EVENING LEDGER PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16. 1915.
15
THE BROAD HIGHWAY
ATlo ofJ9th Century England, Pull of the Thrills of Adventure and Spirit of Romanco
nrfk ii Bv .TF.1?FftT?V PAPMnr.
M. . - fnnllniieil) ' iilVll S J
Sm"
A . n.A v.ln me!" And,
unhand. I turned and ran until
' collage, t It tw pty,
w;".",, I .ought hor atonic
?'' j the hushes and trees,
v, among " . . g0UKht,
rionp "?" .;,iAWH was black
fftHarm in -
P1'- kj the Hollow from end to end,
Piiirih!i her name, but no sound
9i X save the hoot or an owi ana
Vsmal cry of a corncrake.
01 ,0 Li to the cottage I bastynea
finding It darS and dciolate,
&V t? J? d,X'rfool! 8h. had
iWlna, '",,. wn. riRht-aa usual.
I-iSi me an ngolst-I
dnt? a t In. self-deceiving
nru. - ' iirniiv fiPHiruicu mi imi'"
wh ,,,.. the very thought of which
K"'Pn'M. .7 me trcmbllng-and now
M ".":. , none' Tho world
a.; a vold-lta emptiness
rworia. "-- ,,,,, t live without
,7to woman whoso Image wa.
BK6-.f.-jsr 1'
S'th4 thought so much to please
J I .'""LA? "7 mv houhts to guard
'!. lest by word or look I might
tP"' If" . ,h. .nd of t
!Mr..Jl -. n able. I leaned my
"?- nrMsInK my forehead against
iter, prcfinKi-y
! W'lOU. ""
Kirbecause It was very dark, I
WtlWH .. ...j ..n.ii unit rami and
BK bed. Very white and
M'...,! una clad to see Its 1
""las rumpled where I had laid her
" o see he depression In the pll
m and to see w , . .
i'.KL. nn to me stoie a perfume
ISvSlnt. like the breath of violets In
layS ; evening time, wherefore I sank
Cafjiion my knees uesiuo .... ....
&Bo the full knowledge of my mad
MLS uoon me In an ovcrwhelm-
Sfcxxl, but with misery was a great
P?:;... .. for now I knew her
ffivro mil respect and honor and wor
W"B,"', .'n.- fnr her nroud vlr-
less nurlty. And
'"..'": -.. .nH wlfh
ujf vln Joy coma icjuwtBv, ..- ......
SS
I ... . .hMlnr sorrow.
P01"'..".,.. ., .rm rrent about
WjJiriu.. " -- ---- --
liLnr I kissed It. and laid my
Don It and sighed, and so fell Into
troubled ileep.
t CHAPTER xxjvi.
SlHE chUl of dawn was In the air when
1p.woVe, and It was some few mo-
mt . iti n ttoii T rpmpmhered
fetS Miorc, wiiii
Wt it-. iViAra rtHflM Phnr-
IptESieA. Shivering, I rose and walked
hi down to reduce me suixness m
SjTiroba
& (ire was out and I had no mind to
Mt It, for I was In no mood to break
SfsL though the necessary things
v"i-7.j.. . h.r nrderlv hands had
brthem. and the plates and cups and
fcac'rt twinkled at me from the little
fopboara I had made to hold them: a
i(MifKrd whose construction she had
Sleeked with a critical eye. And I
iwit'Medj remember how she had In-
IV7 .' ' i ,. aPmltfa in nrlvPt In
imra o ucnift yt....m. . ...- ...
ikr.nalls with her own hand I could
Hi'to linger on those very nails; how
?d tapped at those nails for fear of
wWor them; how beautiful she had
iwktd In her coarse apron, and with her
gMteiM rolled up over her round, white
Imi-how womanly and sweet; yet I had
to think had dared to call her a
Jlmi Oh, that my tongue had
red ere ever I had coupled one so
ym ind noble with a creature so base
!! common!1
TtotMnklng, I ilched and went out Into
Mhdawn, as I closed the door behind me
(.hollow slam struck me Bharply, and
Itied to mind how she had called it a
M and Ill-fitting door. And, Indeed, so
HtJvu.
yitji dejected step and hanging head I
Tny way towara sissingnurst tior,
I wi up, I might as well work.
