OCR Text |
Show BEGIN HERE iH) In the summer of l'.H. MARK BABRfi find thai is es-traPaTed es-traPaTed from human sympathy and understandlns; with tin.- sole exception excep-tion of l,l)V NONA TV KA R, an old xweet-heart, xweet-heart, now unhappily married, Sabre'a prosaic and snobbish wife. MABEL, f:iii t" understand hor Iium-banfl'a Iium-banfl'a poetic and whimsical temperament. tem-perament. In bustneaii ho In undermined un-dermined by Jealous associates In th firm of Fortune. K.i-t and abrc und a promised partnership IS di-l di-l -i i Sd from him l" TWTNING At this point. Nona's life with Tybar is intcdruble and she aalpf Sabre to iak- her away War is declared and Sabre rushea to in-1 form his wife. . i N I I'M TH1 STORIC She echoed the word, "War." ''YQS, declared wur." 1 1- .is breathless, printing- Bhe said. "Good gracious! Whatever will happen.' Have you brought an ever l ning paper'.' lo you know the papers didn't come this morning till " , Me could not hear her out. "No. I didn't wait. 1 simplv rushed away." He was close to her. Me look hr ; hands I suy. Mabel. It's war." Mis emotions were tumultuous and ex-I ex-I traordlnary. Me wanted to draw her j to him and kls her. Thcj had not kissed for longer than he could have remembered; hm now he held her j hands hard and desired to kiss her. I I say, it's war." She gave her sudden hurst of laughter. laugh-ter. "You are egoited I've never seen yOU BO excite. Your 1 ollar'a undone Mc dropped her ha nils Me said I rather stupidly. "Well. It's war. you LlcnOW," and stood there. I She turned to her dressing table. "Well, 1 do wish you'd stayed for a ! paper.'" n Lying awake, he thought of Nona. He had not written the letter to her. The appointed daj was past and h- had not written He would have said, during that unutterable darkness In which he had.awalted u. that np( tlx-I tlx-I turning of the w orld upside down would have prevented him writing; ! but the world had turned upside dow n lit was not a board Tike's men had -sung around In thai appalling mo-ment mo-ment when he had watched them ap-' ap-' pear on the balcony It was the accus-1 accus-1 turned and Imponderable world, awful) aw-ful) unbalanced. Nona wr.uM understand. under-stand. Nona always understood everything. every-thing. Mi. wondered how she had maintained this terrific das Mo was assured that he knew She would have felt Just as he had felt Me thought with a most passionate longing for her that he would have been able to turn to her when he had exclaimed, "My God, war.' nnd to have caugnt her hands and looked Into ffer beautiful face. Tomorrow he would send th" letter. TcRTOfrow Why. y today, like all todays in Mm removed and plarirl light of all tomorrow', .vouhl be shown needlesab' heclc Ten to one something would have, happened in the night to make today look foolish. fool-ish. HI When he went down Into Tldbor-jough Tldbor-jough in the morning It was p. know at once that this tomorrow gave no 'lie to Its precedent day it intensified it. The previous day foreshadowed war. The new day presented it. Me went Into the office. The after- noon post had brought letters to his de-),. He turned them over without Interest, then caught up one from Nona AfarkOj this frightful war' 1 have thanked God on my knes for you that last week you prevented me. If I liHd done it with this! Tony has rejoined the Guards, he was In the Reserve of Officers. And you see that whatever has been, and Is, dear. he'any man to stand by in this. Marko. it would have been too awful I If 1 couldn't, and 1 thank Iod for you again and again ami again. Nona CHAPTER IV I The enormous and Imponderable 1 world awfully unbalanced. L'pvid' down Extraordinarily unreal. Furl-OUSly Furl-OUSly real. Life, which had been a thing of events In which there was no time. I only events. Things began one day very shortly after the declaration of war when, j passing the barracks on his wa j home. Sabre was accosted and taken into tho Mess by Cottar, a subaltern of tho JMnks. ', "You must come along In and have a cup of tea.'' young Cottar urged. 