Part 5 (1/2)

”Yes,” said Aldous deliberately ”You are that Joanne But you possess what I could not give to her Joanne of 'Fair Play' was splendid without a soul

You have what she lacked You may not understand, but you have come to perfect what I only partly created”

The colour had slowly ebbed from Joanne's face There was a mysterious darkness in her eyes

”If you were not John Aldous I would--strike you,” she said ”As it is--yes--I want you as a friend”

She held out her hand For a ain in his own

He bowed over it Her eyes rested steadily on his blond head, and again she noted the sprinkle of preray in his hair For a second tith of this man Perhaps each took three breaths before John Aldous raised his head In that ti wonderful and complete passed between them Neither could have told the other what it was When their eyes ain, it was in their faces

”I have planned to have supper inthe tension of that first ray?”

”Mrs Otto----” she began

”I will go to her at once and explain that you are going to eat partridges with me,” he interrupted ”Come--let me show you into my workshop and ho rooone, won't you?” he invited

”If it will give you any pleasure you one ten ht have, Aldous slipped back through the door and took the path up to the Ottos'

CHAPTER V

As soon as he had passed from the view of the cabin door Aldous shortened his pace He knew that never in his life had he needed to readjust himself more than at the present moment A quarter of an hour had seen a coe so unusual and apparently so irasp the situation and the fact all at once But the truth of it swept over hi the dark, narrow trail that led up to the Miette Plain

It was so that not only as--he saw the humour of it He, John Aldous of all men, had utterly obliterated hione so far as to offer the sacrifice of his most important work Frankly he had told Joanne that she interested hiain he repeated to himself that it had not been a surrender--but an obliteration With a pair of lovely eyes looking quietly into his he had preached for ten years and the laws he hadOtto tent, he found hiing within hiht his pipe before he faced Mrs Otto, and he clouded himself in as much smoke as possible while he explained to her that he had ales with hio on until the next day, and after Mrs Otto had made him take a loaf of fresh bread and a can of home-made marmalade as a contribution to their feast, he turned back toward the cabin, trying to whistle in his old careless way

The questions he had first asked himself about Joanne forced themselves back upon him noith deeper import Almost unconsciously he had revealed himself to her He had spread open for her eyes and understanding the page which he had so long hidden He had as e him--to complete what he had only half created It had been an al confession, and he believed that she understood him More than that, she had read about him She had read his books She knew John Aldous--the man

But what did he know about her beyond the fact that her naht her into his life ashim a bit of down frooing to Tete Jaune? Ither to a place like Tete Jaune, the rail-end, a place of several thousand men, with its crude muscle and brawn and the seven passions ofand beautiful woineers or contractors, or had she possessed a letter of introduction to theathered so deeply about the corners of Aldous' mouth But these ineers and the contractors--kneomen alone and unprotected meant at Tete Jaune Such wo in with the Horde There lay the peril--and the hts that he had come very quietly to the cabin door It was Joanne's voice that roused hi which he had never heard

She stopped when Aldous appeared at the door It seemed to him that her eyes were a deeper, more wonderful blue as she looked up at him, and s potatoes

”You will have soreeted hione I ashi+ng the potatoes when I looked up to find a pair of the fiercest, reddestthe doorway The man had two eyes that seemed about to fall out when he sawhe left behind in his haste!”

Joanne's eyes were flooded with laughter as she nodded at the door On the sill was a huge quid of tobacco

”Stevens!” Aldous chuckled ”God blessup a quid of tobacco like that you sure _did_ startle him some!” He kicked Stevens' lost property out with the toe of his boot and turned to Joanne, showing her the fresh bread and marmalade ”Mrs Otto sent these to you,” he said ”And the train won't leave until to-morrow”