Ihir was much to be done), and. na
nt, heard a distant clock chime
fcr.
!J5y. When 1 reached the village the sun
jLOHinning to rise, and thus, lifting
J e, J beheld one standing before
mar a very tall man, much blg
xtd treater than most: a wild flcure
Jli dawn, with matted hair and beard.
can tattered clothes; yet hair and
"d flumed a red gold where the light
wim mem, and there was but one man
ww to tall and so mighty as this.
wore i hurried toward him. all un
A for his eves were raised to a
iln latticed casement of the Inn.
AM, helng come up, I reached out and
ed this man upon the arm.
jHtfe!' said I, and held out my hand
wKniwiiii), uut, seeing me, started
Pce, staring.
We'" said I ni-nln m. onr.rsu
SJigohly bacled still farther,
pv nana once or twice across hi
?iLMld h at ,a"t' Paklng
E- .. mnaper; "Dut you'm
Peter, dead I uuieu -ee."
c r ;"-,",i j'ou amn't kiii me,
Srlndeed, I wish you had-ou came
Ph- I ' X,w you mn't 0ulte ma"'
BE . V 9or-l'n very desolate
ntrou shake Imnri. with ..,,.. .
!-r?.Tr'f you n- believing that I
Iai r. .J our nl. nd a true
LTK1 ""e!.V'?n- KVB ma your hand;
Iter J,. nmm atlll the despicable
Pto' m- r' !!a " Vu c" manage
it do you say?"
? PtJOnd Thff null .-j ...
. r .11 -mesdow- "elng com
K.'r.?' ''.'Kh Indeed it waa
S red from ,ack . aeortB t00l
pjv " " "..vuiuvio I1CH.V
IT." M u. .
irt 'L?W oh, man. Peterl
1 " kll i . . .' w a chP a'vo
c7UnJ ?... fr-but
wr I.." "l" "am me no
Wla'ani u '" "' n am
f Mi' h. ' t00k "our Part
IM.M- X ft 2SU,., ? f-KIn In
cV ,'n.,, ,0 u'g an' clumsy-
htwixtn,,.?Vy Th.er bean't
r!;., . 2 'Of a maid l!k i.mi
Srtr. an- ol.7 ,."':,? uy"
Kr? .h.v io": u "dw.X
V rnk.'.""."". '. w
hiU'E?1'1 t clench ye
Ural. """ 'ter"
Uk i. ?. "! at me: If so ha
Mj 2. rlr welcome. Ye
'' UP J ."f? 1"' ,mvk '
"trj to. ,n "" ,lanK rne U
WnlSSned. "kln tnero crePe R nful.
..v ,n,f "Imson. 'Teter!" said he.
"res, Georgo?"
.nrnm?.0,' ,,omm'a' more to tell 'ee
summ at n i mvr no.m - ..u .- -
Isoul; jvhen you was down-lyln' at my
"Yes, George?"
"I I kicked ce once!"
Dld you, George?"
1.1 i'T1-:1 wcre mad-mad wl' ra;o an'
r.,00diVs1, "n-n mnn, I'eterl-I kicked
.hm.iJ.i6""'.. 8a.,d hc- lflghtcnlng his
shoulders, "leastways I can look !ce In
the eye now that be off my mind. An'
now. If ao be you 'm wishful to tak' ye
Peter" mcwhy, lel ,l be a B00d un-
"No, I shall never raise my hand to
you again, George."
" 'T is likely you be thlnkln' mo a poor
sort o man, arter what-what I Just told
ee a coward?"
",l ,.hlnk you more of man than ever."
said I.
"Why, then, Teter-lf ye do think that,
here a my hand-lf ye'll tak' It, an I bid
ye-good-byl"
"I'll take your hand-and gladly,
George, but nor to wish you good-by-it
shall be, rather, to bid you welcome
home again."
"No." he cried. "No-I couldn't-I
couldn t abide to see you an', t'rue mar
ried, Peter no, I couldn't abldo It'.
