United States or Uzbekistan ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Phillips declared, his face even whiter than before. "It's a plant, so of course it will add up." Defiantly he met the glances that were fixed upon him. As his eyes roved over the faces turned upon him he became conscious for the first tune of 'Poleon's and Rouletta's presence, also that Laure had somehow appeared upon the scene.
Of thanksgiving, of gratitude at his own and his daughter's deliverance, he appeared to have none, at least for the time being. Rouletta's condition was pitiable enough, but she was concerned less with it than with her father's extraordinary behavior, and when the Countess undertook to procure for her dry clothing she protested: "Please don't trouble.
We'll pull her apart, limb from limb, and divvy the logs. It's a pest-house, anyhow. I'll burn my share." Tom's positive refusal even to permit mention of the cause of the quarrel rendered efforts at a reconciliation difficult; 'Poleon's and Rouletta's attempts at badinage, therefore, were weak failures, and their conversation met with only the barest politeness.
Mocha's words added to Rouletta's terror, for it showed that other minds ran as did hers. Already, it seemed to her, Pierce Phillips had been adjudged guilty. Through the murk of fright, of apprehension in which her thoughts were racing there came a name 'Poleon Doret. Here was deep trouble, grave peril, a threat to her newfound happiness.
'Poleon rose from his position beside the stove; he bent over the sick-bed and touched Rouletta's brow with his great hand. In a low voice he addressed her: "Ma soeur! Ma petite soeur! It's 'Poleon spik to you." Rouletta's eyes remained vacant, her ceaseless whispering continued and the man straightened himself, turning upon his elderly companions. Alarm was in his face; his voice shook.
"Forty Mile, Circle, Fort Yukon, Rampart, it mak' no differ. I get 'em some place, if I go plumb to St. Michael's. When I get goin' fas' it tak' me long tam for run down." Rouletta's eyes opened. "But, 'Poleon you can't! There's the Boundary. You're not an officer; you have no warrant." "Dem t'ing is dam' nuisance," he declared. "I don' savvy dis law biznesse. You say get 'em. Bien! I do it."
"With a flourish he poured the coffee, saying, "Let's see if you so hongry lak you pretend, or if I'm goin' keep you in bed some more." Rouletta's appetite was all yes, more than she had declared it to be. The liberality with which she helped herself to oatmeal, her lavish use of the sugar spoon, and her determined attack upon the can of "Carnation" satisfied any lingering doubts in Doret's mind.
The change came an hour or two before dawn and the three men watched it with their hearts in their throats. Mutely they questioned one another, deriving deep comfort from each confirmatory nod and gesture, but for some time they dared not voice their growing hope. Rouletta's fever was breaking, they felt sure; she breathed more deeply, more easily, and she coughed less.
I want you to like me." As he walked back down-town Pierce pondered Rouletta's words, "a square deal all around, even to yourself." They were a trifle puzzling. Whom had he cheated? Surely not Laure. From the very first he had protested his lack of serious interest in her, and their subsequent relations were entirely the result of her unceasing efforts to appropriate him to herself.
Rouletta's wet skirts slatted about her ankles as she ran; it was a windy, chilly night, and, in spite of the fact that it was a steep climb to the top of the low bluff, she was chilled to the bone when she came panting into the sprawling cluster of habitations that formed the temporary town of White Horse.
Word Of The Day