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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:34:05 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:34:05 -0700 |
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diff --git a/10201-h/10201-h.htm b/10201-h/10201-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..abab747 --- /dev/null +++ b/10201-h/10201-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,17302 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" + content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> + <meta name="Generator" + content="Microsoft Word 10 (filtered)" /> + + <title>Desert of Wheat by Zane Grey</title> + <style type="text/css"> + /*<![CDATA[*/ + <!-- + /* Style Definitions */ + + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + pre {font-size: 0.7em;} + hr {text-align: center; width: 50%;} + p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal + {margin-top:0.5em; + } + + p.NormalBQ + { + margin-top:0.5em; + margin-left:2em; + } + h1 + {margin-top:1em; + margin-bottom:0.25em; + text-align:center; + page-break-after:avoid; + font-size:1.5em; + } + h2 + {margin-top:4em; + margin-bottom:0.25em; + page-break-after:avoid; + font-size:1.2em; + } + --> + /*]]>*/ + </style> +</head> + +<body lang="EN-US"> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10201 ***</div> + + <div class="Section1"> + <h1>ZANE GREY</h1> + + <h1> </h1> + + <h1>THE DESERT</h1> + + <h1>of</h1> + + <h1>WHEAT</h1> + + <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:2em; text-align:center">1919</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER I</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Late in June the vast northwestern + desert of wheat began to take on a tinge of gold, lending + an austere beauty to that endless, rolling, smooth world of + treeless hills, where miles of fallow ground and miles of + waving grain sloped up to the far-separated homes of the + heroic men who had conquered over sage and sand.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">These simple homes of farmers seemed + lost on an immensity of soft gray and golden billows of + land, insignificant dots here and there on distant hills, + so far apart that nature only seemed accountable for those + broad squares of alternate gold and brown, extending on and + on to the waving horizon-line. A lonely, hard, heroic + country, where flowers and fruit were not, nor birds and + brooks, nor green pastures. Whirling strings of dust looped + up over fallow ground, the short, dry wheat lay back from + the wind, the haze in the distance was drab and smoky, + heavy with substance.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A thousand hills lay bare to the sky, + and half of every hill was wheat and half was fallow + ground; and all of them, with the shallow valleys between, + seemed big and strange and isolated. The beauty of them was + austere, as if the hand of man had been held back from + making green his home site, as if the immensity of the task + had left no time for youth and freshness. Years, long + years, were there in the round-hilled, many-furrowed gray + old earth. And the wheat looked a century old. Here and + there a straight, dusty road stretched from hill to hill, + becoming a thin white line, to disappear in the distance. + The sun shone hot, the wind blew hard; and over the + boundless undulating expanse hovered a shadow that was + neither hood of dust nor hue of gold. It was not physical, + but lonely, waiting, prophetic, and weird. No wild desert + of wastelands, once the home of other races of man, and now + gone to decay and death, could have shown so barren an + acreage. Half of this wandering patchwork of squares was + earth, brown and gray, curried and disked, and rolled and + combed and harrowed, with not a tiny leaf of green in all + the miles. The other half had only a faint golden promise + of mellow harvest; and at long distance it seemed to + shimmer and retreat under the hot sun. A singularly + beautiful effect of harmony lay in the long, slowly rising + slopes, in the rounded hills, in the endless curving lines + on all sides. The scene was heroic because of the labor of + horny hands; it was sublime because not a hundred harvests, + nor three generations of toiling men, could ever rob nature + of its limitless space and scorching sun and sweeping dust, + of its resistless age-long creep back toward the desert + that it had been.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Here was grown the most bounteous, the + richest and finest wheat in all the world. Strange and + unfathomable that so much of the bread of man, the staff of + life, the hope of civilization in this tragic year 1917, + should come from a vast, treeless, waterless, dreary + desert!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This wonderful place was an immense + valley of considerable altitude called the Columbia Basin, + surrounded by the Cascade Mountains on the west, the Coeur + d'Alene and Bitter Root Mountains on the east, the Okanozan + range to the north, and the Blue Mountains to the south. + The valley floor was basalt, from the lava flow of + volcanoes in ages past. The rainfall was slight except in + the foot-hills of the mountains. The Columbia River, making + a prodigious and meandering curve, bordered on three sides + what was known as the Bend country. South of this vast + area, across the range, began the fertile, many-watered + region that extended on down into verdant Oregon. Among the + desert hills of this Bend country, near the center of the + Basin, where the best wheat was raised, lay widely + separated little towns, the names of which gave evidence of + the mixed population. It was, of course, an exceedingly + prosperous country, a fact manifest in the substantial + little towns, if not in the crude and unpretentious homes + of the farmers. The acreage of farms ran from a section, + six hundred and forty acres, up into the thousands.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Upon a morning in early July, exactly + three months after the United States had declared war upon + Germany, a sturdy young farmer strode with darkly troubled + face from the presence of his father. At the end of a + stormy scene he had promised his father that he would + abandon his desire to enlist in the army.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt Dorn walked away from the gray + old clapboard house, out to the fence, where he leaned on + the gate. He could see for miles in every direction, and to + the southward, away on a long yellow slope, rose a stream + of dust from a motor-car.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Must be Anderson—coming to dun + father," muttered young Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This was the day, he remembered, when + the wealthy rancher of Ruxton was to look over old Chris + Dorn's wheat-fields. Dorn owed thirty-thousand dollars and + interest for years, mostly to Anderson. Kurt hated the debt + and resented the visit, but he could not help acknowledging + that the rancher had been lenient and kind. Long since Kurt + had sorrowfully realized that his father was illiterate, + hard, grasping, and growing worse with the burden of + years.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If we had rain now—or + soon—that section of Bluestem would square father," + soliloquized young Dorn, as with keen eyes he surveyed a + vast field of wheat, short, smooth, yellowing in the sun. + But the cloudless sky, the haze of heat rather betokened a + continued drought.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">There were reasons, indeed, for Dorn + to wear a dark and troubled face as he watched the + motor-car speed along ahead of its stream of dust, pass out + of sight under the hill, and soon reappear, to turn off the + main road and come toward the house. It was a big, closed + car, covered with dust. The driver stopped it at the gate + and got out.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Is this Chris Dorn's farm?" he + asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," replied Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Whereupon the door of the car opened + and out stepped a short, broad man in a long linen + coat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Come out, Lenore, an' shake off the + dust," he said, and he assisted a young woman to step out. + She also wore a long linen coat, and a veil besides. The + man removed his coat and threw it into the car. Then he + took off his sombrero to beat the dust off of that.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Phew! The Golden Valley never seen + dust like this in a million years!… I'm chokin' for + water. An' listen to the car. She's boilin'!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then, as he stepped toward Kurt, the + rancher showed himself to be a well-preserved man of + perhaps fifty-five, of powerful form beginning to sag in + the broad shoulders, his face bronzed by long exposure to + wind and sun. He had keen gray eyes, and their look was + that of a man used to dealing with his kind and well + disposed toward them.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hello! Are you young Dorn?" he + asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, sir," replied Kurt, stepping + out.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm Anderson, from Ruxton, come to + see your dad. This is my girl Lenore."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt acknowledged the slight bow from + the veiled young woman, and then, hesitating, he added, + "Won't you come in?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, not yet. I'm chokin' for air an' + water. Bring us a drink," replied Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt hurried away to get a bucket and + tin cup. As he drew water from the well he was thinking + rather vaguely that it was somehow embarrassing—the + fact of Mr. Anderson being accompanied by his daughter. + Kurt was afraid of his father. But then, what did it + matter? When he returned to the yard he found the rancher + sitting in the shade of one of the few apple-trees, and the + young lady was standing near, in the act of removing bonnet + and veil. She had thrown the linen coat over the seat of an + old wagon-bed that lay near.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good water is scarce here, but I'm + glad we have some," said Kurt; then as he set down the + bucket and offered a brimming cupful to the girl he saw her + face, and his eyes met hers. He dropped the cup and stared. + Then hurriedly, with flushing face, he bent over to recover + and refill it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ex-excuse me. I'm—clumsy," he + managed to say, and as he handed the cup to her he averted + his gaze. For more than a year the memory of this very girl + had haunted him. He had seen her twice—the first time + at the close of his one year of college at the University + of California, and the second time on the street in + Spokane. In a glance he had recognized the strong, lithe + figure, the sunny hair, the rare golden tint of her + complexion, the blue eyes, warm and direct. And he had + sustained a shock which momentarily confused him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good water, hey?" dissented Anderson, + after drinking a second cup. "Boy that's wet, but it ain't + water to drink. Come down in the foot-hills an' I'll show + you. My ranch 's called 'Many Waters,' an' you can't keep + your feet dry."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I wish we had some of it here," + replied Kurt, wistfully, and he waved a hand at the broad, + swelling slopes. The warm breath that blew in from the + wheatlands felt dry and smelled dry.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're in for a dry spell?" inquired + Anderson, with interest that was keen, and kindly as + well.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father says so. And I fear it, + too—for he never makes a mistake in weather or + crops."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"A hot, dry spell!… This + summer?… Hum!… Boy, do you know that wheat is + the most important thing in the world to-day?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You mean on account of the war," + replied Kurt. "Yes, I know. But father doesn't see that. + All he sees is—if we have rain we'll have bumper + crops. That big field there would be a record—at war + prices.… And he wouldn't be ruined!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ruined?… Oh, he means I'd close + on him.… Hum!… Say, what do you see in a big + wheat yield—if it rains?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mr. Anderson, I'd like to see our + debt paid, but I'm thinking most of wheat for starving + peoples. I—I've studied this wheat question. It's the + biggest question in this war."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt had forgotten the girl and was + unaware of her eyes bent steadily upon him. Anderson had + roused to the interest of wheat, and to a deeper study of + the young man.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Say, Dorn, how old are you?" he + asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Twenty-four. And Kurt's my first + name," was the reply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Will this farm fall to you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, if my father does not lose + it."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hum!… Old Dorn won't lose it, + never fear. He raises the best wheat in this section."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But father never owned the land. We + have had three bad years. If the wheat fails this + summer—we lose the land, that's all."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Are you an—American?" queried + Anderson, slowly, as if treading on dangerous ground.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I am," snapped Kurt. "My mother was + American. She's dead. Father is German. He's old. He's + rabid since the President declared war. He'll never + change."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's hell. What 're you goin' to do + if your country calls you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Go!" replied Kurt, with flashing + eyes. "I wanted to enlist. Father and I quarreled over that + until I had to give in. He's hard—he's + impossible.… I'll wait for the draft and hope I'm + called."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boy, it's that spirit Germany's + roused, an' the best I can say is, God help her!… + Have you a brother?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. I'm all father has."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, it makes a tough place for him, + an' you, too. Humor him. He's old. An' when you're + called—go an' fight. You'll come back."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If I only knew that—it wouldn't + be so hard."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hard? It sure is hard. But it'll be + the makin' of a great country. It'll weed out the + riffraff.… See here, Kurt, I'm goin' to give you a + hunch. Have you had any dealin's with the I.W.W.?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, last harvest we had trouble, but + nothing serious. When I was in Spokane last month I heard a + good deal. Strangers have approached us here, + too—mostly aliens. I have no use for them, but they + always get father's ear. And now!… To tell the truth, + I'm worried."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boy, you need to be," replied + Anderson, earnestly. "We're all worried. I'm goin' to let + you read over the laws of that I.W.W. organization. You're + to keep mum now, mind you. I belong to the Chamber of + Commerce in Spokane. Somebody got hold of these by-laws of + this so-called labor union. We've had copies made, an' + every honest farmer in the Northwest is goin' to read them. + But carryin' one around is dangerous, I reckon, these days. + Here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson hesitated a moment, peered + cautiously around, and then, slipping folded sheets of + paper from his inside coat pocket, he evidently made ready + to hand them to Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, where's the driver?" he + asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He's under the car," replied the + girl</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt thrilled at the soft sound of her + voice. It was something to have been haunted by a girl's + face for a year and then suddenly hear her voice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He's new to me—that + driver—an' I ain't trustin' any new men these days," + went on Anderson. "Here now, Dorn. Read that. An' if you + don't get red-headed—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Without finishing his last muttered + remark, he opened the sheets of manuscript and spread them + out to the young man.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Curiously, and with a little rush of + excitement, Kurt began to read. The very first rule of the + I.W.W. aimed to abolish capital. Kurt read on with slowly + growing amaze, consternation, and anger. When he had + finished, his look, without speech, was a question Anderson + hastened to answer.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's straight goods," he declared. + "Them's the sure-enough rules of that gang. We made certain + before we acted. Now how do they strike you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, that's no labor union!" replied + Kurt, hotly. "They're outlaws, thieves, blackmailers, + pirates. I—I don't know what!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn, we're up against a bad outfit + an' the Northwest will see hell this summer. There's + trouble in Montana and Idaho. Strangers are driftin' into + Washington from all over. We must organize to meet + them—to prevent them gettin' a hold out here. It's a + labor union, mostly aliens, with dishonest an' unscrupulous + leaders, some of them Americans. They aim to take advantage + of the war situation. In the newspapers they rave about + shorter hours, more pay, acknowledgment of the union. But + any fool would see, if he read them laws I showed you, that + this I.W.W. is not straight."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mr. Anderson, what steps have you + taken down in your country?" queried Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So far all I've done was to hire my + hands for a year, give them high wages, an' caution them + when strangers come round to feed them an' be civil an' + send them on."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But we can't do that up here in the + Bend," said Dorn, seriously. "We need, say, a hundred + thousand men in harvest-time, and not ten thousand all the + rest of the year."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure you can't. But you'll have to + organize somethin'. Up here in this desert you could have a + heap of trouble if that outfit got here strong enough. + You'd better tell every farmer you can trust about this + I.W.W."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I've only one American neighbor, and + he lives six miles from here," replied Dorn. "Olsen over + there is a Swede, and not a naturalized citizen, but I + believe he's for the U.S. And there's—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dad," interrupted the girl, "I + believe our driver is listening to your very uninteresting + conversation."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She spoke demurely, with laughter in + her low voice. It made Dorn dare to look at her, and he met + a blue blaze that was instantly averted.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson growled, evidently some very + hard names, under his breath; his look just then was full + of characteristic Western spirit. Then he got up.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, I reckon your talk 'll be + more interesting than mine," he said, dryly. "I'll go see + Dorn an' get this business over."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'd rather go with you," hurriedly + replied Kurt; and then, as though realizing a seeming + discourtesy in his words, his face flamed, and he + stammered: "I—I don't mean that. But father is in bad + mood. We just quarreled.—I told you—about the + war. And—Mr. Anderson,—I'm—I'm a little + afraid he'll—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, son, I'm not afraid," + interrupted the rancher. "I'll beard the old lion in his + den. You talk to Lenore."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Please don't speak of the war," said + Kurt, appealingly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not a word unless he starts roarin' + at Uncle Sam," declared Anderson, with a twinkle in his + eyes, and turned toward the house.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He'll roar, all right," said Kurt, + almost with a groan. He knew what an ordeal awaited the + rancher, and he hated the fact that it could not be + avoided. Then Kurt was confused, astounded, infuriated with + himself over a situation he had not brought about and could + scarcely realize. He became conscious of pride and shame, + and something as black and hopeless as despair.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Haven't I seen you—before?" + asked the girl.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The query surprised and thrilled Kurt + out of his self-centered thought.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I don't know. Have you? Where?" he + answered, facing her. It was a relief to find that she + still averted her face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"At Berkeley, in California, the first + time, and the second at Spokane, in front of the + Davenport," she replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"First—and—second?… + You—you remembered both times!" he burst out, + incredulously.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. I don't see how I could have + helped remembering." Her laugh was low, musical, a little + hurried, yet cool.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn was not familiar with girls. He + had worked hard all his life, there among those desert + hills, and during the few years his father had allowed him + for education. He knew wheat, but nothing of the eternal + feminine. So it was impossible for him to grasp that this + girl was not wholly at her ease. Her words and the cool + little laugh suddenly brought home to Kurt the immeasurable + distance between him and a daughter of one of the richest + ranchers in Washington.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You mean I—I was impertinent," + he began, struggling between shame and pride. "I—I + stared at you.… Oh, I must have been rude.… + But, Miss Anderson, I—I didn't mean to be. I didn't + think you saw me—at all. I don't know what made me do + that. It never happened before. I beg your pardon."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A subtle indefinable change, + perceptible to Dorn, even in his confused state, came over + the girl.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I did not say you were impertinent," + she returned. "I remembered seeing you—notice me, + that is all."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Self-possessed, aloof, and kind, Miss + Anderson now became an impenetrable mystery to Dorn. But + that only accentuated the distance she had intimated lay + between them. Her kindness stung him to recover his + composure. He wished she had not been kind. What a singular + chance that had brought her here to his home—the + daughter of a man who came to demand a long-unpaid debt! + What a dispelling of the vague thing that had been only a + dream! Dorn gazed away across the yellowing hills to the + dim blue of the mountains where rolled the Oregon. Despite + the color, it was gray—like his future.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I heard you tell father you had + studied wheat," said the girl, presently, evidently trying + to make conversation.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, all my life," replied Kurt. "My + study has mostly been under my father. Look at my hands." + He held out big, strong hands, scarred and knotted, with + horny palms uppermost, and he laughed. "I can be proud of + them, Miss Anderson.… But I had a splendid year in + California at the university and I graduated from the + Washington State Agricultural College."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You love wheat—the raising of + it, I mean?" she inquired.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It must be that I do, though I never + had such a thought. Wheat is so wonderful. No one can guess + who does not know it!… The clean, plump grain, the + sowing on fallow ground, the long wait, the first tender + green, and the change day by day to the deep waving fields + of gold—then the harvest, hot, noisy, smoky, full of + dust and chaff, and the great combine-harvesters with + thirty-four horses. Oh! I guess I do love it all.… I + worked in a Spokane flour-mill, too, just to learn how + flour is made. There is nothing in the world so white, so + clean, so pure as flour made from the wheat of these + hills!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Next you'll be telling me that you + can bake bread," she rejoined, and her laugh was low and + sweet. Her eyes shone with soft blue gleams.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Indeed I can! I bake all the bread we + use," he said, stoutly. "And I flatter myself I can beat + any girl you know."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You can beat mine, I'm sure. Before I + went to college I did pretty well. But I learned too much + there. Now my mother and sisters, and brother Jim, all the + family except dad, make fun of my bread."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You have a brother? How old is + he?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"One brother—Jim, we call him. + He—he is just past twenty-one." She faltered the last + few words.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt felt on common ground with her + then. The sudden break in her voice, the change in her + face, the shadowing of the blue eyes—these were + eloquent.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, it's horrible—this need of + war!" she exclaimed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," he replied, simply. "But maybe + your brother will not be called."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Called! Why, he refused to wait for + the draft! He went and enlisted. Dad patted him on the + back.… If anything happens to him it'll kill my + mother. Jim is her idol. It'd break my heart.… Oh, I + hate the very name of Germans!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My father is German," said Kurt. + "He's been fifty years in America—eighteen years here + on this farm. He always hated England. Now he's bitter + against America.… I can see a side you can't see. But + I don't blame you—for what you said."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Forgive me. I can't conceive of + meaning that against any one who's lived here so + long.… Oh, it must be hard for you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll let my father think I'm forced + to join the army. But I'm going to fight against his + people. We are a house divided against itself."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, what a pity!" The girl sighed and + her eyes were dark with brooding sorrow.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A step sounded behind them. Mr. + Anderson appeared, sombrero off, mopping a very red face. + His eyes gleamed, with angry glints; his mouth and chin + were working. He flopped down with a great, explosive + breath.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, your old man is + a—a—son of a gun!" he exclaimed, vociferously; + manifestly, liberation of speech was a relief.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The young man nodded seriously and + knowingly. "I hope, sir—he—he—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He did—you just bet your life! + He called me a lot in German, but I know cuss words when I + hear them. I tried to reason with him—told him I + wanted my money—was here to help him get that money + off the farm, some way or other. An' he swore I was a + capitalist—an enemy to labor an' the + Northwest—that I an' my kind had caused the war."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt gazed gravely into the disturbed + face of the rancher. Miss Anderson had wide-open eyes of + wonder.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure I could have stood all that," + went on Anderson, fuming. "But he ordered me out of the + house. I got mad an' wouldn't go. Then—by George! he + pulled my nose an' called me a bloody Englishman!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt groaned in the disgrace of the + moment. But, amazingly, Miss Anderson burst into a silvery + peal of laughter.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, dad!… that's—just + too—good for—anything! You met your—match + at last.… You know you always—boasted of your + drop of English blood.… And you're + sensitive—about your big nose!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He must be over seventy," growled + Anderson, as if seeking for some excuse to palliate his + restraint. "I'm mad—but it was funny." The working of + his face finally set in the huge wrinkles of a laugh.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Young Dorn struggled to repress his + own mirth, but unguardedly he happened to meet the dancing + blue eyes of the girl, merry, provocative, full of youth + and fun, and that was too much for him. He laughed with + them.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The joke's on me," said Anderson. + "An' I can take one.… Now, young man, I think I + gathered from your amiable dad that if the crop of wheat + was full I'd get my money. Otherwise I could take over the + land. For my part, I'd never do that, but the others + interested might do it, even for the little money involved. + I tried to buy them out so I'd have the whole mortgage. + They would not sell."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mr. Anderson, you're a square man, + and I'll do—" declared Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Come out an' show me the wheat," + interrupted Anderson. "Lenore, do you want to go with + us?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I do," replied the daughter, and she + took up her hat to put it on.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt led them through the yard, out + past the old barn, to the edge of the open slope where the + wheat stretched away, down and up, as far as the eye could + see.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER II</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We've got over sixteen hundred acres + in fallow ground, a half-section in rye, another half in + wheat—Turkey Red—and this section you see, six + hundred and forty acres, in Bluestem," said Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's keen eyes swept from near + at hand to far away, down the gentle, billowy slope and up + the far hillside. The wheat was two feet high, beginning to + be thick and heavy at the heads, as if struggling to burst. + A fragrant, dry, wheaty smell, mingled with dust, came on + the soft summer breeze, and a faint silken rustle. The + greenish, almost blue color near at hand gradually in the + distance grew lighter, and then yellow, and finally took on + a tinge of gold. There was a living spirit in that vast + wheat-field.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn, it's the finest wheat I've + seen!" exclaimed Anderson, with the admiration of the + farmer who aspired high. "In fact, it's the only fine field + of wheat I've seen since we left the foot-hills. How is + that?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Late spring and dry weather," replied + Dorn. "Most of the farmers' reports are poor. If we get + rain over the Bend country we'll have only an average yield + this year. If we don't get rain—then flat + failure."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Miss Anderson evinced an interest in + the subject and she wanted to know why this particular + field, identical with all the others for miles around, + should have a promise of a magnificent crop when the others + had no promise at all.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"This section lay fallow a long time," + replied Dorn. "Snow lasted here on this north slope quite a + while. My father used a method of soil cultivation intended + to conserve moisture. The seed wheat was especially + selected. And if we have rain during the next ten days this + section of Bluestem will yield fifty bushels to the + acre."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Fifty bushels!" ejaculated + Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Bluestem? Why do you call it that + when it's green and yellow?" queried the girl.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's a name. There are many varieties + of wheat. Bluestem is best here in this desert country + because it resists drought, it produces large yield, it + does not break, and the flour-mills rate it very high. + Bluestem is not good in wet soils."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson tramped along the edge of the + field, peering down, here and there pulling a shaft of + wheat and examining it. The girl gazed with dreamy eyes + across the undulating sea. And Dorn watched her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We have a ranch—thousands of + acres—but not like this," she said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's the difference?" asked + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She appeared pensive and in doubt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I hardly know. What would you call + this—this scene?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, I call it the desert of wheat! + But no one else does," he replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I named father's ranch 'Many Waters.' + I think those names tell the difference."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Isn't my desert beautiful?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. It has a sameness—a + monotony that would drive me mad. It looks as if the whole + world had gone to wheat. It makes me think—oppresses + me. All this means that we live by wheat alone. These bare + hills! They're too open to wind and sun and snow. They look + like the toil of ages."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Miss Anderson, there is such a thing + as love for the earth—the bare brown earth. You know + we came from dust, and to dust we return! These fields are + human to my father. And they have come to speak to + me—a language I don't understand yet. But I + mean—what you see—the growing wheat here, the + field of clods over there, the wind and dust and glare and + heat, the eternal sameness of the open space—these + are the things around which my life has centered, and when + I go away from them I am not content."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson came back to the young + couple, carrying some heads of wheat in his hand.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Smut!" he exclaimed, showing both + diseased and healthy specimens of wheat. "Had to hunt hard + to find that. Smut is the bane of all wheat-growers. I + never saw so little of it as there is here. In fact, we + know scarcely nothin' about smut an' its cure, if there is + any. You farmers who raise only grain have got the work + down to a science. This Bluestem is not bearded wheat, like + Turkey Red. Has that beard anythin' to do with smut?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I think not. The parasite, or fungus, + lives inside the wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Never heard that before. No wonder + smut is the worst trouble for wheat-raisers in the + Northwest. I've fields literally full of smut. An' we never + are rid of it. One farmer has one idea, an' some one else + another. What could be of greater importance to a farmer? + We're at war. The men who claim to know say that wheat will + win the war. An' we lose millions of bushels from this + smut. That's to say it's a terrible fact to face. I'd like + to get your ideas."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn, happening to glance again at + Miss Anderson, an act that seemed to be growing habitual, + read curiosity and interest, and something more, in her + direct blue eyes. The circumstance embarrassed him, though + it tugged at the flood-gates of his knowledge. He could + talk about wheat, and he did like to. Yet here was a girl + who might be supposed to be bored. Still, she did not + appear to be. That warm glance was not politeness.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I'd like to hear every word you + can say about wheat," she said, with an encouraging little + nod.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure she would," added Anderson, with + an affectionate hand on her shoulder. "She's a farmer's + daughter. She'll be a farmer's wife."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He laughed at this last sally. The + girl blushed. Dorn smiled and shook his head + doubtfully.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I imagine that good fortune will + never befall a farmer," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, if it should," she replied, + archly, "just consider how I might surprise him with my + knowledge of wheat.… Indeed, Mr. Dorn, I am + interested. I've never been in the Bend before—in + your desert of wheat. I never before felt the greatness of + loving the soil—or caring for it—of growing + things from seed. Yet the Bible teaches that, and I read my + Bible. Please tell us. The more you say the more I'll like + it."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn was not proof against this + eloquence. And he quoted two of his authorities, Heald and + Woolman, of the State Agricultural Experiment Station, + where he had studied for two years.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Bunt, or stinking smut, is caused by + two different species of microscopic fungi which live as + parasites in the wheat plant. Both are essentially similar + in their effects and their life-history. <i>Tilletia + tritici</i>, or the rough-spored variety, is the common + stinking smut of the Pacific regions, while <i>Tilletia + foetans</i>, or the smooth-spored species, is the one + generally found in the eastern United States.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The smut 'berries,' or 'balls,' from + an infected head contain millions of minute bodies, the + spores or 'seeds' of the smut fungus. These reproduce the + smut in somewhat the same way that a true seed develops + into a new plant. A single smut ball of average size + contains a sufficient number of spores to give one for each + grain of wheat in five or six bushels. It takes eight smut + spores to equal the diameter of a human hair. Normal wheat + grains from an infected field may have so many spores + lodged on their surface as to give them a dark color, but + other grains which show no difference in color to the naked + eye may still contain a sufficient number of spores to + produce a smutty crop if seed treatment is not + practised.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"When living smut spores are + introduced into the soil with the seed wheat, or exist in + the soil in which smut-free wheat is sown, a certain + percentage of the wheat plants are likely to become + infected. The smut spore germinates and produces first a + stage of the smut plant in the soil. This first stage never + infects a young seedling direct, but gives rise to + secondary spores, or sporida, from which infection threads + may arise and penetrate the shoot of a young seedling and + reach the growing point. Here the fungus threads keep pace + with the growth of the plant and reach maturity at or + slightly before harvest-time.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Since this disease is caused by an + internal parasite, it is natural to expect certain + responses to its presence. It should be noted first that + the smut fungus is living at the expense of its host plant, + the wheat, and its effect on the host may be summarized as + follows: The consumption of food, the destruction of food + in the sporulating process, and the stimulating or + retarding effect on normal physiological processes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Badly smutted plants remain in many + cases under-size and produce fewer and smaller heads. In + the Fife and Bluestem varieties the infected heads previous + to maturity exhibit a darker green color, and remain green + longer than the normal heads. In some varieties the + infected heads stand erect, when normal ones begin to droop + as a result of the increasing weight of the ripening + grain.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"A crop may become infected with smut + in a number of different ways. Smut was originally + introduced with the seed, and many farmers are still + planting it every season with their seed wheat. Wheat taken + from a smutty crop will have countless numbers of loose + spores adhering to the grains, also a certain number of + unbroken smut balls. These are always a source of danger, + even when the seed is treated with fungicides before + sowing.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There are also chances for the + infection of a crop if absolutely smut-free seed is + employed. First, soil infection from a previous smutty + crop; second, soil infection from wind-blown spores. + Experiments have shown that separated spores from crushed + smut balls lose their effective power in from two to three + months, provided the soil is moist and loose, and in no + case do they survive a winter.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It does not seem probable that wheat + smut will be controlled by any single practice, but rather + by the combined use of various methods: crop rotation; the + use of clean seed; seed treatment with fungicides; cultural + practices and breeding; and selection of varieties.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Failure to practise crop rotation is + undoubtedly one of the main explanations for the general + prevalence of smut in the wheat-fields of eastern + Washington. Even with an intervening summer fallow, the + smut from a previous crop may be a source of infection. + Experience shows that a fall stubble crop is less liable to + smut infection than a crop following summer fallow. The + apparent explanation for this condition is the fact that + the summer fallow becomes infected with wind-blown spores, + while in a stubble crop the wind-blown spores, as well as + those originating from the previous crop, are buried in + plowing.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If clean seed or properly treated + seed had been used by all farmers we should never have had + a smut problem. High per cents. of smut indicate either + soil infection or imperfect treatment. The principle of the + chemical treatment is to use a poison which will kill the + superficial spores of the smut and not materially injure + the germinating power of the seed. The hot-water treatment + is only recommended when one of the chemical 'steeps' is + not effective.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Certain cultural practices are + beneficial in reducing the amount of smut in all cases, + while the value of others depends to some extent upon the + source of the smut spores. The factors which always + influence the amount of smut are the temperature of the + soil during the germinating period, the amount of soil + moisture, and the depth of seeding. Where seed-borne spores + are the only sources of infection, attention to the three + factors mentioned will give the only cultural practices for + reducing the amount of smut.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Early seeding has been practised by + various farmers, and they report a marked reduction in + smut.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The replowing of the summer fallow + after the first fall rains is generally effective in + reducing the amount of smut.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Very late planting—that is, + four or five weeks after the first good fall rains—is + also an effective practice. Fall tillage of summer fallow, + other than plowing, seems to be beneficial.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No smut-immune varieties of wheat are + known, but the standard varieties show varying degrees of + resistance. Spring wheats generally suffer less from smut + than winter varieties. This is not due to any superior + resistance, but rather to the fact that they escape + infection. If only spring wheats were grown our smut + problem would largely disappear; but a return to this + practice is not suggested, since the winter wheats are much + more desirable. It seems probable that the conditions which + prevail during the growing season may have considerable + influence on the per cent of smut in any given + variety."</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When Dorn finished his discourse, to + receive the thanks of his listeners, they walked back + through the yard toward the road. Mr. Anderson, who led the + way, halted rather abruptly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hum! Who're those men talkin' to my + driver?" he queried.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn then saw a couple of strangers + standing near the motor-car, engaged in apparently close + conversation with the chauffeur. Upon the moment they + glanced up to see Mr. Anderson approaching, and they rather + hurriedly departed. Dorn had noted a good many strangers + lately—men whose garb was not that of farmers, whose + faces seemed foreign, whose actions were suspicious.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll bet a hundred they're I.W.W.'s," + declared Anderson. "Take my hunch, Dorn."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The strangers passed on down the road + without looking back.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wonder where they'll sleep to-night?" + muttered Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson rather sharply asked his + driver what the two men wanted. And the reply he got was + that they were inquiring about work.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did they speak English?" went on the + rancher.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well enough to make themselves + understood," replied the driver.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn did not get a good impression + from the shifty eyes and air of taciturnity of Mr. + Anderson's man, and it was evident that the blunt rancher + restrained himself. He helped his daughter into the car, + and then put on his long coat. Next he shook hands with + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Young man, I've enjoyed meetin' you, + an' have sure profited from same," he said. "Which makes up + for your dad! I'll run over here again to see + you—around harvest-time. An' I'll be wishin' for that + rain."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Thank you. If it does rain I'll be + happy to see you," replied Dorn, with a smile.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, if it doesn't rain I won't + come. I'll put it off another year, an' cuss them other + fellers into holdin' off, too."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're very kind. I don't know how + I'd—we'd ever repay you in that case."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Don't mention it. Say, how far did + you say it was to Palmer? We'll have lunch there."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's fifteen miles—that way," + answered Dorn. "If it wasn't for—for father I'd like + you to stay—and break some of my bread."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn was looking at the girl as he + spoke. Her steady gaze had been on him ever since she + entered the car, and in the shade of her hat and the veil + she was adjusting her eyes seemed very dark and sweet and + thoughtful. She brightly nodded her thanks as she held the + veil aside with both hands.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I wish you luck. Good-by," she said, + and closed the veil.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Still, Dorn could see her eyes through + it, and now they were sweeter, more mysterious, more + provocative of haunting thoughts. It flashed over him with + dread certainty that he had fallen in love with her. The + shock struck him mute. He had no reply for the rancher's + hearty farewell. Then the car lurched away and dust rose in + a cloud.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER III</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With a strange knocking of his heart, + high up toward his throat, Kurt Dorn stood stock-still, + watching the moving cloud of dust until it disappeared over + the hill.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">No doubt entered his mind. The truth, + the fact, was a year old—a long-familiar and dreamy + state—but its meaning had not been revealed to him + until just a moment past. Everything had changed when she + looked out with that sweet, steady gaze through the parted + veil and then slowly closed it. She had changed. There was + something intangible about her that last moment, baffling, + haunting. He leaned against a crooked old gate-post that as + a boy he had climbed, and the thought came to him that this + spot would all his life be vivid and poignant in his + memory. The first sight of a blue-eyed, sunny-haired girl, + a year and more before, had struck deep into his + unconscious heart; a second sight had made her an + unforgettable reality: and a third had been the realization + of love.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was sad, regrettable, + incomprehensible, and yet somehow his inner being swelled + and throbbed. Her name was Lenore Anderson. Her father was + one of the richest men in the state of Washington. She had + one brother, Jim, who would not wait for the army draft. + Kurt trembled and a hot rush of tears dimmed his eyes. All + at once his lot seemed unbearable. An immeasurable barrier + had arisen between him and his old father—a hideous + thing of blood, of years, of ineradicable difference; the + broad acres of wheatland so dear to him were to be taken + from him; love had overcome him with headlong rush, a love + that could never be returned; and cruelest of all, there + was the war calling him to give up his home, his father, + his future, and to go out to kill and to be killed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It came to him while he leaned there, + that, remembering the light of Lenore Anderson's eyes, he + could not give up to bitterness and hatred, whatever his + misfortunes and his fate. She would never be anything to + him, but he and her brother Jim and many other young + Americans must be incalculable all to her. That thought + saved Kurt Dorn. There were other things besides his own + career, his happiness; and the way he was placed, however + unfortunate from a selfish point of view, must not breed a + morbid self-pity.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The moment of his resolution brought a + flash, a revelation of what he owed himself. The work and + the thought and the feeling of his last few weeks there at + home must be intensified. He must do much and live greatly + in little time. This was the moment of his renunciation, + and he imagined that many a young man who had decided to go + to war had experienced a strange spiritual division of + self. He wondered also if that moment was not for many of + them a let-down, a throwing up of ideals, a helpless + retrograding and surrender to the brutalizing spirit of + war. But it could never be so for him. It might have been + had not that girl come into his life.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The bell for the midday meal roused + Kurt from his profound reverie, and he plodded back to the + house. Down through the barnyard gate he saw the hired men + coming, and a second glance discovered to him that two + unknown men were with them. Watching for a moment, Kurt + recognized the two strangers that had been talking to Mr. + Anderson's driver. They seemed to be talking earnestly now. + Kurt saw Jerry, a trusty and long-tried employee, rather + unceremoniously break away from these strangers. But they + followed him, headed him off, and with vehement nods and + gesticulations appeared to be arguing with him. The other + hired men pushed closer, evidently listening. Finally Jerry + impatiently broke away and tramped toward the house. These + strangers sent sharp words after him—words that Kurt + could not distinguish, though he caught the tone of scorn. + Then the two individuals addressed themselves to the other + men; and in close contact the whole party passed out of + sight behind the barn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Thoughtfully Kurt went into the house. + He meant to speak to Jerry about the strangers, but he + wanted to consider the matter first. He had misgivings. His + father was not in the sitting-room, nor in the kitchen. + Dinner was ready on the table, and the one servant, an old + woman who had served the Dorns for years, appeared + impatient at the lack of promptness in the men. Both father + and son, except on Sundays, always ate with the hired help. + Kurt stepped outside to find Jerry washing at the + bench.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jerry, what's keeping the men?" + queried Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, they're palaverin' out there + with two I.W.W. fellers," replied Jerry.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt reached for the rope of the + farm-bell, and rang it rather sharply. Then he went in to + take his place at the table, and Jerry soon followed. Old + man Dorn did not appear, which fact was not unusual. The + other hired men did not enter until Jerry and Kurt were + half done with the meal. They seemed excited and somewhat + boisterous, Kurt thought, but once they settled down to + eating, after the manner of hungry laborers, they had + little to say. Kurt, soon finishing his dinner, went + outdoors to wait for Jerry. That individual appeared to be + long in coming, and loud voices in the kitchen attested to + further argument. At last, however, he lounged out and + began to fill a pipe.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jerry, I want to talk to you," said + Kurt. "Let's get away from the house."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The hired man was a big, lumbering + fellow, gnarled like an old oak-tree. He had a good-natured + face and honest eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon you want to hear about them + I.W.W. fellers?" he asked, as they walked away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," replied Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There's been a regular procession of + them fellers, the last week or so, walkin' through the + country," replied Jerry. "To-day's the first time any of + them got to me. But I've heerd talk. Sunday when I was in + Palmer the air was full of rumors."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Rumors of what?" queried Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"All kinds," answered Jerry, + nonchalantly scratching his stubby beard. "There's an army + of I.W.W.'s comin' in from eastward. Idaho an' Montana are + gittin' a dose now. Short hours; double wages; join the + union; sabotage, whatever thet is; capital an' labor fight; + threats if you don't fall in line; an' Lord knows what + all."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What did those two fellows want of + you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wanted us to join the I.W.W.," + replied the laborer.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did they want a job?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not as I heerd. Why, one of them had + a wad of bills thet would choke a cow. He did most of the + talkin'. The little feller with the beady eyes an' the + pock-marks, he didn't say much. He's Austrian an' not long + in this country. The big stiff—Glidden, he called + himself—must be some shucks in thet I.W.W. He looked + an' talked oily at first—very persuadin'; but when I + says I wasn't goin' to join no union he got sassy an' + bossy. They made me sore, so I told him to go to hell. Then + he said the I.W.W. would run the whole Northwest this + summer—wheat-fields, lumberin', fruit-harvestin', + railroadin'—the whole kaboodle, an' thet any workman + who wouldn't join would git his, all right."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, Jerry, what do you think about + this organization?" queried Kurt, anxiously.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not much. It ain't a square deal. I + ain't got no belief in them. What I heerd of their + threatenin' methods is like the way this Glidden talks. If + I owned a farm I'd drive such fellers off with a whip. + There's goin' to be bad doin's if they come driftin' strong + into the Bend."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jerry, are you satisfied with your + job?