"And you never will, George. True
loves a stronger, a better man than I.
And she has wept over him, George, and
prayed over him, such tears and prayers
aa surely might win the blackest soul
to Heaven, and has said that sho would
marry that man ah! even If he came
back with fetter-marks upon him even
then she would marry him If he would
only ask her."
"Oh, Peter!" cried George, seizing my
shoulders In a mighty grip and looking
Into my eyes with tear.a In his own, "oh,
man, Peter you as kocked me down an'
as I love for It be this true?"
"It Is God's truth!" said I, "and lookl
there Is a sign to prove I am no liar
look!" and I pointed toward "The
Bull."
George turned, and I felt his fingers
tighten suddenly, for there, at tho open
clutching my throbbing temples between
my palms-fearful of myself and dread
ing tho oncoming horror of madness.
It was at this time, too, that I began
to bo haunted by the thing above the
door the rusty staple upon which a man
had choked out his wretched life sixty
and SIX years aKO. a wnmlnrnr. a tnni.lv
man, perhaps acquainted with misery or
haunted by remorse, one who had suffered
much and long-even as I-but who had
eventually escaped It all-even as 1 might
--. ..u iuuiq an, enm in nana, star
ing up nt this staple until tho light failed
and sometimes, In the dead of night, I
would ateal softly there to touch It with
my finger.
Looking back on all this. It aeeme that I
enmo very near losing my reason, for 1
had then by no means recovered from
Dlack Goorge'e fist, and Indeed even now
I am at times not wholly free from Its
effect.
Sty sleep, too, was often broken and
troubled with wild dreams, so that bed
becama a place of horror, and, rising, I
would sit before the empty hearth, a can
dlo guttering at my elbow, and think of
Charmlan until I would fancy I heard the
rustlu of her garments behind me, and
start up, trembling and breathless; at
such times the tap of a blown leaf against
the lattice would nil me with a fever
of hope and expectation. Often and often
her soft laugh stole to me in the gurgle
of tho brook, and she would call to me
In the deep night silences In a voice very
sweet and faint, and far away. Then I
would plunge out Into tho dark and lift
my hands to the stars that winked upon
my agony, and Journey on through a des
olate world, to return with tho dawn,
weary and despondent.
It was after one of these wild night
expeditions that I sat beneath a tree,
watching tho sunrise. And yet I think I
must have dozed, (or I was startled by a
volco close above me, and, glancing up,
I recognized the little Preacher. As our
ees met he immediately took the pipe
from his lips, and made as though to
cram It Into his pocket.
"Though, Indeed, It Is empty!" he ex
plained, as though I had sp"oken. "Old
hnblta cllns to one, young sir, and my
"There t'a o uiin to prove I am no liar; look!"
doorway of the Inn, with the early glory
of the morning all about her, stood Prue.
As we watched, she began to cross the
road toward the smithy, with laggard step
and drooping head.
"Do you know where she is going,
George? I can tell you she Is going to
your smithy to pray for ou do ou
hear, to pray for you? Come!" and 1
seized his rirm.
"No. Peter, no I durstn't I couldn t.
But he suffered me to lead him forward,
nevertheless. Once he stopped and glanced
round, but the village was asleep about
us. And to presently came to the open
doorway of the forge.
And behold! Prue was kneeling before
tho anvil with her face hidden In her
arms, and her slender body swaying
slightly. But all at once, as If she, folt
him near her, she raised her head and
iaw him, nnd sprang to her feet with a
glad cry. And, as she stood. George went
to her, and knelt at her feet, and raising
the hem of her gown, stooped and
kissed It. .
"Oh. mv sweet maid'" said he. Oh.
my sweet Prue!-I bean't worthy-I
bean't-" But she caught the great shaggy
head to her bosom nnd stifled It there.
And In her face was a radlance-a hap
plnoss beyond words, and the mans
strong arms clung close about her.
tin I turned, and left them In paradise
together.
