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POLE COUNTY NEWS, TBYON, N. C.
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For Mature Figures
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A Romance of the American Army
Fitfhtintf on the Battlefields of France
By VICTOR ROUSSEAU
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CHAPTER XII l--Contlnued.
10
Suddenly the German tittered a chok
X cry and dropped, blood spurting
from his .throat, where a chance bullet
lMtd found him. As he fell, Mark, pre
cipitated himself upon him and lay
pat on the ground.
The firing died away. Captain
2Iirk began to crawl back toward the
parapet of his lines. A whispered chal
lenge; an answer, and he had scaled
sandbags and descended Into the
of the trench, to find the firing.
t'crowded and himself facing Kel-
iScn&an and the company captain.
Imardly boiling, he stood still. It
too dark to see the expression on
Krilwrman's face, but he could Imagine
ke sneering grin that disfigured it.
. Wer said Kellerman sharply.
' ""The man you -sent me to bring In
was dead. He had been there for
"Where are your companions V de
saasded Kellerman.
Captured."
j. "And you?"
ffe were attacked In the dark. I
jfanght with my man until a bullet
ifflcd him. The others were taken."
' "And your stretcher?" asketi Keller--auo
with a bland sneer.
. "I left it between the lines. Do you
;wish me to go back for it, sir?"
mis man Is lying," said Kellerman
: file Captain calmly. "He abandoned
&n companions and ran away. He lost
Us. stretcher. Put him under arrest."
The Captain beckoned to the pla
sties sergeant, who came forward.
"Td like to say one thing," said
Mark, striving to keep his voice steady.
"BTe three were sent out to bring in
dead man, who had been dead for
days anyone here will bear me out In
Shis. Was any man wounded tonight?
There was only one body In this sec-
"X7t it out !" said the sergeant, lay
lag his hand on Mark's shoulder.
But Mark swung clear of him and
tamed and faced Kellerman again.
"Ten sent me out tonight to put me
tit of the wayl" he cried, losing all
setf-control. 'Tor reasons that you
insnr, and I know, you wanted me
dead, and you were willing to send two
sites to their death also. You lied
Urn me to put me off my guard, d n
ysq. you treacherous dog! And here's
She blow you gaye, back again !"
He struck Kellerman a buffet that
mat Mm reeling back against the par-
CHAPTER XIV.
The three officers who had brought
3a their verdict, and the fourth, of
SrifiSi rank, who had passed the sen
aence, stood rather stiffly at the door
f the little headquarters village house,
watching Mark as, with hands chained,
i was marched away by two armed
guards toward the jail.
When he was out of sight they un
8at.
"S- n-ItP said one.
sentiments," answered another.
-What do you think, McKInnon?"
I don't want to think about It."
"12 It had been some tough who had
ga roped Into the army a gunman or
kat sort but "
; 'Well, if the fellow's a- gentleman,
dTd he do It? He must have
latown."
"And, after all, he might have been
Kspited for the blow, but the gross
OMB&rdice "
!"I don't see that The blow was
wwae than the cowardice. A new
toad, between the lines at night, his
Jfirst night Kellerman shouldn't have
mesa Mm "
"I don't follow you there. Kellerman
Had known the man in the U. S. and
wanted to give him "a chance to redeem
MGBself."
At nightfall Mark was sitting In his
ra&L He had eaten, he had composed
Maaself to meet his end according to
ffltt traditions of his caste and race;
Soft he could not meet It calmly. He
Saul deliberately flung everything
array; he had let Kellerman goad
Sfim to madness; he was going to
ffie without even the soldier's satis
faction of duty honorably done. And
2 could not compose hfmself.
S&ddenly he heard the outer gate of
She prison click; then came the sound
t voices, footsteps, a woman's swish
itg skirts ; Eleanor and Colonel How
ard stood at the barred entrance with
lite guard.
dark rose from his bed and stood
aSSsafng at them; he could hardly be
Uare them real. The guard unlocked
i door of the cell. Eleanor shrank
flmck against the corner of the ma
cctoiry, her kerchief to her lip, her face
ctulky white. Suddenly she started
inrward. The Colonel whispered a
ward, she brushed him aside as if she
3od not heard him. Her arras sought
Kerits neck and found it. She pressed
tear lips to his.