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure. I won't join the I.W.W. An' + I'll talk ag'in' it. I reckon a few of us will hev to do + all the harvestin'. An', considerin' thet, I'll take a + dollar a day more on my wages."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If father does not agree to that, I + will," said Kurt. "Now how about the other men?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, they all air leanin' toward + promises of little work an' lots of pay," answered Jerry, + with a laugh. "Morgan's on the fence about joinin'. But + Andrew agreed. He's Dutch an' pig-headed. Jansen's only too + glad to make trouble fer his boss. They're goin' to lay off + the rest of to-day an' talk with Glidden. They all agreed + to meet down by the culvert. An' thet's what they was + arguin' with me fer—wanted me to come."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Where's this man Glidden?" demanded + Kurt. "I'll give him a piece of my mind."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon he's hangin' round the + farm—out of sight somewhere."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"All right, Jerry. Now you go back to + work. You'll never lose anything by sticking to us, I + promise you that. Keep your eyes and ears open."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt strode back to the house, and his + entrance to the kitchen evidently interrupted a colloquy of + some kind. The hired men were still at table. They looked + down at their plates and said nothing. Kurt left the + sitting-room door open, and, turning, he asked Martha if + his father had been to dinner.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, an' what's more, when I called he + takes to roarin' like a mad bull," replied the woman.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt crossed the sitting-room to knock + upon his father's door. The reply forthcoming did justify + the old woman's comparison. It certainly caused the hired + men to evacuate the kitchen with alacrity. Old Chris Dorn's + roar at his son was a German roar, which did not soothe the + young man's rising temper. Of late the father had taken + altogether to speaking German. He had never spoken English + well. And Kurt was rapidly approaching the point where he + would not speak German. A deadlock was in sight, and Kurt + grimly prepared to meet it. He pounded on the locked + door.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The men are going to lay off," he + called.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Who runs this farm?" was the + thundered reply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The I.W.W. is going to run it if you + sulk indoors as you have done lately," yelled Kurt. He + thought that would fetch his father stamping out, but he + had reckoned falsely. There was no further sound. Leaving + the room in high dudgeon, Kurt hurried out to catch the + hired men near at hand and to order them back to work. They + trudged off surlily toward the barn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Kurt went on to search for the + I.W.W. men, and after looking up and down the road, and all + around, he at length found them behind an old strawstack. + They were comfortably sitting down, backs to the straw, + eating a substantial lunch. Kurt was angry and did not + care. His appearance, however, did not faze the strangers. + One of them, an American, was a man of about thirty years, + clean-shaven, square-jawed, with light, steely, secretive + gray eyes, and a look of intelligence and assurance that + did not harmonize with his motley garb. His companion was a + foreigner, small of stature, with eyes like a ferret and + deep pits in his sallow face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Do you know you're trespassing?" + demanded Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You grudge us a little shade, eh, + even to eat a bite?" said the American. He wrapped a paper + round his lunch and leisurely rose, to fasten penetrating + eyes upon the young man. "That's what I heard about you + rich farmers of the Bend."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What business have you coming here?" + queried Kurt, with sharp heat. "You sneak out of sight of + the farmers. You trespass to get at our men and with a lot + of lies and guff you make them discontented with their + jobs. I'll fire these men just for listening to you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mister Dorn, we want you to fire + them. That's my business out here," replied the + American.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Who are you, anyway?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's my business, too."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt passed from hot to cold. He could + not miss the antagonism of this man, a bold and menacing + attitude.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My foreman says your name's Glidden," + went on Kurt, cooler this time, "and that you're talking + I.W.W. as if you were one of its leaders; that you don't + want a job; that you've got a wad of money; that you coax, + then threaten; that you've intimidated three of our + hands."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Your Jerry's a marked man," said + Glidden, shortly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You impudent scoundrel!" exclaimed + Kurt. "Now you listen to this. You're the first I.W.W. man + I've met. You look and talk like an American. But if you + are American you're a traitor. We've a war to fight! War + with a powerful country! Germany! And you come spreading + discontent in the wheat-fields,… when wheat means + life!… Get out of here before I—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We'll mark you, too, Mister Dorn, and + your wheat-fields," snapped Glidden.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With one swift lunge Kurt knocked the + man flat and then leaped to stand over him, watching for a + move to draw a weapon. The little foreigner slunk back out + of reach.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll start a little marking myself," + grimly said Kurt. "Get up!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Slowly Glidden moved from elbow to + knees, and then to his feet. His cheek was puffing out and + his nose was bleeding. The light-gray eyes were lurid.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's for your I.W.W.!" declared + Kurt. "The first rule of your I.W.W. is to abolish capital, + hey?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt had not intended to say that. It + slipped out in his fury. But the effect was striking. + Glidden gave a violent start and his face turned white. + Abruptly he hurried away. His companion shuffled after him. + Kurt stared at them, thinking the while that if he had + needed any proof of the crookedness of the I.W.W. he had + seen it in Glidden's guilty face. The man had been suddenly + frightened, and surprise, too, had been prominent in his + countenance. Then Kurt remembered how Anderson had + intimated that the secrets of the I.W.W. had been long + hidden. Kurt, keen and quick in his sensibilities, divined + that there was something powerful back of this Glidden's + cunning and assurance. Could it be only the power of a new + labor organization? That might well be great, but the idea + did not convince Kurt. During a hurried and tremendous + preparation by the government for war, any disorder such as + menaced the country would be little short of a calamity. It + might turn out a fatality. This so-called labor union + intended to take advantage of a crisis to further its own + ends. Yet even so, that fact did not wholly explain Glidden + and his subtlety. Some nameless force loomed dark and + sinister back of Glidden's meaning, and it was not peril to + the wheatlands of the Northwest alone.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Like a huge dog Kurt shook himself and + launched into action. There were sense and pleasure in + muscular activity, and it lessened the habit of worry. Soon + he ascertained that only Morgan had returned to work in the + fields. Andrew and Jansen were nowhere to be seen. Jansen + had left four horses hitched to a harrow. Kurt went out to + take up the work thus abandoned.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was a long field, and if he had + earned a dollar for every time he had traversed its length, + during the last ten years, he would have been a rich man. + He could have walked it blindfolded. It was fallow ground, + already plowed, disked, rolled, and now the last stage was + to harrow it, loosening the soil, conserving the + moisture.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Morgan, far to the other side of this + section, had the better of the job, for his harrow was a + new machine and he could ride while driving the horses. But + Kurt, using an old harrow, had to walk. The four big horses + plodded at a gait that made Kurt step out to keep up with + them. To keep up, to drive a straight line, to hold back on + the reins, was labor for a man. It spoke well for Kurt that + he had followed that old harrow hundreds of miles, that he + could stand the strain, that he loved both the physical + sense and the spiritual meaning of the toil.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Driving west, he faced a wind laden + with dust as dry as powder. At every sheeted cloud, + whipping back from the hoofs of the horses and the steel + spikes of the harrow, he had to bat his eyes to keep from + being blinded. The smell of dust clogged his nostrils. As + soon as he began to sweat under the hot sun the dust caked + on his face, itching, stinging, burning. There was dust + between his teeth.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Driving back east was a relief. The + wind whipped the dust away from him. And he could catch the + fragrance of the newly turned soil. How brown and clean and + earthy it looked! Where the harrow had cut and ridged, the + soil did not look thirsty and parched. But that which was + unharrowed cried out for rain. No cloud in the hot sky, + except the yellow clouds of dust!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">On that trip east across the field, + which faced the road, Dorn saw pedestrians in twos and + threes passing by. Once he was hailed, but made no answer. + He would not have been surprised to see a crowd, yet + travelers were scarce in that region. The sight of these + men, some of them carrying bags and satchels, was + disturbing to the young farmer. Where were they going? All + appeared outward bound toward the river. They came, of + course, from the little towns, the railroads, the cities. + At this season, with harvest-time near at hand, it had been + in former years no unusual sight to see strings of laborers + passing by. But this year they came earlier, and in greater + numbers.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With the wind in his face, however, + Dorn saw nothing but the horses and the brown line ahead, + and half the time they were wholly obscured in yellow dust. + He began thinking about Lenore Anderson, just pondering + that strange, steady look of a girl's eyes; and then he did + not mind the dust or heat or distance. Never could he be + cheated of his thoughts. And those of her, even the painful + ones, gave birth to a comfort that he knew must abide with + him henceforth on lonely labors such as this, perhaps in + the lonelier watches of a soldier's duty. She had been + curious, aloof, then sympathetic; she had studied his face; + she had been an eloquent-eyed listener to his discourse on + wheat. But she had not guessed his secret. Not until her + last look—strange, deep, potent—had he guessed + that secret himself.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">So, with mind both busy and absent, + Kurt Dorn harrowed the fallow ground abandoned by his men; + and when the day was done, with the sun setting hot and + coppery beyond the dim, dark ranges, he guided the tired + horses homeward and plodded back of them, weary and + spent.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He was to learn from Morgan, at the + stables, that the old man had discharged both Andrew and + Jansen. And Jansen, liberating some newly assimilated + poison, had threatened revenge. He would see that any hired + men would learn a thing or two, so that they would not sign + up with Chris Dorn. In a fury the old man had driven Jansen + out into the road.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Sober and moody, Kurt put the horses + away, and, washing the dust grime from sunburnt face and + hands, he went to his little attic room, where he changed + his damp and sweaty clothes. Then he went down to supper + with mind made up to be lenient and silent with his old and + sorely tried father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Chris Dorn sat in the light of the + kitchen lamps. He was a huge man with a great, round, + bullet-shaped head and a shock of gray hair and bristling, + grizzled beard. His face was broad, heavy, and seemed + sodden with dark, brooding thought. His eyes, under bushy + brows, were pale gleams of fire. He looked immovable as to + both bulk and will.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Never before had Kurt Dorn so acutely + felt the fixed, contrary, ruthless nature of his parent. + Never had the distance between them seemed so great. Kurt + shivered and sighed at once. Then, being hungry, he fell to + eating in silence. Presently the old man shoved his plate + back, and, wiping his face, he growled, in German:</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I discharged Andrew and Jansen."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I know," replied Kurt. "It + wasn't good judgment. What'll we do for hands?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll hire more. Men are coming for + the harvest."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But they all belong to the I.W.W.," + protested Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"And what's that?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In scarcely subdued wrath Kurt + described in detail, and to the best of his knowledge, what + the I.W.W. was, and he ended by declaring the organization + treacherous to the United States.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"How's that?" asked old Dorn, + gruffly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt was actually afraid to tell his + father, who never read newspapers, who knew little of what + was going on, that if the Allies were to win the war it was + wheat that would be the greatest factor. Instead of that he + said if the I.W.W. inaugurated strikes and disorder in the + Northwest it would embarrass the government.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then I'll hire I.W.W. men," said old + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt battled against a rising temper. + This blind old man was his father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But I'll not have I.W.W. men on the + farm," retorted Kurt. "I just punched one I.W.W. + solicitor."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll run this farm. If you don't like + my way you can leave," darkly asserted the father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt fell back in his chair and stared + at the turgid, bulging forehead and hard eyes before him. + What could be behind them? Had the war brought out a twist + in his father's brain? Why were Germans so impossible?</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My Heavens! father, would you turn me + out of my home because we disagree?" he asked, + desperately.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"In my country sons obey their fathers + or they go out for themselves."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I've not been a disobedient son," + declared Kurt. "And here in America sons have more + freedom—more say."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"America has no sense of family + life—no honest government. I hate the country."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A ball of fire seemed to burst in + Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That kind of talk infuriates me," he + blazed. "I don't care if you are my father. Why in the hell + did you come to America? Why did you stay? Why did you + marry my mother—an American woman?… That's + rot—just spiteful rot! I've heard you tell what life + was in Europe when you were a boy. You ran off. You stayed + in this country because it was a better country than + yours.… Fifty years you've been in America—many + years on this farm. And you love this land.… My God! + father, can't you and men like you see the truth?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Aye, I can," gloomily replied the old + man. "The truth is we'll lose the land. That greedy + Anderson will drive me off."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He will not. He's + fine—generous," asserted Kurt, earnestly. "All he + wanted was to see the prospects of the harvest and perhaps + to help you. Anderson has not had interest on his money for + three years. I'll bet he's paid interest demanded by the + other stockholders in that bank you borrowed from. Why, + he's our friend!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Aye, and I see more," boomed the + father. "He fetched his lass up here to make eyes at my + son. I saw her—the sly wench!… Boy, you'll not + marry her!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt choked back his mounting + rage.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Certainly I never will," he said, + bitterly. "But I would if she'd have me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What!" thundered Dorn, his white + locks standing up and shaking like the mane of a lion. + "That wheat banker's daughter! Never! I forbid it. You + shall not marry any American girl."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father, this is idle, foolish rant," + cried Kurt, with a high warning note in his voice. "I've no + idea of marrying.… But if I had one—whom else + could I marry except an American girl?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll sell the wheat—the land. + We'll go back to Germany!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That was maddening to Kurt. He sprang + up, sending dishes to the floor with a crash. He bent over + to pound the table with a fist. Violent speech choked him + and he felt a cold, tight blanching of his face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Listen!" he rang out. "If I go to + Germany it'll be as a soldier—to kill Germans!… + I'm done—I'm through with the very name.… + Listen to the last words I'll ever speak to you in + German—the last! <i>To hell with Germany</i>!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Kurt plunged, blind in his + passion, out of the door into the night. And as he went he + heard his father cry out, brokenly:</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My son! Oh, my son!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The night was dark and cool. A faint + wind blew across the hills, and it was dry, redolent, + sweet. The sky seemed an endless curving canopy of dark + blue blazing with myriads of stars.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt staggered out of the yard, down + along the edge of a wheat-field, to one of the + straw-stacks, and there he flung himself down in an + agony.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, I'm ruined—ruined!" he + moaned. "The break—has come!… Poor old + dad!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He leaned there against the straw, + shaking and throbbing, with a cold perspiration bathing + face and body. Even the palms of his hands were wet. A + terrible fit of anger was beginning to loose its hold upon + him. His breathing was labored in gasps and sobs. + Unutterable stupidity of his father—horrible cruelty + of his position! What had he ever done in all his life to + suffer under such a curse? Yet almost he clung to his + wrath, for it had been righteous. That thing, that infernal + twist in the brain, that was what was wrong with his + father. His father who had been fifty years in the United + States! How simple, then, to understand what was wrong with + Germany.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"By God! I am—American!" he + panted, and it was as if he called to the grave of his + mother, over there on the dark, windy hill.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That tremendous uprising of his + passion had been a vortex, an end, a decision. And he + realized that even to that hour there had been a drag in + his blood. It was over now. The hell was done with. His + soul was free. This weak, quaking body of his housed his + tainted blood and the emotions of his heart, but it could + not control his mind, his will. Beat by beat the helpless + fury in him subsided, and then he fell back and lay still + for a long time, eyes shut, relaxed and still.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A hound bayed mournfully; the insects + chirped low, incessantly; the night wind rustled the silken + heads of wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">After a while the young man sat up and + looked at the heavens, at the twinkling white stars, and + then away across the shadows of round hills in the dusk. + How lonely, sad, intelligible, and yet mystic the night and + the scene!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">What came to him then was revealing, + uplifting—a source of strength to go on. He was not + to blame for what had happened; he could not change the + future. He had a choice between playing the part of a man + or that of a coward, and he had to choose the former. There + seemed to be a spirit beside him—the spirit of his + mother or of some one who loved him and who would have him + be true to an ideal, and, if needful, die for it. No night + in all his life before had been like this one. The dreaming + hills with their precious rustling wheat meant more than + even a spirit could tell. Where had the wheat come from + that had seeded these fields? Whence the first and original + seeds, and where were the sowers? Back in the ages! The + stars, the night, the dark blue of heaven hid the secret in + their impenetrableness. Beyond them surely was the answer, + and perhaps peace.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Material things—life, + success—such as had inspired Kurt Dorn, on this calm + night lost their significance and were seen clearly. They + could not last. But the wheat there, the hills, the + stars—they would go on with their task. Passion was + the dominant side of a man declaring itself, and that was a + matter of inheritance. But self-sacrifice, with its mercy, + its succor, its seed like the wheat, was as infinite as the + stars. He had long made up his mind, yet that had not given + him absolute restraint. The world was full of little men, + but he refused to stay little. This war that had come + between him and his father had been bred of the fumes of + self-centered minds, turned with an infantile fatality to + greedy desires. His poor old blinded father could be + excused and forgiven. There were other old men, sick, + crippled, idle, who must suffer pain, but whose pain could + be lightened. There were babies, children, women, who must + suffer for the sins of men, but that suffering need no + longer be, if men became honest and true.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His sudden up-flashing love had a few + hours back seemed a calamity. But out there beside the + whispering wheat, under the passionless stars, in the + dreaming night, it had turned into a blessing. He asked + nothing but to serve. To serve her, his country, his + future! All at once he who had always yearned for something + unattainable had greatness thrust upon him. His tragical + situation had evoked a spirit from the gods.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">To kiss that blue-eyed girl's sweet + lips would be a sum of joy, earthly, all-satisfying, + precious. The man in him trembled all over at the daring + thought. He might revel in such dreams, and surrender to + them, since she would never know, but the divinity he + sensed there in the presence of those stars did not dwell + on a woman's lips. Kisses were for the present, the all too + fleeting present; and he had to concern himself with what + he might do for one girl's future. It was exquisitely sad + and sweet to put it that way, though Kurt knew that if he + had never seen Lenore Anderson he would have gone to war + just the same. He was not making an abstract sacrifice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The wheat-fields rolling before him, + every clod of which had been pressed by his bare feet as a + boy; the father whose changeless blood had sickened at the + son of his loins; the life of hope, freedom, of action, of + achievement, of wonderful possibility—these seemed + lost to Kurt Dorn, a necessary renunciation when he yielded + to the call of war.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But no loss, no sting of bullet or + bayonet, no torturing victory of approaching death, could + balance in the scale against the thought of a picture of + one American girl—blue-eyed, red-lipped, + golden-haired—as she stepped somewhere in the future, + down a summer lane or through a blossoming orchard, on soil + that was free.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Toward the end of July eastern + Washington sweltered under the most torrid spell of heat on + record. It was a dry, high country, noted for an equable + climate, with cool summers and mild winters. And this + unprecedented wave would have been unbearable had not the + atmosphere been free from humidity.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The haze of heat seemed like a pall of + thin smoke from distant forest fires. The sun rose, a + great, pale-red ball, hot at sunrise, and it soared + blazing-white at noon, to burn slowly westward through a + cloudless, coppery sky, at last to set sullen and crimson + over the ranges.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Spokane, being the only center of + iron, steel, brick, and masonry in this area, resembled a + city of furnaces. Business was slack. The asphalt of the + streets left clean imprints of a pedestrian's feet; bits of + newspaper stuck fast to the hot tar. Down by the gorge, + where the great green river made its magnificent plunges + over the falls, people congregated, tarried, and were loath + to leave, for here the blowing mist and the air set into + motion by the falling water created a temperature that was + relief.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Citizens talked of the protracted hot + spell, of the blasted crops, of an almost sure disaster to + the wheat-fields, and of the activities of the I.W.W. Even + the war, for the time being, gave place to the nearer + calamities impending.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Montana had taken drastic measures + against the invading I.W.W. The Governor of Idaho had sent + word to the camps of the organization that they had five + days to leave that state. Spokane was awakening to the + menace of hordes of strange, idle men who came in on the + westbound freight-trains. The railroads had been unable to + handle the situation. They were being hard put to it to run + trains at all. The train crews that refused to join the + I.W.W. had been threatened, beaten, shot at, and otherwise + intimidated.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The Chamber of Commerce sent an + imperative appeal to representative wheat-raisers, + ranchers, lumbermen, farmers, and bade them come to Spokane + to discuss the situation. They met at the Hotel Davenport, + where luncheon was served in one of the magnificently + appointed dining-halls of that most splendid hotel in the + West.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The lion of this group of Spokane + capitalists was Riesinberg, a man of German forebears, but + all American in his sympathies, with a son already in the + army. Riesinberg was president of a city bank and of the + Chamber of Commerce. His first words to the large assembly + of clean-cut, square-jawed, intent-eyed Westerners were: + "Gentlemen, we are here to discuss the most threatening and + unfortunate situation the Northwest was ever called upon to + meet." His address was not long, but it was stirring. The + Chamber of Commerce could provide unlimited means, could + influence and control the state government; but it was from + the visitors invited to this meeting, the men of the + outlying districts which were threatened, that objective + proofs must come and the best methods of procedure.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The first facts to come out were that + many crops were ruined already, but, owing to the increased + acreage that year, a fair yield was expected; that wheat in + the Bend would be a failure, though some farmers here and + there would harvest well; that the lumber districts were + not operating, on account of the I.W.W.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then it was that the organization of + men who called themselves the Industrial Workers of the + World drew the absorbed attention of the meeting. + Depredations already committed stunned the members of the + Chamber of Commerce.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">President Riesinberg called upon + Beardsley, a prominent and intelligent rancher of the + southern wheat-belt. Beardsley said:</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"It is difficult to speak with any + moderation of the outrageous eruption of the I.W.W. It is + nothing less than rebellion, and the most effective means + of suppressing rebellion is to apply a little of that + 'direct action' which is the favorite diversion of the + I.W.W.'s.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"The I.W.W. do not intend to accomplish + their treacherous aims by anything so feeble as speech; + they scorn the ballot-box. They are against the war, and + their method of making known their protest is by burning + our grain, destroying our lumber, and blowing up + freight-trains. They seek to make converts not by argument, + but by threats and intimidation.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"We read that Western towns are seeking + to deport these rebels. In the old days we can imagine more + drastic measures would have been taken. The Westerners were + handy with the rope and the gun in those days. We are not + counseling lynch law, but we think deportation is too mild + a punishment.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"We are too 'civilized' to apply the + old Roman law, 'Spare the conquered and extirpate the + rebels,' but at least we could intern them. The British + have found it practicable to put German prisoners to work + at useful employment. Why couldn't we do the same with our + rebel I.W.W.'s?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jones, a farmer from the Yakima + Valley, told that business men, housewives, professional + men, and high-school boys and girls would help to save the + crop of Washington to the nation in case of labor trouble. + Steps already had been taken to mobilize workers in stores, + offices, and homes for work in the orchards and + grain-fields, should the I.W.W. situation seriously + threaten harvests.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Pledges to go into the hay or grain + fields or the orchards, with a statement of the number of + days they were willing to work, had been signed by + virtually all the men in North Yakima.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Helmar, lumberman from the Blue + Mountains, spoke feelingly; he said:</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"My company is the owner of a + considerable amount of timbered lands and timber purchased + from the state and from individuals. We have been engaged + in logging that land until our operations have been stopped + and our business paralyzed by an organization which calls + itself the Industrial Workers of the World, and by members + of that organization, and other lawless persons acting in + sympathy with them.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Our employees have been threatened + with physical violence and death.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Our works are picketed by individuals + who camp out in the forests and who intimidate and threaten + our employees.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Open threats have been made that our + works, our logs, and our timber will all be burned.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Sabotage is publicly preached in the + meetings, and in the literature of the organization it is + advised and upheld.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"The open boast is made that the + lumbering industry, with all other industry, will be + paralyzed by this organization, by the destruction of + property used in industry and by the intimidation of + laborers who are willing to work.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"A real and present danger to the + property of my company exists. Unless protection is given + to us it will probably be burned and destroyed. Our lawful + operations cannot be conducted because laborers who are + willing to work are fearful of their lives and are subject + to abuse, threats, and violence. Our camps, when in + operation, are visited by individuals belonging to the said + organization, and the men peaceably engaged in them + threatened with death if they do not cease work. All sorts + of injury to property by the driving of spikes in logs, the + destruction of logs, and other similar acts are encouraged + and recommended.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"As I pointed out to the sheriff of our + county, the season is a very dry one and the woods are and + will be, unless rain comes, in danger of disastrous fires. + The organization and its members have openly and repeatedly + asserted that they will burn the logs in the woods and burn + the forests of this company and other timber-holders before + they will permit logging operations to continue.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Many individuals belonging to the + organization are camped in the open in the timbered + country, and their very presence is a fire menace. They are + engaged in no business except to interfere with the + industry and to interfere with the logging of this company + and others who engaged in the logging business.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"We have done what we could in a lawful + manner to continue our operations and to protect our + employees. We are now helpless, and place the + responsibility for the protection of our property and the + protection of our employees upon the board of county + commissioners and upon the officers of the county."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Next President Riesinberg called upon + a young reporter to read paragraphs of an I.W.W. speech he + had heard made to a crowd of three hundred workmen. It was + significant that several members of the Chamber of Commerce + called for a certain paragraph to be reread. It was + this:</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"If you working-men could only stand + together you could do in this country what has been done in + Russia," declared the I.W.W. orator. "You know what the + working-men did there to the slimy curs, the gunmen, and + the stool-pigeons of the capitalistic class. They bumped + them off. They sent them up to say, 'Good morning, + Jesus.'"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">After a moment of muttering and + another silence the president again addressed the + meeting:</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Gentlemen, we have Anderson of Golden + Valley with us to-day. If there are any of you present who + do not know him, you surely have heard of him. His people + were pioneers. He was born in Washington. He is a type of + the men who have made the Northwest. He fought the Indians + in early days and packed a gun for the outlaws—and + to-day, gentlemen, he owns a farm as big as Spokane County. + We want to hear from him."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When Anderson rose to reply it was + seen that he was pale and somber. Slowly he gazed at the + assembly of waiting men, bowed; then he began, + impressively:</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Gentlemen an' friends, I wish I didn't + have to throw a bomb into this here camp-fire talk. But + I've got to. You're all talkin' I.W.W. Facts have been told + showin' a strange an' sudden growth of this here four-flush + labor union. We've had dealin's with them for several + years. But this year it's different.… All at once + they've multiplied and strengthened. There's somethin' + behind them. A big unseen hand is stackin' the deck.… + An', countrymen, that tremendous power is German gold!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's deep voice rang like a + bell. His hearers sat perfectly silent. No surprise showed, + but faces grew set and hard. After a pause of suspense, in + which his denunciation had time to sink in, Anderson + resumed:</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"A few weeks ago a young man, a + stranger, came to me an' asked for a job. He could do + anythin', he said. An' I hired him to drive my car. But he + wasn't much of a driver. We went up in the Bend country one + day, an' on that trip I got suspicious of him. I caught him + talkin' to what I reckoned was I.W.W. men. An' then, back + home again, I watched him an' kept my ears open. It didn't + take long for me to find discontent among my farm-hands. I + hire about a hundred hands on my ranches durin' the long + off season, an' when harvest comes round a good many more. + All I can get, in fact.… Well, I found my hands + quittin' me, which was sure onusual. An' I laid it to that + driver.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"One day not long ago I run across him + hobnobbin' with the strange man I'd seen talkin' with him + on the Bend trip. But my driver—Nash, he calls + himself—didn't see me. That night I put a cowboy to + watch him. An' what this cowboy heard, put together two an' + two, was that Nash was assistant to an I.W.W. leader named + Glidden. He had sent for Glidden to come to look over my + ranch. Both these I.W.W. men had more money than they could + well carry—lots of it gold! The way they talked of + this money proved that they did not know the source, but + the supply was unlimited.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Next day Glidden could not be found. + But my cowboy had learned enough to show his methods. If + these proselyters could not coax or scare trusted men to + join the I.W.W., they tried to corrupt them with money. An' + in most cases they're successful. I've not yet sprung + anythin' on my driver, Nash. But he can't get away, an' + meanwhile I'll learn much by watchin' him. Maybe through + Nash I can catch Glidden. An' so, gentlemen, here we have a + plain case. An' the menace is enough to chill the heart of + every loyal citizen. Any way you put it, if harvests can't + be harvested, if wheat-fields an' lumber forests are + burned, if the state militia has to be called out—any + way you put it our government will be hampered, our + supplies kept from our allies—an' so the cause of + Germany will be helped.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"The I.W.W. have back of them an + organized power with a definite purpose. There can hardly + be any doubt that that power is Germany. The agitators an' + leaders throughout the country are well paid. Probably + they, as individuals, do not know who pays them. + Undoubtedly a little gang of men makes the deals, handles + the money. We read that every U.S. attorney is + investigating the I.W.W. The government has determined to + close down on them. But lawyers an' law are slow to act. + Meanwhile the danger to us is at hand.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Gentlemen, to finish let me say that + down in my country we're goin' to rustle the I.W.W. in the + good old Western way."</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER V</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Golden Valley was the Garden of Eden + of the Northwest. The southern slope rose to the Blue + Mountains, whence flowed down the innumerable brooks that, + uniting to form streams and rivers, abundantly watered the + valley.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The black reaches of timber extended + down to the grazing-uplands, and these bordered on the + sloping golden wheat-fields, which in turn contrasted so + vividly with the lower green alfalfa-pastures; then came + the orchards with their ruddy, mellow fruit, and lastly the + bottom-lands where the vegetable-gardens attested to the + wonderful richness of the soil. From the mountain-side the + valley seemed a series of colored benches, stepping down, + black to gray, and gray to gold, and gold to green with + purple tinge, and on to the perfectly ordered, many-hued + floor with its innumerable winding, tree-bordered streams + glinting in the sunlight.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The extremes of heat and cold never + visited Golden Valley. Spokane and the Bend country, just + now sweltering in a torrid zone, might as well have been in + the Sahara, for all the effect it had on this garden spot + of all the Inland Empire. It was hot in the valley, but not + unpleasant. In fact, the greatest charm in this secluded + vale was its pleasant climate all the year round. No summer + cyclones, no winter blizzards, no cloudbursts or bad + thunderstorms. It was a country that, once lived in, could + never be left.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">There were no poor inhabitants in that + great area of twenty-five hundred miles; and there were + many who were rich. Prosperous little towns dotted the + valley floor; and the many smooth, dusty, much-used roads + all led to Ruxton, a wealthy and fine city.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson, the rancher, had driven his + car to Spokane. Upon his return he had with him a + detective, whom he expected to use in the I.W.W. + investigations, and a neighbor rancher. They had left + Spokane early and had endured almost insupportable dust and + heat. A welcome change began as they slid down from the + bare desert into the valley; and once across the Copper + River, Anderson began to breathe freer and to feel he was + nearing home.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"God's country!" he said, as he struck + the first low swell of rising land, where a cool wind from + off the wooded and watered hills greeted his face. Dust + there still was, but it seemed a different kind and smelled + of apple-orchards and alfalfa-fields. Here were hard, + smooth roads, and Anderson sped his car miles and miles + through a country that was a verdant fragrant bower, and + across bright, shady streams and by white little + hamlets.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At Huntington he dropped his neighbor + rancher, and also the detective, Hall, who was to go + disguised into the districts overrun by the I.W.W. A + further run of forty miles put him on his own property.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson owned a string of farms and + ranches extending from the bottom-lands to the timber-line + of the mountains. They represented his life of hard work + and fair dealing. Many of these orchard and vegetable lands + he had tenant farmers work on shares. The uplands or wheat + and grass he operated himself. As he had accumulated + property he had changed his place of residence from time to + time, at last to build a beautiful and permanent home + farther up on the valley slope than any of the others.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was a modern house, white, with a + red roof. Situated upon a high level bench, with the waving + gold fields sloping up from it and the green squares of + alfalfa and orchards below, it appeared a landmark from all + around, and could be plainly seen from Vale, the nearest + little town, five miles away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson had always loved the open, + and he wanted a place where he could see the sun rise over + the distant valley gateway, and watch it set beyond the + bold black range in the west. He could sit on his front + porch, wide and shady, and look down over two thousand + acres of his own land. But from the back porch no eye could + have encompassed the limit of his broad, swelling slopes of + grain and grass.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">From the main road he drove up to the + right of the house, where, under a dip of wooded slope, + clustered barns, sheds, corrals, granaries, engine and + machinery houses, a store, and the homes of hired + men—a little village in itself.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The sounds he heard were a welcome + home—the rush of swift water not twenty yards from + where he stopped the car in the big courtyard, the pound of + hoofs on the barn floor, the shrill whistle of a stallion + that saw and recognized him, the drawling laugh of his + cowboys and the clink of their spurs as they became aware + of his return.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash, the suspected driver, was among + those who hurried to meet the car.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's keen, covert glance made + note of the driver's worried and anxious face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nash, she'll need a lookin' over," he + said, as he uncovered bundles in the back seat and lifted + them out.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"All right, sir," replied Nash, + eagerly. A note of ended strain was significant in his + voice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Here, you Jake," cheerily called + Anderson to a raw-boned, gaunt-faced fellow who wore the + garb of a cowboy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boss, I'm powerful glad to see you + home," replied Jake, as he received bundle after bundle + until he was loaded down. Then he grinned. "Mebbe you want + a pack-hoss."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're hoss enough for me. Come on," + he said, and, waving the other men aside, he turned toward + the green, shady hill above which the red and white of the + house just showed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A bridge crossed the rushing stream. + Here Jake dropped some of the bundles, and Anderson + recovered them. As he straightened up he looked searchingly + at the cowboy. Jake's yellow-gray eyes returned the gaze. + And that exchange showed these two of the same breed and + sure of each other.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nawthin' come off, boss," he drawled, + "but I'm glad you're home."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did Nash leave the place?" queried + Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Twice, at night, an' he was gone + long. I didn't foller him because I seen he didn't take no + luggage, an' thet boy has some sporty clothes. He was sure + comin' back."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Any sign of his pard—that + Glidden?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nope. But there's been more'n one new + feller snookin' round."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Have you heard from any of the boys + with the cattle?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yep. Bill Weeks rode down. He said a + bunch of I.W.W.'s were campin' above Blue Spring. Thet + means they've moved on down to the edge of the timber an' + oncomfortable near our wheat. Bill says they're killin' our + stock fer meat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hum!… How many in the gang?" + inquired Anderson, darkly. His early dealings with outlaw + rustlers had not left him favorably inclined toward losing + a single steer.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I reckon we can't say. Mebbe + five hundred, countin' all along the valley on this side. + Then we hear there's more on the other… Boss, if they + git ugly we're goin' to lose stock, wheat, an' mebbe some + blood."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So many as that!" ejaculated the + rancher, in amaze.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"They come an' go, an' lately they're + most comin'," replied Jake.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"When do we begin cuttin' grain?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon to-morrow. Adams didn't want + to start till you got back. It'll be barley an' oats fer a + few days, an' then the wheat—if we can git the + men."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"An' has Adams hired any?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, a matter of twenty or so. They + swore they wasn't I.W.W.'s, but Adams says, an' so do I, + thet some of them are men who first claimed to our old + hands thet they did belong to the I.W.W."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"An' so we've got to take a chance if + we're goin' to harvest two thousand acres of wheat?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon, boss."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Any reports from Ruxton way?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, yes. But I reckon you'd better + git your supper 'fore I tell you, boss."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake, you said nothin' had come + off."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, nawthin' has around here. Come + on now, boss. Miss Lenore says I was to keep my mouth + shut."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake, who's your boss? Me or + Lenore?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, you air. But I ain't disobeyin' + Miss Lenore."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson walked the rest of the way up + the shady path to the house without saying any more to + Jake. The beautiful white house stood clear of the grove, + bright in the rays of the setting sun. A barking of dogs + greeted Anderson, and then the pattering of feet. His + daughters appeared on the porch. Kathleen, who was ten, + made a dive for him, and Rose, who was fourteen, came + flying after her. Both girls were screaming joyously. Their + sunny hair danced. Lenore waited for him at the step, and + as he mounted the porch, burdened by the three girls, his + anxious, sadly smiling wife came out to make perfect the + welcome home. No—not perfect, for Anderson's joy held + a bitter drop, the absence of his only son!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, dad, what-all did you fetch me?" + cried Kathleen, and she deserted her father for the + bundle-laden Jake.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"And me!" echoed Rose.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Even Lenore, in the happiness of her + father's return, was not proof against the wonder and + promise of those many bundles.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They all went within, through a hall + to a great, cozy living-room. Mrs. Anderson's very first + words, after her welcoming smile, were a half-faltered:</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Any—news of—Jim?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why—yes," replied Anderson, + hesitatingly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Suddenly the three sisters were + silent. How closely they resembled one another + then—Lenore, a budding woman; Rose, a budding girl; + and Kathleen, a rosy, radiant child! Lenore lost a little + of her bloom.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What news, father?" she asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Haven't you heard from him?" returned + Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not for a whole week. He wrote the + day he reached Spokane. But then he hardly knew anything + except that he'd enlisted."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm sure glad Jim didn't wait for the + draft," replied the father. "Well, mother an' girls, Jim + was gone when I got to Spokane. All I heard was that he was + well when he left for Frisco an' strong for the aviation + corps."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then he means to—to be an + aviator," said Lenore, with quivering lips.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure, if he can get in. An' he's + wise. Jim knows engines. He has a knack for machinery. An' + nerve! No boy ever had more. He'll make a crack flier."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But—the danger!" whispered the + boy's mother, with a shudder.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon there'll be a little danger, + mother," replied Anderson, cheerfully. "We've got to take + our chance on Jim. There's one sure bet. If he had stayed + home he'd been fightin' I.W.W.'s!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That trying moment passed. Mrs. + Anderson said that she would see to supper being put on the + table at once. The younger girls began untying the bundles. + Lenore studied her father's face a moment.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake, you run along," she said to the + waiting cowboy. "Wait till after supper before you worry + father."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll do thet, Miss Lenore," drawled + Jake, "an' if he wants worryin' he'll hev to look me + up."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lass, I'm only tired, not worried," + replied Anderson, as Jake shuffled out with jingling + spurs.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did anything serious happen in + Spokane?" she asked anxiously.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. But Spokane men are alive to + serious trouble ahead," replied her father. "I spoke to the + Chamber of Commerce—sure exploded a bomb in that + camp. Then I had conferences with a good many different + men. Fact is they ran me pretty hard. Couldn't have slept + much, anyhow, in that heat. Lass, this is the place to + live!… I'd rather die here than live in Spokane, in + summer."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did you see the Governor?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, an' he wasn't as anxious about + the Golden Valley as the Bend country. He's right, too. + We're old Westerners here. We can handle trouble. But + they're not Americans up there in the Bend."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father, we met one American," said + Lenore, dreamily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"By George! we did!… An' that + reminds me. There was a government official from + Washington, come out to Spokane to investigate conditions. + I forget his name. He asked to meet me an' he was curious + about the Bend—its loyalty to the U.S. I told him all + I knew an' what I thought. An' then he said he was goin' to + motor through that wheat-belt an' talk to what Americans he + could find, an' impress upon them that they could do as + much as soldiers to win the war. + Wheat—bread—that's our great gun in this war, + Lenore!… I knew this, but I was made pretty blamed + sober by that government man. I told him by all means to go + to Palmer an' to have a talk with young Dorn. I sure gave + that boy a good word. Poor lad! He's true blue. An' to + think of him with that old German devil. Old Dorn has + always had a hard name. An' this war has brought out the + German cussedness."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father, I'm glad you spoke well of + the young man," said Lenore, still dreamily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hum! You never told me what you + thought," replied her father, with a quick glance of + inquiry at her. Lenore was gazing out of the window, away + across the wheat-fields and the range. Anderson watched her + a moment, and then resumed: "If I can get away I'm goin' to + drive up to see Dorn again pretty soon. Do you want to + go?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore gave a little start, as if the + question had surprised her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I—I hardly think so," she + replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's just as well," he said. "That'll + be a hard ride.… Guess I'll clean up a little for + supper."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson left the room, and, while + Kathleen and Rose gleefully squabbled over the bundles, + Lenore continued to gaze dreamily out of the window.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That night Lenore went early to her + room, despite the presence of some young people from a + neighboring village. She locked her door and sat in the + dark beside her open window.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">An early moon silvered the long slopes + of wheat and made the alfalfa squares seem black. A cool, + faint, sweet breeze fanned her cheek. She could smell the + fragrance of apples, of new-mown hay, and she could hear + the low murmur of running water. A hound bayed off + somewhere in the fields. There was no other sound. It was a + quiet, beautiful, pastoral scene. But somehow it did not + comfort Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She seemed to doubt the sincerity of + what she saw there and loved so well. Moon-blanched and + serene, lonely and silent, beautiful and promising, the + wide acres of "Many Waters," and the silver slopes and dark + mountains beyond, did not tell the truth. 