CHAPTER. XXXII
r' 18 a wise and, to some extent, a true
saying, that hard work Is an antidote
to sorrow, a panacea for all trouble; but
when the labor Is over and done, when
the tools are set by. and I he weary work
er goes forth Into the qulst evening
how then? For we cannot .wy"wh0or';
and, sooner or later, comes the atll I hour
when memory rushes In upon ui again,
and sorrow and remorse sit. dark ana
gloomy, on either hand.
8 A week dragged by. a season of alter
nate hope and black despair, a restless
fever of night, and days, lor with each
dawn came hope, that lived awhile beside
me, only to fly away with the sun and
,"Vun"eerdedforrthe sound of Charmlan'.
voice? fSr the quick, light fall of her foot,
for the Jea.t touch of her hand. I be
came more and more P0se..d of a mor.
bid fancy that she might be 'l'nJ
nearby-could I but find her;
passed along the road only a little while
before me, or. at thl. very moment, might
b" approaching, might be within lght.
were I but quick enough.
Often at such time. I wovld fling down
my hanun'r or tong., to George', .ur
Pe nT hurrying to the door, .tar up
and down the road; or pause In my ham
me strokes, fiercely bidding George do
the same, fancying I heard her voice
calling to me from a distance. And
George would watch me with a troubled
brow? but, with a rare delicacy, .ay no
Wlideed. the thought of Charmlan was
with mo everywhere, the ringing ham
mew mocked me with her pral.es. the
bfllo aang of her . w trees
whispered "Charmlan) Charmlan! And
Charmlan was In the very air.
But when I hd reluctantly bidden
George "good night," and set out along
Uiiea l full of the fragrant dusk of even.
In, I when, reaching the Hollow. I followed
that leafy path beside the brook which
l. r . i.-j . .ft., ti, widen together:
when I sat In my gloomi disordered cot-
I Uge, with the deep .Hence unbroken save
fur the plalntue murmur of the brook-
i then indeed, m lonellnes. was well nigh
pipe here has been tho friend of my soil
tude these many years, and I cannot bear
to turn my back upon it yet, so I carry
It with me still, and sometimes, when at
all thoughtful, I find it between my lips
But though tho flesh, as you see,. Is very
weak, I hope. In time, to forego even
this," and he sighed, shaking his head
In gentle deprecation of hlmsslf. "But
ou look pale haggard," he went on;
"jou are III, young sir!"
"No. no." said I. springing to my feet;
"look at this arm, la It the arm of a
olck man? No, no I am well enough, but
what of him we found In the ditch, you
and I the ' miserable creature who lay
bi'bbllng In the grass?"
"He has been very near death, sir In
died his days are numbered. I think, yet
he Is batter, for the time being, and last
night declared his Intention of leaving
the shelter of my humble roof and set
ting forth upon his mission," .
"His mission, sir?"
"He speaks of himself aa one chosen
by God to work His will, and asks but
to live until thla mission, whatever It Is,
be accomplished A strange being!" said
the little Preacher, puffing at his empty
pipe again as we walked on side by
side, "a dark, Incomprehensible man.
end a ery, very wretched one poor
soul!"
"Wretched?" said T, "Is not that our
human lot? 'Man is born to sorrow aa
the sparks fly upward,' and Job was ac
counted wise In hi. generation."
"That wa. a cry from the depths of
despond; but Job stood, at last, upon
the heights, and felt once more God's
blessed sun, and rejoiced even as he
should. But, a. regard, this stranger,
he I. one who would seem to have suf
fered some great wrong, the continued
thought nf which ha. unhinged hi. mind;
hi. heart seem, broken dead. I have,
sitting beside hi. delirious couch, heard
him babble a terrible Indictment against
some man; I have also heard him pray,
and his prayer, have been all for ven
geance."
"Poor fellow'" said I, "It were better
we had left him to die In hla ditch, for
If death doe. not bring oblivion, It may
bring a cnange or scene."
