Go to bed," he said rather curtly; "it's late. And, Barbara, don't lie wake all night, or cut off the rest of your hair! It' all useless." f' With that he turned away, and went off alone to the beach, leaving her staring star-ing after him. Strangely enough, she did not lie awake this time. Those few passionate moments had embodied hours of emotional emo-tional strain. The force which had seemed to be sweeping her from all mooring had caused her to struggle violently, both mentally and physically, to retain her own Individuality, to prevent pre-vent It from being submerged In his. s His lips on hers would have been sheer physical pain, unbearable, overpowering. over-powering. . . . Afterward, a numbness numb-ness fell upon her mind. She felt too desperately tired to attempt coherent thought. This volcano upon which, nowadays, they lived, must take Its course! Since the moment when she had seen the shark, a lifetime of tumultuous emotions had whirled ber ' mind and heart round like thistledown. Confused, yet subtly, gloriously elated, she slept till dawn. ... A fusillade of sticks and stones roused her, but she did not see Alnn. And a sudden overwhelming shyness restrained her from calling to him. But there was no trace of last night's passion about this man of a hundred' moods when they met; and her self-confidence self-confidence revived. While she was packing the old tin box with food, he i arrived, fresh and damp from the river. riv-er. He gaily deposited a large bundle bun-dle at her feet and wished her a merry Christmas. . With surprise, she uncovered enn-. enn-. nlngly contrived hammock made from P tree fiber, airplane canvas, and aerial 1 As this was exactly what she had often wanted upon hot afternoons, her pleasure pleas-ure was unbounded. . "I have nothing for you, Alan!" ahe regretted, with compunction. "Oh? Well we'll see abont that!" he replied enigmatically ; then hurried their departure. , They , walked quickly, saying little, over the rough ground which, covered with low scrub, sloped upward on the east of their bay. They paused to rest and eat. In the eastern wood, meaning to remain there during the midday heat. The shady branches stretched out over the beach were welcome to eyes dazzled by the glare without. The intoxication of the morning' beauties, their own radiant health and spirits, the strains of the wild sweef orchestra rising all around, lent enchantment to that little picnic. Barbara had, a It were, caught at yeeds during the last few weeks, but they had broken in her grasp. Onward ne was madly whirling. She knew It; could not aT herself: could not She Stopped. Hugh' Face Smiled Down at Her. awakened heart understood now the affectionate comradeship alone aroused by Hugh. Her whole nature yearned toward this man who had mastered It; her heart fluttered wavered. The conscience con-science warring against It made another an-other dying attempt. "I I cau't shatter a man's lifelong faith. It would be murderous " "Do you love me?" he interrupted, taking her firmly by the shoulders. "Ahl you know It," ahe breathed. "Yet you would put this between us, with no hope of rescue?" Loosing her abruptly, he turned and looked long at the pictured face. Then, with a stifled exclamutlon, he pulled It from the bamboo. Before she renllzed his motive, he had torn the photograph Into shreds, and scattered scat-tered them upon the ground. "Alan!" she gasped, almost frightened fright-ened by his vehemence. He wheeled, facing her with burning eyes. "I'm not a lap-dog I If we get rescued, res-cued, we shall, of course, go Btralght to Hugh and tell him the truth. But If not " He suddenly threw his arms around her, straining her to him. "Have you realized that probability now, Barbara? We may be here. forever for-ever Just you and I where the mazes of civilization give way to Truth where no laws exist save those of nature no conventions I" He swept her off her feet, and hi kisses burned upon ber lips, her neck, her short hair. ... Once more her life seemed to sink from ber own keeping keep-ing Into bis. .... He set her down at last, still clasping clasp-ing her to him. "Doesn't that decide It all?" he murmured unsteadily. "Don't you understand un-derstand that we have bigger issues to face here than useless acruples?" She turned In his arms, looking into his eyes through the gathering darkness. dark-ness. The distant thundering surf was the only sound ; and It seemed to suggest approaching storms more terrible than any she bad faced before. be-fore. Freeing herself a little, ahe pressed him from her. ''You have won your way as usual, Alan. But ah 1 Be merciful !" As she had appealed before, o the cry came again from her unprotected heart That pitiful entreaty and her surrender sur-render reached where resistance might have failed. The passion In his face faded a tittle; and, seeing this, she pressed her advantage. ' .- - . i i i |