'Way over the + dark ranges a hideous war had stretched out a red hand to + her country. Her only brother had left his home to fight, + and there was no telling if he would ever come back. Evil + forces were at work out there in the moonlight. There had + come a time for her to be thoughtful.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Her father's asking her to ride to the + Bend country had caused some strange little shock of + surprise. Lenore had dreamed without thinking. Here in the + darkness and silence, watching the crescent moon slowly + sink, she did think. And it was to learn that she + remembered singularly well the first time she had seen + young Dorn, and still more vividly the second time, but the + third time seemed both clear and vague. Enough young men + had been smitten with Lenore to enable her to gauge the + symptoms of these easy-come, easy-go attractions. In fact, + they rather repelled her. But she had found Dorn's manner + striking, confusing, and unforgettable. And why that should + be so interested her intelligence.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was confusing to discover that she + could not lay it to the sympathy she had felt for an + American boy in a difficult position, because she had often + thought of him long before she had any idea who he was or + where he lived.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In the very first place, he had been + unforgettable for two reasons—because he had been so + struck at sight of her that he had gazed unconsciously, + with a glow on his face and a radiance in his eye, as of a + young poet spellbound at an inspiration; and because he + seemed the physical type of young man she had + idealized—a strong, lithe-limbed, blond giant, with a + handsome, frank face, clear-cut and smooth, ruddy-cheeked + and blue-eyed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Only after meeting him out there in + the desert of wheat had she felt sympathy for him. And now + with intelligence and a woman's intuition, barring the old, + insidious, dreamy mood, Lenore went over in retrospect all + she could remember of that meeting. And the truth made her + sharply catch her breath. Dorn had fallen in love with her. + Intuition declared that, while her intelligence repudiated + it. Stranger than all was the thrill which began somewhere + in the unknown depths of her and mounted, to leave her + tingling all over. She had told her father that she did not + want to ride to the Bend country. But she did want to go! + And that thought, flashing up, would not be denied. To want + to meet a strange young man again was absolutely a new and + irritating discovery for Lenore. It mystified her, because + she had not had time to like Dorn. Liking an acquaintance + had nothing to do with the fact. And that stunned her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Could it be—love at first + sight?" she whispered, incredulously, as she stared out + over the shadowing fields.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"For me? Why, how + absurd—impossible!… I—I only remembered + him—a big handsome boy with blazing eyes.… And + now I'm sorry for him!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">To whisper her amaze and doubt and + consternation only augmented the instinctive recurring + emotion. She felt something she could not explain. And that + something was scarcely owing to this young man's pitiful + position between duty to his father and love for his + country. It had to do with his blazing eyes; intangible, + dreamlike perceptions of him as not real, of vague sweet + fancies that retreated before her introspective + questioning. What alarmed Lenore was a tendency of her mind + to shirk this revealing analysis. Never before had she been + afraid to look into herself. But now she was finding + unplumbed wells of feeling, secret chambers of dreams into + which she had never let the light, strange instinctive + activities, more physical than mental. When in her life + before had she experienced a nameless palpitation of her + heart?</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Long she sat there, staring out into + the night. And the change in the aspect of the broad + spaces, now dark and impenetrable and mysterious, seemed + like the change in the knowledge of herself. Once she had + flattered herself that she was an inch of crystal water; + now she seemed a complex, aloof, and contrary creature, + almost on the verge of tumultuous emotions.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She said her prayers that night, a + girlish habit resumed since her brother had declared his + intention of enlisting in the army. And to that old prayer, + which her mother had prayed before her, she added an appeal + of her own. Strange that young Dorn's face should flash out + of gloom! It was there, and her brother's was fading.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I wonder—will he and + Jim—meet over there—on the battle-field!" she + whispered. She hoped they would. Like tigers those boys + would fight the Germans. Her heart beat high. Then a cold + wind seemed to blow over her. It had a sickening weight. If + that icy and somber wind could have been traced to its + source, then the mystery of life would have been clear. But + that source was the cause of war, as its effect was the + horror of women. A hideous and monstrous thing existed out + there in the darkness. Lenore passionately loved her + brother, and this black thing had taken him away. Why could + not women, who suffered most, have some word in the + regulation of events? If women could help govern the world + there would be no wars.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At last encroaching drowsiness dulled + the poignancy of her feelings and she sank to sleep.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Singing of birds at her window + awakened Lenore. The dawn streamed in bright and sweetly + fragrant. The wheat-fields seemed a rosy gold, and all that + open slope called to her thrillingly of the beauty of the + world and the happiness of youth. It was not possible to be + morbid at dawn. "I hear! I hear!" she whispered. "From a + thousand slopes far and wide!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At the breakfast-table, when there + came opportunity, she looked up serenely and said, "Father, + on second thought I will go the Bend, thank you!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson laid down his knife and fork + and his eyes opened wide in surprise. "Changed your mind!" + he exclaimed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's a privilege I have, you know," + she replied, calmly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Mrs. Anderson appeared more anxious + than surprised. "Daughter, don't go. That will be a fearful + ride."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hum! Sure glad to have you, lass," + added Anderson, with his keen eyes on her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Let me go, too," begged Rose.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kathleen was solemnly gazing at + Lenore, with the wise, penetrating eyes of extreme + youth.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, I'll bet you've got a new + beau up there," she declared.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore flushed scarlet. She was less + angry with her little sister than with the incomprehensible + fact of a playful word bringing the blood stingingly to her + neck and face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kitty, you forget your manners," she + said, sharply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kit is fresh. She's an awful child," + added Rose, with a superior air.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I didn't say a thing," cried + Kathleen, hotly. "Lenore, if it isn't true, why'd you blush + so red?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hush, you silly children!" ordered + the mother, reprovingly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore was glad to finish that meal + and to get outdoors. She could smile now at that shrewd and + terrible Kitty, but recollection of her father's keen eyes + was confusing. Lenore felt there was really nothing to + blush for; still, she could scarcely tell her father that + upon awakening this morning she had found her mind made + up—that only by going to the Bend country could she + determine the true state of her feelings. She simply dared + not accuse herself of being in unusually radiant spirits + because she was going to undertake a long, hard ride into a + barren, desert country.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The grave and thoughtful mood of last + night had gone with her slumbers. Often Lenore had found + problems decided for her while she slept. On this fresh, + sweet summer morning, with the sun bright and warm, + presaging a hot and glorious day, Lenore wanted to run with + the winds, to wade through the alfalfa, to watch with + strange and renewed pleasure the waves of shadow as they + went over the wheat. All her life she had known and loved + the fields of waving gold. But they had never been to her + what they had become overnight. Perhaps this was because it + had been said that the issue of the great war, the + salvation of the world, and its happiness, its hope, + depended upon the millions of broad acres of golden grain. + Bread was the staff of life. Lenore felt that she was + changing and growing. If anything should happen to her + brother Jim she would be heiress to thousands of acres of + wheat. A pang shot through her heart. She had to drive the + cold thought away. And she must learn—must know the + bigness of this question. The women of the country would be + called upon to help, to do their share.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She ran down through the grove and + across the bridge, coming abruptly upon Nash, her father's + driver. He had the car out.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good morning," he said, with a smile, + doffing his cap.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore returned his greeting and asked + if her father intended to go anywhere.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. I'm taking telegrams to + Huntington."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Telegrams? What's the matter with the + 'phone?" she queried.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wire was cut yesterday."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"By I.W.W. men?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So your father says. I don't + know."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Something ought to be done to those + men," said Lenore, severely.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash was a dark-browed, heavy-jawed + young man, with light eyes and hair. He appeared to be + intelligent and had some breeding, but his manner when + alone with Lenore—he had driven her to town several + times—was not the same as when her father was + present. Lenore had not bothered her mind about it. But + to-day the look in his eyes was offensive to her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Between you and me, Lenore, I've + sympathy for those poor devils," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore drew back rather haughtily at + this familiar use of her first name. "It doesn't concern + me," she said, coldly and turned away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Won't you ride along with me? I'm + driving around for the mail," he called after her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No," returned Lenore, shortly, and + hurried on out of earshot. The impertinence of the + fellow!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mawnin', Miss Lenore!" drawled a + cheery voice. The voice and the jingle of spurs behind her + told Lenore of the presence of the best liked of all her + father's men.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good morning, Jake! Where's my + dad?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, he's with Adams, an' I wouldn't + be Adams for no money," replied the cowboy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Neither would I," laughed Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Reckon you ain't ridin' this mawnin'. + You sure look powerful fine, Miss Lenore, but you can't + ride in thet dress."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake, nothing but an aeroplane would + satisfy me to-day."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Want to fly, hey? Wal, excuse me from + them birds. I seen one, an' thet's enough for me.… + An', changin' the subject, Miss Lenore, beggin' your + pardon—you ain't ridin' in the car much these + days."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, Jake, I'm not," she replied, and + looked at the cowboy. She would have trusted Jake as she + would her brother Jim. And now he looked earnest.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I'm sure glad. I heerd Nash call + an' ask you to go with him. I seen his eyes when he said + it.… Sure I know you'd never look at the likes of + him. But I want to tell you—he ain't no good. I've + been watchin' him. Your dad's orders. He's mixed up with + the I.W.W.'s. But thet ain't what I mean. + It's—He's—I—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Thank you, Jake," replied Lenore, as + the cowboy floundered. "I appreciate your thought of me. + But you needn't worry."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I was worryin' a little," he said. + "You see, I know men better 'n your dad, an' I reckon this + Nash would do anythin'."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's father keeping him for?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, Anderson wants to find out a lot + about thet I.W.W., an' he ain't above takin' risks to do + it, either."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The stable-boys and men Lenore passed + all had an eager good morning for her. She often boasted to + her father that she could run "Many Waters" as well as he. + Sometimes there were difficulties that Lenore had no little + part in smoothing over. The barns and corrals were familiar + places to her, and she insisted upon petting every horse, + in some instances to Jake's manifest concern.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Some of them bosses are bad," he + insisted.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"To be sure they are—when wicked + cowboys cuff and kick them," replied Lenore, + laughingly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, if I'm wicked, I'm a-goin' to + war," said Jake, reflectively. "Them Germans bother + me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But, Jake, you don't come in the + draft age, do you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jest how old do you think I am?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sometimes about fourteen, Jake."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Much obliged. Wal, the fact is I'm + over age, but I'll gamble I can pack a gun an' shoot as + straight an' eat as much as any young feller."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll bet so, too, Jake. But I hope + you won't go. We absolutely could not run this ranch + without you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure I knew thet. Wal then, I reckon + I'll hang around till you're married, Miss Lenore," he + drawled.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Again the scarlet mantled Lenore's + cheeks.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good. We'll have many harvests then, + Jake, and many rides," she replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Aw, I don't know—" he + began.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But Lenore ran away so that she could + hear no more.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's the matter with me that + people—that Jake should—?" she began, and ended + with a hand on each soft, hot cheek. There was something + different about her, that seemed certain. And if her eyes + were as bright as the day, with its deep blue and white + clouds and shining green and golden fields, then any one + might think what he liked and have proof for his + tormenting.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But married! I? Not much. Do I want a + husband getting shot?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The path Lenore trod so lightly led + along a great peach and apple orchard where the trees were + set far apart and the soil was cultivated, so that not a + weed nor a blade of grass showed. The fragrance of fruit in + the air, however, did not come from this orchard, for the + trees were young and the reddening fruit rare. Down the + wide aisles she saw the thick and abundant green of the + older orchards.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At length Lenore reached the + alfalfa-fields, and here among the mounds of newly cut hay + that smelled so fresh and sweet she wanted to roll, and she + had to run. Two great wagons with four horses each were + being loaded. Lenore knew all the workmen except one. Silas + Warner, an old, gray-headed farmer, had been with her + father as long as she could remember.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Whar you goin', lass?" he called, as + he halted to wipe his red face with a huge bandana. "It's + too hot to run the way you're a-doin'."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, Silas, it's a grand morning!" she + replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, so 'tis! Pitchin' hay hyar made + me think it was hot," he said, as she tripped on. "Now, + lass, don't go up to the wheat-fields."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But Lenore heard heedlessly, and she + ran on till she came to the uncut alfalfa, which impeded + her progress. A wonderful space of green and purple + stretched away before her, and into it she waded. It came + up to her knees, rich, thick, soft, and redolent of blossom + and ripeness. Hard tramping it soon got to be. She grew hot + and breathless, and her legs ached from the force expended + in making progress through the tangled hay. At last she was + almost across the field, far from the cutters, and here she + flung herself, to roll and lie flat and gaze up through the + deep azure of sky, wonderingly, as if to penetrate its + secret. And then she hid her face in the fragrant thickness + that seemed to force a whisper from her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I wonder—how will I + feel—when I see him—again.… Oh, I + wonder!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The sound of the whispered words, the + question, the inevitableness of something involuntary, + proved traitors to her happy dreams, her assurance, her + composure. She tried to burrow under the hay, to hide from + that tremendous bright-blue eye, the sky. Suddenly she lay + very quiet, feeling the strange glow and throb and race of + her blood, sensing the mystery of her body, trying to trace + the thrills, to control this queer, tremulous, internal + state. But she found she could not think clearly; she could + only feel. And she gave up trying. It was sweet to + feel.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She rose and went on. Another field + lay beyond, a gradual slope, covered with a new growth of + alfalfa. It was a light green—a contrast to the rich + darkness of that behind her. At the end of this field ran a + swift little brook, clear and musical, open to the sky in + places, and in others hidden under flowery banks. Birds + sang from invisible coverts; a quail sent up clear + flutelike notes; and a lark caroled, seemingly out of the + sky.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore wet her feet crossing the + brook, and, climbing the little knoll above, she sat down + upon a stone to dry them in the sun. It had a burn that + felt good. No matter how hot the sun ever got there, she + liked it. Always there seemed air to breathe and the shade + was pleasant.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">From this vantage-point, a favorite + one with Lenore, she could see all the alfalfa-fields, the + hill crowned by the beautiful white-and-red house, the + acres of garden, and the miles of orchards. The grazing and + grain fields began behind her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The brook murmured below her and the + birds sang. She heard the bees humming by. The air out here + was clear of scent of fruit and hay, and it bore a drier + odor, not so sweet. She could see the workmen, first those + among the alfalfa, and then the men, and women, too, + bending over on the vegetable-gardens. Likewise she could + see the gleam of peaches, apples, pears and plums—a + colorful and mixed gleam, delightful to the eye.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Wet or dry, it seemed that her feet + refused to stay still, and once again she was wandering. A + gray, slate-colored field of oats invited her steps, and + across this stretch she saw a long yellow slope of barley, + where the men were cutting. Beyond waved the golden fields + of wheat. Lenore imagined that when she reached them she + would not desire to wander farther.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">There were two machines cutting on the + barley slope, one drawn by eight horses, and the other by + twelve. When Lenore had crossed the oat-field she + discovered a number of strange men lounging in the scant + shade of a line of low trees that separated the fields. + Here she saw Adams, the foreman; and he espied her at the + same moment. He had been sitting down, talking to the men. + At once he rose to come toward Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Is your father with you?" he + asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No; he's too slow for me," replied + Lenore. "Who are these men?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"They're strangers looking for + jobs."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I.W.W. men?" queried Lenore, in lower + voice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Surely must be," he replied. Adams + was not a young, not a robust man, and he seemed to carry a + burden of worry. "Your father said he would come right + out."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I hope he doesn't," said Lenore, + bluntly. "Father has a way with him, you know."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I know. And it's the way we're + needing here in the Valley," replied the foreman, + significantly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Is that the new harvester-thresher + father just bought?" asked Lenore, pointing to the huge + machine, shining and creeping behind the twelve horses.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, that's the McCormack and it's a + dandy," returned Adams. "With machines like that we can get + along without the I.W.W."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I want a ride on it," declared + Lenore, and she ran along to meet the harvester. She waved + her hand to the driver, Bill Jones, another old hand, long + employed by her father. Bill hauled back on the + many-branched reins, and when the horses stopped the + clattering, whirring roar of the machine also ceased.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Howdy, miss! Reckon this 's a regular + I.W.W. hold-up."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Worse than that, Bill," gaily replied + Lenore as she mounted the platform where another man sat on + a bag of barley. Lenore did not recognize him. He looked + rugged and honest, and beamed upon her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Watch out fer yer dress," he said, + pointing with grimy hand to the dusty wheels and braces so + near her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Let me drive, Bill?" she asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, now, I wisht I could," he + replied, dryly. "You sure can drive, miss. But drivin' + ain't all this here job."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What can't I do? I'll bet + you—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I never seen a girl that could throw + anythin' straight. Did you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, not so very. I forgot how you + drove the horses.… Go ahead. Don't let me delay the + harvest."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Bill called sonorously to his twelve + horses, and as they bent and strained and began to bob + their heads, the clattering roar filled the air. Also a + cloud of dust and thin, flying streams of chaff enveloped + Lenore. The high stalks of barley, in wide sheets, fell + before the cutter upon an apron, to be carried by feeders + into the body of the machine. The straw, denuded of its + grain, came out at the rear, to be dropped, while the grain + streamed out of a tube on the side next to Lenore, to fall + into an open sack. It made a short shift of harvesting.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore liked the even, nodding rhythm + of the plodding horses, and the way Bill threw a pebble + from a sack on his seat, to hit this or that horse not + keeping in line or pulling his share. Bill's aim was + unerring. He never hit the wrong horse, which would have + been the case had he used a whip. The grain came out in so + tiny a stream that Lenore wondered how a bag was ever + filled. But she saw presently that even a tiny stream, if + running steadily, soon made bulk. That was proof of the + value of small things, even atoms.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">No marvel was it that Bill and his + helper were as grimy as stokers of a furnace. Lenore began + to choke with the fine dust and to feel her eyes smart and + to see it settle on her hands and dress. She then had + appreciation of the nature of a ten-hour day for workmen + cutting eighteen acres of barley. How would they ever cut + the two thousand acres of wheat? No wonder many men were + needed. Lenore sympathized with the operators of that + harvester-thresher, but she did not like the dirt. If she + had been a man, though, that labor, hard as it was, would + have appealed to her. Harvesting the grain was beautiful, + whether in the old, slow method of threshing or with one of + these modern man-saving machines.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She jumped off, and the big, ponderous + thing, almost gifted with intelligence, it seemed to + Lenore, rolled on with its whirring roar, drawing its cloud + of dust, and leaving behind a litter of straw.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It developed then that Adams had + walked along with the machine, and he now addressed + her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Will you be staying here till your + father comes?" he asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, Mr. Adams. Why do you ask?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You oughtn't come out here alone or + go back alone.… All these strange men! Some of them + hard customers! You'll excuse me, miss, but this harvest is + not like other harvests."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll wait for my father and I'll not + go out of sight," replied Lenore. Thanking the foreman for + his thoughtfulness, she walked away, and soon she stood at + the edge of the first wheat-field.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The grain was not yet ripe but near at + hand it was a pale gold. The wind, out of the west, waved + and swept the wheat, while the almost imperceptible shadows + followed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A road half overgrown with grass and + goldenrod bordered the wheat-field, and it wound away down + toward the house. Her father appeared mounted on the white + horse he always rode. Lenore sat down in the grass to wait + for him. Nodding stalks of goldenrod leaned to her face. + When looked at closely, how truly gold their color! Yet it + was not such a gold as that of the rich blaze of ripe + wheat. She was admitting to her consciousness a jealousy of + anything comparable to wheat. And suddenly she confessed + that her natural love for it had been augmented by a subtle + growing sentiment. Not sentiment about the war or the need + of the Allies or meaning of the staff of life. She had + sensed young Dorn's passion for wheat and it had made a + difference to her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No use lying to myself!" she + soliloquized. "I think of him!.. I can't help it… I + ran out here, wild, restless, unable to reason… just + because I'd decided to see him again—to make sure + I—I really didn't care.… How furious—how + ridiculous I'll feel—when—when—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore did not complete her thought, + because she was not sure. Nothing could be any truer than + the fact that she had no idea how she would feel. She began + sensitively to distrust herself. She who had always been so + sure of motives, so contented with things as they were, had + been struck by an absurd fancy that haunted because it was + fiercely repudiated and scorned, that would give her no + rest until it was proven false. But suppose it were + true!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A succeeding blankness of mind awoke + to the clip-clop of hoofs and her father's cheery + halloo.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson dismounted and, throwing his + bridle, he sat down heavily beside her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You can ride back home," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore knew she had been reproved for + her wandering out there, and she made a motion to rise. His + big hand held her down.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No hurry, now I'm here. Grand day, + ain't it? An' I see the barley's goin'. Them sacks look + good to me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore waited with some perturbation. + She had a guilty conscience and she feared he meant to quiz + her about her sudden change of front regarding the Bend + trip. So she could not look up and she could not say a + word.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake says that Nash has been tryin' + to make up to you. Any sense in what he says?" asked her + father, bluntly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, hardly. Oh, I've noticed Nash + is—is rather fresh, as Rose calls it," replied + Lenore, somewhat relieved at this unexpected query.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, he's been makin' eyes at Rose. + She told me," replied Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Discharge him," said Lenore, + forcibly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So I ought. But let me tell you, + Lenore. I've been hopin' to get Nash dead to rights."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What more do you want?" she + demanded.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I mean regardin' his relation to the + I.W.W.… Listen. Here's the point. Nash has been + tracked an' caught in secret talks with prominent men in + this country. Men of foreign blood an' mebbe foreign + sympathies. We're at the start of big an' bad times in the + good old U.S. No one can tell how bad. Well, you know my + position in the Golden Valley. I'm looked to. Reckon this + I.W.W. has got me a marked man. I'm packin' two guns right + now. An' you bet Jake is packin' the same. We don't travel + far apart any more this summer."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore had started shudderingly and + her look showed her voiceless fear.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You needn't tell your mother," he + went on, more intimately. "I can trust you an' … To + come back to Nash. He an' this Glidden—you remember, + one of those men at Dorn's house—they are usin' gold. + They must have barrels of it. If I could find out where + that gold comes from! Probably they don't know. But I might + find out if men here in our own country are hatchin' plots + with the I.W.W."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Plots! What for?" queried Lenore, + breathlessly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"To destroy my wheat, to drive off or + bribe the harvest-hands, to cripple the crop yield in the + Northwest; to draw the militia here; in short, to harass + an' weaken an' slow down our government in its preparation + against Germany."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, that is terrible!" declared + Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I've a hunch from Jake—there's + a whisper of a plot to put me out of the way," said + Anderson, darkly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh—good Heavens! You don't mean + it!" cried Lenore, distractedly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure I do. But that's no way for + Anderson's daughter to take it. Our women have got to + fight, too. We've all got to meet these German hired devils + with their own weapons. Now, lass, you know you'll get + these wheatlands of mine some day. It's in my will. That's + because you, like your dad, always loved the wheat. You'd + fight, wouldn't you, to save your grain for our + soldiers—bread for your own brother Jim—an' for + your own land?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Fight! Would I?" burst out Lenore, + with a passionate little cry.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good! Now you're talkin'!" exclaimed + her father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll find out about this + Nash—if you'll let me," declared Lenore, as if + inspired.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"How? What do you mean, girl?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll encourage him. I'll make him + think I'm a wishy-washy moonstruck girl, smitten with him. + All's fair in war!… If he means ill by my + father—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson muttered low under his breath + and his big hand snapped hard at the nodding goldenrod.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"For my sake—to help + me—you'd encourage Nash—flirt with him a + little—find out all you could?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I would!" she cried, + deliberately. But she wanted to cover her face with her + hands. She trembled slightly, then grew cold, with a + sickening disgust at this strange, new, uprising self.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wait a minute before you say too + much," went on Anderson. "You're my best-beloved child, my + Lenore, the lass I've been so proud of all my life. I'd + spill blood to avenge an insult to you.… But, Lenore, + we've entered upon a terrible war. People out here, + especially the women, don't realize it yet. But you must + realize it. When I said good-by to Jim, my son, I—I + felt I'd never look upon his face again!… I gave him + up. I could have held him back—got exemption for him. + But, no, by God! I gave him up—to make safety and + happiness and prosperity for—say, your children, an' + Rose's, an' Kathleen's.… I'm workin' now for the + future. So must every loyal man an' every loyal woman! We + love our own country. An' I ask you to see as I see the + terrible danger to that country. Think of you an' Rose an' + Kathleen bein' treated like those poor Belgian girls! Well, + you'd get that an' worse if the Germans won this war. An' + the point is, for us to win, every last one of us must + fight, sacrifice to that end, an' hang together."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson paused huskily and swallowed + hard while he looked away across the fields. Lenore felt + herself drawn by an irresistible power. The west wind + rustled through the waving wheat. She heard the whir of the + threshers. Yet all seemed unreal. Her father's passion had + made this place another world.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So much for that," resumed Anderson. + "I'm goin' to do my best. An' I may make blunders. I'll + play the game as it's dealt out to me. Lord knows I feel + all in the dark. But it's the nature of the effort, the + spirit, that'll count. I'm goin' to save most of the wheat + on my ranches. An' bein' a Westerner who can see ahead, I + know there's goin' to be blood spilled.… I'd give a + lot to know who sent this Nash spyin' on me. I'm satisfied + now he's an agent, a spy, a plotter for a gang that's + marked me. I can't prove it yet, but I feel it. Maybe + nothin' worth while—worth the trouble—will ever + be found out from him. But I don't figure that way. I say + play their own game an' take a chance.… If you + encouraged Nash you'd probably find out all about him. The + worst of it is could you be slick enough? Could a girl as + fine an' square an' high-spirited as you ever double-cross + a man, even a scoundrel like Nash? I reckon you could, + considerin' the motive. Women are wonderful.… Well, + if you can fool him, make him think he's a winner, flatter + him till he swells up like a toad, promise to elope with + him, be curious, jealous, make him tell where he goes, whom + he meets, show his letters, all without ever sufferin' his + hand on you, I'll give my consent. I'd think more of you + for it. Now the question is, can you do it?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," whispered Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good!" exploded Anderson, in a great + relief. Then he began to mop his wet face. He arose, + showing the weight of heavy guns in his pockets, and he + gazed across the wheat-fields. "That wheat'll be ripe in a + week. It sure looks fine.… Lenore, you ride back home + now. Don't let Jake pump you. He's powerful curious. An' + I'll go give these I.W.W.'s a first dose of Anderson."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He turned away without looking at her, + and he hesitated, bending over to pluck a stem of + goldenrod.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lass—you're—you're like + your mother", he said, unsteadily. "An' she helped me win + out durin' my struggle here. You're brave an' you're + big."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore wanted to say something, to + show her feeling, to make her task seem lighter, but she + could not speak.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We're pards now—with no + secrets", he continued, with a different note in his voice. + "An' I want you to know that it ain't likely Nash or + Glidden will get out of this country alive."</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Three days later, Lenore accompanied + her father on the ride to the Bend country. She sat in the + back seat of the car with Jake—an arrangement very + gratifying to the cowboy, but received with ill-concealed + displeasure by the driver, Nash. They had arranged to start + at sunrise, and it became manifest that Nash had expected + Lenore to sit beside him all during the long ride. It was + her father, however, who took the front seat, and behind + Nash's back he had slyly winked at Lenore, as if to + compliment her on the evident success of their deep plot. + Lenore, at the first opportunity that presented, shot Nash + a warning glance which was sincere enough. Jake had begun + to use keen eyes, and there was no telling what he might + do.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The morning was cool, sweet, fresh, + with a red sun presaging a hot day. The big car hummed like + a droning bee and seemed to cover the miles as if by magic. + Lenore sat with face uncovered, enjoying the breeze and the + endless colorful scene flashing by, listening to Jake's + amusing comments, and trying to keep back thought of what + discovery might await her before the end of this day.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Once across the Copper River, they + struck the gradual ascent, and here the temperature began + to mount and the dust to fly. Lenore drew her veils close + and, leaning comfortably back, she resigned herself to wait + and to endure.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">By the flight of a crow it was about a + hundred miles from Anderson's ranch to Palmer; but by the + round-about roads necessary to take the distance was a + great deal longer. Lenore was well aware when they got up + on the desert, and the time came when she thought she would + suffocate. There appeared to be intolerable hours in which + no one spoke and only the hum and creak of the machine + throbbed in her ears. She could not see through her veils + and did not part them until a stop was made at Palmer.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Her father got out, sputtering and + gasping, shaking the dust in clouds from his long linen + coat. Jake, who always said he lived on dust and heat, + averred it was not exactly a regular fine day. Lenore + looked out, trying to get a breath of air. Nash busied + himself with the hot engine.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The little country town appeared dead, + and buried under dust. There was not a person in sight nor + a sound to be heard. The sky resembled molten lead, with a + blazing center too bright for the gaze of man.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson and Jake went into the little + hotel to get some refreshments. Lenore preferred to stay in + the car, saying she wanted only a cool drink. The moment + the two men were out of sight Nash straightened up to gaze + darkly and hungrily at Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"This's a good a chance as we'll get," + he said, in an eager, hurried whisper.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"For what?" asked Lenore, aghast.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"To run off," he replied, huskily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore had proceeded so cleverly to + carry out her scheme that in three days Nash had begun to + implore and demand that she elope with him. He had been so + much of a fool. But she as yet had found out but little + about him. His right name was Ruenke. He was a socialist. + He had plenty of money and hinted of mysterious sources for + more.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At this Lenore hid her face, and while + she fell back in pretended distress, she really wanted to + laugh. She had learned something new in these few days, and + that was to hate.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh no! no!" she murmured. "I—I + can't think of that—yet."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But why not?" he demanded, in shrill + violence. His gloved hand clenched on the tool he held.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mother has been so unhappy—with + my brother Jim—off to the war. I—I just + couldn't—now. Harry, you must give me time. It's all + so—so sudden. Please wait!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash appeared divided between two + emotions. Lenore watched him from behind her parted veil. + She had been astonished to find out that, side by side with + her intense disgust and shame at the part she was playing, + there was a strong, keen, passionate interest in it, owing + to the fact that, though she could prove little against + this man, her woman's intuition had sensed his secret + deadly antagonism toward her father. By little significant + mannerisms and revelations he had more and more betrayed + the German in him. She saw it in his overbearing conceit, + his almost instant assumption that he was her master. At + first Lenore feared him, but, as she learned to hate him + she lost her fear. She had never been alone with him except + under such circumstances as this; and she had decided she + would not be.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wait?" he was expostulating. "But + it's going to get hot for me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh!… What do you mean?" she + begged. "You frighten me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, the I.W.W. will have hard + sledding in this wheat country. I belong to that. I told + you. But the union is run differently this summer. And I've + got work to do—that I don't like, since I fell in + love with you. Come, run off with me and I'll give it + up."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore trembled at this admission. She + appeared to be close upon further discovery.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Harry, how wildly you talk!" she + exclaimed. "I hardly know you. You frighten me with your + mysterious talk.… Have—a—a little + consideration for me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash strode back to lean into the car. + Behind his huge goggles his eyes gleamed. His gloved hand + closed hard on her arm.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It is sudden. It's got to be sudden," + he said, in fierce undertone. "You must trust me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I will. But you must confide in me," + she replied, earnestly. "I'm not quite a fool. You're + rushing me—too—too—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Suddenly he released her, threw up his + hand, then quickly stepped back to the front of the car. + Jake stood in the door of the hotel. He had seen that + action of Nash's. Then Anderson appeared, followed by a boy + carrying a glass of water for Lenore. They approached the + car, Jake sauntering last, with his curious gaze on + Nash.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Go in an' get a bite an' a drink," + said Anderson to the driver. "An' hurry."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash obeyed. Jake's eyes never left + him until he entered the door. Then Jake stepped in beside + Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Thet water's wet, anyhow," he + drawled.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We'll get a good cold drink at + Dorn's," said Anderson. "Lass, how are you makin' it?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Fine," she replied, smiling.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So I seen," significantly added Jake, + with a piercing glance at her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore realized then that she would + have to confide in Jake or run the risk of having violence + done to Nash. So she nodded wisely at the cowboy and winked + mischievously, and, taking advantage of Anderson's entering + the car, she whispered in Jake's ear: "I'm finding out + things. Tell you—later."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The cowboy looked anything but + convinced; and he glanced with narrowed eyes at Nash as + that worthy hurried back to the car.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With a lurch and a leap the car left + Palmer behind in a cloud of dust. The air was furnace-hot, + oppressive, and exceedingly dry. Lenore's lips smarted so + that she continually moistened them. On all sides stretched + dreary parched wheat-fields. Anderson shook his head sadly. + Jake said: "Ain't thet too bad? Not half growed, an' sure + too late now."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Near at hand Lenore saw the short + immature dirty-whitish wheat, and she realized that it was + ruined.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's been gettin' worse, Jake," + remarked Anderson. "Most of this won't be cut at all. An' + what is cut won't yield seedlings. I see a yellow patch + here an' there on the north slopes, but on the most part + the Bend's a failure."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father, you remember Dorn's section, + that promised so well?" asked Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. But it promised only in case of + rain. I look for the worst," replied Anderson, + regretfully.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It looks like storm-clouds over + there," said Lenore, pointing far ahead.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Through the drifting veils of heat, + far across the bare, dreamy hills of fallow and the blasted + fields of wheat, stood up some huge white columnar clouds, + a vivid contrast to the coppery sky.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"By George! there's a thunderhead!" + exclaimed Anderson. "Jake, what do you make of that?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Looks good to me," replied Jake, who + was always hopeful.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore bore the hot wind and the fine, + choking dust without covering her face. She wanted to see + all the hills and valleys of this desert of wheat. Her + heart beat a little faster as, looking across that waste on + waste of heroic labor, she realized she was nearing the end + of a ride that might be momentous for her. The very aspect + of that wide, treeless expanse, with all its overwhelming + meaning, seemed to make her a stronger and more thoughtful + girl. If those endless wheat-fields were indeed ruined, + what a pity, what a tragedy! Not only would young Dorn be + ruined, but perhaps many other toiling farmers. Somehow + Lenore felt no hopeless certainty of ruin for the young man + in whom she was interested.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There, on that slope!" spoke up + Anderson, pointing to a field which was yellow in contrast + to the surrounding gray field. "There's a half-section of + fair wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But such tinges of harvest gold were + not many in half a dozen miles of dreary hills. Where were + the beautiful shadows in the wheat? wondered Lenore. Not a + breath of wind appeared to stir across those fields.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">As the car neared the top of a hill + the road curved into another, and Lenore saw a dusty flash + of another car passing on ahead.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Suddenly Jake leaned forward.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boss, I seen somethin' throwed out of + thet car—into the wheat," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What?—Mebbe it was a bottle," + replied Anderson, peering ahead.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nope. Sure wasn't thet.… There! + I seen it again. Watch, boss!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore strained her eyes and felt a + stir of her pulses. Jake's voice was perturbing. Was it + strange that Nash slowed up a little where there was no + apparent need? Then Lenore saw a hand flash out of the side + of the car ahead and throw a small, glinting object into + the wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There! Seen it again," said Jake.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I saw!… Jake, mark that + spot.… Nash, slow down," yelled Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore gathered from the look of her + father and the cowboy that something was amiss, but she + could not guess what it might be. Nash bent sullenly at his + task of driving.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon about here," said Jake, + waving his hand.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Stop her," ordered Anderson, and as + the car came to a halt he got out, followed by Jake.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I marked it by thet rock," + declared the cowboy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So did I," responded Anderson. "Let's + get over the fence an' find what it was they threw in + there."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jake rested a lean hand on a post and + vaulted the fence. But Anderson had to climb laboriously + and painfully over the barbed-wire obstruction. Lenore + marveled at his silence and his persistence. Anderson hated + wire fences. Presently he got over, and then he divided his + time between searching in the wheat and peering after the + strange car that was drawing far away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore saw Jake pick up something and + scrutinize it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll be dog-goned!" he muttered. Then + he approached Anderson. "What is thet?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake, you can lambaste me if I ever + saw the likes," replied Anderson. "But it looks bad. Let's + rustle after that car."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">As Anderson clambered into his seat + once more he looked dark and grim.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Catch that car ahead," he tersely + ordered Nash. Whereupon the driver began to go through his + usual motions in starting.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, what do you make of this?" + queried Anderson, turning to show her a small cake of some + gray substance, soft and wet to the touch.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I don't know what it is," replied + Lenore, wonderingly. "Do you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. An' I'd give a lot—Say, + Nash, hurry! Overhaul that car!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson turned to see why his order + had not been obeyed. He looked angry. Nash made hurried + motions. The car trembled, the machinery began to + whir—then came a tremendous buzzing roar, a violent + shaking of the car, followed by sharp explosions, and + silence.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You stripped the gears!" shouted + Anderson, with the red fading out of his face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No; but something's wrong," replied + Nash. He got out to examine the engine.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson manifestly controlled strong + feeling. Lenore saw Jake's hand go to her father's + shoulder. "Boss," he whispered, "we can't ketch thet car + now." Anderson resigned himself, averted his face so that + he could not see Nash, who was tinkering with the engine. + Lenore believed then that Nash had deliberately stalled the + engine or disordered something, so as to permit the escape + of the strange car ahead. She saw it turn off the long, + straight road ahead and disappear to the right. After some + minutes' delay Nash resumed his seat and started the car + once more.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">From the top of the next hill Lenore + saw the Dorn farm and home. All the wheat looked parched. + She remembered, however, that the section of promising + grain lay on the north slope, and therefore out of sight + from where she was.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Looks as bad as any," said Anderson. + "Good-by to my money."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore shut her eyes and thought of + herself, her inward state. She seemed calm, and glad to + have that first part of the journey almost ended. Her + motive in coming was not now the impelling thing that had + actuated her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When next the car slowed down she + heard her father say, "Drive in by the house."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Lenore, opening her eyes, saw the + gate, the trim little orchard with its scant shade, the + gray old weatherbeaten house which she remembered so well. + The big porch looked inviting, as it was shady and held an + old rocking-chair and a bench with blue cushions. A door + stood wide open. No one appeared to be on the premises.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nash, blow your horn an' then hunt + around for somebody," said Anderson. "Come, get out, + Lenore. You must be half dead."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh no. Only half dust and half fire," + replied Lenore, laughing, as she stepped out. What a relief + to get rid of coat, veils, bonnet, and to sit on a shady + porch where a faint breeze blew! Just at that instant she + heard a low, distant rumbling. Thunder! It thrilled her. + Jake brought her a cold, refreshing drink, and she sent him + back after another. She wet her handkerchief and bathed her + hot face. It was indeed very comfortable there after that + long hot ride.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Miss Lenore, I seen thet Nash pawin' + you," said the cowboy, "an' by Gosh! I couldn't believe my + eyes!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not so loud! Jake, the young + gentleman imagines I'm in love with him," replied + Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wall, I'll remove his imagining'," + declared Jake, coolly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake, you will do nothing."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ahuh! Then you air in love with + <i>him?</i>"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore was compelled to explain to + this loyal cowboy just what the situation meant. Whereupon + Jake swore his amaze, and said, "I'm a-goin' to lick him, + anyhow, fer thet!" And he caught up the tin cup and + shuffled away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Footsteps and voices sounded on the + path, upon which presently appeared Anderson and young + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father's gone to Wheatly," he was + saying. "But I'm glad to tell you we'll pay twenty thousand + dollars on the debt as soon as we harvest. If it rains + we'll pay it all and have thirty thousand left."