-TCaptain Mark I Dear Captain
Mark!" she sobbed.
And. holding her closely to him, and
wgetttng Howard's presence and ev
wything else, Mark .found his peace.
vonei Howard was trying to calm
-to assuage her frantic erief. At
persuaded her to sit down, tto
(Copyright, by W.
(Copyright, by
took Mark by the arm as If he were a
child, and placed him beside her.
"Mark, my dear boy Mark, I heard
of it only five minutes ago," he said.
"I had to spend the night here, and
Eleanor had got leave to meet me. I've
Just learned the outlines of It I'm
trying to get the General. Yes, yes, I
know he refused this morning, but he
didn't know. I'm only going to ask for
a respite till I can see him personally.
It will come out all right Now tell
me, Mark, what happened? How did
Kellerman meet you? Why did you
strike him? I don't ask about the
charge of cowardice, because that
Isn't worth speaking about I'll settle
that With the General I haven't for
gotten Santiago. But about that blow,
Mark how did it all happen? Tell
me exactly, so that I "
It was unlike the old Colonel to
gabble so fast Perhaps he was afraid
of breaking down.
"Can tell the General. Now begin,
Mark. Tell me from the beginning."
But Mark did not open his lips. And
before Colonel Howard could resume
Eleanor had sprung up and faced
Mark eagerly.
"Now, Captain Mark, listen! If
you've never listened to me before,
listen now!" she cried. "I know you
aren't going to tell the Colonel. It's
like you, Captain Mark. You're stub
born. You have a stupid, wicked
streak of stubbornness in you that al
ways makes you pretend things, and
always prevents you from letting the
world see what a dear, good, splendid
man you are. I know you through and
through, though you've never known
I did. You've ruined your life by
your silly silences. You seem to like
to be misunderstood. You like things
to go wrong with you, so that you can
suffer undeservingly. But It isn't he
roical of you. Captain Mark. It's stub
born and wrong, and, where others
are concerned, it's criminal. Where
others are concerned others who love
you, Captain Mark!"
She spoke with intense passion, but,
when she ended, she put her arms
"Now Capt Mark, Llaten."
quietly about his neck. "Tell the Colo
nel, Captain, Mark, because of me,"
she said.
"There's nothing to tell, my dear,"
said Mark, groping for the words that
would not come. "I struck him be
cause he "
And he could say nothing. Of Kel
lerman's blow outside the inn, of his
false offer of friendship, of the treach
ery that had risked three lives that
Mark might die on a false errand
nothing! And, if he had been able to
speak, he could not have told. Yet he
was Ignorant of the inhibitory process
that now, as always,, held him in
silence.
But Eleanor clung to him. "Yes,
Captain Mark. Because he
"He sent three of us out to rescue a
wounded man unnecessarily," said
Mark lamely.
He saw a spasm pass over Howard's
face. This was worse than Howard
could have believed. The Colonel was
shaken; his faith was strong, but he
was one of those who accept the obvi
ous. "Listen, Captain Mark!" said Elea
nor, speaking as if to a baby. "That
isn't what you wanted to say. You had
no thought of criticizing your superior
officer, even if you thought him wrong.
That Isn't what you meant. Perhaps
he'll tell me, father I Stand back a lit
tle. Now, whisper it, Captain Mark !"
But in the shelter of Eleanor's arms
Mark felt altogether at peace. What
did it matter, all this of long ago?
"Are you going to marry Kellerman,
Eleanor?" he asked. ,
Very softly, in the obscurity, he felt
her shake her head. And the action
a4 precisely the opposite effect of
what Eleanor had intended, . ' .
O. Chapman.)
Fox'nothlng mattered any more, noth
ing at all. He couldn't find excuses
Mark Wallace had never excused hlm-
self In hls life
Eieanor drew herself out of his arms
and looked at him: He looked from
her face to the Colonel's. Why were
they worrying him? How could he
hope to gave "his life by going into the
obscure details and explanations that
they required of him?