!8lr," .aid the preacher, laying hi.
hand upon my arm. "such bltternei. In
one .o young I. unnatural, you are In
some trouble, I would that I might aid
you. be your inena-nnow you better
"un, sin mai i. easily none. I am a
blacksmith, hard-working, sober and use.
ful to my fellows; they rail me Peter
Hmltb, A certain time since I wa. a use.
less dreamer; spending more money In
a week than I now earn In a year, and
getting very little for It. I was studious,
egotistical and pedantic, wasting mv tlma
upon Impossible translation, that nobody
wnntea-nna tney Knew me a. Peter VI
bart."
"Vlbartl" exclaimed the preacher, start
ing ana looiting up at me,
"Vlbartl" I nodded.
"Belated In any way to Sir Maurice
Vlbart?"
"HI. cousin, lr." My companion ap
peared lost In thought, for lie wa. puf.
nn ni ins trapir pipe again.
"No." returned the preacher; "no, air.
but I have heard mention of him n,t
lately, though Just when, or where, I
cannot for the Ufa of me recall."
"Why. the name la familiar to a great
many people," said I; "you see, he Is
miner a ismous cnaracier, in his way,"
"And you are now a blacksrnKh?"
"And mightily content ao to be."
"You aro a most Strang young man'"
raid the pieacher, shaking his head.
"Ufany people have told me the same.
sir," said I, and vaulted over ih .hi.
C3a j
THE CURSE OP FAME TIIE PADDED CELL ,
kaLLLB Hi LHv-tf X-VbLbbLLLLLLLt ViiliLHf IE Tsui 4v4aws s r5pHByawTii 1 1 IMiaB r I . fp""" fc,. v V
Tommy What, tho matter old chap ? You don't look particularly chcorrul. HL f JH el 3eW.
Charlie Why, esterday there were a thousand kids who said they were I . A ieH kraBTfe
orphans and asked mo for my autograph. I signed one for each, and I'm bleu I CltTCQC HB JHH kT,VlBW
If every one of 'era didn't uso It as a free pass Into tho picture palace last C3IO Crw Bfetyv. IBB Alv I
Some Accident Really Cultured I SHOE.S , JJ($BJZJ ill 2fy
fTiSfSR C.a.ro-.s she renned? AHAiAMR&
AkLWPV Clarice Bather; she won't even allow I """ """""" -"" " ".
V vlA JsL hr C00lC to 8erV8 course dinners. ! N, X Vy-" 0,
rTw fcfo . DID 1T FVER HAPPEN T0 you?
Customer When I bought the motor- -
h0:anynnUyOpUarufylUbroZany?,e TnrtfcTOO 0M, I PR0M15E0TO BE I MW8E I Cftrt SUP irj s" "
Deafer-1 dTd.P What dc . ?oS want? HOHt CftRLY TOMIOKT ArtOERE WITH0OTAffOr1EflE&RIClGNE ' i
Customer A pair of new ankle., a IT IS LKTtPi e Q, 'A fl I
rib, three feet of sticking plaster, a T"HfSN EVE.R. eTeflaVL T -S lfll I
box of assorted finger nails, four mo- JTm) j5r 0 ' rL-O J
b.
SCRAPPLE
A
&
Ike We have certainly got some
church. The benches are all of mar
ble, even the cholr'a benches.
Mike I. that all? In our church the
choir all .It on pine benches.
Ike-Why so?
Mike So that they ca get the
pitch.
"Of course, my dear, marry young
8outers If you like, and I will make
you a wedding present of a nice, large
mirror."
"Why a mirror, dad"
"fio that you may watch yourself
starving to death, my dear!"
AND THE WORST IS YET TO COME
,, mm.
Your Years We've dot a new baby
at our house.
Sinks And who are you my little
man?
Four Years I'm the old one.
"I wish jou would Introduce a little
change In your style of dancing."
"How do you mean?"
"You might occasslonally step on my
left foot Instead' of the right one."
TIIE EASY DUPE
M
.
M
.43
1 r1
.4i
)
i, r-r'
Tt, turning back when I had gone some
XT'. F..ySiy?iI.ffXrW. Vd 1H
iBB33jr.te.Hftj?,j
fSoiiiiX now up" ik w
--HrVfe)lhs-HK.
(CONTIJNUMD MONDAY)
Von TrpU (to 'fendcrfoot WJUojy ly
W'v. '" tl M
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