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good! I sure hope it rains. An' that + thunder sounds hopeful," responded Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's been hopeful like that for + several days, but no rain," said Dorn. And then, espying + Lenore, he seemed startled out of his eagerness. He flushed + slightly. "I—I didn't see—you had brought your + daughter."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He greeted her somewhat bashfully. And + Lenore returned the greeting calmly, watching him steadily + and waiting for the nameless sensations she had imagined + would attend this meeting. But whatever these might be, + they did not come to overwhelm her. The gladness of his + voice, as he had spoken so eagerly to her father about the + debt, had made her feel very kindly toward him. It might + have been natural for a young man to resent this dragging + debt. But he was fine. She observed, as he sat down, that, + once the smile and flush left his face, he seemed somewhat + thinner and older than she had pictured him. A shadow lay + in his eyes and his lips were sad. He had evidently been + working, upon their arrival. He wore overalls, dusty and + ragged; his arms, bare to the elbow, were brown and + muscular; his thin cotton shirt was wet with sweat and it + clung to his powerful shoulders.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson surveyed the young man with + friendly glance.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's your first name?" he queried, + with his blunt frankness.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt," was the reply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Is that American?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. Neither is Dorn. But Kurt Dorn is + an American."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hum! So I see, an' I'm powerful + glad.… An' you've saved the big section of promisin' + wheat?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. We've been lucky. It's the best + and finest wheat father ever raised. If it rains the yield + will go sixty bushels to the acre."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sixty? Whew!" ejaculated + Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore smiled at these wheat men, and + said: "It surely will rain—and likely storm to-day. I + am a prophet who never fails."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"By George! that's true! Lenore has + anybody beat when it comes to figurin' the weather," + declared Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn looked at her without speaking, + but his smile seemed to say that she could not help being a + prophet of good, of hope, of joy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Say, Lenore, how many bushels in a + section at sixty per acre?" went on Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Thirty-eight thousand four hundred," + replied Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"An' what'll you sell for?" asked + Anderson of Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father has sold at two dollars and + twenty-five cents a bushel," replied Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good! But he ought to have waited. + The government will set a higher price.… How much + will that come to, Lenore?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn's smile, as he watched Lenore do + her mental arithmetic, attested to the fact that he already + had figured out the sum.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Eighty-six thousand four hundred + dollars," replied Lenore. "Is that right?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"An' you'll have thirty thousand + dollars left after all debts are paid?" inquired + Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, sir. I can hardly realize it. + That's a fortune—for one section of wheat. But we've + had four bad seasons.… Oh, if it only rains + to-day!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore turned her cheek to the faint + west wind. And then she looked long at the slowly spreading + clouds, white and beautiful, high up near the sky-line, and + dark and forbidding down along the horizon.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I knew a girl who could feel things + move when no one else could," said Lenore. "I'm sensitive + like that—at least about wind and rain. Right now I + can feel rain in the air."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then you have brought me luck," said + Dorn, earnestly. "Indeed I guess my luck has turned. I + hated the idea of going away with that debt unpaid."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Are you—going away?" asked + Lenore, in surprise.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, rather," he replied, with a + short, sardonic laugh. He fumbled in a pocket of his + overalls and drew forth a paper which he opened. A flame + burned the fairness from his face; his eyes darkened and + shone with peculiar intensity of pride. "I was the first + man drafted in this Bend country.… My number was the + first called!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Drafted!" echoed Lenore, and she + seemed to be standing on the threshold of an amazing and + terrible truth.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lass, we forget," said her father, + rather thickly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, but—why?" cried Lenore. She + had voiced the same poignant appeal to her brother Jim. Why + need he—why must he go to war? What for? And Jim had + called out a bitter curse on the Germans he meant to + kill.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why?" returned Dorn, with the sad, + thoughtful shadow returning to his eyes. "How many times + have I asked myself that?… In one way, I don't + know.… I haven't told father yet!… It's not for + his sake.… But when I think deeply—when I can + feel and see—I mean I'm going for my country.… + For you and your sisters."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Like a soldier then Lenore received + her mortal blow facing him who dealt it, and it was a + sudden overwhelming realization of love. No confusion, no + embarrassment, no shame attended the agony of that + revelation. Outwardly she did not seem to change at all. + She felt her father's eyes upon her; but she had no wish to + hide the tumult of her heart. The moment made her a woman. + Where was the fulfilment of those vague, stingingly sweet + dreamy fancies of love? Where was her maiden reserve, that + she so boldly recognized an unsolicited passion? Her eyes + met Dorn's steadily, and she felt some vital and compelling + spirit pass from her to him. She saw him struggle with what + he could not understand. It was his glance that wavered and + fell, his hand that trembled, his breast that heaved. She + loved him. There had been no beginning. Always he had lived + in her dreams. And like her brother he was going to kill + and to be killed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Lenore gazed away across the + wheat-fields. The shadows came waving toward her. A + stronger breeze fanned her cheeks. The heavens were + darkening and low thunder rolled along the battlements of + the great clouds.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Say, Kurt, what do you make of this?" + asked Anderson. Lenore, turning, saw her father hold out + the little gray cake that Jake had found in the + wheat-field.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Young Dorn seized it quickly, felt and + smelled and bit it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Where'd you get this?" he asked, with + excitement.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson related the circumstance of + its discovery.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's a preparation, mostly + phosphorus," replied Dorn. "When the moisture evaporates it + will ignite—set fire to any dry substance.… + That is a trick of the I.W.W. to burn the + wheat-fields."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"By all that's ——!" swore + Anderson, with his jaw bulging. "Jake an' I knew it meant + bad. But we didn't know what."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I've been expecting tricks of all + kinds," said Dorn. "I have four men watching the + section."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good! Say, that car turned off to the + right back here some miles.… But, worse luck, the + I.W.W.'s can work at night."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We'll watch at night, too," replied + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore was conscious of anger + encroaching upon the melancholy splendor of her emotions, + and the change was bitter.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"When the rain comes, won't it + counteract the ignition of that phosphorus?" she asked, + eagerly, for she knew that rain would come.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Only for the time being. It 'll be + just as dry this time to-morrow as it is now."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then the wheat's goin' to burn," + declared Anderson, grimly. "If that trick has been worked + all over this country you're goin' to have worse 'n a + prairie fire. The job on hand is to save this one section + that has a fortune tied up in it."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mr. Anderson, that job looks almost + hopeless, in the light of this phosphorus trick. What on + earth can be done? I've four men. I can't hire any more, + because I can't trust these strangers. And how can four + men—or five, counting me, watch a square mile of + wheat day and night?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The situation looked hopeless to + Lenore and she was sick. What cruel fates toyed with this + young farmer! He seemed to be sinking under this last + crowning blow. There in the sky, rolling up and rumbling, + was the long-deferred rain-storm that meant freedom from + debt, and a fortune besides. But of what avail the rain if + it was to rush the wheat to full bursting measure only for + the infernal touch of the foreigner?</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson, however, was no longer a + boy. He had dealt with many and many a trial. Never was he + plunged into despair until after the dread crisis had come + to pass. His red forehead, frowning and ridged with + swelling blood-vessels, showed the bent of his mind.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, it is hard!" said Lenore to Dorn. + "I'm so sorry! But don't give up. While there's life + there's hope!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He looked up with tears in his + eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Thank you.… I did weaken. You + see I've let myself believe too much—for dad's sake. + I don't care about the money for myself.… Money! What + good will money be to me—now? It's over for + me.… To get the wheat + cut—harvested—that's all I hoped.… The + army—war—France—I go to be—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hush!" whispered Lenore, and she put + a soft hand upon his lips, checking the end of that bitter + speech. She felt him start, and the look she met pierced + her soul. "Hush!… It's going to rain!… Father + will find some way to save the wheat!… And you are + coming home—after the war!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He crushed her hand to his hot + lips.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You make me—ashamed. I won't + give—up," he said, brokenly. "And when I'm + over—there—in the trenches, I'll + think—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn, listen to this," rang out + Anderson. "We'll fool that I.W.W. gang.…It's a-goin' + to rain. So far so good. To-morrow you take this cake of + phosphorus an' ride around all over the country. Show it + an' tell the farmers their wheat's goin' to burn. An' offer + them whose fields are already ruined—that fire can't + do no more harm—offer them big money to help you save + your section. Half a hundred men could put out a fire if + one did start. An' these neighbors of yours, some of them + will jump at a chance to beat the I.W.W.… Boy, it can + be done!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He ended with a big fist held aloft in + triumph.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"See! Didn't I tell you?" murmured + Lenore, softly. It touched her deeply to see Dorn respond + to hope. His haggard face suddenly warmed and glowed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I never thought of that," he burst + out, radiantly. "We can save the wheat.… Mr. + Anderson, I—I can't thank you enough."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Don't try," replied the rancher.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I tell you it will rain," cried + Lenore, gaily. "Let's walk out there—watch the storm + come across the hills. I love to see the shadows blow over + the wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore became aware, as she passed the + car, that Nash was glaring at her in no unmistakable + manner. She had forgotten all about him. The sight of his + jealous face somehow added to her strange exhilaration.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They crossed the road from the house, + and, facing the west, had free prospect of the miles of + billowy hills and the magnificent ordnance of the + storm-clouds. The deep, low mutterings of thunder seemed a + grand and welcome music. Lenore stole a look at Dorn, to + see him, bareheaded, face upturned, entranced. It was only + a rain-storm coming! Down in the valley country such storms + were frequent at this season, too common for their meaning + to be appreciated. Here in the desert of wheat rain was a + blessing, life itself.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The creamy-white, rounded edge of the + approaching clouds came and coalesced, spread and + mushroomed. Under them the body of the storm was purple, + lit now and then by a flash of lightning. Long, drifting + veils of rain, gray as thin fog, hung suspended between sky + and earth.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Listen!" exclaimed Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A warm wind, laden with dry scent of + wheat, struck Lenore's face and waved her hair. It brought + a silken, sweeping rustle, a whispering of the bearded + grain. The soft sound thrilled Lenore. It seemed a sweet, + hopeful message that waiting had been rewarded, that the + drought could be broken. Again, and more beautiful than + ever before in her life, she saw the waves of shadow as + they came forward over the wheat. Rippling, like breezes + over the surface of a golden lake, they came in long, + broken lines, moving, following, changing, until the whole + wheat-field seemed in shadowy motion.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The cloud pageant rolled on above and + beyond. Lenore felt a sweet drop of rain splash upon her + upturned face. It seemed like a caress. There came a + pattering around her. Suddenly rose a damp, faint smell of + dust. Beyond the hill showed a gray pall of rain, coming + slowly, charged with a low roar. The whisper of the + sweeping wheat was swallowed up.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore stood her ground until heavy + rain drops fell thick and fast upon her, sinking through + her thin waist to thrill her flesh; and then, with a last + gay call to those two man lovers of wheat and storms, she + ran for the porch.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">There they joined her, Anderson + puffing and smiling, Dorn still with that rapt look upon + his face. The rain swept up and roared on the roof, while + all around was streaked gray.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boy, there's your + thirty-thousand-dollar rain!" shouted Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But Dorn did not hear. Once he smiled + at Lenore as if she were the good fairy who had brought + about this miracle. In his look Lenore had deeper + realization of him, of nature, and of life. She loved rain, + but always, thenceforth, she would reverence it. Fresh, + cool fragrance of a renewed soil filled the air. All that + dusty gray hue of the earth had vanished, and it was wet + and green and bright. Even as she gazed the water seemed to + sink in as it fell, a precious relief to thirsty soil. The + thunder rolled away eastward and the storm passed. The thin + clouds following soon cleared away from the western sky, + rain-washed and blue, with a rainbow curving down to bury + its exquisite hues in the golden wheat.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The journey homeward held many + incalculable differences from the uncertain doubts and + fears that had tormented Lenore on the outward trip.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">For a long time she felt the warm, + tight clasp of Dorn's hand on hers as he had said good-by. + Very evidently he believed that was to be his last sight of + her. Lenore would never forget the gaze that seemed to try + to burn her image on his memory forever. She felt that they + would meet again. Solemn thoughts revolved in her mind; + still, she was not unhappy. She had given much unsought, + but the return to her seemed growing every moment that she + lived.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The dust had been settled by the rain + for many miles; however, beyond Palmer there began to show + evidences that the storm had thinned out or sheered off, + because the road gradually grew dry again. When dust rose + once more Lenore covered her face, although, obsessed as + she was by the deep change in herself, neither dust nor + heat nor distance affected her greatly. Like the miles the + moments sped by. She was aware through closed eyes when + darkness fell. Stops were frequent after the Copper River + had been crossed, and her father appeared to meet and + question many persons in the towns they passed. Most of his + questioning pertained to the I.W.W. And even excited + whispering by her father and Jake had no power to interest + her. It was midnight when they reached "Many Waters" and + Lenore became conscious of fatigue.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash crowded in front of Jake as she + was about to step out, and assisted her. He gave her arm a + hard squeeze and fiercely whispered in her ear, + "To-morrow!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The whisper was trenchant with meaning + and thoroughly aroused Lenore. But she gave no sign and + moved away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I seen strangers sneakin' off in the + dark," Jake was whispering to Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Keep your eyes peeled," replied + Anderson. "I'll take Lenore up to the house an' come + back."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was pitch black up the path through + the grove and Lenore had to cling to her father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Is there—any danger?" she + whispered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We're lookin' for anythin'," replied + Anderson, slowly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Will you be careful?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure, lass. I'll take no foolish + risks. I've got men watchin' the house an' ranch. But I'd + better have the cowboys down. There's Jake—he spots + some prowlin' coyotes the minute we reach home."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson unlocked and opened the door. + The hall was dark and quiet. He turned on the electric + light. Lenore was detaching her veil.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You look pale," he said, + solicitously. "No wonder. That was a ride. But I'm glad we + went. I saved Dorn's wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm glad, too, father. + Good-night!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He bade her good-night, and went out, + locking the door. Then his rapid footsteps died away. + Wearily Lenore climbed the stairs and went to her room.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She was awakened from deep slumber by + Kathleen, who pulled and tugged at her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenorry, I thought you was dead, your + eyes were shut so tight," declared the child. "Breakfast is + waiting. Did you fetch me anything?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, a new sister," replied Lenore, + dreamily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kathleen's eyes opened wide. + "Where?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore place a hand over her + heart.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, you do look funny.… Get up, + Lenorry. Did you hear the shooting last night?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Instantly Lenore sat up and + stared.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. Was there any?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You bet. But I don't know what it was + all about."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore dispelled her dreamy state, + and, hurriedly dressing, she went down to breakfast. Her + father and Rose were still at the table.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hello, big eyes!" was his + greeting.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">And Rose, not to be outdone, chirped, + "Hello, old sleepy-head!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore's reply lacked her usual + spontaneity. And she felt, if she did not explain, the + wideness of her eyes. Her father did not look as if + anything worried him. It was a way of his, however, not to + show stress or worry. Lenore ate in silence until Rose left + the dining-room, and then she asked her father if there had + been shooting.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure," he replied, with a broad + smile. "Jake turned his guns loose on them prowlin' men + last night. By George! you ought to have heard them run. + One plumped into the gate an' went clear over it, to fall + like a log. Another fell into the brook an' made more + racket than a drownin' horse. But it was so dark we + couldn't catch them."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake shot to frighten them?" inquired + Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not much. He stung one I.W.W., that's + sure. We heard a cry, an' this mornin' we found some + blood."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What do you suppose these—these + night visitors wanted?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No tellin'. Jake thinks one of them + looked an' walked like the man Nash has been meetin'. + Anyway, we're not takin' much more chance on Nash. I reckon + it's dangerous keepin' him around. I'll have him drive me + to-day—over to Vale, an' then to Huntington. You can + go along. That'll be your last chance to pump him. Have you + found out anythin'?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore told what had transpired + between her and the driver. Anderson's face turned fiery + red.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That ain't much to help us," + declared, angrily. "But it shows him up.… So his real + name's Ruenke? Fine American name, I don't think! That + man's a spy an' a plotter. An' before he's another day + older I'm goin' to corner him. It's a sure go I can't hold + Jake in any longer."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">To Lenore it was a further indication + of her father's temper that when they went down to enter + the car he addressed Nash in cool, careless, easy speech. + It made Lenore shiver. She had heard stories of her + father's early career among hard men.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jake was there, dry, caustic, with + keen, quiet eyes that any subtle, clever man would have + feared. But Nash's thought seemed turned mostly inward.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore took the front seat in the car + beside the driver. He showed unconscious response to that + action.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake, aren't you coming?" she asked, + of the cowboy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I reckon it'll be sure dull fer + you without me. Nobody to talk to while your dad fools + around. But I can't go. Me an' the boys air a-goin' to hang + some I.W.W.'s this mawnin', an' I can't miss thet fun."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jake drawled his speech and laughed + lazily as he ended it. He was just boasting, as usual, but + his hawklike eyes were on Nash. And it was certain that + Nash turned pale.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore had no reply to make. Her + father appeared to lose patience with Jake, but after a + moment's hesitation decided not to voice it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash was not a good nor a careful + driver under any circumstances, and this morning it was + evident he did not have his mind on his business. There + were bumps in the orchard road where the irrigation ditches + crossed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Say, you ought to be drivin' a + hay-wagon," called Anderson, sarcastically.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At Vale he ordered the car stopped at + the post-office, and, telling Lenore he might be detained a + few moments, he went in. Nash followed, and presently came + back with a package of letters. Upon taking his seat in the + car he assorted the letters, one of which, a large, thick + envelope, manifestly gave him excited gratification. He + pocketed them and turned to Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah! I see you get letters—from + a woman," she said, pretending a poison sweetness of + jealousy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Certainly. I'm not married yet," he + replied. "Lenore, last night—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You will never be married—to + me—while you write to other women. Let me see that + letter!… Let me read it—all of them!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, Lenore—not here. And don't + speak so loud. Your father will be coming any + minute.… Lenore, he suspects me. And that cowboy + knows things. I can't go back to the ranch."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, you must come!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. If you love me you've got to run + off with me to-day."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But why the hurry?" she appealed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's getting hot for me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What do you mean by that? Why don't + you explain to me? As long as you are so strange, so + mysterious, how can I trust you? You ask me to run off with + you, yet you don't put confidence in me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash grew pale and earnest, and his + hands shook.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But if I do confide in you, then will + you come with me?" he queried, breathlessly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll not promise. Maybe what you have + to tell will prove—you—you don't care for + me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It 'll prove I do," he replied, + passionately.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then tell me." Lenore realized she + could no longer play the part she had assumed. But Nash was + so stirred by his own emotions, so carried along in a + current, that he did not see the difference in her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Listen. I tell you it's getting hot + for me," he whispered. "I've been put here—close to + Anderson—to find out things and to carry out orders. + Lately I've neglected my job because I fell in love with + you. He's your father. If I go on with plans—and harm + comes to him—I'll never get you. Is that clear?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It certainly is," replied Lenore, and + she felt a tightness at her throat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm no member of the I.W.W.," he went + on. "Whatever that organization might have been last year, + it's gone wild this year.… There are interests that + have used the I.W.W. I'm only an agent, and I'm not high + up, either. I see what the government will do to the I.W.W. + if the Northwest leaves any of it. But just now there're + plots against a few big men like your father. He's to be + ruined. His crops and ranches destroyed. And he's to be + killed. It's because he's so well known and has so much + influence that he was marked. I told you the I.W.W. was + being used to make trouble. They are being stirred up by + agitators, bribed and driven, all for the purpose of making + a great disorder in the Northwest."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Germany!" whispered Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I can't say. But men are all over, + and these men work in secret. There are American citizens + in the Northwest—one right in this valley—who + have plotted to ruin your father."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Do you know who they are?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, I do not."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You are for Germany, of course?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I have been. My people are German. + But I was born in the U.S. And if it suits me I will be for + America. If you come with me I'll throw up this dirty job, + advise Glidden to shift the plot from your father to some + other man—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So it's Glidden!" exclaimed + Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash bit his lip, and for the first + time looked at Lenore without thinking of himself. And + surprise dawned in his eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, Glidden. You saw him speak to me + up in the Bend, the first time your father went to see + Dorn's wheat. Glidden's playing the I.W.W. against itself. + He means to drop out of this deal with big money.…Now + I'll save your father if you'll stick to me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore could no longer restrain + herself. This man was not even big in his wickedness. + Lenore divined that his later words held no truth.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mr. Ruenke, you are a detestable + coward," she said, with quivering scorn. "I let you + imagine—Oh! I can't speak it!… + You—you—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"God! You fooled me!" he ejaculated, + his jaw falling in utter amaze.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You were contemptibly easy. You'd + better jump out of this car and run. My father will shoot + you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You deceitful—cat!" he cried, + haltingly, as anger overcame his astonishment. + "I'll—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's big bulk loomed up behind + Nash. Lenore gasped as she saw her father, for his eyes + were upon her and he had recognized events.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Say, Mister Ruenke, the postmaster + says you get letters here under different names," said + Anderson, bluntly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes—I—I—get + them—for a friend," stammered the driver, as his face + turned white.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You lyin' German pup!… I'll + look over them letters!" Anderson's big hand shot out to + clutch Nash, holding him powerless, and with the other hand + he searched Nash's inside coat pockets, to tear forth a + packet of letters. Then Anderson released him and stepped + back. "Get out of that car!" he thundered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash made a slow movement, as if to + comply, then suddenly he threw on the power. The car jerked + forward.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson leaped to get one hand on the + car door, the other on Nash. He almost pulled the driver + out of his seat. But Nash held on desperately, and the car, + gaining momentum, dragged Anderson. He could not get his + feet up on the running-board, and suddenly he fell.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore screamed and tore frantically + at the handle of the door. Nash struck her, jerked her back + into the seat. She struggled until the car shot full speed + ahead. Then it meant death for her to leap out.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sit still, or you'll kill yourself." + shouted Nash, hoarsely.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore fell back, almost fainting, + with the swift realization of what had happened.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt Dorn had indeed no hope of ever + seeing Lenore Anderson again, and he suffered a pang that + seemed to leave his heart numb, though Anderson's timely + visit might turn out as providential as the saving + rain-storm. The wheat waved and rustled as if with renewed + and bursting life. The exquisite rainbow still shone, a + beautiful promise, in the sky. But Dorn could not be happy + in that moment.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This day Lenore Anderson had seemed a + bewildering fulfilment of the sweetness he had imagined was + latent in her. She had meant what was beyond him to + understand. She had gently put a hand to his lips, to check + the bitter words, and he had dared to kiss her soft + fingers. The thrill, the sweetness, the incomprehensible + and perhaps imagined response of her pulse would never + leave him. He watched the big car until it was out of + sight.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The afternoon was only half advanced + and there were numberless tasks to do. He decided he could + think and plan while he worked. As he was about to turn + away he espied another automobile, this one coming from the + opposite direction to that Anderson had taken. The sight of + it reminded Dorn of the I.W.W. trick of throwing phosphorus + cakes into the wheat. He was suspicious of that car. It + slowed down in front of the Dorn homestead, turned into the + yard, and stopped near where Dorn stood. The dust had caked + in layers upon it. Someone hailed him and asked if this was + the Dorn farm. Kurt answered in the affirmative, whereupon + a tall man, wearing a long linen coat, opened the car door + to step out. In the car remained the driver and another + man.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My name is Hall," announced the + stranger, with a pleasant manner. "I'm from Washington, + D.C. I represent the government and am in the Northwest in + the interest of the Conservation Commission. Your name has + been recommended to me as one of the progressive young + wheat-growers of the Bend; particularly that you are an + American, located in a country exceedingly important to the + United States just now—a country where foreign-born + people predominate."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt, somewhat startled and awed, + managed to give a courteous greeting to his visitor, and + asked him into the house. But Mr. Hall preferred to sit + outdoors on the porch. He threw off hat and coat, and, + taking an easy chair, he produced some cigars.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Will you smoke?" he asked, offering + one.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt declined with thanks. He was + aware of this man's penetrating, yet kindly scrutiny of + him, and he had begun to wonder. This was no ordinary + visitor.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Have you been drafted?" abruptly + queried Mr. Hall.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, sir. Mine was the first number," + replied Kurt, with a little pride.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Do you want exemption?" swiftly came + the second query.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It shocked Dorn, then stung him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No," he said, forcibly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Your father's sympathy is with + Germany, I understand."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, sir, I don't know how you + understand that, but it's true—to my regret and + shame."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You want to fight?" went on the + official.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I hate the idea of war. But I—I + guess I want to fight. Maybe that's because I'm feeling + scrappy over these I.W.W. tricks."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn, the I.W.W. is only one of the + many phases of war that we must meet," returned Mr. Hall, + and then for a moment he thoughtfully drew upon his + cigar.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Young man, I like your talk. And I'll + tell you a secret. My name's not Hall. Never mind my name. + For you it's Uncle Sam!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Whereupon, with a winning and + fascinating manner that seemed to Kurt at once intimate and + flattering, he began to talk fluently of the meaning of his + visit, and of its cardinal importance. The government was + looking far ahead, preparing for a tremendous, and perhaps + a lengthy, war. The food of the country must be conserved. + Wheat was one of the most vital things in the whole world, + and the wheat of America was incalculably + precious—only the government knew how precious. If + the war was short a wheat famine would come afterward; if + it was long, the famine would come before the war ended. + But it was inevitable. The very outcome of the war itself + depended upon wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The government expected a nation-wide + propaganda by the German interests which would be carried + on secretly and boldly, in every conceivable way, to + alienate the labor organizations, to bribe or menace the + harvesters, to despoil crops, and particularly to put + obstacles in the way of the raising and harvesting, the + transporting and storing of wheat. It would take an army to + protect the nation's grain.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn was earnestly besought by this + official to compass his district, to find out who could be + depended upon by the United States and who was + antagonistic, to impress upon the minds of all his + neighbors the exceeding need of greater and more persistent + cultivation of wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I accept. I'll do my best," replied + Kurt, grimly. "I'll be going some the next two weeks."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's deplorable that most of the + wheat in this section is a failure," said the official. + "But we must make up for that next year. I see you have one + magnificent wheat-field. But, fact is, I heard of that long + before I got here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes? Where?" ejaculated Kurt, quick + to catch a significance in the other's words.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I've motored direct from Wheatly. And + I'm sorry to say that what I have now to tell you is not + pleasant.… Your father sold this wheat for eighty + thousand dollars in cash. The money was seen to be paid + over by a mill-operator of Spokane.… And your father + is reported to be suspiciously interested in the I.W.W. men + now at Wheatly."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, that's awful!" exclaimed Kurt, + with a groan. "How did you learn that?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"From American farmers—men that + I had been instructed to approach, the same as in your + case. The information came quite by accident, however, and + through my inquiring about the I.W.W."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father has not been rational since + the President declared war. He's very old. I've had trouble + with him. He might do anything."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My boy, there are multitudes of + irrational men nowadays and the number is growing.… I + advise you to go at once to Wheatly and bring your father + home. It was openly said that he was taking risks with that + large sum of money."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Risks! Why, I can't understand that. + The wheat's not harvested yet, let alone hauled to town. + And to-day I learned the I.W.W. are working a trick with + cakes of phosphorus, to burn the wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt produced the cake of phosphorus + and explained its significance to the curious official.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Cunning devils! Who but a German + would ever have thought of that?" he exclaimed. "German + science! To such ends the Germans put their supreme + knowledge!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I wonder what my father will say + about this phosphorus trick. I just wonder. He loves the + wheat. His wheat has taken prizes at three world's fairs. + Maybe to see our wheat burn would untwist that twist in his + brain and make him American."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I doubt it. Only death changes the + state of a real German, physical, moral, and spiritual. + Come, ride back to Glencoe with me. I'll drop you there. + You can hire a car and make Wheatly before dark."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt ran indoors, thinking hard as he + changed clothes. He told the housekeeper to tell Jerry he + was called away and would be back next day. Putting money + and a revolver in his pocket, he started out, but hesitated + and halted. He happened to think that he was a poor shot + with a revolver and a fine one with a rifle. So he went + back for his rifle, a small high-power, repeating gun that + he could take apart and hide under his coat. When he + reached the porch the official glanced from the weapon to + Kurt's face and said, with a flash of spirit:</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It appears that you are in + earnest!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I am. Something told me to take + this," responded Kurt, as he dismounted the rifle. "I've + already had one run-in with an I.W.W. I know tough + customers when I see them. These foreigners are the kind I + don't want near me. And if I see one trying to fire the + wheat I'll shoot his leg off."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm inclined to think that Uncle Sam + would not deplore your shooting a little higher.… + Dorn, you're fine! You're all I heard you were! Shake + hands!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt tingled all over as he followed + the official out to the car and took the seat given him + beside the driver. "Back to Glencoe," was the order. And + then, even if conversation had been in order, it would + scarcely have been possible. That driver could drive! He + had no fear and he knew his car. Kurt could drive himself, + but he thought that if he had been as good as this fellow + he would have chosen one of two magnificent services for + the army—an ambulance-driver at the front or an + aeroplane scout.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">On the way to Glencoe several squads + of idling and marching men were passed, all of whom bore + the earmarks of the I.W.W. Sight of them made Kurt hug his + gun and wonder at himself. Never had he been a coward, but + neither had he been one to seek a fight. This suave, + distinguished government official, by his own significant + metaphor, Uncle Sam gone abroad to find true hearts, had + wrought powerfully upon Kurt's temper. He sensed events. He + revolved in mind the need for him to be cool and decisive + when facing the circumstances that were sure to arise.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At Glencoe, which was reached so + speedily that Kurt could scarcely credit his eyes, the + official said; "You'll hear from me. Good-by and good + luck!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt hired a young man he knew to + drive him over to Wheatly. All the way Kurt brooded about + his father's strange action. The old man had left home + before the rain-storm. How did he know he could guarantee + so many bushels of wheat as the selling-price indicated? + Kurt divined that his father had acted upon one of his + strange weather prophecies. For he must have been + absolutely sure of rain to save the wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Darkness had settled down when Kurt + reached Wheatly and left the car at the railroad station. + Wheatly was a fairly good-sized little town. There seemed + to be an unusual number of men on the dark streets. Dim + lights showed here and there. Kurt passed several times + near groups of conversing men, but he did not hear any + significant talk.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Most of the stores were open and well + filled with men, but to Kurt's sharp eyes there appeared to + be much more gossip going on than business. The town was + not as slow and quiet as was usual with Bend towns. He + listened for war talk, and heard none. Two out of every + three men who spoke in his hearing did not use the English + language. Kurt went into the office of the first hotel he + found. There was no one present. He glanced at an old + register lying on the desk. No guests had registered for + several days.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Kurt went out and accosted a man + leaning against a hitching-rail.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's going on in this town?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The man stood rather indistinctly in + the uncertain light. Kurt, however, made out his eyes and + they were regarding him suspiciously.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nothin' onusual," was the reply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Has harvesting begun in these + parts?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Some barley cut, but no wheat. Next + week, I reckon."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"How's the wheat?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Some bad an' some good."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Is this town a headquarters for the + I.W.W.?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. But there's a big camp of + I.W.W.'s near here. Reckon you're one of them union + fellers?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I am not," declared Kurt, + bluntly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Reckon you sure look like one, with + thet gun under your coat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Are you going to hire I.W.W. men?" + asked Kurt, ignoring the other's observation.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm only a farm-hand," was the sullen + reply. "An' I tell you I won't join no I.W.W."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt spared himself a moment to give + this fellow a few strong proofs of the fact that any + farm-hand was wise to take such a stand against the labor + organization. Leaving the fellow gaping and staring after + him, Kurt crossed the street to enter another hotel. It was + more pretentious than the first, with a large, well lighted + office. There were loungers at the tables. Kurt walked to + the desk. A man leaned upon his elbows. He asked Kurt if he + wanted a room. This man, evidently the proprietor, was a + German, though he spoke English.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm not sure," replied Kurt. "Will + you let me look at the register?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The man shoved the book around. Kurt + did not find the name he sought.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My father, Chris Dorn, is in town. + Can you tell me where I'll find him?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So you're young Dorn," replied the + other, with instant change to friendliness. "I've heard of + you. Yes, the old man is here. He made a big wheat deal + to-day. He's eating his supper."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt stepped to the door indicated, + and, looking into the dining-room, he at once espied his + father's huge head with its shock of gray hair. He appeared + to be in earnest colloquy with a man whose bulk matched his + own. Kurt hesitated, and finally went back to the desk.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Who's the big man with my father?" he + asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He is a big man, both ways. Don't you + know him?" rejoined the proprietor, in a lower voice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm not sure," answered Kurt. The + lowered tone had a significance that decided Kurt to admit + nothing.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's Neuman from Ruxton, one of the + biggest wheat men in Washington."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt repressed a whistle of surprise. + Neuman was Anderson's only rival in the great, fertile + valley. What were Neuman and Chris Dorn doing with their + heads together?</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I thought he was Neuman," replied + Kurt, feeling his way. "Is he in on the big deal with + father?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Which one?" queried the proprietor, + with shrewd eyes, taking Kurt's measure. "You're in on + both, of course."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure. I mean the wheat sale, not the + I.W.W. deal," replied Kurt. He hazarded a guess with that + mention of the I.W.W. No sooner had the words passed his + lips than he divined he was on the track of sinister + events.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Your father sold out to that Spokane + miller. No, Neuman is not in on that."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I was surprised to hear father had + sold the wheat. Was it speculation or guarantee?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Old Chris guaranteed sixty bushels. + There were friends of his here who advised against it. Did + you have rain over there?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Fine. The wheat will go over sixty + bushels. I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"When it rained you hurried over to + boost the price. Well, it's too late."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Is Glidden here?" queried Kurt, + hazarding another guess.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Don't talk so loud," warned the + proprietor. "Yes, he just got here in a car with two other + men. He's up-stairs having supper in his room."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Supper!" Kurt echoed the word, and + averted his face to hide the leap of his blood. "That + reminds me, I'm hungry."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He went into the big, dimly lighted + dining-room. There was a shelf on one side as he went in, + and here, with his back turned to the room, he laid the + disjointed gun and his hat. Several newspapers lying near + attracted his eye. Quickly he slipped them under and around + the gun, and then took a seat at the nearest table. A buxom + German waitress came for his order. He gave it while he + gazed around at his grim-faced old father and the burly + Neuman, and his ears throbbed to the beat of his blood. His + hand trembled on the table. His thoughts flashed almost too + swiftly for comprehension. It took a stern effort to gain + self-control.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Evil of some nature was afoot. + Neuman's presence there was a strange, disturbing fact. + Kurt had made two guesses, both alarmingly correct. If he + had any more illusions or hopes, he dispelled them. His + father had been won over by this arch conspirator of the + I.W.W. And, despite his father's close-fistedness where + money was concerned, that eighty thousand dollars, or part + of it, was in danger.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt wondered how he could get + possession of it. If he could he would return it to the + bank and wire a warning to the Spokane buyer that the wheat + was not safe. He might persuade his father to turn over the + amount of the debt to Anderson. While thinking and + planning, Kurt kept an eye on his father and rather + neglected his supper. Presently, when old Dorn and Neuman + rose and left the dining-room, Kurt followed them. His + father was whispering to the proprietor over the desk, and + at Kurt's touch he glared his astonishment.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You here! What for?" he demanded, + gruffly, in German.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I had to see you," replied Kurt, in + English.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did it rain?" was the old man's + second demand, husky and serious.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The wheat is made, if we can harvest + it," answered Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The blaze of joy on old Dorn's face + gave Kurt a twinge of pain. He hated to dispel it. "Come + aside, here, a minute," he whispered, and drew his father + over to a corner under a lamp. "I've got bad news. Look at + this!" He produced the cake of phosphorus, careful to hide + it from other curious eyes there, and with swift, low words + he explained its meaning. He expected an outburst of + surprise and fury, but he was mistaken.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I know about that," whispered his + father, hoarsely. "There won't be any thrown in my + wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father! What assurance have you of + that?" queried Kurt, astounded.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The old man nodded his gray head + wisely. He knew, but he did not speak.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Do you think these I.W.W. plotters + will spare your wheat?" asked Kurt. "You are wrong. They + may lie to your face. But they'll betray you. The I.W.W. is + backed by—by interests that want to embarrass the + government."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What government?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, ours—the U.S. + government!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's not my government. The more + it's embarrassed the better it will suit me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In the stress of the moment Kurt had + forgotten his father's bitter and unchangeable hatred.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But you're—you're stupid," he + hissed, passionately. "That government has protected you + for fifty years."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Old Dorn growled into his beard. His + huge ox-eyes rolled. Kurt realized then finally how + implacable and hopeless he was—how utterly German. + Then Kurt importuned him to return the eighty thousand + dollars to the bank until he was sure the wheat was + harvested and hauled to the railroad.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My wheat won't burn," was old Dorn's + stubborn reply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, then, give me Anderson's thirty + thousand. I'll take it to him at once. Our debt will be + paid. We'll have it off our minds."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No hurry about that," replied his + father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But there is hurry," returned Kurt, + in a hot whisper. "Anderson came to see you to-day. He + wants his money."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Neuman holds the small end of that + debt. I'll pay him. Anderson can wait."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt felt no amaze. He expected + anything. But he could scarcely contain his fury. How this + old man, his father, whom he had loved—how he had + responded to the influences that must destroy him!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Anderson shall not wait," declared + Kurt. "I've got some say in this matter. I've worked like a + dog in those wheat-fields. I've a right to demand + Anderson's money. He needs it. He has a tremendous harvest + on his hands."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Old Dorn shook his huge head in somber + and gloomy thought. His broad face, his deep eyes, seemed + to mask and to hide. It was an expression Kurt had seldom + seen there, but had always hated. It seemed so old to Kurt, + that alien look, something not born of his time.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Anderson is a capitalist," said Chris + Dorn, deep in his beard. "He seeks control of farmers and + wheat in the Northwest. Ranch after ranch he's gained by + taking up and foreclosing mortgages. He's against labor. He + grinds down the poor. He cheated Neuman out of a hundred + thousand bushels of wheat. He bought up my debt. He meant + to ruin me. He—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're talking I.W.W. rot," whispered + Kurt, shaking with the effort to subdue his feelings. + "Anderson is fine, big, square—a developer of the + Northwest. Not an enemy! He's our friend. Oh! if only you + had an American's eyes, just for a minute!… Father, I + want that money for Anderson."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My son, I run my own business," + replied Dorn, sullenly, with a pale fire in his opaque + eyes. "You're a wild boy, unfaithful to your blood. You've + fallen in love with an American girl.