Show 7 fj 6 q P 9 h ba C jamos oliver 4 V lilt wui XU ago kj 14 1 1011 aa I 1 this let act inspired by a contempt for the forest boy and urged dr ged by a li aldon under tinder a display meanness m e anness of spirit of wealth and fine clothes swept jeems thought from Tol toinette nette whose nearness ot of person surprising beauty ind and sweetness swe etuess s of disposition had almost a made him forget ills his one reason for being at cussans Lus sans sale tills this weakness in tile the armor of 0 tits ills intentions was scaled when lie saw his present fall to the ground tobnette Toi Tol notto nette became instantly immaterial in the path of 0 a storm of 0 emotion which ce caught aught bild held him fiercely ile he saw only one person where there were two and that one was paul faul tache tachie in a brain white with heat bent and in eyes blinded blin dei to the presence of all living forms except that of the youth who had darkened d his mind with bitterness oitt erness toinette ceased to exist for him and when 1 lie e sprang forward to recover the bundle bund e it was W not with the thought that lie was rescuing it for her but that it was to lie ho liis its reason for glor glorious lous war nhen tile the moment was at hand for jam f lin to hurl it in ills his rivals face detaching I 1 es CS front from the shifting groups of they had boon been n part Tol toinette nette and young tache strolled to their horses knowing knori ng that many glances followed their elea elegant ant departure giving themselves a brief time in which to be admired they sauntered into the gardens back of cussans Lus sans house boum jeems was only a few steps from paul and toinette when they disappeared behind the house lie ile held back with a feeling f ot of satisfaction when lie he saw the two going down a path which took them out of si sight bt of any curious eyes that might have watched them not until the last blutter 0 of skirt was gone did lie he proceed with the business of following them and then like ilke an indian he be slipped noiselessly along the path and found them standing somewhat perplexed at the edge of a so soggy gy and ill III smelling open space where lussan had built his barn and wherein his cattle and pigs had bad gathered gatli ered for so long that one was sure ofa precarious and unpleasant footing fooling Tol toinette nette her chin gilted lilted a flash of indignation in tier her eyes as she held up her skirt with mill both hands bands was on the point of loosing tier her wrath upon her escort tor for daring to bring her to such a place of defilement fi when jeems stepped out from a rim of bushes and confronted them nia ills face was pale his slim body was as taut as a bowstring his eyes were almost black he did not see toinette scarcely knew that she was in his world even as her anger gave place to an exclamation of surprise when she saw in his hand the package which he be had given her a lew few minutes before ile he approached paul tache and that youth misinterpreting the slowness of his movement and the bloodless pallor of ills face as signs ot of embarrassment and fear sought sou bt to cover his disgrace in eyes by bv an explosion of haughty protest at being followed and spied upon in this way jeems made no reply except to hold out the package sight of 0 it choked the words in the others throat jeems silence and the way in which he continued to extend the package brought a deep color into rauls pauls face lie he and not jeems was conscious of the amazement in collic ties countenance and of the intensity of her interest in the situation lie recovered himself swiftly and with a guileful change of manner held out his hand pardon lie he he apologized it Is good C of you to bring the package e which I 1 accidentally dropped jeems came a step nearer you on lie he cried and with a furious movement he hurled the bundle at baches face the force of the blow sent paul reeling backward and jeems was wag at him with mth the quickness and passion of one suddenly transformed by road mad noss ness ile he had never fought with another lioy cut but lie ile knew how animals ant dials clawed and disemboweled disembowel ed in a hun bun dred waa was s lie he had viewed strife and death as the wilderness ness knew these ti lings and nil all that he had witnessed all that lie he knew ot of torture and violence and tho the desire to maim and kill gave to ills his action a character of such guch lively ferocity hint it drew a howl of pain from paul bache tache and a shrill little scream from toinette Tol nette jeems heard the scream but it held no for blin now nis ills drenios were gone and toinette her presence close to 0 WD lilu tier her eyes upon tile the battle just as lie he jad had imagined in the thrill of liis ills mental visiOn ings was forgotten in III tile hie more vital depth dept its of ills his interest an n flie flesh and blood of 0 paul in the first attack his f fingers clutched elied illie ike small iron in tile the folds of baches Ta clies cravat and cont coat and the lins of cintli a sp splitting littin asunder ot of material almost to the others other waist WAS evidence of tile the strength behind ills his assault lie ile this with ii iab a I 1 f fury dry of scratch ing ng and wiring tearing and both went down jn tile the melee lelee ji ilien they the y rose paul horning film self up lip with B alth an effort jillich illing flung teems from frodi him they were such a sight rc jf muck and stala stain r that tornelle Tol nelle forgot lier her precious dress anti her eyes in horror borror rut cut she wag vas again in an ln in for tika spectacle 4 even as it appalled her jeems hal haj lapsed on his feet with a filst loaded will alti mud and this lie he projected with an aim at so accurate curate ne that halt half of pauls face was oblate obliterated abed by it and as lie he leapt with a roar of I 1 rage at his smaller sm illar assailant assa llant lie he was a anhock shocking contrast to ills usual immaculate self that tobnette Tol nette nearly ceased to tweatie twe athe then she siw paw and heard what her fe feminine eyes and instincts could not understand or keep proper count of a mad twisting and tumbling of bodies panting breaths grunts and finally a I 1 clearly audible curse from paul tache with that thai cound jeems flex flew backward aud and landed on tits ins back ile he was up almost before lie he had struck and with tits his head ducked low like a rams in a charge he hurled burled himself at tache this individual having cleared eyes sufficiently to perceive the blindness of the others rush stepped aside and swung a well directed blow which again sent teems down into the muck ills hand filled itself with this sticky substance a second time and as he returned to battle he let it fly at rant paul profiting by experience peri ence paul dodged skillfully and the volley nolley passed over his head spreading in its flight and fell in its contaminating virulence upon tobnette Tol nette she saw her raiment spotted and defiled and such euch a sudden fury rose in tier her that she sprang upon jeems as lie he clawed and kicked in a clinch with paul and assailed him with all the strength and bitterness of her small fists and biting tongue jeems had seen the tragedy of the misdirected mud and he knew that hands and not pauls were pulling viciously at his hair there is a hurt which bears with it a sting seln of satisfaction and this emotion pressed upon jeems lis as lie he fought desperately in front and felt himself attacked treacherously from behind for paul was accountable for the mishap to tobnette Tol nette had the other not dodged in a cowardly fashion allowing the stuff to pass on to her the tiling thing would not have happened it did dot take more mere than a few seconds for the inspiration of this thought with its apparent justice and truth to fire him with a determination beside which ills former resolution sank to insignificance ile he was no nc longer fighting for approval but aga against llast tier her against paul tache against all the world Tol toinette nette pulling at ills hair heating beating at his back had bad raised ills his struggle to epic heights the strength of martyrdom filled ills his tean lean arms body and lie he fought with a renewed fierceness that made his heavier but softer antagonist give way before punishment and both went down to earth again tobnette Tol nette fell with them her long iong skirt impeding the activity Ity their legs tier her big hat hanging lla nging like sunshade over tier her face tier her beautifully made curls tangled and with mud her hands beating at whichever of the two chanced come in lier her way TO BE CONTINUED |