And what a long rigmarole, begin
ning back in the war department!
Mark could not string a case together J
his mind was not constructed in that
fashion 5
Eieanor laid her hand on his arm.
"Captain Mark don't you see that
every moment. Is torture to .vsl" she
asked.
There was a terrible Intensity in her
tone, as if she were holding herself
rigidly in restraint, for fear that she
would fall should she yield to her emo
tion. "I struck him," stammered Mark. "I
told you why. I thought he was wrong
to risk those llves I w '.
The look upon each face seemed to
be frozen there ; it was as if their lives
and not Mark's, hung upon his words.
Suddenly a shriek pierced the sky,
cutting off Mark's speech, and a shell
burst somewhere by with a shattering
detonation, followed by the dull boom
of a distant gun. The Colonel started,
and then-resumed his gaze.
It seemed to Mark as If that was an
eternity of torture. He struggled In
his mind desperately to find words to
say when the noise subsided.
But there came a stunning sound
that seemed to split his ear-drums. He
fell forward, and felt as If some one
had lifted him; looked out Into dark
ness, sought Eleanor and knew noth
ing. CHAPTER XV.
When he slowly grew conscious It
was with the glad -realization that he
had found her. He felt her hands,
supple and warm, binding a bandage
round his arm. He opened his eyes to
see her face bent over his. And it was
dawn.
Vague cries rang In his ears, distant
cries, blending, surging, swelling and
dying down, but never ceasing. The
rattle of small-arms was continuous,
and punctuated by the loud timbre of
guns.
He was lying amid a heap of debris
that had been the village jail. Not far
away he saw the Colonel sitting with
eyes closed, propped up against the
fragments of a wall, a blood-stained
bandage round his head.
"O thank Godl" cried Eleanor.
"You have been unconscious so long,
Captain Mark 1 And the Colonel Is
badly hurt I saw the Red Cross wag
on pass and cried, but they could not
hear me."
All round them the guns were boom
ing, all round them they saw khakl
clad Americans swarming over the
fields, and yet the village seemed de
serted. They were alone In a little
oasis of calm amid the tumult.
"What are we to do?" cried the girl.
"Can you walk? Try to stand on your
feet Let me help you. We must get
the Colonel somewhere."
The question on Mark's Hps died
away as there cams the howl of a
heavy shell, followed by a stunning Im
pact A column of broken bricks spout
ed into the air at the end of the street,
dissolving into a cloud of dust An in
terval, and again there came a missile
from the monster gun. A house in the
next street went down like cardboard.
It was the threatened attack on the
American lines. The enemy was in
force somewhere across the fields, the
reserves were rushing up to repel them.
Mark staggered to his feet and found
that he could stand. His arm ached
under the bandage, but It was not
broken. Probably a splinter had struck
him. He made his way toward the
Colonel, who eyed him vacantly as he
approached.
"Take Eleanor to safety and leave
me, Mark," he said, In a choking voice.
'Til take you both, sir. This can't
last long. Our men will be In the vil
lage in a few minutes. Or an ambu
lance will pass."
Mark put his hands beneath the Colo
nel's arms and tried to lift him.
As the Colonel tried to stand he col
lapsed forward In Mark's arms. He
looked at Mark plteously.
"Take her- and leave me," he whis
pered. "And listen to me, Mark. She
cares for you. All will come right, if
I can keep my worthless carcass alive
until I've seen tlie General. But I
never counted on being done up like
this."
There were tears in the old man's
eyes. "Forgive me, my boy," he mut
tered, and fell Into unconsciousness.
Mark set him down against the wall
again. It was impossible to move him,
oven with Eleanor's help.
Mark looked at Eleanor. "It's safest
here,H he said. The village will be
occupied seon. Help will come
He broke off. abruptly as another of
the heavy shells dropped nearer, send
ing the brick fragments flying in all di
rections. Of a sudden it had occurred
to him that the reason why the Ameri
cans did not enter the village was that
it was? a death-tMpr Us rarges were
all mapped and plotted, and the Ger
mans were bent on its systematic de
struction. v
Mark stood by Eleanor in irresolu
tion, cursing his fate. He did not know
what to do. He could not leave her;
and yet he felt. a burning impulse to
play some part in affairs. His eye,
trained by long years of practice, took
In the tactical situation at a -glance.