… Anderson says + he needs money!"… With hard, gloomy face the old man + shook his head. "He thinks he'll harvest!" Again that + strange shake of finality. "I know what I know.… I + keep my money.… We'll have other rule.… I keep + my money."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt had vibrated to those most + significant words and he stared speechless at his + father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Go home. Get ready for harvest," + suddenly ordered old Dorn, as if he had just awakened to + the fact of Kurt's disobedience in lingering here.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"All right, father," replied Kurt, + and, turning on his heel, he strode outdoors.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When he got beyond the light he turned + and went back to a position where in the dark he could + watch without being seen. His father and the hotel + proprietor were again engaged in earnest colloquy. Neuman + had disappeared. Kurt saw the huge shadow of a man pass + across a drawn blind in a room up-stairs. Then he saw + smaller shadows, and arms raised in vehement gesticulation. + The very shadows were sinister. Men passed in and out of + the hotel. Once old Dorn came to the door and peered all + around. Kurt observed that there was a dark side entrance + to this hotel. Presently Neuman returned to the desk and + said something to old Dorn, who shook his head + emphatically, and then threw himself into a chair, in a + brooding posture that Kurt knew well. He had seen it so + often that he knew it had to do with money. His father was + refusing demands of some kind. Neuman again left the + office, this time with the proprietor. They were absent + some little time.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">During this period Kurt leaned against + a tree, hidden in the shadow, with keen eyes watching and + with puzzled, anxious mind. He had determined, in case his + father left that office with Neuman, on one of those + significant disappearances, to slip into the hotel at the + side entrance and go up-stairs to listen at the door of the + room with the closely drawn blind. Neuman returned soon + with the hotel man, and the two of them half led, half + dragged old Dorn out into the street. They took the + direction toward the railroad. Kurt followed at a safe + distance on the opposite side of the street. Soon they + passed the stores with lighted windows, then several dark + houses, and at length the railroad station. Perhaps they + were bound for the train. Kurt heard rumbling in the + distance. But they went beyond the station, across the + track, and turned to the right.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt was soft-footed and keen-eyed. He + just kept the dim shadows in range. They were heading for + some freight-cars that stood upon a side-track. The dark + figures disappeared behind them. Then one figure + reappeared, coming back. Kurt crouched low. This man passed + within a few yards of Kurt and he was whispering to + himself. After he was safely out of earshot Kurt stole on + stealthily until he reached the end of the freight-cars. + Here he paused, listening. He thought he heard low voices, + but he could not see the men he was following. No doubt + they were waiting in the secluded gloom for the other men + apparently necessary for that secret conference. Kurt had + sensed this event and he had determined to be present. He + tried not to conjecture. It was best for him to apply all + his faculties to the task of slipping unseen and unheard + close to these men who had involved his father in some dark + plot.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Not long after Kurt hid himself on the + other side of the freight-car he heard soft-padded + footsteps and subdued voices. Dark shapes appeared to come + out of the gloom. They passed him. He distinguished low, + guttural voices, speaking German. These men, three in + number, were scarcely out of sight when Kurt laid his rifle + on the projecting shelf of the freight-car and followed + them.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Presently he came to deep shadow, + where he paused. Low voices drew him on again, then a light + made him thrill. Now and then the light appeared to be + darkened by moving figures. A dark object loomed up to cut + off Kurt's view. It was a pile of railroad ties, and beyond + it loomed another. Stealing along these, he soon saw the + light again, quite close. By its glow he recognized his + father's huge frame, back to him, and the burly Neuman on + the other side, and Glidden, whose dark face was working as + he talked. These three were sitting, evidently on a flat + pile of ties, and the other two men stood behind. Kurt + could not make out the meaning of the low voices. Pressing + closer to the freight-car, he cautiously and noiselessly + advanced.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Glidden was importuning with + expressive hands and swift, low utterance. His face gleamed + dark, hard, strong, intensely strung with corded, quivering + muscles, with eyes apparently green orbs of fire. He spoke + in German.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt dared not go closer unless he + wanted to be discovered, and not yet was he ready for that. + He might hear some word to help explain his father's + strange, significant intimations about Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"…must—have—money," + Glidden was saying. To Kurt's eyes treachery gleamed in + that working face. Neuman bent over to whisper gruffly in + Dorn's ear. One of the silent men standing rubbed his hands + together. Old Dorn's head was bowed. Then Glidden spoke so + low and so swiftly that Kurt could not connect sentences, + but with mounting blood he stood transfixed and horrified, + to gather meaning from word on word, until he realized + Anderson's doom, with other rich men of the Northwest, was + sealed—that there were to be burnings of wheat-fields + and of storehouses and of freight-trains—destruction + everywhere.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I give money," said old Dorn, and + with heavy movement he drew from inside his coat a large + package wrapped in newspaper. He laid it before him in the + light and began to unwrap it. Soon there were disclosed two + bundles of bills—the eighty thousand dollars.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt thrilled in all his being. His + poor father was being misled and robbed. A melancholy flash + of comfort came to Kurt! Then at sight of Glidden's hungry + eyes and working face and clutching hands Kurt pulled his + hat far down, drew his revolver, and leaped forward with a + yell, "Hands up!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He discharged the revolver right in + the faces of the stunned plotters, and, snatching up the + bundle of money, he leaped over the light, knocking one of + the men down, and was gone into the darkness, without + having slowed in the least his swift action.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Wheeling round the end of the + freight-car, he darted back, risking a hard fall in the + darkness, and ran along the several cars to the first one, + where he grasped his rifle and kept on. He heard his + father's roar, like that of a mad bull, and shrill yells + from the other men. Kurt laughed grimly. They would never + catch him in the dark. While he ran he stuffed the money + into his inside coat pockets. Beyond the railroad station + he slowed down to catch his breath. His breast was heaving, + his pulse hammering, and his skin was streaming. The + excitement was the greatest under which he had ever + labored.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Now—what shall—I do?" he + panted. A freight-train was lumbering toward him and the + head-light was almost at the station. The train appeared to + be going slowly through without stopping. Kurt hurried on + down the track a little farther. Then he waited. He would + get on that train and make his way somehow to Ruxton, there + to warn Anderson of the plot against his life.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER X</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt rode to Adrian on that freight, + and upon arriving in the yards there he jumped off, only to + mount another, headed south. He meant to be traveling while + it was dark. No passenger-trains ran at night and he wanted + to put as much distance between him and Wheatly as possible + before daylight.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He had piled into an open box-car. It + was empty, at least of freight, and the floor appeared to + have a thin covering of hay. The train, gathering headway, + made a rattling rolling roar. Kurt hesitated about getting + up and groping back in the pitch-black corners of the car. + He felt that it contained a presence besides his own. And + suddenly he was startled by an object blacker than the + shadow, that sidled up close to him. Kurt could not keep + the cold chills from chasing up and down his back. The + object was a man, who reached for Kurt and felt of him with + a skinny hand.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I.W.W.?" he whispered, hoarsely, in + Kurt's ear.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," replied Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Was that Adrian where you got + on?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It sure was," answered Kurt, with + grim humor.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Than you're the feller?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure," replied Kurt. It was evident + that he had embarked upon an adventure.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"When do we stall this freight?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not while we're on it, you can + gamble."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Other dark forms sidled out of the + gloomy depths of that cavern-like corner and drew close to + Kurt. He realized that he had fallen in with I.W.W. men who + apparently had taken him for an expected messenger or + leader. He was importuned for tobacco, drink, and money, + and he judged that his begging companions consisted of an + American tramp, an Austrian, a negro, and a German. Fine + society to fall into! That eighty thousand dollars became a + tremendous burden.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"How many men on this freight?" + queried Kurt, thinking he could ask questions better than + answer them. And he was told there were about twenty-five, + all of whom expected money. At this information Kurt rather + closely pressed his hand upon the revolver in his side coat + pocket. By asking questions and making judicious replies he + passed what he felt was the dark mark in that mixed company + of I.W.W. men; and at length, one by one, they melted away + to their warmer corners, leaving Kurt by the door. He did + not mind the cold. He wanted to be where, at the first + indication of a stop, he could jump off the train.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With his hand on his gun and hugging + the bulging coat pockets close to him, Kurt settled himself + for what he believed would be interminable hours. He + strained eyes and ears for a possible attack from the + riffraff I.W.W. men hidden there in the car. And that was + why, perhaps, that it seemed only a short while until the + train bumped and slowed, preparatory to stopping. The + instant it was safe Kurt jumped out and stole away in the + gloom. A fence obstructed further passage. He peered around + to make out that he was in a road. Thereupon he hurried + along it until he was out of hearing of the train. There + was light in the east, heralding a dawn that Kurt surely + would welcome. He sat down to wait, and addressed to his + bewildered judgment a query as to whether or not he ought + to keep on carrying the burdensome rifle. It was not only + heavy, but when daylight came it might attract attention, + and his bulging coat would certainly invite curiosity. He + was in a predicament; nevertheless, he decided to hang on + to the rifle.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He almost fell asleep, waiting there + with his back against a fence-post. The dawn came, and then + the rosy sunrise. And he discovered, not half a mile away, + a good-sized town, where he believed he surely could hire + an automobile.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Waiting grew to be so tedious that he + decided to risk the early hour, and proceeded toward the + town. Upon the outskirts he met a farmer boy, who, in reply + to a question, said that the town was Connell. Kurt found + another early riser in the person of a blacksmith who + evidently was a Yankee and proud of it. He owned a car that + he was willing to hire out on good security. Kurt satisfied + him on that score, and then proceeded to ask how to get + across the Copper River and into Golden Valley. The highway + followed the railroad from that town to Kahlotus, and there + crossed a big trunk-line railroad, to turn south toward the + river.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In half an hour, during which time + Kurt was enabled to breakfast, the car was ready. It was a + large car, rather ancient and the worse for wear, but its + owner assured Kurt that it would take him where he wanted + to go and he need not be afraid to drive fast. With that + inspiring knowledge Kurt started off.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Before ten o'clock Kurt reached Kilo, + far across the Copper River, with the Blue Mountains in + sight, and from there less confusing directions to follow. + He had been lucky. He had passed the wreck of the + freight-train upon which he had ridden from Adrian; his car + had been surrounded by rough men, and only quick wits saved + him at least delay; he had been hailed by more than one + group of tramping I.W.W. men; and he had passed camps and + freight-yards where idlers were congregated. And lastly, he + had seen, far across the valley, a pall of smoke from + forest fire.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He was going to reach "Many Waters" in + time to warn Anderson, and that fact gave him strange + exultation. When it was assured and he had the eighty + thousand dollars deposited in a bank he could feel that his + gray, gloomy future would have several happy memories. How + would Lenore Anderson feel toward a man who had saved her + father? The thought was too rich, too sweet for Kurt to + dwell upon.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Before noon Kurt began to climb + gradually up off the wonderfully fertile bottom-lands where + the endless orchards and boundless gardens delighted his + eye, and the towns grew fewer and farther between. Kurt + halted at Huntington for water, and when he was about ready + to start a man rushed out of a store, glanced hurriedly up + and down the almost deserted street, and, espying Kurt, ran + to him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Message over 'phone! I.W.W.! Hell to + pay!" he cried, excitedly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's up? Tell me the message," + replied Kurt, calmly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It just come—from Vale. + Anderson, the big rancher! He 'phoned to send men out on + all roads—to stop his car! His daughter's in it! + She's been made off with! I.W.W.'s!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt's heart leaped. The bursting + blood burned through him and receded to leave him cold, + tingling. Anything might happen to him this day! He reached + inside the seat to grasp the disjointed rifle, and three + swift movements seemed to serve to unwrap it and put the + pieces together.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What else did Anderson say?" he + asked, sharply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That likely the car would head for + the hills, where the I.W.W.'s are camped."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What road from here leads that + way?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Take the left-hand road at the end of + town," replied the man, more calmly. "Ten miles down you'll + come to a fork. There's where the I.W.W.'s will turn off to + go up into the foot-hills. Anderson just 'phoned. You can + head off his car if it's on the hill road. But you'll have + to drive.… Do you know Anderson's car? Don't you want + men with you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No time!" called Kurt, as he leaped + into the seat and jammed on the power.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll send cars all over," shouted the + man, as Kurt whirred away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt's eyes and hands and feet hurt + with the sudden intensity of strain. All his nervous force + seemed set upon the one great task of driving and guiding + that car at the limit of its speed. Huntington flashed + behind, two indistinct streaks of houses. An open road, + slightly rising, stretched ahead. The wind pressed so hard + that he could scarcely breathe. The car gave forth a + humming roar.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt's heart labored, swollen and + tight, high in his breast, and his thoughts were swift, + tumultuous. An agony of dread battled with a dominating but + strange certainty. He felt belief in his luck. + Circumstances one by one had led to this drive, and in + every one passed by he felt the direction of chance.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He sped by fields of wheat, a wagon + that he missed by an inch, some stragglers on the road, and + then, far ahead, he saw a sign-post of the forks. As he + neared it he gradually shut off the power, to stop at the + cross-roads. There he got out to search for fresh car + tracks turning up to the right. There were none. If + Anderson's car was coming on that road he would meet + it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt started again, but at reasonable + speed, while his eyes were sharp on the road ahead. It was + empty. It sloped down for a long way, and made a wide curve + to the right, along the base of hilly pastureland, and then + again turned. And just as Kurt's keen gaze traveled that + far a big automobile rounded the bend, coming fast. He + recognized the red color, the shape of the car.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Anderson's!" he cried, with that same + lift of his heart, that bursting gush of blood. "No + dream!… I see it!… And I'll stop it!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The advantage was all his. He would + run along at reasonable speed, choose a narrow place, stop + his car so as to obstruct the road, and get out with his + rifle.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It seemed a long stretch down that + long slope, and his car crept along while the other + gradually closed the gap. Slower and slower Kurt ran, then + turned half across the road and stopped. When he stepped + out the other car was two hundred yards or more distant. + Kurt saw when the driver slackened his speed. There + appeared to be only two people in the car, both in front. + But Kurt could not be sure of that until it was only fifty + yards away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then he swung out his rifle and waved + for the driver to stop. But he did not stop. Kurt heard a + scream. He saw a white face. He saw the driver swing his + hand across that white face, dashing it back.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Halt!" yelled Kurt, at the top of his + lungs.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But the driver hunched down and put on + the power. The red car leaped. As it flashed by Kurt + recognized Nash and Anderson's daughter. She looked + terrified. Kurt dared not shoot, for fear of hitting the + girl. Nash swerved, took the narrow space left him, + smashing the right front wheel of Kurt's car, and got + by.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt stepped aside and took a quick + shot at the tire of Nash's left hind wheel. He missed. His + heart sank and he was like ice as he risked another. The + little high-power bullet struck and blew the tire off the + wheel. Nash's car lurched, skidded into the bank not thirty + yards away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With a bound Kurt started for it, and + he was there when Nash had twisted out of his seat and over + the door.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Far enough! Don't move!" ordered + Kurt, presenting the rifle.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash was ghastly white, with hunted + eyes and open mouth, and his hands shook.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh it's—Kurt Dorn!" cried a + broken voice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt saw the girl fumble with the door + on her side, open it, and stagger out of his sight. Then + she reappeared round the car. Bareheaded, disheveled, white + as chalk, with burning eyes and bleeding lips, she gazed at + Kurt as if to make sure of her deliverance.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Miss Anderson—if he's harmed + you—" broke out Kurt, hoarsely.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh!… Don't kill him!… He + hasn't touched me," she replied, wildly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But your lips are bleeding."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Are they?" She put a trembling hand + to them. "He—he struck me.… That's + nothing… But you—you have saved me—from + God only knows what!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I have! From him?" demanded Kurt. + "What is he?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He's a German!" returned Lenore, and + red burned out of the white of her cheeks. "Secret + agent—I.W.W.!… Plotter against my father's + life!… Oh, he knocked father off the + car—dragged him!… He ran the car + away—with me—forced me back—he struck + me!… Oh, if I were a man!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nash responded with a passion that + made his face drip with sweat and distort into savage fury + of defeat and hate.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You two-faced cat!" he hissed. "You + made love to me! You fooled me! You let me—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Shut up!" thundered Kurt. "You German + dog! I can't murder you, because I'm American. Do you get + that? But I'll beat you within an inch of your life!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">As Kurt bent over to lay down the + rifle, Nash darted a hand into the seat for weapon of some + kind. But Kurt, in a rush, knocked him over the front + guard. Nash howled. He scrambled up with bloody mouth. Kurt + was on him again.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Take that!" cried Kurt, low and hard, + as he swung his arm. The big fist that had grasped so many + plow-handles took Nash full on that bloody mouth and laid + him flat. "Come on, German! Get out of the trench!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Like a dog Nash thrashed and crawled, + scraping his hands in the dirt, to jump up and fling a rock + that Kurt ducked by a narrow margin. Nash followed it, + swinging wildly, beating at his adversary.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Passion long contained burst in Kurt. + He tasted the salt of his own blood where he had bitten his + lips. Nash showed as in a red haze. Kurt had to get his + hands on this German, and when he did it liberated a + strange and terrible joy in him. No weapon would have + sufficed. Hardly aware of Nash's blows, Kurt tore at him, + swung and choked him, bore him down on the bank, and there + beat him into a sodden, bloody-faced heap.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Only then did a cry of distress, + seemingly from far off, pierce Kurt's ears. Miss Anderson + was pulling at him with frantic hands.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, don't kill him! Please don't kill + him!" she was crying. "Kurt!—for my sake, don't kill + him!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That last poignant appeal brought Kurt + to his senses. He let go of Nash. He allowed the girl to + lead him back. Panting hard, he tried to draw a deep, full + breath.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, he doesn't move!" whispered + Lenore, with wide eyes on Nash.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Miss Anderson—he's + not—even insensible," panted Kurt. "But he's + licked—good and hard."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The girl leaned against the side of + the car, with a hand buried in her heaving breast. She was + recovering. The gray shade left her face. Her eyes, still + wide and dark and beginning to glow with softer emotions, + were upon Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You—you were the one to come," + she murmured. "I prayed. I was terribly frightened. Ruenke + was taking me—to the I.W.W. camp, up in the + hills."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ruenke?" queried Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, that's his German name."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt awoke to the exigencies of the + situation. Searching in the car, he found a leather belt. + With this he securely bound Ruenke's hands behind his back, + then rolled him down into the road.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My first German prisoner," said Kurt, + half seriously. "Now, Miss Anderson, we must be doing + things. We don't want to meet a lot of I.W.W.'s out here. + My car is out of commission. I hope yours is not + broken."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt got into the car and found, to + his satisfaction, that it was not damaged so far as + running-gear was concerned. After changing the ruined tire + he backed down the road and turned to stop near where + Ruenke lay. Opening the rear door, Kurt picked him up as if + he had been a sack of wheat and threw him into the car. + Next he secured the rifle that had been such a burden and + had served him so well in the end.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Get in, Miss Anderson," he said, "and + show me where to drive you home."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She got in beside him, making a + grimace as she saw Ruenke lying behind her. Kurt started + and ran slowly by the damaged car.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He knocked a wheel off. I'll have to + send back."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, I thought it was all over when we + hit!" said the girl.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt experienced a relaxation that was + weakening. He could hardly hold the wheel and his mood + became one of exaltation.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father suspected this Ruenke," went + on Lenore. "But he wanted to find out things from him. And + I—I undertook—to twist Mr. Germany round my + finger. I made a mess of it.… He lied. I didn't make + love to him. But I listened to his love-making, and + arrogant German love-making it was! I'm afraid I made eyes + at him and let him believe I was smitten.… Oh, and + all for nothing! I'm ashamed… But he lied!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Her confidence, at once pathetic and + humorous and contemptuous, augmented Kurt's Homeric mood. + He understood that she would not even let him, for a + moment, have a wrong impression of her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It must have been hard," agreed Kurt. + "Didn't you find out anything at all?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not much," she replied. Then she put + a hand on his sleeve. "Your knuckles are all bloody."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So they are. I got that punching our + German friend."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, how you did beat him!" she cried. + "I had to look. My ire was up, too!… It wasn't very + womanly—of me—that I gloried in the sight."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But you cried out—you pulled me + away!" exclaimed Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That was because I was afraid you'd + kill him," she replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt swerved his glance, for an + instant, to her face. It was at once flushed and pale, with + the deep blue of downcast eyes shadowy through her long + lashes, exceedingly sweet and beautiful to Kurt's sight. He + bent his glance again to the road ahead. Miss Anderson felt + kindly and gratefully toward him, as was, of course, + natural. But she was somehow different from what she had + seemed upon the other occasions he had seen her. Kurt's + heart was full to bursting.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I might have killed him," he said. + "I'm glad—you stopped me. That—that frenzy of + mine seemed to be the breaking of a dam. I have been dammed + up within. Something had to break. I've been unhappy for a + long time."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I saw that. What about?" she + replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The war, and what it's done to + father. We're estranged. I hate everything German. I loved + the farm. My chance in life is gone. The wheat + debt—the worry about the I.W.W.—and that's not + all."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Again she put a gentle hand on his + sleeve and left it there for a moment. The touch thrilled + all through Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm sorry. Your position is sad. But + maybe it is not utterly hopeless. You—you'll come + back after the war."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I don't know that I want to come + back," he said. "For then—it'd be just as + bad—worse.… Miss Anderson, it won't hurt to + tell you the truth.… A year ago—that first time + I saw you—I fell in love with you. I think—when + I'm away—over in France—I'd like to feel that + you know. It can't hurt you. And it'll be sweet to + me.… I fought against the—the madness. But fate + was against me.… I saw you again.… And it was + all over with me!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He paused, catching his breath. She + was perfectly quiet. He looked on down the winding road. + There were dust-clouds in the distance.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm afraid I grew bitter and moody," + he went on. "But the last forty-eight hours have changed me + forever… I found that my poor old dad had been won + over by these unscrupulous German agents of the I.W.W. But + I saved his name.… I've got the money he took for the + wheat we may never harvest. But if we do harvest I can pay + all our debt.… Then I learned of a plot to ruin your + father—to kill him!… I was on my way to 'Many + Waters.' I can warn him.… Last of all I have saved + you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The little hand dropped away from his + coat sleeve. A soft, half-smothered cry escaped her. It + seemed to him she was about to weep in her exceeding + pity.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Miss Anderson, I—I'd rather not + have—you pity me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mr. Dorn, I certainly don't pity + you," she replied, with an unexpected, strange tone. It was + full. It seemed to ring in his ears.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I know there never was and never + could be any hope for me. I—I—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, you know that!" murmured the + soft, strange voice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But Kurt could not trust his ears and + he had to make haste to terminate the confession into which + his folly and emotion had betrayed him. He scarcely heard + her words.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes.… I told you why I wanted + you to know.… And now forget that—and when I'm + gone—if you think of me ever, let it be about how + much better it made me—to have all this good + luck—to help your father and to save you!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The dust-cloud down the road came from + a string of automobiles, flying along at express speed. + Kurt saw them with relief.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Here come the cars on your trail," he + called out. "Your father will be in one of them."</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt opened the door of the car and + stepped down. He could not help his importance or his + pride. Anderson, who came running between two cars that had + stopped abreast, was coatless and hatless, covered with + dust, pale and fire-eyed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mr. Anderson, your daughter is + safe—unharmed," Kurt assured him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My girl!" cried the father, huskily, + and hurried to where she leaned out of her seat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"All right, dad," she cried, as she + embraced him. "Only a little shaky yet."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was affecting for Dorn to see that + meeting, and through it to share something of its meaning. + Anderson's thick neck swelled and colored, and his + utterance was unintelligible. His daughter loosened her arm + from round him and turned her face toward Kurt. Then he + imagined he saw two blue stars, sweetly, strangely shining + upon him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father, it was our friend from the + Bend," she said. "He happened along."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson suddenly changed to the cool, + smiling man Kurt remembered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Howdy, Kurt?" he said, and crushed + Kurt's hand. "What'd you do to him?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt made a motion toward the back of + the car. Then Anderson looked over the seats. With that he + opened the door and in one powerful haul he drew Ruenke + sliding out into the road. Ruenke's bruised and bloody face + was uppermost, a rather gruesome sight. Anderson glared + down upon him, while men from the other cars crowded + around. Ruenke's eyes resembled those of a cornered rat. + Anderson's jaw bulged, his big hands clenched.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Bill, you throw this fellow in your + car and land him in jail. I'll make a charge against him," + said the rancher.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mr. Anderson, I can save some + valuable time," interposed Kurt. "I've got to return a car + I broke down. And there's my wheat. Will you have one of + these men drive me back?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure. But won't you come home with + us?" said Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'd like to. But I must get home," + replied Kurt. "Please let me speak a few words for your ear + alone." He drew Anderson aside and briefly told about the + eighty thousand dollars; threw back his coat to show the + bulging pockets. Then he asked Anderson's advice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'd deposit the money an' wire the + Spokane miller," returned the rancher. "I know him. He'll + leave the money in the bank till your wheat is safe. Go to + the national bank in Kilo. Mention my name."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Kurt told Anderson of the plot + against his fortunes and his life.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Neuman! I.W.W.! German intrigue!" + growled the rancher. "All in the same class!… Dorn, + I'm forewarned, an' that's forearmed. I'll beat this outfit + at their own game."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They returned to Anderson's car. Kurt + reached inside for his rifle.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Aren't you going home with us?" asked + the girl.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, Miss Anderson, I—I'm + sorry. I—I'd love to see 'Many Waters,'" floundered + Kurt. "But I can't go now. There's no need. I must hurry + back to—to my troubles."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I wanted to tell you + something—at home," she returned, shyly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Tell me now," said Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She gave him such a glance as he had + never received in his life. Kurt felt himself as wax before + those blue eyes. She wanted to thank him. That would be + sweet, but would only make his ordeal harder. He steeled + himself.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You won't come?" she asked, and her + smile was wistful.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No—thank you ever so much."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Will you come to see me before + you—you go to war?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll try."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But you must promise. You've done so + much for me and my father.… I—I want you to + come to see me—at my home."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then I'll come," he replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson clambered into the car beside + his daughter and laid his big hands on the wheel.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure he'll come, or we'll go after + him," he declared, heartily. "So long, son."</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Late in the forenoon of the next day + Kurt Dorn reached home. A hot harvest wind breathed off the + wheat-fields. It swelled his heart to see the change in the + color of that section of Bluestem—the gold had a + tinge of rich, ripe brown.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt's father awaited him, a haggard, + gloomy-faced man, unkempt and hollow-eyed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Was it you who robbed me?" he shouted + hoarsely.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," replied Kurt. He had caught the + eager hope and fear in the old man's tone. Kurt expected + that confession would bring on his father's terrible fury, + a mood to dread. But old Dorn showed immense relief. He sat + down in his relaxation from what must have been intense + strain. Kurt saw a weariness, a shade, in the gray lined + face that had never been there before.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What did you do with the money?" + asked the old man.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I banked it in Kilo," replied Kurt. + "Then I wired your miller in Spokane.… So you're safe + if we can harvest the wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Old Dorn nodded thoughtfully. There + had come a subtle change in him. Presently he asked Kurt if + men had been hired for the harvest.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. I've not seen any I would trust," + replied Kurt, and then he briefly outlined Anderson's plan + to insure a quick and safe harvesting of the grain. Old + Dorn objected to this on account of the expense. Kurt + argued with him and patiently tried to show him the + imperative need of it. Dorn, apparently, was not to be won + over; however, he was remarkably mild in comparison with + what Kurt had expected.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father, do you realize now that the + men you were dealing with at Wheatly are dishonest? I mean + with you. They would betray you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Old Dorn had no answer for this. + Evidently he had sustained some kind of shock that he was + not willing to admit.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Look here, father," went on Kurt, in + slow earnestness. He spoke in English, because nothing + would make him break his word and ever again speak a word + of German. And his father was not quick to comprehend + English. "Can't you see that the I.W.W. mean to cripple us + wheat farmers this harvest?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No," replied old Dorn, + stubbornly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But they do. They don't <i>want</i> + work. If they accept work it is for a chance to do damage. + All this I.W.W. talk about more wages and shorter hours is + deceit. They make a bold face of discontent. That is all a + lie. The I.W.W. is out to ruin the great wheat-fields and + the great lumber forests of the Northwest."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I do not believe that," declared his + father, stoutly. "What for?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt meant to be careful of that + subject.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No matter what for. It does not make + any difference what it's for. We've got to meet it to save + our wheat.… Now won't you believe me? Won't you let + me manage the harvest?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I will not believe," replied old + Dorn, stubbornly. "Not about <i>my</i> wheat. I know they + mean to destroy. They are against rich men like Anderson. + But not me or my wheat!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There is where you are wrong. I'll + prove it in a very few days. But in that time I can prepare + for them and outwit them. Will you let me?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Go ahead," replied old Dorn, + gruffly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was a concession that Kurt was + amazed and delighted to gain. And he set about at once to + act upon it. He changed his clothes and satisfied his + hunger; then, saddling his horse, he started out to visit + his farmer neighbors.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The day bade fair to be rich in + experience. Jerry, the foreman, was patrolling his long + beat up and down the highway. Jerry carried a shot-gun and + looked like a sentry. The men under him were on the other + side of the section of wheat, and the ground was so rolling + that they could not be seen from the highway. Jerry was + unmistakably glad and relieved to see Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Some goin's-on," he declared, with a + grin. "Since you left there's been one hundred and sixteen + I.W.W. tramps along this here road."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Have you had any trouble?" inquired + Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I reckon it wasn't trouble, but + every time I took a peg at some sneak I sort of broke out + sweatin' cold."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You shot at them?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure I shot when I seen any loafin' + along in the dark. Two of them shot back at me, an' after + thet I wasn't particular to aim high.… Reckon I'm + about dead for sleep."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll relieve you to-night," replied + Kurt. "Jerry, doesn't the wheat look great?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I reckon. An' walkin' along here + when it's quiet an' no wind blowin', I can just hear the + wheat crack. It's gittin' ripe fast, an' sure the biggest + crop we ever raised.… But I'm tellin' you—when + I think how we'll ever harvest it my insides just sinks + like lead!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt then outlined Anderson's plan, + which was received by the foreman with eager approval and + the assurance that the neighbor farmers would rally to his + call.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt found his nearest neighbor, + Olsen, cutting a thin, scarcely ripe barley. Olsen was + running a new McCormack harvester, and appeared delighted + with the machine, but cast down by the grain prospects. He + did not intend to cut his wheat at all. It was a dead + loss.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Two sections—twelve hundred an' + eighty acres!" he repeated, gloomily. "An' the third bad + year! Dorn, I can't pay the interest to my bank."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Olsen's sun-dried and wind-carved + visage was as hard and rugged and heroic as this desert + that had resisted him for years. Kurt saw under the lines + and the bronze all the toil and pain and unquenchable hope + that had made Olsen a type of the men who had cultivated + this desert of wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll give you five hundred dollars to + help me harvest," said Kurt, bluntly, and briefly stated + his plan.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Olsen whistled. He complimented + Anderson's shrewd sense. He spoke glowingly of that + magnificent section of wheat that absolutely must be saved. + He promised Kurt every horse and every man on his farm. But + he refused the five hundred dollars.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, say, you'll have to accept it," + declared Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You've done me good turns," asserted + Olsen.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But nothing like this. Why, this will + be a rush job, with all the men and horses and machines and + wagons I can get. It'll cost ten—fifteen thousand + dollars to harvest that section. Even at that, and paying + Anderson, we'll clear twenty thousand or more. Olsen, + you've got to take the money."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"All right, if you insist. I'm needin' + it bad enough," replied Olsen.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Further conversation with Olsen + gleaned the facts that he was the only farmer in their + immediate neighborhood who did not have at least a little + grain worth harvesting. But the amount was small and would + require only slight time. Olsen named farmers that very + likely would not take kindly to Dorn's proposition, and had + best not be approached. The majority, however, would stand + by him, irrespective of the large wage offered, because the + issue was one to appeal to the pride of the Bend farmers. + Olsen appeared surprisingly well informed upon the tactics + of the I.W.W., and predicted that they would cause trouble, + but be run out of the country. He made the shrewd + observation that when even those farmers who sympathized + with Germany discovered that their wheat-fields were being + menaced by foreign influences and protected by the home + government, they would experience a change of heart. Olsen + said the war would be a good thing for the United States, + because they would win it, and during the winning would + learn and suffer and achieve much.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt rode away from Olsen in a more + thoughtful frame of mind. How different and interesting the + points of view of different men! Olsen had never taken the + time to become a naturalized citizen of the United States. + There had never been anything to force him to do it. But + his understanding of the worth of the United States and his + loyalty to it were manifest in his love for his wheatlands. + In fact, they were inseparable. Probably there were + millions of pioneers, emigrants, aliens, all over the + country who were like Olsen, who needed the fire of the + crucible to mold them into a unity with Americans. Of such, + Americans were molded!</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt rode all day, and when, late that + night, he got home, weary and sore and choked, he had + enlisted the services of thirty-five farmers to help him + harvest the now famous section of wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His father had plainly doubted the + willingness of these neighbors to abandon their own labors, + for the Bend exacted toil for every hour of every season, + whether rich or poor in yield. Likewise he was plainly + moved by the facts. His seamed and shaded face of gloom had + a moment of light.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"They will make short work of this + harvest," he said, thoughtfully.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I should say so," retorted Kurt. + "We'll harvest and haul that grain to the railroad in just + three days."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Impossible!" ejaculated Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You'll see," declared Kurt. "You'll + see who's managing this harvest."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He could not restrain his little + outburst of pride. For the moment the great overhanging + sense of calamity that for long had haunted him faded into + the background. It did seem sure that they would save this + splendid yield of wheat. How much that meant to + Kurt—in freedom from debt, in natural love of the + fruition of harvest, in the loyalty to his government! He + realized how strange and strong was the need in him to + prove he was American to the very core of his heart. He did + not yet understand that incentive, but he felt it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">After eating dinner Kurt took his + rifle and went out to relieve Jerry.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Only a few more days and nights!" he + exclaimed to his foreman. "Then we'll have all the + harvesters in the country right in our wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, a hell of a lot can happen + before then," declared Jerry, pessimistically.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt was brought back to realities + rather suddenly. But questioning Jerry did not elicit any + new or immediate cause for worry. Jerry appeared tired + out.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You go get some sleep," said + Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"All right. Bill's been dividin' this + night watch with me. I reckon he'll be out when he wakes + up," replied Jerry, and trudged away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt shouldered his rifle and slowly + walked along the road with a strange sense that he was + already doing army duty in protecting property which was at + once his own and his country's.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The night was dark, cool, and quiet. + The heavens were starry bright. A faint breeze brought the + tiny crackling of the wheat. From far distant came the bay + of a hound. The road stretched away pale and yellow into + the gloom. In the silence and loneliness and darkness, in + all around him, and far across the dry, whispering fields, + there was an invisible presence that had its affinity in + him, hovered over him shadowless and immense, and waved in + the bursting wheat. It was life. He felt the wheat + ripening. He felt it in reawakened tenderness for his old + father and in the stir of memory of Lenore Anderson. The + past active and important hours had left little room for + thought of her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But now she came back to him, a spirit + in keeping with his steps, a shadow under the stars, a + picture of sweet, wonderful young womanhood. His whole + relation of thought toward her had undergone some marvelous + change. The most divine of gifts had been granted + him—an opportunity to save her from harm, perhaps + from death. He had served her father. How greatly he could + not tell, but if measured by the gratitude in her eyes it + would have been infinite. He recalled that + expression—blue, warm, soft, and indescribably + strange with its unuttered hidden meaning. It was + all-satisfying for him to realize that she had been + compelled to give him a separate and distinct place in her + mind. He must stand apart from all others she knew. It had + been his fortune to preserve her happiness and the + happiness that she must be to sisters and mother, and that + some day she would bestow upon some lucky man. They would + all owe it to him. And Lenore Anderson knew he loved + her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">These things had transformed his + relation of thought toward her. He had no regret, no + jealousy, no fear. Even the pang of suppressed and + overwhelming love had gone with his confession.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But he did remember her presence, her + beauty, her intent blue glance, and the faint, dreaming + smile of her lips—remembered them with a thrill, and + a wave of emotion, and a contraction of his heart. He had + promised to see her once more, to afford her the + opportunity, no doubt, to thank him, to try to make him see + her gratitude. He would go, but he wished it need not be. + He asked no more. And seeing her again might change his + fulness of joy to something of pain.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">So Kurt trod the long road in the + darkness and silence, pausing, and checking his dreams now + and then, to listen and to watch. He heard no suspicious + sounds, nor did he meet any one. The night was melancholy, + with a hint of fall in its cool breath.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Soon he would be walking a beat in one + of the training-camps, with a bugle-call in his ears and + the turmoil of thousands of soldiers in the making around + him: soon, too, he would be walking the deck of a + transport, looking back down the moon-blanched wake of the + ship toward home, listening to the mysterious moan of the + ocean; and then soon feeling under his feet the soil of a + foreign country, with hideous and incomparable war + shrieking its shell furies and its man anguish all about + him. But no matter how far away he ever got, he knew Lenore + Anderson would be with him as she was there on that dim, + lonely starlit country road.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">And in these long hours of his vigil + Kurt Dorn divined a relation between his love for Lenore + Anderson and a terrible need that had grown upon him. A + need of his heart and his soul! More than he needed her, if + even in his wildest dreams he had permitted himself visions + of an earthly paradise, he needed to prove to his blood and + his spirit that he was actually and truly American. He had + no doubt of his intelligence, his reason, his choice. The + secret lay hidden in the depths of him, and he knew it came + from the springs of the mother who had begotten him. His + mother had given him birth, and by every tie he was mostly + hers.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt had been in college during the + first year of the world war. And his name, his fair hair + and complexion, his fluency in German, and his remarkable + efficiency in handicrafts had opened him to many a hint, + many a veiled sarcasm that had stung him like a poison + brand. There was injustice in all this war spirit. It + changed the minds of men and women. He had not doubted + himself until those terrible scenes with his father, and, + though he had reacted to them as an American, he had felt + the drawing, burning blood tie. He hated everything German + and he knew he was wrong in doing so. He had clear + conception in his mind of the difference between the German + war motives and means, and those of the other nations.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt's problem was to understand + himself. His great fight was with his own soul. His + material difficulties and his despairing love had suddenly + been transformed, so that they had lent his spirit wings. + How many poor boys and girls in America must be helplessly + divided between parents and country! How many faithful and + blind parents, obedient to the laws of mind and heart, set + for all time, must see a favorite son go out to fight + against all they had held sacred!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That was all bad enough, but Kurt had + more to contend with. No illusions had he of a chastened + German spirit, a clarified German mind, an unbrutalized + German heart. Kurt knew his father. What would change his + father? Nothing but death! Death for himself or death for + his only son! Kurt had an incalculable call to prove + forever to himself that he was free. He had to spill his + own blood to prove himself, or he had to spill that of an + enemy. And he preferred that it should be his own. But that + did not change a vivid and terrible picture which haunted + him at times. He saw a dark, wide, and barren shingle of + the world, a desert of desolation made by man, where + strange, windy shrieks and thundering booms and awful cries + went up in the night, and where drifting palls of smoke + made starless sky, and bursts of reddish fires made + hell.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Suddenly Kurt's slow pacing along the + road was halted, as was the trend of his thought. He was + not sure he had heard a sound. But he quivered all over. + The night was far advanced now; the wind was almost still; + the wheat was smooth and dark as the bosom of a resting + sea. Kurt listened. He imagined he heard, far away, the + faint roar of an automobile. But it might have been a train + on the railroad. Sometimes on still nights he caught sounds + like that.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then a swish in the wheat, a soft + thud, very low, unmistakably came to Kurt's ear. He + listened, turning his ear to the wind. Presently he heard + it again—a sound relating both to wheat and earth. In + a hot flash he divined that some one had thrown fairly + heavy bodies into the wheat-fields. Phosphorus cakes! Kurt + held his breath while he peered down the gloomy road, his + heart pounding, his hands gripping the rifle. And when he + descried a dim form stealthily coming toward him he yelled, + "Halt!