Cheraw chronicle. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1896-2005, April 18, 1912, Page PAGE TWO, Image 2
mfe IMce
til Bcroglfce Story of
M VfcoDrank ofjt a
| A /Romance^
IbAf (Xyrqg 1
Rmi Author of'-Ttv1
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CHAPTER XXI.
The Odds Against Him.
The noise of the opening of the
door and the inrush of cold air that
followed awoke Enid Maitland to instant
action. She rose to her feet and
faced the entrance through which she
expected New bold to reappear?for of
course the newcomer must be he?
and for the life of her she could not
help that radiating flash of joy, the
momentary anticipation of which fairly
transfigured her being; although if
she had stopped to reflect she would
have remembered that not in the
whole course of their acquaintance had
Newbold ever entered her room at any
time without knocking and receiving
permission.
Some of that joy yet lingered in her
lovely face when she tardily recognized
the newcomer in the half light.
Armstrong, scarcely waiting to close
the door, sprang forward joyfully with
his hands outstretched.
"Enid!" he cried.
Naturally he thought the look of expectant
happiness he had surprised
upon her face was for him and he
accounted for its sudden disappearance
by the shock of his unexpected,
unannounced, abrupt, entrance.
TLe warm color had flushed her
face, but as she stared at him her aspect
rapidly changed. She grew paler.
11 ?*l-? * V? o A eVtnnA in Vinr
XUtJ llttppj 115111 lUOl u?u omvuw *** -v*
eyes faded away and as he approached,
she shrank back.
almost In terI
loved ycu
when I left you six weeks ago, but
now?"
In eager Impetuosity he drew nearer
to her. Another moment and he
would have taken her In his arms, but
she would have none of him.
"Stop," 6he said with a cold and
inflexible sternness tbat gave pauBe
even to his buoyant joyful assurance.
"Why, what's the matter?"
"The matter? Everything, but?"
"No evasions, please," continued the
man still cheerfully but with a growing
misgiving. His suspicions, in abeyance
for the moment because of his
Joy at seeing her alive and well, arose
with renewed force. "I left you practically
pledged to me," he resumed.
"Not so fast," answered Enid Maltland,
determined to combat the lightest
attempt to establish a binding
claim upon her.
"Isn't it true?" asked Armstrong.
"Here, wait," he said before she could
answer, "I am half frozen, I have been
searching for you since early morning
in the storm." He unbuttoned and
unbelted his huge fur coat as he spoke
and threw it carelessly on the floor by
his Winchester leaning against the
wall. "Now," he resumed, "I can talk
better."
"Yru must have something to eat
then.' said the girl.
She was glad of the interruption
since she was playing for time. She
did not quite know how the interview
would end' he had come upon her so
unexpectedly and she had never formulated
what she would say to him.
that which she felt she must say. She
must have timo to think, to collect
herself, which he in his part was quite
willing to give her, for he was not
much betteV prepared for the interview
than she. He really was hungry
and tired, his early journey had been
foolhardy and in the highest degree
dangerous. The violence of his admiration
for her added to the excitement
of her presence, and the probable nearness
of Xewbold as to whoso whereabouts
lie wondered wero not conducive
to rapid recuperation. It would
be comfort to him also to have food
and time.
"Sit down," she said. "I shall be
back in a moment."
The fire of the morning was still
burning in the stove in the kitchen; to
heat a can of soup, to make him some
buttered toast and hot coffee, were the
tasks of a few moments; she brought
them back to him. set them on the table
before him and bade him fall to.
"By jove," exclaimed the man after
a little time as he began to eat hastily
but with great relish what she had
St
H Ccnquerea j ;?
of, Cororfl- cro ^ w
bwwsc^Bmlv v *
n/'ijearijr And >^SJ a<
<A*^6p*rlv
^ *
: :'W1' ' h
y w. O. CV!*pm?m '^s^.--;?; ' V 'V ' i a]
? < |fl]
prepared, while she stood over him j "'
watching him silently. "This is cozy, i a
A warm, comfortable room, something ' c;
to eat served by the finest woman in ti
j the world, the prettiest girl on earth j si
I to look at?what more could a man <le- j I
i sire' This i<i the wnv it's eoine to bo I rl
j always iu the future." I s<
"You have no warrant whatever for | w
; Buying or hoping that," answered the J tl
, girl slowly hut decisive#)'.