The Germans must have made a prodi
gious thrust In the night, bursting
through the center; the reserves, still
rushing over the fields, were trying to
fill and hold the gap. And the little
Headquarters village was the key to
the whole battlefield.
' Wounded men came streaming down
the street, followed by the merciless
shells.; The aeroplane above was still
circling like a hawk; it seemed in
credible that no aeroplane attacked It
And it was quite clear to Mark that
only treachery, calculated and long
planned, could have brought about the
situation.
For the Germans must have ad
vanced four miles since nightfall.
"Help will come " Mark repeated;
and suddenly, even above the drumfire,
he could hear the sounds of cheering.
And, topping the ridge that ran before
the village, there came a swarm of
gray-green figures, thrusting back the
thin, scattered line that held It. The
bullets were -whirring overhead, audi
ble, and like a swarm of bees. Clouds
of dust rose up and hid the battle.
Eleanor, clutching Mark's arm, stood
tense beside him; Mark saw that she
understood, and the two held their
breath as the dust clouds eddied along
the ridge.
Suddenly they dissolved, and the at
tacking swarm poured like a great flood
into the village. It looked as if all
were lost
But an. Instant later Mark saw a lit
tle company of Americans thrust out a
Maxim gun from behind a wall, where
they had hidden It The gunner took
his seat and, Just as the ranks were
closing In on him, swept the street
from side to 6lde. The ranks recoiled
and fell, body piling on body. Then, as
a torrent forces its way through ,the
ice-crust of a river, the attackers over
whelmed the Maxim section and swept
Into the streets.
And, as torrent meets torrent with
a surge and a rush a body of American
troops swept forward to meet them.
The battle was all about them. Every
house was a fortress, every mound of
bricks a rallying point. Mark raised
the half-conscious Colonel in his arms
and drew him Into the shelter of a lit
tle hollow In the brick wall. He beck
oned to Eleanor to crouch down beside
him. There they were safe from flying
bullets, and might hope to pass unno
ticed. He still hesitated, when a body
of Germans rushed, shouting, past him,
upon a troop of Americans who came
round a shattered corner, led by a
young officer carrying a blooey sword.
It was quick and short bayonet work.
Mark saw the blades flash, heard the
panting gasps of the thrusters and the
moans of the wounded. He saw the
young officer stagger and fall, a bayo
net through his shoulder. The. sword
fell from his hand. Before the German
could withdraw his weapon Mark had
snatched up the sword and, with a
mighty blow, cloven the German's arm
from his body.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
EAGLE ALWAYS AN EMBLEM
From Mythological Times the Monarch
of the Air Hat Been Chosen as
Representative of Power.
In mythology the eagle usually rep
resents the sun. The great mythical
eagle of India, the Garuda, Is the
bearer of the god Vishnu, victorious
by his brightness over all demons. In
Scandinavian mythology the eagle is a
gloomy figure, assumed by demons of
darkness or by Odin himself, con
cealed In the gloomy night or in wind
swept clouds. The storm giant Hras
welgr sits in the form of an eagle at
the extremity of heaven and blows
blasts over all people and on the great
tree Yggdrasll sits an eagle observing
everything that happens. When Zeus
was preparing for his struggle with
the Titans the eagle brought him a
thunderbolt whereupon the god took
the bird for his emblem. It naturally
became the emblem of nations after
Its long use in mythology. Ptolemy
Soter made it the emblem of the Egyp
tian kingdom. In the Roman story
the eagle was the herald to Tarqulnus
of his royal power, and it was one of
the most important insignia of the re
public, and was also assumed by the
emperors, and adopted into medieval
heraldry after the time of Charlemagne.
A Good Laugh.
A "good laugh" is not quite the same
thing as a hearty laugh. Occasionally
you may have seen young people con
vulsed with laughter over something
that meant sufferjur and disaster tn
; another. Many a laugh has been raised
oy an unclean suggestion. But It is
a "good laugh" that has o hint of im
purity or unkindness.