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Instantly the form wavered, moved + swiftly, with quick pad of footfalls. Kurt shot + once—twice—three times—and aimed as best + he could to hit. The form either fell or went on out of + sight in the gloom. Kurt answered the excited shouts of his + men, calling them to come across to him. Then he went + cautiously down the road, peering on the ground for a dark + form. But he failed to find it, and presently had to admit + that in the dark his aim had been poor. Bill came out to + relieve Kurt, and together they went up and down the road + for a mile without any glimpse of a skulking form. It was + almost daylight when Kurt went home to get a few hours' + sleep.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Next day was one of the rare, + blistering-hot days with a furnace wind that roared over + the wheat-fields. The sky was steely and the sun like + copper. It was a day which would bring the wheat to a + head.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At breakfast Jerry reported that fresh + auto tracks had been made on the road during the night; and + that dust and wheat all around the great field showed a + fresh tramping.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt believed a deliberate and + particular attempt had been made to insure the destruction + of the Dorn wheat-field. And he ordered all hands out to + search for the dangerous little cakes of phosphorus.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was difficult to find them. The + wheat was almost as high as a man's head and very thick. To + force a way through it without tramping it down took care + and time. Besides, the soil was soft, and the agents who + had perpetrated this vile scheme had perfectly matched the + color. Kurt almost stepped on one of the cakes before he + saw it. His men were very slow in finding any. But Kurt's + father seemed to walk fatally right to them, for in a short + hundred yards he found three. They caused a profound change + in this gloomy man. Not a word did he utter, but he became + animated by a tremendous energy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The search was discouraging. It was + like hunting for dynamite bombs that might explode at any + moment. All Kurt's dread of calamity returned fourfold. The + intense heat of the day, that would ripen the wheat to + bursting, would likewise sooner or later ignite the cakes + of phosphorus. And when Jerry found a cake far inside the + field, away from the road, showing that powerful had been + the arm that had thrown it there, and how impossible it + would be to make a thorough search, Kurt almost succumbed + to discouragement. Still, he kept up a frenzied hunting and + inspired the laborers to do likewise.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">About ten o'clock an excited shout + from Bill drew Kurt's attention, and he ran along the edge + of the field. Bill was sweaty and black, yet through it all + Kurt believed he saw the man was pale. He pointed with + shaking hand toward Olsen's hill.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt vibrated to a shock. He saw a + long circular yellow column rising from the hill, slanting + away on the strong wind.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dust!" he cried, aghast.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Smoke!" replied Bill, hoarsely.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The catastrophe had fallen. Olsen's + wheat was burning. Kurt experienced a profound sensation of + sadness. What a pity! The burning of wheat—the + destruction of bread—when part of the world was + starving! Tears dimmed his eyes as he watched the swelling + column of smoke.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Bill was cursing, and Kurt gathered + that the farm-hand was predicting fires all around. This + was inevitable. But it meant no great loss for most of the + wheat-growers whose yield had failed. For Kurt and his + father, if fire got a hold in their wheat, it meant ruin. + Kurt's sadness was burned out by a slow and growing + rage.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Bill, go hitch up to the big mower," + ordered Kurt. "We'll have to cut all around our field. + Bring drinking water and whatever you can lay a hand on + … anything to fight fire!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Bill ran thumping away over the clods. + Then it happened that Kurt looked toward his father. The + old man was standing with his arms aloft, his face turned + toward the burning wheat, and he made a tragic figure that + wrung Kurt's heart.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jerry came running up. "Fire! Fire! + Olsen's burnin'! Look! By all thet's dirty, them I.W.W.'s + hev done it!… Kurt, we're in fer hell! Thet wind's + blowin' straight this way."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jerry, we'll fight till we drop," + replied Kurt. "Tell the men and father to keep on searching + for phosphorus cakes.… Jerry, you keep to the high + ground. Watch for fires starting on our land. If you see + one yell for us and make for it. Wheat burns slow till it + gets started. We can put out fires if we're quick."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, there ain't no chance on earth + fer us!" yelled Jerry, pale with anger. His big red hands + worked. "If fire starts we've got to hev a lot of + men.… By Gawd! if I ain't mad!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Don't quit, Jerry," said Kurt, + fiercely. "You never can tell. It looks hopeless. But we'll + never give up. Hustle now!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jerry shuffled off as old Dorn came + haltingly, as if stunned, toward Kurt. But Kurt did not + want to face his father at that moment. He needed to fight + to keep up his own courage.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Never mind that!" yelled Kurt, + pointing at Olsen's hill. "Keep looking for those damned + pieces of phosphorus!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With that Kurt dove into the wheat, + and, sweeping wide his arms to make a passage, he strode + on, his eyes bent piercingly upon the ground close about + him. He did not penetrate deeper into the wheat from the + road than the distance he estimated a strong arm could send + a stone. Almost at once his keen sight was rewarded. He + found a cake of phosphorus half buried in the soil. It was + dry, hard and hot either from the sun or its own generating + power. That inspired Kurt. He hurried on. Long practice + enabled him to slip through the wheat as a barefoot country + boy could run through the corn-fields. And his passion gave + him the eyes of a hunting hawk sweeping down over the + grass. To and fro he passed within the limits he had + marked, oblivious to time and heat and effort. And covering + that part of the wheat-field bordering the road he + collected twenty-seven cakes of phosphorus, the last few of + which were so hot they burnt his hands.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then he had to rest. He appeared as + wet as if he had been plunged into water; his skin burned, + his eyes pained, his breast heaved. Panting and spent, he + lay along the edge of the wheat, with closed eyelids and + lax muscles.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When he recovered he rose and went + back along the road. The last quarter of the immense + wheat-field lay upon a slope of a hill, and Kurt had to + mount this before he could see the valley. From the summit + he saw a sight that caused him to utter a loud exclamation. + Many columns of smoke were lifting from the valley, and + before him the sky was darkened. Olsen's hill was as if + under a cloud. No flames showed anywhere, but in places the + line of smoke appeared to be approaching.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's a thousand to one against us," + he said, bitterly, and looked at his watch. He was amazed + to see that three hours had passed since he had given + orders to the men. He hurried back to the house. No one was + there except the old servant, who was wringing her hands + and crying that the house would burn. Throwing the cakes of + phosphorus into a watering-trough, Kurt ran into the + kitchen, snatched a few biscuits, and then made for the + fields, eating as he went.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He hurried down a lane that bordered + the big wheat-field. On this side was fallow ground for + half the length of the section, and the other half was ripe + barley, dry as tinder, and beyond that, in line with the + burning fields, a quarter-section of blasted wheat. The men + were there. Kurt saw at once that other men with horses and + machines were also there. Then he recognized Olsen and two + other of his neighbors. As he ran up he was equally + astounded and out of breath, so that he could not speak. + Old Dorn sat with gray head bowed on his hand.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hello!" shouted Olsen. His grimy face + broke into a hard smile. "Fires all over! Wheat's burnin' + like prairie grass! Them chips of phosphorus are sure from + hell!… We've come over to help."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You—did! You left—your + fields!" gasped Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure. They're not much to leave. And + we're goin' to save this section of yours or bust + tryin'!… I sent my son in his car, all over, to hurry + men here with horses, machines, wagons."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt was overcome. He could only wring + Olsen's hand. Here was an answer to one of his brooding, + gloomy queries. Something would be gained, even if the + wheat was lost. Kurt had scarcely any hope left.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's to be done?" he panted, + hoarsely. In this extremity Olsen seemed a tower of + strength. This sturdy farmer was of Anderson's breed, even + if he was a foreigner. And he had fought fires before.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If we have time we'll mow a line all + around your wheat," replied Olsen.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Reckon we won't have time," + interposed Jerry, pointing to a smoke far down in the + corner of the stunted wheat. "There's a fire startin'."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"They'll break out all over," said + Olsen, and he waved a couple of his men away. One had a + scythe and the other a long pole with a wet burlap bag tied + on one end. They hurried toward the little cloud of + smoke.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I found a lot of cakes over along the + road," declared Kurt, with a grim surety that he had done + that well.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"They've surrounded your wheat," + returned Olsen. "But if enough men get here we'll save the + whole section.… Lucky you've got two wells an' that + watertank. We'll need all the water we can get. Keep a man + pumpin'. Fetch all the bags an' brooms an' scythes. I'll + post lookouts along this lane to watch for fires breakin' + out in the big field. When they do we've got to run an' cut + an' beat them out.… It won't be long till most of + this section is surrounded by fire."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Thin clouds of smoke were then blowing + across the fields and the wind that carried them was laden + with an odor of burning wheat. To Kurt it seemed to be the + fragrance of baking bread.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"How'd it be to begin harvestin'?" + queried Jerry. "Thet wheat's ripe."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No combines should be risked in there + until we're sure the danger's past," replied Olsen. "There! + I see more of our neighbors comin' down the road. We're + goin' to beat the I.W.W."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That galvanized Kurt into action and + he found himself dragging Jerry back to the barns. They + hitched a team to a heavy wagon, in record time, and then + began to load with whatever was available for fighting + fire. They loaded a barrel, and with huge buckets filled it + with water. Leaving Jerry to drive, Kurt rushed back to the + fields. During his short absence more men, with horses and + machines, had arrived; fire had broken out in the stunted + wheat, and also, nearer at hand, in the barley. Kurt saw + his father laboring like a giant. Olsen was taking charge, + directing the men. The sky was obscured now, and all the + west was thick with yellow smoke. The south slopes and + valley floor were clouding. Only in the east, over the + hill, did the air appear clear. Back of Kurt, down across + the barley and wheat on the Dorn land, a line of fire was + creeping over the hill. This was on the property adjoining + Olsen's. Gremniger, the owner, had abandoned his own + fields. At the moment he was driving a mower along the edge + of the barley, cutting a nine-foot path. Men behind him + were stacking the sheaves. The wind was as hot as if from a + blast-furnace; the air was thick and oppressive; the light + of day was growing dim.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt, mounted on the seat of one of + the combine threshers, surveyed with rapid and anxious gaze + all the points around him, and it lingered over the + magnificent sweep of golden wheat. The wheat bowed in waves + before the wind, and the silken rustle, heard above the + confusion of yelling men, was like a voice whispering to + Kurt. Somehow his dread lessened then and other emotions + predominated. He saw more and more farmers arrive, in cars, + in wagons, with engines and threshers, until the lane was + lined with them and men were hurrying everywhere.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Suddenly Kurt espied a slender column + of smoke rising above the wheat out in front of him toward + the highway. This was the first sign of fire in the great + section that so many farmers had come to protect. Yelling + for help, he leaped off the seat and ran with all his might + toward the spot. Breasting that thick wheat was almost as + hard as breasting waves. Jerry came yelling after him, + brandishing a crude beater; and both of them reached the + fire at once. It was a small circle, burning slowly. Madly + Kurt rushed in to tear and stamp as if the little hissing + flames were serpents. He burned his hands through his + gloves and his feet through his boots. Jerry beat hard, + accompanying his blows with profane speech plainly + indicating that he felt he was at work on the I.W.W. In + short order they put out this little fire. Returning to his + post, Kurt watched until he was called to lend a hand down + in the stunted wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Fire had crossed and had gotten a hold + on Dorn's lower field. Here the wheat was blasted and so + burned all the more fiercely. Horses and mowers had to be + taken away to the intervening barley-field. A weird, smoky, + and ruddy darkness enveloped the scene. Dim red fire, in + lines and dots and curves, appeared on three sides, growing + larger and longer, meeting in some places, crisscrossed by + black figures of threshing men belaboring the flames. Kurt + came across his father working like a mad-man. Kurt warned + him not to overexert himself, and the father never heard. + Now and then his stentorian yell added to the medley of + cries and shouts and blows, and the roar of the wind + fanning the flames.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt was put to beating fire in the + cut wheat. He stood with flames licking at his boots. It + was astonishing how tenacious the fire appeared, how it + crept along, eating up the mowed wheat. All the men that + could be spared there were unable to check it and keep it + out of the standing grain. When it reached this line it + lifted a blaze, flamed and roared, and burned like wildfire + in grass. The men were driven back, threshing and beating, + all to no avail. Kurt fell into despair. There was no hope. + It seemed like an inferno.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Flaring high, the light showed the + black, violently agitated forms of the fighters, and the + clouds of yellow smoke, coalescing and drifting, changing + to dark and soaring high.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Olsen had sent three mowers abreast + down the whole length of the barley-field before the fire + reached that line. It was a wise move, and if anything + could do so it would save the day. The leaping flame, thin + and high, and a mile long, curled down the last of the + standing wheat and caught the fallen barley. But here its + speed was checked. It had to lick a way along the + ground.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In desperation, in unabated fury, the + little army of farmers and laborers, with no thought of + personal gain, with what seemed to Kurt a wonderful and + noble spirit, attacked this encroaching line of fire like + men whose homes and lives and ideals had been threatened + with destruction. Kurt's mind worked as swiftly as his + tireless hands. This indeed was being in a front line of + battle. The scene was weird, dark, fitful, at times + impressive and again unreal. These neighbors of his, many + of them aliens, some of them Germans, when put to this + vital test, were proving themselves. They had shown little + liking for the Dorns, but here was love of wheat, and so, + in some way, loyalty to the government that needed it. Here + was the answer of the Northwest to the I.W.W. No doubt if + the perpetrators of that phosphorus trick could have been + laid hold of then, blood would have been shed. Kurt sensed + in the fierce energy, in the dark, grimy faces, shining and + wet under the light, in the hoarse yell and answering + shout, a nameless force that was finding itself and + centering on one common cause.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His old father toiled as ten men. That + burly giant pushed ever in the lead, and his hoarse call + and strenuous action told of more than a mercenary rage to + save his wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Fire never got across that swath of + cut barley. It was beaten out as if by a thousand men. + Shadow and gloom enveloped the fighters as they rested + where their last strokes had fallen. Over the hills faint + reflection of dying flames lit up the dark clouds of smoke. + The battle seemed won.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then came the thrilling cry: "Fire! + Fire!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">One of the outposts came running out + of the dark.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Fire! the other side! Fire!" rang out + Olsen's yell.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt ran with the gang pell-mell + through the dark, up the barley slope, to see a long red + line, a high red flare, and lifting clouds of ruddy smoke. + Fire in the big wheat-field! The sight inflamed him, + carried him beyond his powers, and all he knew was that he + became the center of a dark and whirling mêlée + encircled by living flames that leaped only to be beaten + down. Whether that threshing chaos of fire and smoke and + wheat was short or long was beyond him to tell but the fire + was extinguished to the last spark.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Walking back with the weary crowd, + Kurt felt a clearer breeze upon his face. Smoke was not + flying so thickly. Over the western hill, through a rift in + the clouds, peeped a star. The only other light he saw + twinkled far down the lane. It was that of a lantern. Dark + forms barred it now and then. Slowly Kurt recovered his + breath. The men were talking and tired voices rang with + assurance that the fire was beaten.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Some one called Kurt. The voice was + Jerry's. It seemed hoarse and strained. Kurt could see the + lean form of his man, standing in the light of the lantern. + A small dark group of men, silent and somehow impressive, + stood off a little in the shadow.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Here I am, Jerry," called Kurt, + stepping forward. Just then Olsen joined Jerry.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boy, we've beat the I.W.W.'s, + but—but—" he began, and broke off huskily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's the matter?" queried Kurt, and + a cold chill shot over him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jerry plucked at his sleeve.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Your old man—your + dad—he's overworked hisself," whispered Jerry. "It's + tough.… Nobody could stop him."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt felt that the fulfilment of his + icy, sickening dread had come. Jerry's dark face, even in + the uncertain light, was tragic.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boy, his heart went back on + him—he's dead!" said Olsen, solemnly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt pushed the kind hands aside. A + few steps brought him to where, under the light of the + lantern, lay his father, pale and still, with a strange + softening of the iron cast of intolerance.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dead!" whispered Kurt, in awe and + horror. "Father! Oh, he's gone!—without a + word—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Again Jerry plucked at Kurt's + sleeve.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I was with him," said Jerry. "I heard + him fall an' groan.… I had the light. I bent over, + lifted his head.… An' he said, speaking English, + 'Tell my son—I was wrong!'… Then he died. An' + thet was all."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt staggered away from the + whispering, sympathetic foreman, out into the darkness, + where he lifted his face in the thankfulness of a breaking + heart.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It had, indeed, taken the approach of + death to change his hard old father. "Oh, he + meant—that if he had his life to live over + again—he would be different!" whispered Kurt. That + was the one great word needed to reconcile Kurt to his + father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The night had grown still except for + the murmuring of the men. Smoke veiled the horizon. Kurt + felt an intense and terrible loneliness. He was indeed + alone in the world. A hard, tight contraction of throat + choked back a sob. If only he could have had a word with + his father! But no grief, nothing could detract from the + splendid truth of his father's last message. In the black + hours soon to come Kurt would have that to sustain him.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The bright sun of morning disclosed + that wide, rolling region of the Bend to be a dreary, + blackened waste surrounding one great wheat-field, rich and + mellow and golden.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt Dorn's neighbor, Olsen, in his + kind and matter-of-fact way, making obligation seem slight, + took charge of Kurt's affairs, and made the necessary and + difficult decisions. Nothing must delay the harvesting and + transporting of the wheat. The women folk arranged for the + burial of old Chris Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt sat and moved about in a gloomy + kind of trance for a day and a half, until his father was + laid to rest beside his mother, in the little graveyard on + the windy hill. After that his mind slowly cleared. He kept + to himself the remainder of that day, avoiding the crowd of + harvesters camping in the yard and adjacent field; and at + sunset he went to a lonely spot on the verge of the valley, + where with sad eyes he watched the last rays of sunlight + fade over the blackened hills. All these hours had seemed + consecrated to his father's memory, to remembered acts of + kindness and of love, of the relation that had gone and + would never be again. Reproach and remorse had abided with + him until that sunset hour, when the load eased off his + heart.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Next morning he went out to the + wheat-field.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">What a wonderful harvesting scene + greeted Kurt Dorn! Never had its like been seen in the + Northwest, nor perhaps in any other place. A huge pall of + dust, chaff, and smoke hung over the vast wheat-field, and + the air seemed charged with a roar. The glaring gold of the + wheat-field appeared to be crisscrossed everywhere with + bobbing black streaks of horses—bays, blacks, whites, + and reds; by big, moving painted machines, lifting arms and + puffing straw; by immense wagons piled high with sheaves of + wheat, lumbering down to the smoking engines and the + threshers that sent long streams of dust and chaff over the + lifting straw-stacks; by wagons following the combines to + pick up the plump brown sacks of wheat; and by a string of + empty wagons coming in from the road.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Olsen was rushing thirty combine + threshers, three engine threshing-machines, forty + wagon-teams, and over a hundred men well known to him. + There was a guard around the field. This unprecedented + harvest had attracted many spectators from the little + towns. They had come in cars and on horseback and on foot. + Olsen trusted no man on that field except those he + knew.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The wonderful wheat-field was cut into + a thousand squares and angles and lanes and curves. The big + whirring combines passed one another, stopped and waited + and turned out of the way, leaving everywhere little + patches and cubes of standing wheat, that soon fell before + the onslaught of the smaller combines. This scene had no + regularity. It was one of confusion; of awkward halts, + delays, hurries; of accident. The wind blew clouds of dust + and chaff, alternately clearing one space to cloud another. + And a strange roar added the last heroic touch to this + heroic field. It was indeed the roar of battle—men + and horses governing the action of machinery, and all + fighting time. For in delay was peril to the wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Once Kurt ran across the tireless and + implacable Olsen. He seemed a man of dust and sweat and + fury.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"She's half cut an' over twenty + thousand bushels gone to the railroad!" he exclaimed. "An' + we're speedin' up."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Olsen, I don't get what's going on," + replied Kurt. "All this is like a dream."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wake up. You'll be out of debt an' a + rich man in three days," added Olsen, and went his way.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In the afternoon Kurt set out to work + as he had never worked in his life. There was need of his + strong hands in many places, but he could not choose any + one labor and stick by it for long. He wanted to do all. It + was as if this was not a real and wonderful harvest of his + father's greatest wheat yield, but something that embodied + all years, all harvests, his father's death, the lifting of + the old, hard debt, the days when he had trod the fields + barefoot, and this day when, strangely enough, all seemed + over for him. Peace dwelt with him, yet no hope. Behind his + calm he could have found the old dread, had he cared to + look deeply. He loved these heroic workers of the fields. + It had been given to him—a great task—to be the + means of creating a test for them, his neighbors under a + ban of suspicion; and now he could swear they were as true + as the gold of the waving wheat. More than a harvest was + this most strenuous and colorful of all times ever known in + the Bend; it had a significance that uplifted him. It was + American.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">First Kurt began to load bags of + wheat, as they fell from the whirring combines, into the + wagons. For his powerful arms a full bag, containing two + bushels, was like a toy for a child. With a lift and a + heave he threw a bag into a wagon. They were everywhere, + these brown bags, dotting the stubble field, appearing as + if by magic in the wake of the machines. They rolled off + the platforms. This toil, because it was hard and heavy, + held Kurt for an hour, but it could not satisfy his + enormous hunger to make that whole harvest his own. He + passed to pitching sheaves of wheat and then to driving in + the wagons. From that he progressed to a seat on one of the + immense combines, where he drove twenty-four horses. No + driver there was any surer than Kurt of his aim with the + little stones he threw to spur a lagging horse. Kurt had + felt this when, as a boy, he had begged to be allowed to + try his hand; he liked the shifty cloud of fragrant chaff, + now and then blinding and choking him; and he liked the + steady, rhythmic tramps of hooves and the roaring whir of + the great complicated machine. It fascinated him to see the + wide swath of nodding wheat tremble and sway and fall, and + go sliding up into the inside of that grinding maw, and + come out, straw and dust and chaff, and a slender stream of + gold filling the bags.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This day Kurt Dorn was gripped by the + unknown. Some far-off instinct of future drove him, set his + spiritual need, and made him register with his senses all + that was so beautiful and good and heroic in the scene + about him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Strangely, now and then a thought of + Lenore Anderson entered his mind and made sudden havoc. It + tended to retard action. He trembled and thrilled with a + realization that every hour brought closer the meeting he + could not avoid. And he discovered that it was whenever + this memory recurred that he had to leave off his present + task and rush to another. Only thus could he forget + her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The late afternoon found him feeding + sheaves of wheat to one of the steam-threshers. He stood + high upon a platform and pitched sheaves from the wagons + upon the sliding track of the ponderous, rattling + threshing-machine. The engine stood off fifty yards or + more, connected by an endless driving-belt to the thresher. + Here indeed were whistle and roar and whir, and the shout + of laborers, and the smell of smoke, sweat, dust, and + wheat. Kurt had arms of steel. If they tired he never knew + it. He toiled, and he watched the long spout of chaff and + straw as it streamed from the thresher to lift, magically, + a glistening, ever-growing stack. And he felt, as a last + and cumulative change, his physical effort, and the + physical adjuncts of the scene, pass into something + spiritual, into his heart and his memory.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The end of that harvest-time came as a + surprise to Kurt. Obsessed with his own emotions, he had + actually helped to cut the wheat and harvest it; he had + seen it go swath by swath, he had watched the huge wagons + lumber away and the huge straw-stacks rise without + realizing that the hours of this wonderful harvest were + numbered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Sight of Olsen coming in from across + the field, and the sudden cessation of roar and action, + made Kurt aware of the end. It seemed a calamity. But Olsen + was smiling through his dust-caked face. About him were + relaxation, an air of finality, and a subtle pride.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We're through," he said. "She tallies + thirty-eight thousand, seven hundred an' forty-one bushels. + It's too bad the old man couldn't live to hear that."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Olsen gripped Kurt's hand and wrung + it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boy, I reckon you ought to take that + a little cheerfuller," he went on. "But—well it's + been a hard time.… The men are leavin' now. In two + hours the last wagons will unload at the railroad. The + wheat will all be in the warehouse. An' our worry's + ended."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I—I hope so," responded Kurt. + He seemed overcome with the passionate longing to show his + gratitude to Olsen. But the words would not flow. + "I—I don't know how to thank you.… All my + life—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We beat the I.W.W.," interposed the + farmer, heartily. "An' now what'll you do, Dorn?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, I'll hustle to Kilo, get my + money, send you a check for yourself and men, pay off the + debt to Anderson, and then—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But Kurt did not conclude his speech. + His last words were thought-provoking.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's turned out well," said Olsen, + with satisfaction, and, shaking hands again with Kurt, he + strode back to his horses.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At last the wide, sloping field was + bare, except for the huge straw-stacks. A bright procession + lumbered down the road, led by the long strings of wagons + filled with brown bags. A strange silence had settled down + over the farm. The wheat was gone. That waving stretch of + gold had fallen to the thresher and the grain had been + hauled away. The neighbors had gone, leaving Kurt rich in + bushels of wheat, and richer for the hearty farewells and + the grips of horny hands. Kurt's heart was full.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was evening. Kurt had finished his + supper. Already he had packed a few things to take with him + on the morrow. He went out to the front of the house. Stars + were blinking. There was a low hum of insects from the + fields. He missed the soft silken rustle of the wheat. And + now it seemed he could sit there in the quiet darkness, in + that spot which had been made sweet by Lenore Anderson's + presence, and think of her, the meeting soon to come. The + feeling abiding with him then must have been happiness, + because he was not used to it. Without deserving anything, + he had asked a great deal of fate, and, lo! it had been + given him. All was well that ended well. He realized now + the terrible depths of despair into which he had allowed + himself to be plunged. He had been weak, wrong, selfish. + There was something that guided events.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He needed to teach himself all this, + with strong and repeated force, so that when he went to + give Lenore Anderson the opportunity to express her + gratitude, to see her sweet face again, and to meet the + strange, warm glance of her blue eyes, so mysterious and + somehow mocking, he could be a man of restraint, of pride, + like any American, like any other college man she knew. + This was no time for a man to leave a girl bearing a burden + of his unsolicited love, haunted, perhaps, by a generous + reproach that she might have been a little to blame. He had + told her the truth, and so far he had been dignified. Now + let him bid her good-by, leaving no sorrow for her, and, + once out of her impelling presence, let come what might + come. He could love her then; he could dare what he had + never dared; he could surrender himself to the furious, + insistent sweetness of a passion that was sheer bliss in + its expression. He could imagine kisses on the red lips + that were not for him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A husky shout from somewhere in the + rear of the house diverted Kurt's attention. He listened. + It came again. His name! It seemed a strange call from out + of the troubled past that had just ended. He hurried + through the house to the kitchen. The woman stood holding a + lamp, staring at Jerry.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jerry appeared to have sunk against + the wall. His face was pallid, with drops of sweat standing + out, with distorted, quivering lower jaw. He could not look + at Kurt. He could not speak. With shaking hand he pointed + toward the back of the house.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Filled with nameless dread, Kurt + rushed out. He saw nothing unusual, heard nothing. Rapidly + he walked out through the yard, and suddenly he saw a glow + in the sky above the barns. Then he ran, so that he could + get an unobstructed view of the valley.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The instant he obtained this he halted + as if turned to stone. The valley was a place of yellow + light. He stared. With the wheat-fields all burned, what + was the meaning of such a big light? That broad flare had a + center, low down on the valley floor. As he gazed a + monstrous flame leaped up, lighting colossal pillars of + smoke that swirled upward, and showing plainer than in day + the big warehouse and lines of freight-cars at the railroad + station, eight miles distant.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My God!" gasped Kurt. "The + warehouse—my wheat—on fire!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Clear and unmistakable was the + horrible truth. Kurt heard the roar of the sinister flames. + Transfixed, he stood there, at first hardly able to see and + to comprehend. For miles the valley was as light as at + noonday. An awful beauty attended the scene. How lurid and + sinister the red heart of that fire? How weird and hellish + and impressive of destruction those black, mountain-high + clouds of smoke! He saw the freight-cars disappear under + this fierce blazing and smoking pall. He watched for what + seemed endless moments. He saw the changes of that fire, + swift and terrible. And only then did Kurt Dorn awaken to + the full sense of the calamity.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"All that work—Olsen's + sacrifice—and the farmers'—my father's + death—all for nothing!" whispered Kurt. "They only + waited—those fiends—to fire the warehouse and + the cars!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The catastrophe had fallen. The wheat + was burning. He was ruined. His wheatland must go to + Anderson. Kurt thought first and most poignantly of the + noble farmers who had sacrificed the little in their + wheat-fields to save the much in his. Never could he repay + them.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then he became occupied with a + horrible heat that seemed to have come from the burning + warehouse to all his pulses and veins and to his heart and + his soul.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This fiendish work, as had been + forecast, was the work of the I.W.W. Behind it was Glidden + and perhaps behind him was the grasping, black lust of + German might. Kurt's loss was no longer abstract or + problematical. It was a loss so real and terrible that it + confounded him. He shook and gasped and reeled. He wrung + his hands and beat his breast while the tumult swayed him, + the physical hate at last yielding up its significance. + What then, was his great loss? He could not tell. The thing + was mighty, like the sense of terror and loneliness in the + black night. Not the loss for his farmer neighbors, so true + in his hour of trial! Not the loss of his father, nor the + wheat, nor the land, nor his ruined future! But it must be + a loss, incalculable and insupportable, to his soul. His + great ordeal had been the need, a terrible and + incomprehensible need, to kill something intangible in + himself. He had meant to do it. And now the need was + shifted, subject to a baser instinct. If there was German + blood in him, poisoning the very wells of his heart he + could have spilled it, and so, whether living or dead, have + repudiated the taint. That was now clear in his + consciousness. But a baser spark had ignited all the + primitive passion of the forebears he felt burning and + driving within him. He felt no noble fire. He longed to + live, to have a hundredfold his strength and fury, to be + gifted with a genius for time and place and bloody deed, to + have the war-gods set him a thousand opportunities, to beat + with iron mace and cut with sharp bayonet and rend with + hard hand—to kill and kill and kill the hideous thing + that was German.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt rushed back to the house. + Encountering Jerry, he ordered him to run and saddle a + couple of horses. Then Kurt got his revolver and a box of + shells, and, throwing on his coat, he hurried to the barn. + Jerry was leading out the horses. It took but short work to + saddle them. Jerry was excited and talkative. He asked Kurt + many questions, which excited few replies.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When Kurt threw himself into the + saddle Jerry yelled, "Which way?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Down the trail!" replied Kurt, and + was off.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Aw, we'll break our necks!" came + Jerry's yell after him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt had no fear of the dark. He knew + that trail almost as well by night as by day. His horse was + a mettlesome colt that had not been worked during the + harvest, and he plunged down the dim, winding trail as if, + indeed, to verify Jerry's fears. Presently the thin, pale + line that was the trail disappeared on the burned + wheat-ground. Here Kurt was at fault as to direction, but + he did not slacken the pace for that. He heard Jerry + pounding along in the rear, trying to catch up. The way the + colt jumped ditches and washes and other obstructions + proved his keen sight. Kurt let him go. And then the ride + became both perilous and thrilling.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt could not see anything on the + blackened earth. But he knew from the contour of the hills + just about where to expect to reach the fence and the road. + And he did not pull the horse too soon. When he found the + gate he waited for Jerry, who could be heard calling from + the darkness. Kurt answered him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Here's the gate!" yelled Kurt, as + Jerry came galloping up. "Good road all the way now!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lickity-cut then!" shouted Jerry to + whom the pace had evidently communicated enthusiasm.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The ride then became a race, with Kurt + drawing ahead. Kurt could see the road, a broad, pale belt, + dividing the blackness on either side; and he urged the + colt to a run. The wind cut short Kurt's breath, beat at + his ears, and roared about them. Closer and closer drew the + red flare of the dying fire, casting long rays of light + into Kurt's eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The colt was almost run out when he + entered the circle of reddish flare. Kurt saw the glowing + ruins of the elevators and a long, fiery line of box-cars + burned to the wheels. Men were running and shouting round + in front of the little railroad station, and several were + on the roof with brooms and buckets. The freight-house had + burned, and evidently the station itself had been on fire. + Across the wide street of the little village the roof of a + cottage was burning. Men were on top of it, beating the + shingles. Hoarse yells greeted Kurt as he leaped out of the + saddle. He heard screams of frightened women. On the other + side of the burned box-cars a long, thin column of sparks + rose straight upward. Over the ruins of the elevators hung + a pall of heavy smoke. Just then Jerry came galloping up, + his lean face red in the glow.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Thet you, Kurt! Say, the sons of guns + are burnin' down the town." He leaped off. "Lemme have your + bridle. I'll tie the hosses up. Find out what we can + do."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt ran here and there, possessed by + impotent rage. The wheat was gone! That fact gave him a + hollow, sickening pang. He met farmers he knew. They all + threw up their hands at sight of him. Not one could find a + voice. Finally he met Olsen. The little wheat farmer was + white with passion. He carried a gun.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hello, Dorn! Ain't this hell? They + got your wheat!" he said hoarsely.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Olsen! How'd it happen? Wasn't + anybody set to guard the elevators?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. But the I.W.W.'s drove all the + guards off but Grimm, an' they beat him up bad. Nobody had + nerve enough to shoot."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Olsen, if I run into the Glidden I'll + kill him," declared Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So will I.… But, Dorn, they're + a hard crowd. They're over there on the side, watchin' the + fire. A gang of them! Soon as I can get the men together + we'll drive them out of town. There'll be a fight, if I + don't miss my guess."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hurry the men! Have all of them get + their guns! Come on!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not yet, Dorn. We're fightin' fire + yet. You an' Jerry help all you can."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Indeed, it appeared there was danger + of more than one cottage burning. The exceedingly dry + weather of the past weeks had made shingles like tinder, + and wherever a glowing spark fell on them there straightway + was a smoldering fire. Water, a scarce necessity in that + region, had been used until all wells and pumps became dry. + It was fortunate that most of the roofs of the little + village had been constructed of galvanized iron. Beating + out blazes and glowing embers with brooms was not effective + enough. When it appeared that the one cottage nearest the + rain of sparks was sure to go, Kurt thought of the railroad + watertank below the station. He led a number of men with + buckets to the tank, and they soon drowned out the + smoldering places.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile the blazes from the box-cars + died out, leaving only the dull glow from the red heap that + had once been the elevators. However, this gave forth light + enough for any one to be seen a few rods distant. Sparks + had ceased to fall, and from that source no further danger + need be apprehended. Olsen had been going from man to man, + sending those who were not armed home for guns. So it came + about that half an hour after Kurt's arrival a score of + farmers, villagers, and a few railroaders were collected in + a group, listening to the pale-faced Olsen.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Men, there's only a few of us, an' + there's hundreds, mebbe, in thet I.W.W. gang, but we've got + to drive them off," he said, doggedly. "There's no tellin' + what they'll do if we let them hang around any longer. They + know we're weak in numbers. We've got to do some shootin' + to scare them away."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt seconded Olsen in ringing + voice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"They've threatened your homes," he + said. "They've burned my wheat—ruined me. They were + the death of my father.… These are facts I'm telling + you. We can't wait for law or for militia. We've got to + meet this I.W.W. invasion. They have taken advantage of the + war situation. They're backed by German agents. It's now a + question of our property. We've got to fight!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The crowd made noisy and determined + response. Most of them had small weapons; a few had + shot-guns or rifles.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Come on, men," called Olsen. "I'll do + the talkin'. An' if I say shoot, why, you shoot!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was necessary to go around the long + line of box-cars. Olsen led the way, with Kurt just back of + him. The men spoke but little and in whispers. At the left + end of the line the darkness was thick enough to make + objects indistinct.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Once around the corner, Kurt plainly + descried a big dark crowd of men whose faces showed red in + the glow of the huge pile of embers which was all that + remained of the elevators. They did not see Olsen's + men.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hold on," whispered Olsen. "If we get + in a fight here we'll be in a bad place. We've nothin' to + hide behind. Let's go off—more to the left—an' + come up behind those freight-cars on the switches. That'll + give us cover an' we'll have the I.W.W.'s in the + light."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">So he led off to the left, keeping in + the shadow, and climbed between several lines of + freight-cars, all empty, and finally came out behind the + I.W.W.'s. Olsen led to within fifty yards of them, and was + halted by some observant member of the gang who sat with + the others on top of a flat-car.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This man's yell stilled the coarse + talk and laughter of the gang.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's that?" shouted a cold, clear + voice with authority in it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt thought he recognized the voice, + and it caused a bursting, savage sensation in his + blood.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Here's a bunch of farmers with guns!" + yelled the man from the flat-car.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Olsen halted his force near one of the + detached lines of box-cars, which he probably meant to take + advantage of in case of a fight.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hey, you I.W.W.'s!" he shouted, with + all his might.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">There was a moment's silence.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There's no I.W.W.'s here," replied + the authoritative voice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt was sure now that he recognized + Glidden's voice. Excitement and anger then gave place to + deadly rage.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Who are you?" yelled Olsen.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We're tramps watchin' the fire," came + the reply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You set that fire!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, we didn't."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt motioned Olsen to be silent, as + with lifting breast he took an involuntary step + forward.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Glidden, I know you!" he shouted, in + hard, quick tones. "I'm Kurt Dorn. I've met you. I know + your voice.… Take your gang—get out of + here—or we'll kill you!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This pregnant speech caused a blank + dead silence. Then came a white flash, a sharp report. Kurt + heard the thud of a bullet striking some one near him. The + man cried out, but did not fall.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Spread out an' hide!" ordered Olsen. + "An' shoot fer keeps!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The little crowd broke and melted into + the shadows behind and under the box-cars. Kurt crawled + under a car and between the wheels, from which + vantage-point he looked out. Glidden's gang were there in + the red glow, most of them now standing. The sentry who had + given the alarm still sat on top of the flat-car, swinging + his legs. His companions, however, had jumped down. Kurt + heard men of his own party crawling and whispering behind + him, and he saw dim, dark, sprawling forms under the far + end of the car.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boss, the hayseeds have run off," + called the man from the flat car.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Laughter and jeers greeted this + sally.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt concluded it was about time to + begin proceedings. Resting his revolver on the side of the + wheel behind which he lay, he took steady aim at the + sentry, holding low. Kurt was not a good shot with a + revolver and the distance appeared to exceed fifty yards. + But as luck would have it, when he pulled trigger the + sentry let out a loud bawl of terror and pain, and fell off + the car to the ground. Flopping and crawling like a + crippled chicken, he got out of sight below.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt's shot was a starter for Olsen's + men. Four or five of the shot-guns boomed at once; then the + second barrels were discharged, along with a sharper + cracking of small arms. Pandemonium broke loose in + Glidden's gang. No doubt, at least, of the effectiveness of + the shot-guns! A medley of strange, sharp, enraged, and + anguished cries burst upon the air, a prelude to a wild + stampede. In a few seconds that lighted spot where the + I.W.W. had grouped was vacant, and everywhere were fleeing + forms, some swift, others slow. So far as Kurt could see, + no one had been fatally injured. But many had been hurt, + and that fact augured well for Olsen's force.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Presently a shot came from some hidden + enemy. It thudded into the wood of the car over Kurt. Some + one on his side answered it, and a heavy bullet, striking + iron, whined away into the darkness. Then followed flash + here and flash there, with accompanying reports and + whistles of lead. From behind and under and on top of cars + opened up a fire that proved how well armed these so-called + laborers were. Their volley completely drowned the + desultory firing of Olsen's squad.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt began to wish for one of the + shot-guns. It was this kind of weapon that saved Olsen's + followers. There were a hundred chances to one of missing + an I.W.W. with a single bullet, while a shot-gun, aimed + fairly well, was generally productive of results. Kurt + stopped wasting his cartridges. Some one was hurt behind + his car and he crawled out to see. A villager named Schmidt + had been wounded in the leg, not seriously, but bad enough + to disable him. He had been using a double-barreled + breech-loading shot-gun, and he wore a vest with rows of + shells in the pockets across the front. Kurt borrowed gun + and ammunition; and with these he hurried back to his + covert, grimly sure of himself. At thought of Glidden he + became hot all over, and this heat rather grew with the + excitement of battle.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With the heavy fowling-piece loaded, + Kurt peeped forth from behind his protecting wheel and + watched keenly for flashes or moving dark figures. The + I.W.W. had begun to reserve their fire, to shift their + positions, and to spread out, judging from a wider range of + the reports. It looked as if they meant to try and surround + Olsen's band. It was extraordinary—the assurance and + deadly intent of this riffraff gang of tramp + labor-agitators. In preceding years a crowd of I.W.W. men + had been nothing to worry a rancher. Vastly different it + seemed now. They acted as if they had the great war back of + them.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt crawled out of his hiding-place, + and stole from car to car, in search of Olsen. At last he + found the rancher, in company with several men, peering + from behind a car. One of his companions was sitting down + and trying to wrap something round his foot.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Olsen, they're spreading out to + surround us," whispered Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's what Bill here just said," + replied Olsen, nervously. "If this keeps up we'll be in a + tight place. What'll we do, Dorn?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We mustn't break and run, of all + things," said Kurt. "They'd burn the village. Tell our men + to save their shells.… If I only could get some + cracks at a bunch of them together—with this big + shot-gun!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Say, we've been watchin' that + car—the half-size one, there—next the high + box-car," whispered Olsen.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's full of them. Sometimes we see a + dozen shots come from it, all at once."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Olsen, I've an idea," returned Kurt, + excitedly. "You fellows keep shooting—attract their + attention. I'll slip below, climb on top of a box-car, and + get a rake-off at that bunch."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's risky, Dorn," said Olsen, with + hesitation. "But if you could get in a few tellin' + shots—start that gang on the run!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll try it," rejoined Kurt, and + forthwith stole off back toward the shadow. It struck him + that there was more light then when the attack began. The + fire had increased, or perhaps the I.W.W. had started + another; at any rate, the light was growing stronger, and + likewise the danger greater. As he crossed an open space a + bullet whizzed by him, and then another zipped by to strike + up the gravel ahead. These were not random shots. Some one + was aiming at him. How strange and rage-provoking to be + shot at deliberately! What a remarkable experience for a + young wheat farmer! Raising wheat in the great Northwest + had assumed responsibilities. He had to run, and he was the + more furious because of that. Another bullet, flying wide, + hummed to his left before he gained the shelter of the + farthest line of freight-cars. Here he hid and watched. The + firing appeared to be all behind him, and, thus encouraged, + he stole along to the end of the line of cars, and around. + A bright blaze greeted his gaze. An isolated car was on + fire. Kurt peered forth to make sure of his bearings, and + at length found the high derrick by which he had marked the + box-car that he intended to climb.