'We've got a hell of a .lamborino on. At least we shall have tonight. We're Just working up for If. I can't tell you why. You can guess." Sabre felt a sudden catch at his emotions. "Is the regiment going?" They were at the door of the anteroom ante-room Cottar swung it open. The room was full of men and tobacco .smoke and noise. A very tall youth, one Slkes, was standing n the table, a glass In his hand. Mullo. Sabre' MessmSJI, one of those very stiff whiskies for Mr Sabre go on Sabr, you must. Because " He had not Cottar's reticence He burst Into song waving his glass "Because "We shan't bo here in tho morning morn-ing " I Itway came In. "Shut up. you noisy young fools. What the " Hikes from the table. ' Ah. Paps. Otway! Three cheers for Papa Ot-way Ot-way in very discreet whispers. Mess-ii. Mess-ii. i it i.ne of those very stiff whiskies for Captain Otway." Otway laughed pleasantly. "No, chuck it, I'm not drinking. Hood, I want you; and you, Carmlchael. and you, Bullen." He saw- Sabre and came to him "Hullo, Sabre. You've heard now. We've managed to keep It pretty close, but It's all over th place now. Ye, we entrain at daybresJi " Sabre felt frightfully affected. He could hardly speak, c The blessed gift in the war was to I !. without Imagination. The supreme : trial, whether in endurance on the part of those io stayed at home, or In courage mi the pare of those w ho j took the field was upon those whose mentality Invested every sight and 1 ev rj happening with the poignancy i of attribute! no) present but imagined I'or Sabre (he war definitely began With thai visit io the Mess on the eve of the Pinks' departure The high excitement of the young men. their eager planning, moved Sabre, vision-ing vision-ing what might await it all In depths profound ind painful in their intensl-ty. intensl-ty. Hla mind w ould not abandon them.1 Hi sit up that night after Mabel had gone tn her room. How on earth could lie go o bed. be hoggishly sleeping, while those chaps were I f marching out? He could not. At two in the morn- Ing he went quietly from the house and got out his bicycle and rode down Into Tldhorough He vvas juta in time. The news had been well kept or in those early days haii not the meahlns U came to have Nevi rthelesa a few neople stood about tn- High Street in the thin light! IMIV WERE -MARCHING T EASE, THEIR RIFLiES SLUNG. Of the young morning, and when almost al-most immediate!, tho battalion came -winging out of the Market Place many appeared flanking it, mostly women wo-men Hare they corner Frightful words: Sabre caught them rrom a young woman suoken to a verj old woman whoso arm sh held i lew paces, from where he stood Frightful words' Me caught his breath and. more dreadfully upon his emotions, emo-tions, as tho head of the column came nU sight, the band taking them o the station, burst into the pinks' fa miliar step. The, Camp Town races are r,.r miles long. loo-da' Moo-da' The Camp Town races are f,ve miles long. Moo-du Moo-da! Day' Me never in his lire had cxuerl enced anything so utterly fright r, or imagined that anything Co2 h' so utterly frightful. llL throat f.i? bursting. His ees were filled Thov were swinging past nlrn, l g DpO-da! Duo-da! Dav I Hn";,, could see them Thev were VI f32 al eaaei (heir rifles aK Thfc hJn ed Lo be nnglvTalcn XTu luSnl Tfin 1n" -u.t.tu'dUus SJ mfsPini. A tin mug and God now, what else iieejdcs u n and rati i lii ' u t heir Hughs. The women t er.. i ii n 11 1 ntr io keep sn ilragging ll : IH r ti and HtretCi hand- :nto the ranks, and cryinH crying . . Duo-da! Doo-da! ; The Camp Town races are miles long. Moo-da' Doo-da Day' j Me though'. 'Damn tint infer music " II,- w ip. ,1 ins e-e. 1 w a-' impo-sit.l.- : o I,.- . DOOj DpO-da ' A lr ''ul i nine 0 i n . i a hoy broke out of titers and came running, all rattllin I llngling Willi swinging a' coutrerot to the old won, .in i..v!.!e Sabre, hla arms aro'iml lie- and cried ti urns frightful voice, "Mother: M( -i "' A rot . ge i n t . also rattl and la tik tug. .! I , und bal with astounding rerocitv 'Get b into t he blood-, i i .1 . ' A n(l tht ran on. raiding And the old wot collapsed prone upon the pavem And the sergeant, as thoiish hla Si Ing for.M i'x ),.,, n 'he buttreg ome other .'motions, bent over old woman and patted her. ratll a nd said, ti .i is ill i ith'. .Moll That s all right. I ll look after i I'll bring him ha. k That's all rf Mot her And i n t n g 1 Ing. B da ! Doo-da ! 1 a ! J II J The column i - - t . mi was fj He could ,v nothnik; n.w Four o'Oj In the mornrng. Hut he mut do aa thing now. He followed to the.jV 'tin men were enMslninc lJre3 his opportunity . ante In a slgbtSM ..lie Rat i raj . win. ,.-. mmIpc! the ViOt and was no' soing i ixling S minute alon. Same said. feellBfl ' ord mar.;. . ; .. -se.i ''I 1 Colonel l vvjii to ge Into hla. 1 (Continued In Our Nct Issue.) |