"Have I not?" asked the man quick-1 ii
I !y. "Did you not say to me a little e
j while ago that you liked me better T
I than any man you bad ever met and v,
that I might win you if I could? Well,
I can, and what's more, I will in spite v>
)f yourself, Enid,"?ho laughed. "Why, y
! the memory of that kiss I stole from y
j you makes me mad." He pushed the ri
things before him and rose to his feet w
once more. "Come, give me another," ii
he said, "It isn't in the power of wo- o
man to stand against a love like tl
mine." 1<
"Isn't it?" tl
"Xo, indeed." n
"Louise Xewbold did," she answered
very quietly but with the swiftness F
and the dexterity of a sword thrust c
by a master hand, a mighty arm. o
Armstrong stared at her in open p
mouthed astonishment. fi
"What -do you know about Louise { ,
Rosser or Xewbold?" he asked at t(
last. ii
"All that I want to know." c
"And did that damned hound tell k
you?" fi
"If you mean Mr. Newbold, he nev- h
er mentioned your name, he does not g
I ^cnwyOJ^ZiflL" V
man calmly, "he has gone t^'th.i settlements
to tell them I a'iA safe and s]
to seek help to get me out of the II
mountains."
"Fear!" exclaimed Armstrong, d
proudly, "I fear nothing on earth. For lc
years, ever since I heard his name in
fact, I have longed to meet him. I ti
want to know who told you about that I
woman?Kirkby ?"
"He never mentioned your name in r<
connection with her." a:
"But you must have heard it somewhere,"
cried the man thoroughly be- al
wlldered. "The birds of the air didn't n
;eu 11 10 you, uiu ineyr si
"She told me herself," answered d,
Enid Maltland. ci
"She told you? Why, she's been
dead In her grave five years, shot to ai
death by that murderous dog of a hus- ai
i band of hers." st
"A word with you, Mr. Armstrong," d:
said the woman with great spirit sc
"You can't talk that way about Mr.
Newbold; he saved my life twice d<
! over, from a bear and then in the rc
| cloudburst which caught me in the a
canon." I'
"That evens up a little," said Arm- sc
i strong. "Perhaps for your sake I will 1 I
sparo him." I
"You!" laughed the woman con- i b<
temptuously. "Spare him? Iieadvised, J sc
look to yourself, if he over finds out | ei
what I know, I don't believe any power j je
on earth could save you."
"Oh." said Armstrong carelessly |
i enougn, aiinongn ny was consumea j
with hate and jealousy and raging: j
against her clearly evident disdain. I y
! "I can take caie of myself, I guess. '
. Anyway I only want to talk about j
I you, not about him or her. Your fath1
el" IK
"Is ho well?" sj
"Well enough, but heart-broken, ,
j crushed. I happened to be in his house
; in Philadelphia when tho telegram j
j camo from your uncle that you were aj
| 1051 ana prooaoiy ueau. i naa just i
; asked him for your hand," he added, jn
I smiling grimly at the recollection. , 1|(
"You had no right to do that.'V
I "I know that."
"It was not, it is not, his to give." j
"Still when I won you I thought it ( tj.
1 would bo pleasant all around if he ; jj,
j knew and approved." gl
J "And did he?" y(
i "Not then, ho literally drove me out i
of tlie house, but afterwards ho said ai
If I could find you I could have you; |
, and, by Heaven, I have found you and :
I will have you Whether you like it or i m
inot-" th
"Never," cried the woman decisive- jn
11T. k,
1 The situation had got on Arm
rong's nerves, and he must perfor
,ow himself in his true colors. H
ily resources were his strength, n
mind but of body. He made anol
most damaging mistake at tt
ncture.