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He could see plainly, and stole up to + his objective point, with little risk to himself until he + climbed upon the box-car. He crouched low, almost on hands + and knees, and finally gained the long shadow of a shed + between the tracks. Then he ran past the derrick to the + dark side of the car. He could now plainly see the revolver + flashes and could hear the thud and spang of their bullets + striking. Drawing a deep breath, Kurt climbed up the iron + ladder on the dark side of the car.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He had the same sensation that + possessed him when he was crawling to get a pot-shot at a + flock of wild geese. Only this was mightily more exciting. + He did not forget the risk. He lay flat and crawled little + by little. Every moment he expected to be discovered. Olsen + had evidently called more of his men to his side, for they + certainly were shooting diligently. Kurt heard a continuous + return fire from the car he was risking so much to get a + shot at. At length he was within a yard of the end of the + car—as far as he needed to go. He rested a moment. He + was laboring for breath, sweating freely, on fire with + thrills.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His plan was to raise himself on one + knee and fire as many double shots as possible. Presently + he lifted his head to locate the car. It was half in the + bright light, half in the shadow, lengthwise toward him, + about sixty or seventy yards distant, and full of men. He + dropped his head, tingling all over. It was a + disappointment that the car stood so far away. With fine + shot he could not seriously injure any of the I.W.W. + contingent, but he was grimly sure of the fright and hurt + he could inflict. In his quick glance he had seen flashes + of their guns, and many red faces, and dark, huddled + forms.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt took four shells and set them, + end up, on the roof of the car close to him. Then, cocking + the gun, he cautiously raised himself to one knee. He + discharged both barrels at once. What a boom and what a + terrified outburst of yells! Swiftly he broke the gun, + reloaded, fired as before, and then again. The last two + shots were fired at the men piling frantically over the + side of the car, yelling with fear. Kurt had heard the + swishing pattering impact of those swarms of small shot. + The I.W.W. gang ran pell-mell down the open track, away + from Kurt and toward the light. As he reloaded the gun he + saw men running from all points to join the gang. With an + old blunderbuss of a shot-gun he had routed the I.W.W. It + meant relief to Olsen's men; but Kurt had yet no + satisfaction for the burning of his wheat, for the cruel + shock that had killed his father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Come on, Olsen!" he yelled, at the + top of his lungs. "They're a lot of cowards!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then in his wild eagerness he leaped + off the car. The long jump landed him jarringly, but he did + not fall or lose hold of the gun. Recovering his balance, + he broke into a run. Kurt was fast on his feet. Not a young + man of his neighborhood nor any of his college-mates could + outfoot him in a race. And then these I.W.W. fellows ran + like stiff-legged tramps, long unused to such mode of + action. And some of them were limping as they ran. Kurt + gained upon them. When he got within range he halted short + and freed two barrels. A howl followed the report. Some of + the fleeing ones fell, but were dragged up and on by + companions. Kurt reloaded and, bounding forward like a + deer, yelling for Olsen, he ran until he was within range, + then stopped to shoot again. Thus he continued until the + pursued got away from the circle of light. Kurt saw the + gang break up, some running one way and some another. There + were sheds and cars and piles of lumber along the track, + affording places to hide. Kurt was halted by the discovery + that he had no more ammunition. Panting, he stopped short, + realizing that he had snapped an empty gun at men either + too tired or too furious or too desperate to run any + farther.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He's out of shells!" shouted a low, + hard voice that made Kurt leap. He welcomed the rush of + dark forms, and, swinging the gun round his head, made + ready to brain the first antagonist who neared him. But + some one leaped upon him from behind. The onslaught carried + him to his knees. Bounding up, he broke the gun stock on + the head of his assailant, who went down in a heap. Kurt + tried to pull his revolver. It became impossible, owing to + strong arms encircling him. Wrestling, he freed himself, + only to be staggered by a rush of several men, all pouncing + upon him at once. Kurt went down, but, once down, he heaved + so powerfully that he threw off the whole crew. Up again, + like a cat, he began to fight. Big and strong and swift, + with fists like a blacksmith's, Kurt bowled over this + assailant and that one. He thought he recognized Glidden in + a man who kept out of his reach and who was urging on the + others. Kurt lunged at him and finally got his hands on + him. That was fatal for Kurt, because in his fury he forgot + Glidden's comrades. In one second his big hand wrenched a + yell of mortal pain out of Glidden; then a combined attack + of the others rendered Kurt powerless. A blow on the head + stunned him—made all dark.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It seemed that Kurt did not altogether + lose consciousness, for he had vague sensations of being + dragged along the ground. Presently the darkness cleared + from his mind and he opened his eyes. He lay on his back. + Looking up, he saw stars through the thin, broken clouds of + smoke. A huge pile of railroad ties loomed up beside + him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He tried to take note of his + situation. His hands were tied in front of him, not so + securely, he imagined, that he could not work them free. + His legs had not been tied. Both his head and shoulder, on + the left side, pained him severely. Upon looking around, + Kurt presently made out the dark form of a man. He appeared + rigid with attention, but that evidently had no relation to + Kurt. The man was listening and watching for his comrades. + Kurt heard no voices or shots. After a little while, + however, he thought he heard distant footsteps on the + gravel. He hardly knew what to make of his predicament. If + there was only one guard over him, escape did not seem + difficult, unless that guard had a gun.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hello, you!" he called.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hello, yourself" replied the man, + jerking up in evident surprise.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's your name?" inquired Kurt, + amiably.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, it ain't J.J. Hill or + Anderson," came the gruff response.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt laughed. "But you would be one of + those names if you could, now wouldn't you?" went on + Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My name is Dennis," gloomily returned + the man.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It certainly is. <i>That</i> is the + name of all I.W.W.'s," said Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Say, are you the fellow who had the + shot-gun?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I sure am," replied Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I ought to knock you on the + head."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Because I'll have to eat standing up + for a month."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes?" queried Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The seat of my pants must have made a + good target, for you sure pasted it full of birdshot."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt smothered a laugh. Then he felt + the old anger leap up. "Didn't you burn my wheat?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Are you that young Dorn?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I am," replied Kurt, hotly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, I didn't burn one damn straw of + your old wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You didn't! But you're with these + men? You're an I.W.W. You've been fighting these farmers + here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If you want to know, I'm a tramp," + said the man, bitterly. "Years ago I was a prosperous + oil-producer in Ohio. I had a fine oil-field. Along comes a + big fellow, tries to buy me out, and, failing that, he shot + off dynamite charges into the ground next my + oil-field.… Choked my wells! Ruined me!… I came + west—went to farming. Along comes a corporation, + steals my water for irrigation—and my land went back + to desert.… So I quit working and trying to be + honest. It doesn't pay. The rich men are getting all the + richer at the expense of the poor. So now I'm a tramp."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Friend, that's a hard-luck story," + said Kurt. "It sure makes me think.… But I'll tell + you what—you don't belong to this I.W.W. outfit, even + if you are a tramp."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why not?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Because you're American! That's + why."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, I know I am. But I can be + American and travel with a labor union, can't I?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. This I.W.W. is no labor union. It + never was. Their very first rule is to abolish capital. + They're anarchists. And now they're backed by German money. + The I.W.W. is an enemy to America. All this hampering of + railroads, destruction of timber and wheat, is an aid to + Germany in the war. The United States is at war! My God! + man, can't you see it's your own country that must suffer + for such deals as this wheat-burning to-night?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The hell you say!" ejaculated the + man, in amaze.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"This Glidden is a German + agent—perhaps a spy. He's no labor leader. What does + he care for the interests of such men as you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Young man, if you don't shut up + you'll give me a hankering to go back to real work."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I hope I do. Let me give you a hunch. + Throw down this I.W.W. outfit. Go to Ruxton and get + Anderson of 'Many Waters' ranch to give you a job. Tell him + who you are and that I sent you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Anderson of 'Many Waters,' hey? Well, + maybe it'll surprise you to know that Glidden is operating + there, has a lot of men there, and is going there from + here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, it doesn't surprise me. I hope he + does go there. For if he does he'll get killed."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sssssh!" whispered the guard. "Here + comes some of the gang."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt heard low voices and soft + footfalls. Some dark forms loomed up.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Bradford, has he come to yet?" + queried the brutal voice of Glidden.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nope," replied the guard. "I guess he + had a hard knock. He's never budged."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We've got to beat it out of here," + said Glidden. "It's long after midnight. There's a + freight-train down the track. I want all the gang to board + it. You run along, Bradford, and catch up with the + others."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What're you going to do with this + young fellow?" queried Bradford, curiously.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's none of your business," + returned Glidden.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Maybe not. But I reckon I'll ask, + anyhow. You want me to join your I.W.W., and I'm asking + questions. Labor strikes—standing up for your + rights—is one thing, and burning wheat or slugging + young farmers is another. Are you going to let this Dorn + go?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt could plainly see the group of + five men, Bradford standing over the smaller Glidden, and + the others strung and silent in the intensity of the + moment.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll cut his throat," hissed + Glidden.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Bradford lunged heavily. The blow he + struck Glidden was square in the face. Glidden would have + had a hard fall but for the obstruction in the shape of his + comrades, upon whom he was knocked. They held him up. + Glidden sagged inertly, evidently stunned or unconscious. + Bradford backed guardedly away out of their reach, then, + wheeling, he began to run with heavy, plodding strides.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Glidden's comrades seemed anxiously + holding him up, peering at him, but no one spoke. Kurt saw + his opportunity. With one strong wrench he freed his hands. + Feeling in his pocket for his gun, he was disturbed to find + that it had been taken. He had no weapon. But he did not + hesitate. Bounding up, he rushed like a hurricane upon the + unprepared group. He saw Glidden's pale face upheld to the + light of the stars, and by it saw that Glidden was + recovering. With all his might Kurt swung as he rushed, and + the blow he gave the I.W.W. leader far exceeded Bradford's. + Glidden was lifted so powerfully against one of his men + that they both fell. Then Kurt, striking right and left, + beat down the other two, and, leaping over them, he bounded + away into the darkness. Shrill piercing yells behind him + lent him wings.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But he ran right into another group of + I.W.W. men, dozens in number, he thought, and by the light + of what appeared to be a fire they saw him as quickly as he + saw them. The yells behind were significant enough. Kurt + had to turn to run back, and he had to run the gauntlet of + the men he had assaulted. They promptly began to shoot at + Kurt. The whistle of lead was uncomfortably close. Never + had he run so fleetly. When he flashed past the end of the + line of cars, into comparative open, he found himself in + the light of a new fire. This was a shed perhaps a score of + rods or less from the station. Some one was yelling beyond + this, and Kurt thought he recognized Jerry's voice, but he + did not tarry to make sure. Bullets scattering the gravel + ahead of him and singing around his head, and hoarse cries + behind, with a heavy-booted tread of pursuers, gave Kurt + occasion to hurry. He flew across the freight-yard, + intending to distance his pursuers, then circle round the + station to the village.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Once he looked back. The gang, well + spread out, was not far behind him, just coming into the + light of the new fire. No one in it could ever catch him, + of that Kurt was sure.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Suddenly a powerful puff of air, like + a blast of wind, seemed to lift him. At the same instant a + dazzling, blinding, yellow blaze illuminated the whole + scene. The solid earth seemed to rock under Kurt's flying + feet, and then a terrific roar appalled him. He was thrown + headlong through the air, and all about him seemed streaks + and rays and bursts of fire. He alighted to plow through + the dirt until the momentum of force had been expended. + Then he lay prone, gasping and choking, almost blind, but + sensitive to the rain of gravel and debris, the fearful + cries of terrified men, taste of smoke and dust, and the + rank smell of exploded gasoline.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt got up to grope his way through + the murky darkness. He could escape now. If that explosion + had not killed his pursuers it had certainly scared them + off. He heard men running and yelling off to the left. A + rumble of a train came from below the village. Finally Kurt + got clear of the smoke, to find that he had wandered off + into one of the fields opposite the station. Here he halted + to rest a little and to take cognizance of his condition. + It surprised him to find out that he was only bruised, + scratched, and sore. He had expected to find himself full + of bullets.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Whew! They blew up the + gasoline-shed!" he soliloquized. "But some of them + miscalculated, for if I don't lose my guess there was a + bunch of I.W.W. closer to that gasoline than I was.… + Some adventure!… I got another punch at Glidden. I + felt it in my bones that I'd get a crack at him. Oh, for + another!… And that Bradford! He did make me think. + How he slugged Glidden! Good! Good! There's your old + American spirit coming out."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt sat down to rest and to listen. + He found he needed a rest. The only sound he heard was the + rumbling of a train, gradually drawing away. A heavy smoke + rose from the freight-yard, but there were no longer any + blazes or patches of red fire. Perhaps the explosion had + smothered all the flames.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It had been a rather strenuous + evening, he reflected. A good deal of satisfaction lay in + the fact that he had severely punished some of the I.W.W. + members, if he had not done away with any of them.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When he thought of Glidden, however, + he did not feel any satisfaction. His fury was gone, but in + its place was a strong judgment that such men should be + made examples. He certainly did not want to run across + Glidden again, because if he did he would have blood on his + hands.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt's chance meeting with the man + Bradford seemed far the most interesting, if not thrilling, + incident of the evening. It opened up a new point of view. + How many of the men of that motley and ill-governed I.W.W. + had grievances like Bradford's? Perhaps there were many. + Kurt tried to remember instances when, in the Northwest + wheat country, laborers and farmers had been cheated or + deceived by men of large interests. It made him grave to + discover that he could recall many such instances. His own + father had long nursed a grievance against Anderson. + Neuman, his father's friend, had a hard name. And there + were many who had profited by the misfortune of others. + That, after all, was a condition of life. He took it for + granted, then, that all members of the I.W.W. were not + vicious or dishonest. He was glad to have this proof. The + I.W.W. had been organized by labor agitators, and they were + the ones to blame, and their punishment should be severest. + Kurt began to see where the war, cruel as it would be, was + going to be of immeasurable benefit to the country.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It amazed Kurt, presently, to note + that dawn was at hand. He waited awhile longer, wanting to + be sure not to meet any lingering members of the I.W.W. It + appeared, indeed, that they had all gone.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He crossed the freight-yard. A black + ruin, still smoldering, lay where the elevators had been. + That wonderful wheat yield of his had been destroyed. In + the gray dawn it was hard to realize. He felt a lump in his + throat. Several tracks were littered with the remains of + burned freight-cars. When Kurt reached the street he saw + men in front of the cottages. Some one hailed him, and then + several shouted. They met him half-way. Jerry and Olsen + were in the party.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We was pretty much scared," said + Jerry, and his haggard face showed his anxiety.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boy, we thought the I.W.W. had made + off with you," added Olsen, extending his hand.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not much! Where are they?" replied + Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Gone on a freight-train. When Jerry + blew up the gasoline-shed that fixed the I.W.W."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jerry, did you do that?" queried + Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, you nearly blew me off the map. + I was running, just below the shed. When that explosion + came I was lifted and thrown a mile. Thought I'd never + light!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So far as we can tell, nobody was + killed," said Olsen. "Some of our fellows have got + bullet-holes to nurse. But no one is bad hurt."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's good. I guess we came out + lucky," replied Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You must have had some fight, runnin' + off that way after the I.W.W.'s. We heard you shootin' an' + the I.W.W.'s yellin'. That part was fun. Tell us what + happened to you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">So Kurt had to narrate his experiences + from the time he stole off with the big shot-gun until his + friends saw him again. It made rather a long story, which + manifestly was of exceeding interest to the villagers.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn," said one of the men, "you an' + Jerry saved this here village from bein' burned."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We all had a share. I'm sure glad + they're gone. Now what damage was done?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It turned out that there had been + little hurt to the property of the villagers. Some + freight-cars full of barley, loaded and billed by the + railroad people, had been burned, and this loss of grain + would probably be paid for by the company. The loss of + wheat would fall upon Kurt. In the haste of that great + harvest and its transportation to the village no provision + had been made for loss. The railroad company had not + accepted his wheat for transportation, and was not + liable.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Olsen, according to our agreement I + owe you fifteen thousand dollars," said Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, but forget it," replied Olsen. + "You're the loser here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll pay it," replied Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But, boy, you're ruined!" ejaculated + the farmer. "You can't pay that big price now. An' we don't + expect it."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Didn't you leave your burning fields + to come help us save ours?" queried Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure. But there wasn't much of mine + to burn."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"And so did many of the other men who + came to help. I tell you, Olsen, that means a great deal to + me. I'll pay my debt or—or—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But how can you?" interrupted Olsen, + reasonably. "Sometime, when you raise another crop like + this year, then you could pay."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The farm will bring that much more + than I owe Anderson."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You'll give up the farm?" exclaimed + Olsen.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. I'll square myself."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn, we won't take that money," said + the farmer, deliberately.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You'll have to take it. I'll send you + a check soon—perhaps to-morrow."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Give up your land!" repeated Olsen. + "Why, that's unheard of! Land in your family so many + years!… What will you do?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Olsen, I waited for the draft just on + account of my father. If it had not been for him I'd have + enlisted. Anyway, I'm going to war."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That silenced the little group of + grimy-faced men.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jerry, get our horses and we'll ride + home," said Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The tall foreman strode off. Kurt + sensed something poignant in the feelings of the men, + especially Olsen. This matter of the I.W.W. dealing had + brought Kurt and his neighbors closer together. And he + thought it a good opportunity for a few words about the + United States and the war and Germany. So he launched forth + into an eloquent expression of some of his convictions. He + was still talking when Jerry returned with the horses. At + length he broke off, rather abruptly, and, saying good-by, + he mounted.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hold on, Kurt," called Olsen, and + left the group to lay a hand on the horse and to speak low. + "What you said struck me deep. It applies pretty hard to us + of the Bend. We've always been farmers, with no thought of + country. An' that's because we left our native country to + come here. I'm not German an' I've never been for Germany. + But many of my neighbors an' friends are Germans. This war + never has come close till now. I know Germans in this + country. They have left their fatherland an' they are lost + to that fatherland!… It may take some time to stir + them up, to make them see, but the day will come.… + Take my word for it, Dorn, the German-Americans of the + Northwest, when it comes to a pinch, will find themselves + an' be true to the country they have adopted."</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The sun was up, broad and bright, + burning over the darkened wheat-fields, when Kurt and Jerry + reached home. Kurt had never seen the farm look like + that—ugly and black and bare. But the fallow ground, + hundreds of acres of it, billowing away to the south, had + not suffered any change of color or beauty. To Kurt it + seemed to smile at him, to bid him wait for another + spring.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">And that thought was poignant, for he + remembered he must leave at once for "Many Waters."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He found, when he came to wash the + blood and dirt from his person, that his bruises were many. + There was a lump on his head, and his hands were skinned. + After changing his clothes and packing a few things in a + valise, along with his papers, he went down to breakfast. + Though preoccupied in mind, he gathered that both the old + housekeeper and Jerry were surprised and dismayed to see + him ready to leave. He had made no mention of his + intentions. And it struck him that this, somehow, was going + to be hard.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Indeed, when the moment came he found + that speech was difficult and his voice not natural.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Martha—Jerry—I'm going + away for good," he said, huskily. "I mean to make over the + farm to Mr. Anderson. I'll leave you in charge + here—and recommend that you be kept on. Here's your + money up to date.… I'm going away to the + war—and the chances are I'll never come back."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The old housekeeper, who had been like + a mother to him for many years, began to cry; and Jerry + struggled with a regret that he could not speak.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Abruptly Kurt left them and hurried + out of the house. How strange that difficult feelings had + arisen—emotions he had never considered at all! But + the truth was that he was leaving his home forever. All was + explained in that.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">First he went to the graves of his + father and mother, out on the south slope, where there were + always wind and sun. The fire had not desecrated the simple + burying-ground. There was no grass. But a few trees and + bushes kept it from appearing bare.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt sat down in the shade near his + mother's grave and looked away across the hills with dim + eyes. Something came to him—a subtle assurance that + his mother approved of his going to war. Kurt remembered + her—slow, quiet, patient, hard-working, dominated by + his father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The slope was hot and still, with only + a rustling of leaves in the wind. The air was dry. Kurt + missed the sweet fragrance of wheat. What odor there was + seemed to be like that of burning weeds. The great, + undulating open of the Bend extended on three sides. His + parents had spent the best of their lives there and had now + been taken to the bosom of the soil they loved. It seemed + natural. Many were the last resting-places of toilers of + the wheat there on those hills. And surely in the long + frontier days, and in the ages before, men innumerable had + gone back to the earth from which they had sprung. The + dwelling-places of men were beautiful; it was only life + that was sad. In this poignant, revealing hour Kurt could + not resist human longings and regrets, though he gained + incalculable strength from these two graves on the windy + slope. It was not for any man to understand to the + uttermost the meaning of life.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When he left he made his way across + some of the fallow land and some of the stubble fields that + had yielded, alas! so futilely, such abundant harvest. His + boyhood days came back to him, when he used to crush down + the stubble with his bare feet. Every rod of the way + revealed some memory. He went into the barn and climbed + into the huge, airy loft. It smelled of straw and years of + dust and mice. The swallows darted in and out, twittering. + How friendly they were! Year after year they had returned + to their nests—the young birds returning to the homes + of the old. Home even for birds was a thing of first and + vital importance.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was a very old barn that had not + many more useful years to stand. Kurt decided that he would + advise that it be strengthened. There were holes in the + rough shingling and boards were off the sides. In the + corners and on the rafters was an accumulation of grain + dust as thick as snow. Mice ran in and out, almost as tame + as the swallows. He seemed to be taking leave of them. He + recalled that he used to chase and trap mice with all a + boy's savage ingenuity. But that boyish instinct, along + with so many things so potential then, was gone now.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Best of all he loved the horses. Most + of these were old and had given faithful service for many + years. Indeed, there was one—Old Badge—that had + carried Kurt when he was a boy. Once he and a neighbor boy + had gone to the pasture to fetch home the cows. Old Badge + was there, and nothing would do but that they ride him. + From the fence Kurt mounted to his broad back. Then the + neighbor boy, full of the devil, had struck Old Badge with + a stick. The horse set off at a gallop for home with Kurt, + frantically holding on, bouncing up and down on his back. + That had been the ride of Kurt's life. His father had + whipped him, too, for the adventure.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">How strangely vivid and + thought-compelling were these ordinary adjuncts to his life + there on the farm. It was only upon giving them up that he + discovered their real meaning. The hills of bare fallow and + of yellow slope, the old barn with its horses, swallows, + mice, and odorous loft, the cows and chickens—these + appeared to Kurt, in the illuminating light of farewell, in + their true relation to him. For they, and the labor of + them, had made him what he was.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Slowly he went back to the old house + and climbed the stairs. Only three rooms were there + up-stairs, and one of these, his mother's, had not been + opened for a long time. It seemed just the same as when he + used to go to her with his stubbed toes and his troubles. + She had died in that room. And now he was a man, going out + to fight for his country. How strange! Why? In his mother's + room he could not answer that puzzling question. It stung + him, and with a last look, a good-by, and a word of prayer + on his lips, he turned to his own little room.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He entered and sat down on the bed. It + was small, with the slope of the roof running down so low + that he had learned to stoop when close to the wall. There + was no ceiling. Bare yellow rafters and dark old shingles + showed. He could see light through more than one little + hole. The window was small, low, and without glass. How + many times he had sat there, leaning out in the hot dusk of + summer nights, dreaming dreams that were never to come + true. Alas for the hopes and illusions of boyhood! So long + as he could remember, this room was most closely associated + with his actions and his thoughts. It was a part of him. He + almost took it into his confidence as if it were human. + Never had he become what he had dared to dream he would, + yet, somehow, at that moment he was not ashamed. It struck + him then what few belongings he really had. But he had been + taught to get along with little.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Living in that room was over for him. + He was filled with unutterable sadness. Yet he would not + have had it any different. Bigger, and selfless things + called to him. He was bidding farewell to his youth and all + that it related to. A solemn procession of beautiful + memories passed through his mind, born of the nights there + in that room of his boyhood, with the wind at the eaves and + the rain pattering on the shingles. What strong and vivid + pictures! No grief, no pain, no war could rob him of this + best heritage from the past.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He got up to go. And then a blinding + rush of tears burned his eyes. This room seemed dearer than + all the rest of his home. It was hard to leave. His last + look was magnified, transformed. "Good-by!" he whispered, + with a swelling constriction in his throat. At the head of + the dark old stairway he paused a moment, and then with + bowed head he slowly descended.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">An August twilight settled softly down + over "Many Waters" while Lenore Anderson dreamily gazed + from her window out over the darkening fields so tranquil + now after the day's harvest toil.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Of late, in thoughtful hours such as + this, she had become conscious of strain, of longing. She + had fought out a battle with herself, had confessed her + love for Kurt Dorn, and, surrendering to the enchantment of + that truth, had felt her love grow with every thought of + him and every beat of a thrilling pulse. In spite of a + longing that amounted to pain and a nameless dread she + could not deny, she was happy. And she waited, with a + woman's presaging sense of events, for a crisis that was + coming.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Presently she heard her father + down-stairs, his heavy tread and hearty voice. These + strenuous harvest days left him little time for his family. + And Lenore, having lost herself in her dreams, had not, of + late, sought him out in the fields. She was waiting, and, + besides, his keen eyes, at once so penetrating and so kind, + had confused her. Few secrets had she ever kept from her + father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Where's Lenore?" she heard him ask, + down in the dining-room.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenorry's mooning," replied Kathleen, + with a giggle.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah-huh? Well, whereabouts is she + moonin'?" went on Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, in her room!" retorted the + child. "And you can't get a word out of her with a + crowbar."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's laugh rang out with a + jingle of tableware. He was eating his supper. Then Lenore + heard her mother and Rose and Kathleen all burst out with + news of a letter come that day from Jim, away training to + be a soldier. It was Rose who read this letter aloud to her + father, and outside of her swift, soft voice the absolute + silence attested to the attention of the listeners. + Lenore's heart shook as she distinguished a phrase here and + there, for Jim's letter had been wonderful for her. He had + gained weight! He was getting husky enough to lick his + father! He was feeling great! There was not a boy in the + outfit who could beat him to a stuffed bag of a German + soldier! And he sure could make some job with that old + bayonet! So ran Jim's message to the loved ones at home. + Then a strange pride replaced the quake in Lenore's heart. + Not now would she have had Jim stay home. She had + sacrificed him. Something subtler than thought told her she + would never see him again. And, oh, how dear he had + become!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Anderson roared his delight in + that letter and banged the table with his fist. The girls + excitedly talked in unison. But the mother was + significantly silent. Lenore forgot them presently and went + back to her dreaming. It was just about dark when her + father called.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, father," she replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm comin' up," he said, and his + heavy tread sounded in the hall. It was followed by the + swift patter of little feet. "Say, you kids go back. I want + to talk to Lenore."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Daddy," came Kathleen's shrill, + guilty whisper, "I was only in fun—about her + mooning."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The father laughed again and slowly + mounted the stairs. Lenore reflected uneasily that he + seldom came to her room. Also, when he was most concerned + with trouble he usually sought her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hello! All in the dark?" he said, as + he came in. "May I turn on the light?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore assented, though not quite + readily. But Anderson did not turn on the light. He bumped + into things on the way to where she was curled up in her + window-seat, and he dropped wearily into Lenore's big + arm-chair.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"How are you, daddy?" she + inquired.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dog tired, but feelin' fine," he + replied. "I've got a meetin' at eight an' I need a rest. + Reckon I'd like to smoke—an' talk to you—if you + don't mind."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'd sure rather listen to my dad than + any one," she replied, softly. She knew he had come with + news or trouble or need of help. He always began that way. + She could measure his mood by the preliminaries before his + disclosure. And she fortified herself.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wasn't that a great letter from the + boy?" began Anderson, as he lit a cigar. By the flash of + the match Lenore got a glimpse of his dark and unguarded + face. Indeed, she did well to fortify herself.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Fine!… He wrote it to me. I + laughed. I swelled with pride. It sent my blood racing. It + filled me with fight.… Then I sneaked up here to + cry."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah-huh!" exclaimed Anderson, with a + loud sigh. Then for a moment of silence the end of his + cigar alternately paled and glowed. "Lenore, did you get + any—any kind of a hunch from Jim's letter?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I don't exactly understand what you + mean," replied Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did somethin'—strange an' + different come to you?" queried Anderson, haltingly, as if + words were difficult to express what he meant.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, yes—I had many strange + feelings."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jim's letter was just like he talks. + But to me it said somethin' he never meant an' didn't + know.… Jim will never come back!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, dad—I divined just that," + whispered Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Strange about that," mused Anderson, + with a pull on his cigar.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">And then followed a silence. Lenore + felt how long ago her father had made his sacrifice. There + did not seem to be any need for more words about Jim. But + there seemed a bigness in the bond of understanding between + her and her father. A cause united them, and they were + sustained by unfaltering courage. The great thing was the + divine spark in the boy who could not have been held back. + Lenore gazed out into the darkening shadows. The night was + very still, except for the hum of insects, and the cool air + felt sweet on her face. The shadows, the silence, the + sleeping atmosphere hovering over "Many Waters," seemed + charged with a quality of present sadness, of the + inexplicable great world moving to its fate.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, you haven't been around much + lately," resumed Anderson. "Sure you're missed. An' Jake + swears a lot more than usual."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father, you told me to stay at home," + she replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So I did. An' I reckon it's just as + well. But when did you ever before mind me?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, I always obey you," replied + Lenore, with her low laugh.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah-huh! Not so I'd notice it.… + Lenore, have you seen the big clouds of smoke driftin' over + 'Many Waters' these last few days?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. And I've smelled smoke, + too.… From forest fire, is it not?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There's fire in some of the timber, + but the wind's wrong for us to get smoke from the + foot-hills."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then where does the smoke come from?" + queried Lenore, quickly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Some of the Bend wheat country's been + burned over."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Burned! You mean the wheat?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh! What part of the Bend?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon it's what you called young + Dorn's desert of wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, what a pity!… Have you had + word?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nothin' but rumors yet. But I'm + fearin' the worst an' I'm sorry for our young friend."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A sharp pain shot through Lenore's + breast, leaving behind an ache.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It will ruin him!" she whispered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Aw no, not that bad," declared + Anderson, and there was a red streak in the dark where + evidently he waved his cigar in quick, decisive action. + "It'll only be tough on him an' sort of embarrassin' for + me—an' you. That boy's proud.… I'll bet he + raised hell among them I.W.W.'s, if he got to them." And + Anderson chuckled with the delight he always felt in the + Western appreciation of summary violence justly dealt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore felt the rising tide of her + anger. She was her father's daughter, yet always had been + slow to wrath. That was her mother's softness and + gentleness tempering the hard spirit of her father. But now + her blood ran hot, beating and bursting about her throat + and temples. And there was a leap and quiver to her + body.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dastards! Father, those foreign + I.W.W. devils should be shot!" she cried, passionately. "To + ruin those poor, heroic farmers! To ruin that—that + boy! It's a crime! And, oh, to burn his beautiful field of + wheat—with all his hopes! Oh, what shall I call + that!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, lass, I reckon it'd take + stronger speech than any you know," responded Anderson. + "An' I'm usin' that same."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore sat there trembling, with hot + tears running down her cheeks, with her fists clenched so + tight that her nails cut into her palms. Rage only proved + to her how impotent she was to avert catastrophe. How + bitter and black were some trials! She shrank with a sense + of acute pain at thought of the despair there must be in + the soul of Kurt Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore," began Anderson, + slowly—his tone was stronger, vibrant with + feeling—"you love this young Dorn!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A tumultuous shock shifted Lenore's + emotions. She quivered as before, but this was a long, + shuddering thrill shot over her by that spoken affirmation. + What she had whispered shyly and fearfully to herself when + alone and hidden—what had seemed a wonderful and + forbidden secret—her father had spoken out. Lenore + gasped. Her anger fled as it had never been. Even in the + dark she hid her face and tried to grasp the wild, whirling + thoughts and emotions now storming her. He had not asked. + He had affirmed. He knew. She could not deceive him even if + she would. And then for a moment she was weak, at the mercy + of contending tides.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure I seen he was in love with you," + Anderson was saying. "Seen that right off, an' I reckon I'd + not thought much of him if he hadn't been.… But I + wasn't sure of you till the day Dorn saved you from Ruenke + an' fetched you back. Then I seen. An' I've been waitin' + for you to tell me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There's—nothing—to tell," + faltered Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon there is," he replied. + Leaning over, he threw his cigar out of the window and took + hold of her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore had never felt him so + impelling. She was not proof against the strong, warm + pressure of his hand. She felt in its clasp, as she had + when a little girl, a great and sure safety. It drew her + irresistibly. She crept into his arms and buried her face + on his shoulder, and she had a feeling that if she could + not relieve her heart it would burst.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, d—dad," she whispered, with + a soft, hushed voice that broke tremulously at her lips, + "I—I love him!… I do love him.… It's + terrible!… I knew it—that last time you took me + to his home—when he said he was going to war.… + And, oh, now you know!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson held her tight against his + broad breast that lifted her with its great heave. "Ah-huh! + Reckon that's some relief. I wasn't so darn sure," said + Anderson. "Has he spoken to you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Spoken! What do you mean?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Has Dorn told you he loved you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore lifted her face. If that + confession of hers had been relief to her father it had + been more so to her. What had seemed terrible began to feel + natural. Still, she was all intense, vibrating, internally + convulsed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, he has," she replied, shyly. + "But such a confession! He told it as if to explain what he + thought was boldness on his part. He had fallen in love + with me at first sight!… And then meeting me was too + much for him. He wanted me to know. He was going away to + war. He asked nothing.… He seemed to apologize + for—for daring to love me. He asked nothing. And he + has absolutely not the slightest idea I care for him."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I'll be dog-goned!" ejaculated + Anderson. "What's the matter with him?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dad, he is proud," replied Lenore, + dreamily. "He's had a hard struggle out there in his desert + of wheat. They've always been poor. He imagines there's a + vast distance between an heiress of 'Many Waters' and a + farmer boy. Then, more than all, I think, the war has fixed + a morbid trouble in his mind. God knows it must be real + enough! A house divided against itself is what he called + his home. His father is German. He is American. He + worshiped his mother, who was a native of the United + States. He has become estranged from his father. I don't + know—I'm not sure—but I felt that he was + obsessed by a calamity in his German blood. I divined that + was the great reason for his eagerness to go to war."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, Kurt Dorn's not goin' to war," + replied her father. "I fixed that all right."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">An amazing and rapturous start + thrilled over Lenore. "Daddy!" she cried, leaping up in his + arms, "what have you done?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I got exemption for him, that's + what," replied Anderson, with great satisfaction.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Exemption!" exclaimed Lenore, in + bewilderment.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Don't you remember the government + official from Washington? You met him in Spokane. He was + out West to inspire the farmers to raise more wheat. There + are many young farmers needed a thousand times more on the + wheat-fields than on the battle-fields. An' Kurt Dorn is + one of them. That boy will make the biggest sower of wheat + in the Northwest. I recommended exemption for Dorn. An' + he's exempted an' doesn't know it."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Doesn't know! He'll <i>never</i> + accept exemption," declared Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lass, I'm some worried myself," + rejoined Anderson. "Reckon you've explained Dorn to + me—that somethin' queer about him.… But he's + sensible. He can be told things. An' he'll see how much + more he's needed to raise wheat than to kill Germans."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But, father—suppose he + <i>wants</i> to kill Germans?" asked Lenore, earnestly. How + strangely she felt things about Dorn that she could not + explain.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then, by George! it's up to you, my + girl," replied her father, grimly. "Understand me. I've no + sentiment about Dorn in this matter. One good wheat-raiser + is worth a dozen soldiers. To win the war—to feed our + country after the war—why, only a man like me knows + what it 'll take! It means millions of bushels of + wheat!… I've sent my own boy. He'll fight with the + best or the worst of them. But he'd never been a man to + raise wheat. All Jim ever raised is hell. An' his kind is + needed now. So let him go to war. But Dorn must be kept + home. An' that's up to Lenore Anderson."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Me!… Oh—how?" cried + Lenore, faintly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Woman's wiles, daughter," said + Anderson, with his frank laugh. "When Dorn comes let me try + to show him his duty. The Northwest can't spare young men + like him. He'll see that. If he has lost his wheat he'll + come down here to make me take the land in payment of the + debt. I'll accept it. Then he'll say he's goin' to war, an' + then I'll say he ain't.… We'll have it out. I'll + offer him such a chance here an' in the Bend that he'd have + to be crazy to refuse. But if he has got a twist in his + mind—if he thinks he's got to go out an' kill + Germans—then you'll have to change him."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But, dad, how on earth can I do + that?" implored Lenore, distracted between hope and joy and + fear.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're a woman now. An' women are in + this war up to their eyes. You'll be doin' more to keep him + home than if you let him go. He's moony about you. You can + make him stay. An' it's your future—your + happiness.… Child, no Anderson ever loves twice."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I cannot throw myself into his arms," + whispered Lenore, very low.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Reckon I didn't mean you to," + returned Anderson, gruffly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then—if—if he does not + ask me to—to marry him—how can I—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, no man on earth could resist + you if you just let yourself be sweet—as sweet as you + are sometimes. Dorn could never leave you!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm not so sure of that, daddy," she + murmured.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then take my word for it," he + replied, and he got up from the chair, though still holding + her. "I'll have to go now.… But I've shown my hand to + you. Your happiness is more to me than anythin' else in + this world. You love that boy. He loves you. An' I never + met a finer lad! Wal, here's the point. He need be no + slacker to stay home. He can do more good here. Then + outside of bein' a wheat man for his army an' his country + he can be one for me. I'm growin' old, my lass!… + Here's the biggest ranch in Washington to look after, an' I + want Kurt Dorn to look after it.… Now, Lenore, do we + understand each other?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She put her arms around his neck. + "Dear old daddy, you're the wonderfulest father any girl + ever had! I would do my best—I would obey even if I + did not love Kurt Dorn.… To hear you speak so of + him—oh, its sweet! It—chokes me!… Now, + good-night.… Hurry, before I—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She kissed him and gently pushed him + out of the room. Then before the sound of his slow + footfalls had quite passed out of hearing she lay prone + upon her bed, her face buried in the pillow, her hands + clutching the coverlet, utterly surrendered to a breaking + storm of emotion. Terrible indeed had come that presaged + crisis of her life. Love of her wild brother Jim, gone to + atone forever for the errors of his youth; love of her + father, confessing at last the sad fear that haunted him; + love of Dorn, that stalwart clear-eyed lad who set his face + so bravely toward a hopeless, tragic fate—these were + the burden of the flood of her passion, and all they + involved, rushing her from girlhood into womanhood, calling + to her with imperious desires, with deathless loyalty.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">After Lenore's paroxysm of emotion had + subsided and she lay quietly in the dark, she became aware + of soft, hurried footfalls passing along the path below her + window. At first she paid no particular heed to them, but + at length the steady steps became so different in number, + and so regular in passing every few moments, that she was + interested to go to her window and look out. Watching there + awhile, she saw a number of men, whispering and talking + low, come from the road, pass under her window, and + disappear down the path into the grove. Then no more came. + Lenore feared at first these strange visitors might be + prowling I.W.W. men. She concluded, however, that they were + neighbors and farm-hands, come for secret conference with + her father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Important events were pending, and her + father had not taken her into his confidence! It must be, + then, something that he did not wish her to know. Only a + week ago, when the I.W.W. menace had begun to be serious, + she had asked him how he intended to meet it, and + particularly how he would take sure measures to protect + himself. Anderson had laughed down her fears, and Lenore, + absorbed in her own tumult, had been easily satisfied. But + now, with her curiosity there returned a two-fold + dread.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She put on a cloak and went + down-stairs. The hour was still early. She heard the girls + with her mother in the sitting-room. As Lenore slipped out + she encountered Jake. He appeared to loom right out of the + darkness and he startled her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Howdy, Miss Lenore!" he said. "Where + might you be goin'?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake, I'm curious about the men I + heard passing by my window," she replied. Then she observed + that Jake had a rifle under his arm, and she added, "What + are you doing with that gun?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I've sort of gone back to + packin' a Winchester," replied Jake.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore missed his smile, ever ready + for her. Jake looked somber.