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Lines that give an effect of slender
ness make the plainest frocks or suits
intensely Interesting to women whose
figures have lost that longed-for at
tribute of youth. Line and quality
they are the first consideration in the
American gentlewoman's clothes after
she has reached "the age of discretion"
and becomes severely discriminating.
She will take the simplest affair in
street frock or suit. If It possesses
what she requires In these regards,
and tone it up to a high degree of dis
tinction by means of a bit of neck
wear, a furpiece, and a hat that
matches it In trimness. Designers oc
cupy themselves in working out clothes
that are to give to the figure long and
very graceful lines and their artfu
achievements compel us to admire
them.
The suit shown In the picture above
is . a case in point ; built on almost
stratght lines and plain even to the
exclusion of buttons. The skirt is nar
row and a trifle longer than has been
the rule In suits. It has barely enough
width to allow a comfortable stride in
walking and is finished with a five-inch
hem. The coat has a long waistline,
Indicated by a narrow belt made of
From the Salon Debutantes
Only three of the many charming
styles In hats, made for the girl who
finds herself at last frown up, can be
shown In our Illustration. But these
three styles have be-n. found great fa
vorites with the younger women whose
Individual tastes ajad preferences In
matters of dress, ace more clearly de
fined than those of their elders. Their
young Intuitions are keen and it will
have to be concc-ded that no millinery
could express more definitely the spirit
of youth than these hats which so
many debutantes have approved.
Thehat at the left of the group Is
one of a great many Interpretations
of the tam which Is enjoying a long-drawn-out
period of popularity. It la
picturesque tostart with, and since
the war, the glamor of the Blue Devil
of France has cast a spell about It
This particular tam Is made of beige
colored beaver cloth,, mounted on a
beadband of gros grain ribbon In the
same color, tucked at Intervals. A
flat bow of the same ribbon fastens the
folded-ln-crown to the band. These
tarns are made In All the popular col
ors with brown and ' purple worth
mentioning for their richness in
beaver. And there are others of vel
vet f
The pretty square-crowned hat at
the right reveals beaver in combina
tion with velvet in a street hat of un
wual merit for allrotrad wear. It Is
- ... -v -
the cloth and crossed at the front It
has pockets of the sort that are no
noticeable, merely slits at each side
that don't interfere with any Um
which is pursuing Its stralght-dowj.
ward career. The ever present fur wi.
lar and cuffs, In this particular Id
stance, are of Hudson seal, the collar
one of those long convertible affairs
that can be brought up close about th
throat.
Collars by the way are one of tht
means of achieving length of Hoe.
Made of the material of the coat or
frock or blouse they creep up about
the chin and are fastened by buttons
at the end of a long row on the gar
ment It is impossible not to follow
this slim line of buttons that attract
and hold the eye.
Panels, wide and narrow, that hang
from neck to hem, made their Instant
success because of their long Hues.
For the sake of variety designers hate
added narrow floating panels to one
piece frocks and have carried out the
Idea In many ways on both frocks and
suits. Even blouses ha-e taken on
the distinction of panels that fall from
the shoulder and far below the limits
of the waist they embellish.
a beige and brown combination bavin?
a band and bow of brown grosjra
ribbon. A bit of needlework of
simplest sort holds the flat bo
the side crown or pretends to-n
might be put on in u gay color.
A dressier bit of headwear app"
in the black hat of panne veie
the bottom of the group. It hj9 fl
Ing of plain velvet and is P1" be
the class of things youthful
scalloped edge of the trim. An
trimming daringly placed n e P
In this regard. It Is a small store
tab of velvet, supporting a caDoc
made of black soutache braid
Is fastened to the edge of the
One must explain It as a vaga
youth as well as an ornament,
is' an all-black hat -Men prove-all-black
may he as youthful
CQlor if It is managed In tne
way.
To Lenflthen Skirt
To lengthen petticoats r mi99
instead of taking out tucks j
longer, open the shoulder sea
sew pieces of muslin to one ede.
buttonholes and button to to e
Ton can thus drop the skirt j
sired length and easil short
Necessary. -
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