"We are alone here, and I am mi
r, remember," he said meaning
,'ome, let's make up. Give me a ki
r my pains and?"
"I have been alone here for a mon
ith another man," answered En
aitland who was strangely unafra
. spite of this threat. "A gentlems
5 has never so much as offered
iuch my hand without my perm
on; the contrast is quite to your d
Ivantage."
"Are you jealous of Louise Rosser
iked Armstrong suddenly seeing tli
9 was losing ground and cast!
)out desperately to account for
id to recover what was escaping hi
Aliy, that was nothing, a mere b
nd girl affair," he ran on with a s;
ous good humor as if it were all
ifle. "The woman was, I hate
xy it, just crazy in love with me, b
really never cared anything es]
ally for her; it was just a harmle
irt of flirtation anyway. She aft
ard married this man Newbold a
lat's all there was ahout it."
The truth would not serve him a
i his desperation and desire he sti
i everything on this astounding 1
he woman he loved looked at h
ith her face as rigid as a mask.
"You won't hold that against n
ill you?" pleaded the man. "I t<
du that I'd been a man among m<
es, among women, too, here in tl
>ugh country, and that I was
orthy of you; there are lots of thin
1 my past that I ought to be asham
f and I am, and the more I see y
le more ashamed I grow, but as I
>ving any one else, all that I've e\
lought or felt or experienced befc
ow is just nothing."
And this indeed was true, and ev
hid Maitland with all her prejud:
juld realize and understand it. C
f the same mouth, was said of o
roceeded blessing and cursing, a
*om these same lips came truth a
ilsehood; but the power of the tri
> influence this woman was as no
lg to the power of falsehood. ?
ould never 1 uve loved Tim, she n
new; a better man had won her
actions, a nobler being claimed 1
eart; but if he had told the truth
arding his relationship to Newbol
ife and then had completed it w
'?j)as ??-" -!
M^W^T^^^H^^respected him.
"You have not told me the trutl
le answered directly; "you have <
berately been false."
"Can't you see," protested the m
rawing nearer to her, "how much
ive you?"
"Oh. that; yes I suppose that
ue; as far as you can love any o
will admit that you do love me."
"So far as I can love any one?"
?peated after her. "Give me a chan
ad I'll show you."
"But you haven't told the tru
aout Mrs. Newbold. You have calu
iated the dead, you have sought
lelter yourself by throwing the bi
?n of a guilty passion upon the wea
vessel; it isn't manlike. It isn'tArmstrong
was a bold fighter, qui
id prompt in his decisions. He ma
lother effort to set himself right. 1
aked his all on another throw of t
ce, which he began to feel we
imehow loaded against him.
"You are right," he admitted, wc
'ring anxiously how much the worn;
ally knew. "It wasn't true, it w
coward's act, I am ashamed of
m so mad with love for you that
arcely know what I am doing, b
will make a clean breast of it no
loved Louise Rosser after a fashi<
?fore ever Newbold came on tl
ene. We were pledged to each ot
; a foolish quarrel arose, she w
alous of other girls?
"And had she no right to be?"
"Oh, I suppose so. We broke if (
tyway and then she married Xe
>ld, out of pique I suppose, or wh
ui will. I thought 1 was heart-hro
i at the time, it did hit me pret
ird; it was five or six years ago;
as a youngster then, I am a mt
>w. The woman has been dead lot
ncc; tliero was some cock-and-bt
ory about her falling off a cliff at
r husband being compelled to sho
>r. I didn't believe it at the tim
id naturally I have been waiting
t even with him. I have been hr
g him for five years, but he hi
en good to you and we will let b
ims b" 'lvgones. What do I ca
r Louise Rosser. or for him. or f<
her. now! 1 am sori
lat I said what I did, but you w
ivo to charge it to my blinding pi
on for you. I can truthfully say th
tu are one woman that I have ev
aved with all my heart. I will i
lything, he anything, to win you."
