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Show ' gMNortMcatd Romance WWm Robert WServii Service , CHAPTER XIII ' spring with its thaw vjas upon as. j n-jtD a crious f'lstination' 1 gazed Ltd at the mighty river. Surely the I, could not hold much longer. It L patchy, netted with cracks, leaved up in ridges, mottled with cus!iy pools, corroded to the bottom. ; Decidedly It was rotten. Cm every ' im ivas the question "The ice when -ill It go out?" For to these exiles l the North, after eight months of isolation, the sight of open water wuld be like heaven. It would mean boats, freedom, friendly faces, and a step nearer to that "Outside" of their dreams. How clear the ' air was I Sounds came up to me with marvelous distinctness. dis-tinctness. Summer was coming, and with it the assurance of a new peace. .Down there I could see our home, ma on Its veranda, hammock-swung, He white figure of Berna. How precious pre-cious 6he was to me-I How anxiously I watched over her I Sometimes it was the very intensity j of my lve tnat made me fear; eo tiaj in Jhe ecstasy of a moment I lould'latcn niy breadth and wonder if it all could last. And always the memory of Locasto was a sinister ' sMow. He had gone "Outside," terribly ter-ribly broken In health, gone cursing me hoarsely and vowing he would return. Would he? i The waters were wild with Joy. From the mountain snows the sun had set them free. Down hill and dale they sparkled, trickling from boulders, dripping from mossy crannies, rioting in narrow runlets. Then, leaping and laughing In a mad ecstasy of freedom, free-dom, they dashed into tne dam. . Here was something they did not understand, some contrivance of the tyrant Man to curb them, to harness tbem, to make them his slaves. The waters were angry. They chafed against their prison walls, they licked and lapped at the stolid bank. Higher High-er and higher they mounted, growing stronger with every leap. More and more bitterly they fretted at their durance. Behind them other waters (were pressing, just as eager to escape as they. Something must happen. The "something" was a man He raised the floodgate, and there at last was a way of escape. Hpw joyously joy-ously the eager waters fushed at it! They surged and swept, and roared about' the narrow opening. - jrprm- T7iaTsTrrugTooir of generosity beamed on the man's face. Once more Jim motioned him to go, but Mosher did not heed. He thought the gesture was a refusal. His face grew threatening. threat-ening. "All right, If you won't," he snarled, "look out! I know you love her still. Let me tell you, I own that woman, body and soul, and I'll make life hell for her. I'll torture you through her. Yes, I've got a cinch. Xou'd better change your mind." He had stepped back as if to go. Then, whether it was an accident or not no one will ever know but t'ae little giant swung round till it bore on him. It lifted him up In the air. It shot hlin forward like a stone from a catapult. cata-pult. It landed him on the bank fifty feet away with a sickening crash. Then, as he lay, it pounded and battered bat-tered him out of all semblance of a man. The waters were having their revenge. re-venge. "Berna, we must get married." "Yes, dearest, whenever you wish." "Well, tomorrow." She smiled radiantly ; then her face grew very serious. "What will I wear?" she asked iairt.- . ... plaintively."""" Zi.y.. "Wear? Oh, anything. That white dress you've got on I never saw you looking so sweet. You mind me of a picture I know of Saint Cecilia, the same delicacy of feature, the same pure coloring, the same grace of expression." ex-pression." "Foolish one !" she chlded ; but her voice was dellciously tender, and her eyes were love-lit. She came over to me, and knelt by my chair, putting her arms around me prettily. The pure, sweet face looked up into mine. "We have been happy here, haven't we, boy?" she asked. "Exquisitely happy. Yet I have always al-ways been afraid." "Of what, dearest?" "I don't know. Somehow It seems too good to last." "Well, tomorrow we'll be married.': "Yes, we should have done that n year ago. It's all been a mistake. It didn't matter at first ; nobody noticed, no-ticed, nobody cared. But now It's dif ferent. I can see It by the way the wives of the men look at us. Well, we don't care anyway. We'll marry and live our lives. But there are other reasons." "Yes?" "Yes. Garry talks of coming out. You wouldn't like him to find us living liv-ing like this without benefit of clergy?" But what was this? They had come on a wooden box that streaked down the slope as straight as an arrow from the bow. It was some other scheme of the tyrant Man. Nevertheless, they Jostled and jammed to get into it. The man stood by his water-gun and from its nozzle the gleaming terror ter-ror leapt. It flew like an arrow from the bow, and wherever he aimed It the hillside seemed to reel and shud-fler shud-fler at the shock. Great cataracts of parel shot out, avalanches of clay toppled over; vast boulders were ; hurled into the air like heaps of fley wool. The roar deafened the man. He heard the crash of falling rock, but was so intent on his work he did 'M hear another man approach. Suddenly Sud-denly he looked up and saw. De gave a mighty start, then at once he was calm again. This was t''e meeting he had dreaded, longed 'or, fought against, desired. Almost savagely, and with a curious blaze w his eyes he redirected the little giant. He waved his hand to the other man. "Go away!" he shouted. Mosher refused to budge. His pig fs glittered, and he took off his t to wipe some beads of sweat Irra the monumental baldness of his wohead. Uis rich, penetrating voice Wevced through the roar of the pant" , 'Here, turn off your water. I want "Not for the world!" she cried, In alarm. "What will he think of me. I wonder, poor, ignorant me? I believe be-lieve I'm afraid of him. 'i wish he'd stay away and leave us alone. Yet for your sake, dear, I do wish him to think well of me." ---ws "Don't fear, jerna. He'll be proud of you. But there's a second reason." "What?" "Oh, my lielovedl perhaps we'll not always be alone as we are now. Perhaps, Per-haps, perhaps some day there will be others little ones for their sakes." She did not speak. I could feel her nestle closer to me. So we sat there In the big, deep chair, in the glow of the open fire, silent, dreaming, and I saw on her lashes the glimmer of a glorious tear. I kissed away her tears. Foolish tears! I blessed her for them. I held her closer to me. I was wondrous happy. No longer did the shadow of the past hang over us. Even as children chil-dren forget, were we forgetting. "Husband, I'm so happy," she sighed. "Wife, dear, dear wife, I too." There was no need for words. Our lips mt in passionate kisses, but the next moment we started apart. Some one was coming up the garden path a tall figure of a man. I started as 'if I had seen a ghost. Could It be? then I rushed to the door. There on the porch stood Carry. (To Be Continued) sPMk to you. Got a business Proposition to make." , flra was dumb. Sa?, your wife's In town. Been "we for the last year. Didn't you Know it;" Jn shook his head. He was par-cularly par-cularly Interested in his work just "lea. able'"8' S'ie'S 'n t0wn llvins resI,ect' bin redirected his giant with a U'e swish. 'v l m a sprt of a philarit'ropic notr WGUt ou Moslier- "an' there's wJ"nS I like better than doing the j 'mS wife restitootion act. I think '""'(I induce that little woman of " rs to come back to you." lai 6 Was snee'ing now, frankly vll- ,us- Jim gave no sign. hat d'ye say? This is a likely In tl ground give me a half share ls ground, an' I'll guarantee to you t,lat little Piece of ods t0 There's an offer." |