It was very brilliantly done; he hi
>t told a single untruth; ho had a
itted much, but he had withlie
e essentials after all. lie w^s pla
g against desperate odds, he had i
lowledge of how much she knew,
ce where she had learned anything. Ev[lg
ery one about the mining camp where
ot she. had lived had known of his love
for Louise Rosser, but he had not sup,j3
j posed there was a single human soul
who had been privy to its later developments,
and he could not figure out
ly. any way by which Enid Maitland could
as" have learned by any possibility any
more of the story than he had told
her. He had calculated swiftly and
jd with the utmost nicety, just how much
he should confess. He was a keen
m witted clever man and he was fighting
for what he held most dear, but his
jg. eagerness and zeal, as they have oftjg_
en done, overrode his judgment, and j
he made another mistake at this junc/
ture. His evil genius was at his el'
bow,
lat
ng "You must remember," he continued,
"that you have been alone here in
' these mountains with a man for over
a month; the world?
i e- "What, what do you mean?" exa!
claimed the girl, who indeed knew
to ver^ we" what he meant, but who
iut would not admit the possibility.
?e- "It's not every man," he added.
;ss blindly rushing to his doom, "that
er. would care for you or want you?aftnd
er that."
He received a sudden and terrible
nd enlightenment.
ik- "You coward," she cried, with upie.
raised hand, whether in protest or to
im strike him neither ever knew, for at
that moment the door opened the secae,
ond time that morning to admit an- I
)ld other man.
?n.
lis CHAPTER XXII.
n't ?
igs The Last Resort of Kings and Men.
ed The sudden entrant upon a quarrel
ou between others Is invariably at a disfor
advantage. Usually he Is unaware
rer of the cause of difference and general)re
ly he has no idea of the stage of development
of the affair that has been
en reached. Newbold suffered from this
lce lack of knowledge and to these dis>ut
advantages were added others. For
instance, he had not the faintest idea
nd as to who or what was the stranger.
nd The room was not very light in the
ith day time. Armstrong happened to be
th- standing with his back to it at some
Ih? distance from the window by the side
ow of which Enid stood. Six years nataf.
urally and inevitably makes some differ
ferenee in a man's appearance, and it
re. is not to be wondered that at first
d's Newbold did not recognize the man beith
'ore him as the original of the lace in
it- for the present he saw nothing but a
stranger visibly perturbed on one side
an and the' woman he loved apparently
i I fiercely resentful, stormily Indignant,
confronting the other with an upjs
raised hand.
ne The man, whoever he was, had at'
fronted her, had aroused her lndignahe
tion, perhaps had insulted her, that
ce was plain. He went swiftly to her
side, he interposed himself between
!th ber and the man.
m- "Enid," he asked, and his easy use
to of the name was a revelation and an
jr- illumination to Armstrong, "who is
ik- this man, what has he done?"
- It was Armstrong who replied. If
ck Newbold were in the dark, not so he;
de although they had never spoken, he
le had seen Newbold. He recognized
he him instantly, indeed, recognized or
re not, the newcomer could be no othot
"You Coward!" She Cried.
ie* t
to ! than he. There was doubtless no othit
er man in the mountains, lie had ex
us j peeled to find him when ho approach*
y- j ed the hut and was ready for him.
re I To tho lire of his ancient hatred and
nr Jealousy was added a new fuel that
ry : increased its heat and flame. This
ill ! man had come between Armstrong and
is-, the woman he loved before and had ,
at [ got away unscathed; evidently ho had j
er ! come between him and this new wo- |
do | man lie loved. Well, he should be
J made to suffer for it this time and by j
!?.d! Armstrong's own hands. The ind
slant Nowbold had entered the room j
Id i Armstrong had thirsted to leap upon ;
iy-. him, and ho meant to do it. One or
ao the other of them, lie swore in his
or heart, should never leave that room
alive,"
But Newbold should have hi3 chanceArmstrong
was as brave, as fearless,
as intrepid, as any man on earth
There was much that was admirable
In his character; he would not taki
any man at a disadvantage in an cu
counter such as he proposed. He
would not hesitate to rob a man of his
wife if he could, and he would not
shrink from any deceit necessary to
gain his purpose with a woman, for
good or evil, but he had his own ideas
of honor, he would not shoot an enemy
in the back for instance.
Singular perversion, this, to which
some minds are liable! To take from
a man his wife by subtle and underhand
methods, to rob him of that
which makes life dear and sweet?
there was nothing dishonorable in
that! But to take his life, a thing of
Infinitely less moment, by the same
process?that was not to be thought
of. In Armstrong's code It was right,
It was imperative, to confront a man
with the truth and take the consequences;
but to confront a woman with a lie
J t 1 1 J ..1
ana mne uer uuuy anu suui, u su ue sua
might be gained, was equally admirable.
And there are other souls than.
Armstrong's in which this moral inconsistency
and obliquity about men.
and women has lodgment!
Armstrong confronted Newbold
therefore, lustful of battles; he yearned
to leap upon him, his fingers itched
to grasp him, then trembled slightly as
he rubbed them nervously against his
thumbs; his face protruded a little, his.
eyes narrowed.
"My name is Armstrong," he said,,
determined to precipitate the issue
without further delay and flinging the
words at the other in a tone of hectoring
defiance which, however
strange to say, did not seem to effect.Newbold
in any perceptible degree.
The name was an illumination to
him, though not at all in the way th?
speaker had fancied; the recollection
of it was the one fact concerning her
that rankled ih the solitary's mind.
He had often wanted to ask Enid Maitland
what she had meant by that
chance allusipn to Armstrong which
she had made in the beginning of their *.
acquaintance, but he had refrained. \
At first he had no right to question i
her; there could be no natural end to
their affections; and latterly when
their hearts had been disclosed to each
other inWhe wild, tempestuous, passionate
scenes of the last two or threa#
(Continued on page 6.)
v
SEABOARD AIR IDE RAILWAY"
Southbound
No. 81 Arrive in Cheraw 3.12 a. m_
No. 57 Arrive in uneraw j*.zz a. m.
No. 43 Arrive in Cheraw 9.45 p. m..
Northbound
No. 84 Arrive in Cheraw ]2.30 a. mNo.
66 Arrive in Cheraw 8.22 a. m.
No. 58 Arrive in Cheraw 9.48 p. m..
No. 58 Northbound makes connection
at Kollock with the Bennettsvilel
& Cheraw R. R. train.
No. 66 makes connection at Kollock
with Bennettsville & Cheraw R.
R. train for Bennettsville and all
points on the B. & C. system beyond
Bennettsville.
No. 57 makes connection at McBee
with the C. M. & C. R. R. for
Jefferson, S. C., also with the S. C.
& W. R. R. for Hartsvile, Darlingt6n
and Florence.
ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILWAY
Southbound
No. 61 Leave Cheraw 6.30 a. m.
No. 63 Leave Cheraw 5.30 p. m.
Northbound
No. 62 Leavc Cheraw 11.57 a. m.
No. 60 Arrive in Cheraw 10.10 p. m.
No. 62 makes connection at Wadesboro
with train for Winston-Salem.
No. 61 mokes connection at Florence
with trains for Charleston. Columbia,
and Wilmington, and at Darlington
with train for Sumter and Columbia.
No. 63 makes connection at Florence
with trains for Columbia, Charleston
and Wilmington.
CHESTERFIELD & LANCASTER RY.
West IhmiimI
Xo. 7 (local) Due to Leave 7.00 a. m.
No. 3.7 Due to Leave 4.30 p. m.
Eastbouinl
Xo. S (local) Due to Arrive 4.30 p. ra.
Xo. 36 Due to Arrive 3.43 p. m.
Xo. 36, if on time, makes connection
with the Atlantic Coast Line, No.
63 for Darlington, Florence, Colum
bia, Charleston and Wilmington.
Xo. 7 subject to annulment.
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