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're on guard!" she exclaimed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon. There's four of us boys + round the house. You're not goin' off thet step, Miss + Lenore."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, ah-huh!" replied Lenore, + imitating her father, and bantering Jake, more for the fun + of it than from any intention of disobeying him. "Who's + going to keep me from it?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I am. Boss's orders, Miss Lenore. I'm + dog-gone sorry. But you sure oughtn't to be outdoors this + far," replied Jake.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Look here, my cowboy dictator. I'm + going to see where those men went," said Lenore, and + forthwith she stepped down to the path.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Jake deliberately leaned his + rifle against a post and, laying hold of her with no gentle + hands, he swung her in one motion back upon the porch. The + broad light streaming out of the open door showed that, + whatever his force meant, it had paled his face to exercise + it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, Jake—to handle me that + way!" cried Lenore, in pretended reproach. She meant to + frighten or coax the truth out of him. "You hurt me!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm beggin' your pardon if I was + rough," said Jake. "Fact is, I'm a little upset an' I mean + bizness."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Whereupon Lenore stepped back to close + the door, and then, in the shadow, she returned to Jake and + whispered: "I was only in fun. I would not think of + disobeying you. But you can trust me. I'll not tell, and + I'll worry less if I know what's what.… Jake, is + father in danger?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon. But the best we could do + was to make him stand fer a guard. There's four of us + cowpunchers with him all day, an' at night he's surrounded + by guards. There ain't much chance of his gittin' hurt. So + you needn't worry about thet."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Who are these men I heard passing? + Where are they from?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Farmers, ranchers, cowboys, from all + over this side of the river."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There must have been a lot of them," + said Lenore, curiously.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Reckon you never heerd the quarter of + what's come to attend Anderson's meetin'."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What for? Tell me, Jake."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The cowboy hesitated. Lenore heard his + big hand slap round the rifle-stock.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We've orders not to tell thet," he + replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But, Jake, you can tell <i>me</i>. + You always tell me secrets. I'll not breathe it."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jake came closer to her, and his tall + head reached to a level with hers, where she stood on the + porch. Lenore saw his dark, set face, his gleaming + eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, it's jest this here," he + whispered, hoarsely. "Your dad has organized vigilantes, + like he belonged to in the early days.… An' it's the + vigilantes thet will attend to this I.W.W. outfit."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Those were thrilling words to Jake, as + was attested by his emotion, and they surely made Lenore's + knees knock together. She had heard many stories from her + father of that famous old vigilante band, secret, making + the law where there was no law.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, I might have expected that of + dad!" she murmured.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, it's sure the trick out here. + An' your father's the man to deal it. There'll be dog-goned + little wheat burned in this valley, you can gamble on + thet."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm glad. I hate the very + thought.… Jake, you know about Mr. Dorn's + misfortune?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, I ain't heerd about him. But I + knowed the Bend was burnin' over, an' of course I reckoned + Dorn would lose his wheat. Fact is, he had the only wheat + up there worth savin' … Wal, these I.W.W.'s an' their + German bosses hev put it all over the early days when + rustlin' cattle, holdin' up stage-coaches, an' jest plain + cussedness was stylish."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake, I'd rather have lived back in + the early days," mused Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Me too, though I ain't no youngster," + he replied. "Reckon you'd better go in now, Miss + Lenore.… Don't you worry none or lose any sleep."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore bade the cowboy good-night and + went to the sitting-room. Her mother sat preoccupied, with + sad and thoughtful face. Rose was writing many pages to + Jim. Kathleen sat at the table, surreptitiously eating + while she was pretending to read.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My, but you look funny, Lenorry!" she + cried.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why don't you laugh, then?" retorted + Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're white. Your eyes are big and + purple. You look like a starved cannibal.… If that's + what it's like to be in love—excuse me—I'll + never fall for any man!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You ought to be in bed. Mother I + recommend the baby of the family be sent up-stairs."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, child, it's long past your + bedtime," said Mrs. Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Aw, no!" wailed Kathleen.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," ordered her mother.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But you'd never thought of + it—if Lenorry hadn't said so," replied Kathleen.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You should obey Lenore," reprovingly + said Mrs. Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What? Me! Mind her!" burst out + Kathleen, hotly, as she got up to go. "Well, I guess not!" + Kathleen backed to the door and opened it. Then making a + frightful face at Lenore, most expressive of ridicule and + revenge, she darted up-stairs.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My dear, will you write to your + brother?" inquired Mrs. Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," replied Lenore. "I'll send mine + with Rose's."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Mrs. Anderson bade the girls + good-night and left the room. After that nothing was heard + for a while except the scratching of pens.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was late when Lenore retired, yet + she found sleep elusive. The evening had made subtle, + indefinable changes in her. She went over in mind all that + had been said to her and which she felt, with the result + that one thing remained to torment and perplex and thrill + her—to keep Kurt Dorn from going to war.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Next day Lenore did not go out to the + harvest fields. She expected Dorn might arrive at any time, + and she wanted to be there when he came. Yet she dreaded + the meeting. She had to keep her hands active that day, so + in some measure to control her mind. A thousand times she + felt herself on the verge of thrilling and flushing. Her + fancy and imagination seemed wonderfully active. The day + was more than usually golden, crowned with an azure blue, + like the blue of the Pacific. She worked in her room, + helped her mother, took up her knitting, and sewed upon a + dress, and even lent a hand in the kitchen. But action + could not wholly dull the song in her heart. She felt + unutterably young, as if life had just opened, with + haunting, limitless, beautiful possibilities. Never had the + harvest-time been so sweet.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson came in early from the fields + that day. He looked like a farm-hand, with his sweaty + shirt, his dusty coat, his begrimed face. And when he + kissed Lenore he left a great smear on her cheek.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's a harvest kiss, my lass," he + said, with his big laugh. "Best of the whole year!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It sure is, dad," she replied. "But + I'll wait till you wash your face before I return it. How's + the harvest going?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We had trouble to-day," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What happened?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nothin' much, but it was annoyin'. We + had some machines crippled, an' it took most of the day to + fix them.… We've got a couple of hundred hands at + work. Some of them are I.W.W.'s, that's sure. But they all + swear they are not an' we have no way to prove it. An' we + couldn't catch them at their tricks.… All the same, + we've got half your big wheat-field cut. A thousand acres, + Lenore!… Some of the wheat 'll go forty bushels to + the acre, but mostly under that."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Better than last harvest," Lenore + replied, gladly. "We are lucky.… Father, did you hear + any news from the Bend?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure did," he replied, and patted her + head. "They sent me a message up from Vale.… Young + Dorn wired from Kilo he'd be here to-day."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"To-day!" echoed Lenore, and her heart + showed a tendency to act strangely.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yep. He'll be here soon," said + Anderson, cheerfully. "Tell your mother. Mebbe he'll come + for supper. An' have a room ready for him."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, father," replied Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, if Dorn sees you as you look + now—sleeves rolled up, apron on, flour on your + nose—a regular farmer girl—an' sure huggable, + as Jake says—you won't have no trouble winnin' + him."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"How you talk!" exclaimed Lenore, with + burning cheeks. She ran to her room and made haste to + change her dress.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But Dorn did not arrive in time for + supper. Eight o'clock came without his appearing, after + which, with keen disappointment, Lenore gave up expecting + him that night. She was in her father's study, helping him + with the harvest notes and figures, when Jake knocked and + entered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn's here," he announced.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good. Fetch him in," replied + Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father, I—I'd rather go," + whispered Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You stay right along by your dad," + was his reply, "an' be a real Anderson."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When Lenore heard Dorn's step in the + hall the fluttering ceased in her heart and she grew calm. + How glad she would be to see him! It had been the suspense + of waiting that had played havoc with her feelings.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Dorn entered with Jake. The + cowboy set down a bag and went out. He seemed strange to + Lenore and very handsome in his gray flannel suit.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">As he stepped forward in greeting + Lenore saw how white he was, how tragic his eyes. There had + come a subtle change in his face. It hurt her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Miss Anderson, I'm glad to see you," + he said, and a flash of red stained his white cheeks. "How + are you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Very well, thank you," she replied, + offering her hand. "I'm glad to see you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They shook hands, while Anderson + boomed out: "Hello, son! I sure am glad to welcome you to + 'Many Waters.'"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">No doubt as to the rancher's warm and + hearty greeting! It warmed some of the coldness out of + Dorn's face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Thank you. It's good to + come—yet it's—it's hard."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore saw his throat swell. His voice + seemed low and full of emotion.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Bad news to tell," said Anderson. + "Wal, forget it.… Have you had supper?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. At Huntington. I'd have been + here sooner, but we punctured a tire. My driver said the + I.W.W. was breaking bottles on the roads."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I.W.W. Now where'd I ever hear that + name?" asked Anderson, quizzically. "Bustin' bottles, hey! + Wal, they'll be bustin' their heads presently.… Sit + down, Dorn. You look fine, only you're sure pale."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I lost my father," said Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What! Your old man? Dead?… Aw, + that's tough!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore felt an almost uncontrollable + impulse to go to Dorn. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That is a surprise," went on + Anderson, rather huskily. "My Lord! But it's only round the + corner for every man.… Come on, tell us all about it, + an' the rest of the bad news.… Get it over. Then, + mebbe Lenore n' me—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But Anderson did not conclude his last + sentence.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn's face began to work as he began + to talk, and his eyes were dark and deep, burning with + gloom.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Bad news it is, indeed.… Mr. + Anderson, the I.W.W. marked us.… You'll remember your + suggestion about getting my neighbors to harvest our wheat + in a rush. I went all over, and almost all of them came. We + had been finding phosphorus everywhere. Then, on the hot + day, fires broke out all around. My neighbors left their + own burning fields to save ours. We fought fire. We fought + fire all around us, late into the night.… My father + had grown furious, maddened at the discovery of how he had + been betrayed by Glidden. You remember the—the plot, + in which some way my father was involved. He would not + believe the I.W.W. meant to burn <i>his</i> wheat. And when + the fires broke out he worked like a mad-man.… It + killed him!… I was not with him when he died. But + Jerry, our foreman was.… And my father's last words + were, 'Tell my son I was wrong.'… Thank God he sent + me that message! I think in that he confessed the iniquity + of the Germans.… Well, my neighbor, Olsen, managed + the harvest. He sure rushed it. I'd have given a good deal + for you and Miss Anderson to have seen all those big + combines at work on one field. It was great. We harvested + over thirty-eight thousand bushels and got all the wheat + safely to the elevators at the station.… And that + night the I.W.W. burned the elevators!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's face turned purple. He + appeared about to explode. There was a deep rumbling within + his throat that Lenore knew to be profanity restrained on + account of her presence. As for her own feelings, they were + a strange mixture of sadness for Dorn and pride in her + father's fury, and something unutterably sweet in the + revelation about to be made to this unfortunate boy. But + she could not speak a word just then, and it appeared that + her father was in the same state.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Evidently the telling of his story had + relieved Dorn. The strain relaxed in his white face and it + lost a little of its stern fixity. He got up and, opening + his bag, he took out some papers.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mr. Anderson, I'd like to settle all + this right now," he said. "I want it off my mind."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Go ahead, son, an' settle," replied + Anderson, thickly. He heaved a big sigh and then sat down, + fumbling for a match to light his cigar. When he got it + lighted he drew in a big breath and with it manifestly a + great draught of consoling smoke.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I want to make over the—the + land—in fact, all the property—to you—to + settle mortgage and interest," went on Dorn, earnestly, and + then paused.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"All right. I expected that," returned + Anderson, as he emitted a cloud of smoke.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The only thing is—" here Dorn + hesitated, evidently with difficult speech—"the + property is worth more than the debt."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure. I know," said Anderson, + encouragingly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I promised our neighbors big money to + harvest our wheat. You remember you told me to offer it. + Well, they left their own wheat and barley fields to burn, + and they saved ours. And then they harvested it and hauled + it to the railroad.… I owe Andrew Olsen fifteen + thousand dollars for himself and the men who worked with + him.… If I could pay that—I'd—almost be + happy.… Do you think my property is worth that much + more than the debt?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I think it is—just about," + replied Anderson. "We'll mail the money to Olsen.… + Lenore, write out a check to Andrew Olsen for fifteen + thousand."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore's hand trembled as she did as + her father directed. It was the most poorly written check + she had ever drawn. Her heart seemed too big for her breast + just then. How cool and calm her father was! Never had she + loved him quite so well as then. When she looked up from + her task it was to see a change in Kurt Dorn that suddenly + dimmed her eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There, send this to Olsen," said + Anderson. "We'll run into town in a day or so an' file the + papers."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore had to turn her gaze away from + Dorn. She heard him in broken, husky accents try to express + his gratitude.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah-huh! Sure—sure!" interrupted + Anderson, hastily. "Now listen to me. Things ain't so bad + as they look.… For instance, we're goin' to fool the + I.W.W. down here in the valley."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"How can you? There are so many," + returned Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You'll see. We're just waitin' a + chance."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I saw hundreds of I.W.W. men between + her and Kilo."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Can you tell an I.W.W. from any other + farm-hand?" asked Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I can," replied Dorn, + grimly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I reckon we need you round here + powerful much," said the rancher, dryly. "Dorn, I've got a + big proposition to put up to you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore, thrilling at her father's + words, turned once more. Dorn appeared more composed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Have you?" he inquired, in + surprise.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure. But there's no hurry about + tellin' you. Suppose we put it off."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'd rather hear it now. My stay here + must be short. I—I—You know—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hum! Sure I know.… Wal then, + it's this: Will you go in business with me? Want you to + work that Bend wheat-farm of yours for me—on half + shares.… More particular I want you to take charge of + 'Many Waters.' You see, I'm—not so spry as I used to + be. It's a big job, an' I've a lot of confidence in you. + You'll live here, of course, an' run to an' fro with one of + my cars. I've some land-development schemes—an', to + cut it short, there's a big place waitin' for you in the + Northwest."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mr. Anderson!" cried Dorn, in a kind + of rapturous amaze. Red burned out the white of his face. + "That's great! It's too great to come true. You're + good!… If I'm lucky enough to come back from the + war—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Son, you're not goin' to war!" + interposed Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What!" exclaimed Dorn, blankly. He + stared as if he had not heard aright.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson calmly repeated his + assertion. He was smiling; he looked kind; but underneath + that showed the will that had made him what he was.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But I <i>am</i>!" flashed the young + man, as if he had been misunderstood.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Listen. You're like all + boys—hot-headed an' hasty. Let me talk a little," + resumed Anderson. And he began to speak of the future of + the Northwest. He painted that in the straight talk of a + farmer who knew, but what he predicted seemed like a + fairy-tale. Then he passed to the needs of the government + and the armies, and lastly the people of the nation. All + depended upon the farmer! Wheat was indeed the staff of + life and of victory! Young Dorn was one of the farmers who + could not be spared. Patriotism was a noble thing. + Fighting, however, did not alone constitute a duty and + loyalty to the nation. This was an economic war, a war of + peoples, and the nation that was the best fed would last + longest. Adventure and the mistaken romance of war called + indeed to all red-blooded young Americans. It was good that + they did call. But they should not call the young farmer + from his wheat-fields.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But I've been drafted!" Dorn spoke + with agitation. He seemed bewildered by Anderson's blunt + eloquence. His intelligence evidently accepted the elder + man's argument, but something instinctive revolted.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There's exemption, my boy. Easy in + your case," replied Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Exemption!" echoed Dorn, and a dark + tide of blood rose to his temples. "I wouldn't—I + couldn't ask for that!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You don't need to," said the rancher. + "Dorn, do you recollect that Washington official who called + on you some time ago?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," replied Dorn, slowly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did he say anythin' about + exemption?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. He asked me if I wanted it, + that's all."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, you had it right then. I took it + upon myself to get exemption for you. That government + official heartily approved of my recommendin' exemption for + you. An' he gave it."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Anderson! You took—it + upon—yourself—" gasped Dorn, slowly rising. If + he had been white-faced before, he was ghastly now.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure I did.… Good Lord! Dorn, + don't imagine I ever questioned your nerve.… It's + only you're not needed—or rather, you're needed more + at home.… I let my son Jim go to war. That's enough + for one family!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But Dorn did not grasp the + significance of Anderson's reply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"How dared you? What right had you?" + he demanded passionately.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No right at all, lad," replied + Anderson. "I just recommended it an' the official approved + it."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But I refuse!" cried Dorn, with + ringing fury. "I won't accept exemption."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Talk sense now, even if you are mad," + returned Anderson, rising. "I've paid you a high + compliment, young man, an' offered you a lot. More 'n you + see, I guess.… Why won't you accept exemption?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm going to war!" was the grim, hard + reply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But you're needed here. You'd be more + of a soldier here. You could do more for your country than + if you gave a hundred lives. Can't you see that?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I can," assented Dorn, as if + forced.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're no fool, an' you're a loyal + American. Your duty is to stay home an' raise wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I've a duty to myself," returned + Dorn, darkly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Son, your fortune stares you right in + the face—here. Are you goin' to turn from it?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You want to get in that war? You've + got to fight?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah-huh!" Anderson threw up his hands + in surrender. "Got to kill some Germans, hey?… Why + not come out to my harvest fields an' hog-stick a few of + them German I.W.W.'s?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn had no reply for that.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I'm dog-gone sorry," resumed + Anderson. "I see it's a tough place for you, though I can't + understand. You'll excuse me for mixin' in your + affairs.… An' now, considerin' other ways I've really + helped you, I hope you'll stay at my home for a few days. + We all owe you a good deal. My family wants to make up to + you. Will you stay?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Thank you—yes—for a few + days," replied Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good! That'll help some. Mebbe, after + runnin' around 'Many Waters' with Le—with the + girls—you'll begin to be reasonable. I hope so."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You think me ungrateful!" exclaimed + Dorn, shrinking.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I don't think nothin'," replied + Anderson. "I turn you over to Lenore." He laughed as he + pronounced Dorn's utter defeat. And his look at Lenore was + equivalent to saying the issue now depended upon her, and + that he had absolutely no doubt of its outcome. "Lenore, + take him in to meet mother an' the girls, an' entertain + him. I've got work to do."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore felt the blushes in her cheeks + and was glad Dorn did not look at her. He seemed locked in + somber thought. As she touched him and bade him come he + gave a start; then he followed her into the hall. Lenore + closed her father's door, and the instant she stood alone + with Dorn a wonderful calmness came to her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Miss Anderson, I'd rather + not—not meet your mother and sisters to-night," said + Dorn. "I'm upset. Won't it be all right to wait till + to-morrow?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Surely. But I think they've gone to + bed," replied Lenore, as she glanced into the dark + sitting-room. "So they have.… Come, let us go into + the parlor."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore turned on the shaded lights in + the beautiful room. How inexplicable was the feeling of + being alone with him, yet utterly free of the torment that + had possessed her before! She seemed to have divined an + almost insurmountable obstacle in Dorn's will. She did not + have her father's assurance. It made her tremble to realize + her responsibility—that her father's earnest wishes + and her future of love or woe depended entirely upon what + she said and did. But she felt that indeed she had become a + woman. And it would take a woman's wit and charm and love + to change this tragic boy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Miss—Anderson," he began, + brokenly, with restraint let down, "your + father—doesn't understand. I've <i>got</i> to + go.… And even if I am spared—I couldn't ever + come back.… To work for him—all the time in + love with you—I couldn't stand it.… He's so + good. I know I could care for him, too.… Oh, I + thought I was bitterly resigned—hard—inhuman. + But all this makes it—so—so much worse."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He sat down heavily, and, completely + unnerved, he covered his face with his hands. His shoulders + heaved and short, strangled sobs broke from him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore had to overcome a rush of + tenderness. It was all she could do to keep from dropping + to her knees beside him and slipping her arms around his + neck. In her agitation she could not decide whether that + would be womanly or not; only, she must make no mistakes. A + hot, sweet flush went over her when she thought that always + as a last resort she could reveal her secret and use her + power. What would he do when he discovered she loved + him?</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, I understand," she said, + softly, and put a hand on his shoulder. And she stood thus + beside him, sadly troubled, vaguely divining that her + presence was helpful, until he recovered his composure. As + he raised his head and wiped tears from his eyes he made no + excuses for his weakness, nor did he show any shame.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Miss Anderson—" he began.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Please call me Lenore. I feel + so—so stiff when you are formal. My friends call me + Lenore," she said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You mean—you consider me your + friend?" he queried.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Indeed I do," she replied, + smiling.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I—I'm afraid I misunderstood + your asking me to visit you," he said. "I thank you. I'm + proud and glad that you call me your friend. It will be + splendid to remember—when I am over there."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I wonder if we could talk of anything + except trouble and war," replied Lenore, plaintively. "If + we can't, then let's look at the bright side."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Is there a bright side?" he asked, + with his sad smile.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Every cloud, you know.… For + instance, if you go to war—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not if. I <i>am</i> going," he + interrupted.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, so you say," returned Lenore, + softly. And she felt deep in her the inception of a + tremendous feminine antagonism. It stirred along her pulse. + "Have your own way, then. But <i>I</i> say, <i>if</i> you + go, think how fine it will be for me to get letters from + you at the front—and to write you!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You'd like to hear from me?… + You would answer?" he asked, breathlessly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Assuredly. And I'll knit socks for + you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're—very good," he said, + with strong feeling.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore again saw his eyes dim. How + strangely sensitive he was! If he exaggerated such a little + kindness as she had suggested, if he responded to it with + such emotion, what would he do when the great and marvelous + truth of her love was flung in his face? The very thought + made Lenore weak.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You'll go to training-camp," went on + Lenore, "and because of your wonderful physique and your + intelligence you will get a commission. Then you'll go + to—France." Lenore faltered a little in her imagined + prospect. "You'll be in the thick of the great battles. + You'll give and take. You'll kill some of + those—those—Germans. You'll be wounded and + you'll be promoted.… Then the Allies will win. Uncle + Sam's grand army will have saved the world.… + Glorious!… You'll come back—home to us—to + take the place dad offered you.… There! that is the + bright side."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Indeed, the brightness seemed + reflected in Dorn's face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I never dreamed you could be like + this," he said, wonderingly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Like what?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I don't know just what I mean. Only + you're different from my—my fancies. Not cold + or—or proud."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're beginning to get acquainted + with me, that's all. After you've been here + awhile—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Please don't make it so hard for me," + he interrupted, appealingly. "I can't stay."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Don't you want to?" she asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. And I will stay a couple of + days. But no longer. It'll be hard enough to go then."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Perhaps I—we'll make it so hard + for you that you can't go."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then he gazed piercingly at her, as if + realizing a will opposed to his, a conviction not in + sympathy with his.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're going to keep this + up—this trying to change my mind?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I surely am," she replied, both + wistfully and wilfully.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why? I should think you'd respect my + sense of duty."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Your duty is more here than at the + front. The government man said so. My father believes it. + So do I.… You have some other—other thing you + think duty."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I hate Germans!" he burst out, with a + dark and terrible flash.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Who does not?" she flashed back at + him, and she rose, feeling as if drawn by a powerful + current. She realized then that she must be prepared any + moment to be overwhelmed by the inevitable climax of this + meeting. But she prayed for a little more time. She fought + her emotions.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She saw him tremble. "Lenore, I'd + better run off in the night," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Instinctively, with swift, soft + violence, she grasped his hands. Perhaps the moment had + come. She was not afraid, but the suddenness of her + extremity left her witless.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You would not!… That would be + unkind—not like you at all.… To run off without + giving me a chance—without good-by!… Promise me + you will not."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I promise," he replied, wearily, as + if nonplussed by her attitude. "You said you understood me. + But I can't understand you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She released his hands and turned + away. "I promise—that you shall understand—very + soon."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You feel sorry for me. You pity me. + You think I'll only be cannon-fodder for the Germans. You + want to be nice, kind, sweet to me—to send me away + with better thoughts.… Isn't that what you + think?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He was impatient, almost angry. His + glance blazed at her. All about him, his tragic face, his + sadness, his defeat, his struggle to hold on to his + manliness and to keep his faith in nobler + thoughts—these challenged Lenore's compassion, her + love, and her woman's combative spirit to save and to keep + her own. She quivered again on the brink of betraying + herself. And it was panic alone that held her back.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt—I think—presently + I'll give you the surprise of your life," she replied, and + summoned a smile.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">How obtuse he was! How blind! Perhaps + the stress of his emotion, the terrible sense of his fate, + left him no keenness, no outward penetration. He answered + her smile, as if she were a child whose determined kindness + made him both happy and sad.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I dare say you will," he replied. + "You Andersons are full of surprises.… But I wish you + would not do any more for me. I am like a dog. The kinder + you are to me the more I love you.… How dreadful to + go away to war—to violence and blood and + death—to all that's brutalizing—with my heart + and mind full of love for a noble girl like you!—If I + come to love you any more I'll not be a man."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">To Lenore he looked very much of a + man, so tall and lithe and white-faced, with his eyes of + fire, his simplicity, and his tragic refusal of all that + was for most men the best of life. Whatever his ideal, it + was magnificent. Lenore had her chance then, but she was + absolutely unable to grasp it. Her blood beat thick and + hot. If she could only have been sure of herself! Or was it + that she still cared too much for herself? The moment had + not come. And in her tumult there was a fleeting fury at + Dorn's blindness, at his reverence of her, that he dare not + touch her hand. Did he imagine she was stone?</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Let us say good night," she said. + "You are worn out. And I am—not just myself. + To-morrow we'll be—good friends.… Father will + take you to your room."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn pressed the hand she offered, + and, saying good-night, he followed her to the hall. Lenore + tapped on the door of her father's study, then opened + it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good night, dad. I'm going up," she + said. "Will you look after Kurt?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure. Come in, son," replied her + father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore felt Dorn's strange, intent + gaze upon her as she passed him. Lightly she ran up-stairs + and turned at the top. The hall was bright and Dorn stood + full in the light, his face upturned. It still wore the + softer expression of those last few moments. Lenore waved + her hand, and he smiled. The moment was natural. Youth to + youth! Lenore felt it. She marveled that he did not. A + sweet devil of wilful coquetry possessed her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, did you say you wouldn't go?" she + softly called.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I said only good night," he + replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If you <i>don't</i> go, then you will + never be General Dorn, will you? What a pity!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll go. And then it will + be—'Private Dorn—missing. No relatives,'" he + replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That froze Lenore. Her heart quaked. + She gazed down upon him with all her soul in her eyes. She + knew it and did not care. But he could not see.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good night, Kurt Dorn," she called, + and ran to her room.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Composure did not come to her until + she was ready for bed, with the light out and in her old + seat at the window. Night and silence and starlight always + lent Lenore strength. She prayed to them now and to the + spirit she knew dwelt beyond them. And then she whispered + what her intelligence told her was an unalterable + fact—Kurt Dorn could never be changed. But her + sympathy and love and passion, all that was womanly + emotion, stormed at her intelligence and refused to listen + to it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nothing short of a great shock would + divert Dorn from his tragic headlong rush toward the fate + he believed unalterable. Lenore sensed a terrible, sinister + earnestness in him. She could not divine its meaning. But + it was such a driving passion that no man possessing it and + free to the violence of war could ever escape death. Even + if by superhuman strife, and the guidance of Providence, he + did escape death, he would have lost something as precious + as life. If Dorn went to war at all—if he ever + reached those blood-red trenches, in the thick of fire and + shriek and ferocity—there to express in horrible + earnestness what she vaguely felt yet could not + define—then so far as she was concerned she imagined + that she would not want him to come back.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That was the strength of spirit that + breathed out of the night and the silence to her. Dorn + would go to war as no ordinary soldier, to obey, to fight, + to do his duty; but for some strange, unfathomable + obsession of his own. And, therefore, if he went at all he + was lost. War, in its inexplicable horror, killed the souls + of endless hordes of men. Therefore, if he went at all she, + too, was lost to the happiness that might have been hers. + She would never love another man. She could never marry. + She would never have a child.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">So his soul and her happiness were in + the balance weighed against a woman's power. It seemed to + Lenore that she felt hopelessly unable to carry the issue + to victory; and yet, on the other hand, a tumultuous and + wonderful sweetness of sensation called to her, + insidiously, of the infallible potency of love. What could + she do to save Dorn's life and his soul? There was only one + answer to that. She would do anything. She must make him + love her to the extent that he would have no will to carry + out this desperate intent. There was little time to do + that. The gradual growth of affection through intimacy and + understanding was not possible here. It must come as a + flash of lightning. She must bewilder him with the + revelation of her love, and then by all its incalculable + power hold him there.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was her father's wish; it would be + the salvation of Dorn; it meant all to her. But if to keep + him there would make him a slacker, Lenore swore she would + die before lifting her lips to his. The government would + rather he stayed to raise wheat than go out and fight men. + Lenore saw the sanity, the cardinal importance of that, as + her father saw it. So from all sides she was justified. And + sitting there in the darkness and silence, with the cool + wind in her face, she vowed she would be all woman, all + sweetness, all love, all passion, all that was feminine and + terrible, to keep Dorn from going to war.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore awakened early. The morning + seemed golden. Birds were singing at her window. What did + that day hold in store for her? She pressed a hand hard on + her heart as if to hold it still. But her heart went right + on, swift, exultant, throbbing with a fullness that was + almost pain.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Early as she awakened, it was, + nevertheless, late when she could direct her reluctant + steps down-stairs. She had welcomed every little suggestion + and task to delay the facing of her ordeal.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">There was merriment in the + sitting-room, and Dorn's laugh made her glad. The girls + were at him, and her father's pleasant, deep voice chimed + in. Evidently there was a controversy as to who should have + the society of the guest. They had all been to breakfast. + Mrs. Anderson expressed surprise at Lenore's tardiness, and + said she had been called twice. Lenore had heard nothing + except the birds and the music of her thoughts. She peeped + into the sitting-room.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Didn't you bring me anything?" + Kathleen was inquiring of Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn was flushed and smiling. Anderson + stood beaming upon them, and Rose appeared to be inclined + toward jealousy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why—you see—I didn't even + know Lenore had a little sister," Dorn explained.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh!" exclaimed Kathleen, evidently + satisfied. "All Lenorry's beaux bring me things. But I + believe I'm going to like you best."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore had intended to say good + morning. She changed her mind, however, at Kathleen's + naïve speech, and darted back lest she be seen. She + felt the blood hot in her cheeks. That awful, irrepressible + Kathleen! If she liked Dorn she would take possession of + him. And Kathleen was lovable, irresistible. Lenore had a + sudden thought that Kathleen would aid the good cause if + she could be enlisted. While Lenore ate her breakfast she + listened to the animated conversation in the sitting-room. + Presently her father came in.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hello, Lenore! Did you get up?" he + greeted her, cheerily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I hardly ever did, it seems.… + Dad, the day was something to face," she said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah-huh! It's like getting up to work. + Lenore, the biggest duty of life is to hide your + troubles.… Dorn looks like a human bein' this + mornin'. The kids have won him. I reckon he needs that sort + of cheer. Let them have him. Then after a while you fetch + him out to the wheat-field. Lenore, our harvestin' is half + done. Every day I've expected some trick or deviltry. But + it hasn't come yet."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Are any of the other ranchers having + trouble?" she inquired.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I hear rumors of bad work. But facts + told by ranchers an' men who were here only yesterday make + little of the rumors. All that burnin' of wheat an' timber, + an' the destruction of machines an' strikin' of farm-hands, + haven't hit Golden Valley yet. We won't need any militia + here, you can bet on that."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father, it won't do to be + over-confident," she said, earnestly. "You know you are the + mark for the I.W.W. sabotage. If you are not + careful—any moment—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore paused with a shudder.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lass, I'm just like I was in the old + rustlin' days. An' I've surrounded myself with cowboys like + Jake an' Bill, an' old hands who pack guns an' keep still, + as in the good old Western days. We're just waitin' for the + I.W.W.'s to break loose."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then what?" queried Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, we'll chase that outfit so fast + it'll be lost in dust," he replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But if you chase them away, it 'll + only be into another state, where they'll make trouble for + other farmers. You don't do any real good."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My dear, I reckon you've said + somethin' strong," he replied, soberly, and went out.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Kathleen came bouncing in. Her + beautiful eyes were full of mischief and excitement. + "Lenorry, your new beau has all the others skinned to a + frazzle," she said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">For once Lenore did not scold + Kathleen, but drew her close and whispered: "Do you want to + please me? Do you want me to do <i>everything</i> for + you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I sure do," replied Kathleen, with + wonderful eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then be nice, sweet, good to + him.… make him love you.… Don't tease him about + my other beaux. Think how you can make him like 'Many + Waters.'"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Will you + promise—<i>everything</i>?" whispered Kathleen, + solemnly. Evidently Lenore's promises were rare and + reliable.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. Cross my heart. There! And you + must not tell."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kathleen was a precocious child, with + all the potentialities of youth. She could not divine + Lenore's motive, but she sensed a new and fascinating mode + of conduct for herself. She seemed puzzled a little at + Lenore's earnestness.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's a bargain," she said, soberly, + as if she had accepted no slight gauge.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Now, Kathleen, take him all over the + gardens, the orchards, the corrals and barns," directed + Lenore. "Be sure to show him the horses—my horses, + especially. Take him round the reservoir—and + everywhere except the wheat-fields. I want to take him + there myself. Besides, father does not want you girls to go + out to the harvest."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kathleen nodded and ran back to the + sitting-room. Lenore heard them all go out together. Before + she finished breakfast her mother came in again.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, I like Mr. Dorn," she said, + meditatively. "He has an old-fashioned manner that reminds + me of my boy friends when I was a girl. I mean he's more + courteous and dignified than boys are nowadays. A + splendid-looking boy, too. Only his face is so sad. When he + smiles he seems another person."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No wonder he's sad," replied Lenore, + and briefly told Kurt Dorn's story.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah!" sighed Mrs. Anderson. "We have + fallen upon evil days.… Poor boy!… Your father + seems much interested in him. And you are too, my + daughter?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I am," replied Lenore, + softly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Two hours later she heard Kathleen's + gay laughter and pattering feet. Lenore took her + wide-brimmed hat and went out on the porch. Dorn was indeed + not the same somber young man he had been.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good morning, Kurt," said Lenore, + extending her hand.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The instant he greeted her she saw the + stiffness, the aloofness had gone from him. Kathleen had + made him feel at home. He looked younger. There was color + in his face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kathleen, I'll take charge of Mr. + Dorn now, if you will allow me that pleasure."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenorry, I sure hate to give him up. + We sure had a fine time."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did he like 'Many Waters'?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, if he didn't he's a grand + fibber," replied Kathleen. "But he did. You can't fool me. + I thought I'd never get him back to the house." Then, as + she tripped up the porch steps, she shook a finger at Dorn. + "Remember!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll never forget," said Dorn, and he + was as earnest as he was amiable. Then, as she disappeared, + he exclaimed to Lenore, "What an adorable little girl!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Do you like Kathleen?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Like her!" Dorn laughed in a way to + make light of such words. "My life has been empty. I see + that."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Come, we'll go out to the + wheat-fields," said Lenore. "What do you think of 'Many + Waters'? This is harvest-time. You see 'Many Waters' at its + very best."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I can hardly tell you," he replied. + "All my life I've lived on my barren hills. I seem to have + come to another world. 'Many Waters' is such a ranch as I + never dreamed of. The orchards, the fruit, the + gardens—and everywhere running water! It all smells + so fresh and sweet. And then the green and red and purple + against that background of blazing gold!… 'Many + Waters' is verdant and fruitful. The Bend is desert."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Now that you've been here, do you + like it better than your barren hills?" asked Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt hesitated. "I don't know," he + answered, slowly. "But maybe that desert I've lived in + accounts for much I lack."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Would you like to stay at 'Many + Waters'—if you weren't going to war?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I might prefer 'Many Waters' to any + place on earth. It's a paradise. But I would not chose to + stay here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why? When you return—you + know—my father will need you here. And if anything + should happen to him I will have to run the ranch. Then + <i>I</i> would need you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn stopped in his tracks and gazed + at her as if there were slight misgivings in his mind.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, if you owned this ranch would + you want me—<i>me</i> for your manager?" he asked, + bluntly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," she replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You would? Knowing I was in love with + you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, I had forgotten that," she + replied, with a little laugh. "It would be rather + embarrassing—and funny, wouldn't it?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, it would," he said, grimly, and + walked on again. He made a gesture of keen discomfiture. "I + knew you hadn't taken me seriously."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I believed you, but I could not take + you <i>very</i> seriously," she murmured.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why not?" he demanded, as if stung, + and his eyes flashed on her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Because your declaration was not + accompanied by the usual—question—that a girl + naturally expects under such circumstances."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good Heaven! You say that?… + Lenore Anderson, you think me insincere because I did not + ask you to marry me," he asserted, with bitter pathos.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. I merely said you were + not—<i>very</i> serious," she replied. It was + fascination to torment him this way, yet it hurt her, too. + She was playing on the verge of a precipice, not afraid of + a misstep, but glorying in the prospect of a leap into the + abyss. Something deep and strange in her bade her make him + show her how much he loved her. If she drove him to + desperation she would reward him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I am going to war," he began, + passionately, "to fight for you and your sisters.… I + am ruined.… The only noble and holy feeling left to + me—that I can have with me in the dark hours—is + my love for you. If you do not believe that, I am indeed + the most miserable of beggars! Most boys going to the front + leave many behind whom they love. I have no one but + you.… don't make me a coward."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I believe you. Forgive me," she + said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If I had asked you to marry + me—<i>me</i>—why, I'd have been a selfish, + egotistical fool. You are far above me. And I want you to + know I know it.… But even if I had not—had the + blood I have—even if I had been prosperous instead of + ruined, I'd never have asked you, unless I came back whole + from the war."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They had been walking out the lane + during this conversation and had come close to the + wheat-field. The day was hot, but pleasant, the dry wind + being laden with harvest odors. The hum of the machines was + like the roar in a flour-mill.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If you go to war—and come back + whole—?" began Lenore, tantalizingly. She meant to + have no mercy upon him. It was incredible how blind he was. + Yet how glad that made her. He resembled his desert hills, + barren of many little things, but rich in hidden strength, + heroic of mold.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then just to add one more to the + conquests girls love I'll—I'll propose to you," he + declared, banteringly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Beware, boy! I might accept you," she + exclaimed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His play was short-lived. He could not + be gay, even under her influence.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Please don't jest," he said, + frowning. "Can't we talk of something besides love and + war?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"They seem to be popular just now," + she replied, audaciously. "Anyway, all's fair—you + know."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, it is not fair," he returned, + low-voiced and earnest. "So once for all let me beg of you, + don't jest. Oh, I know you're sweet. You're full of so many + wonderful, surprising words and looks. I can't understand + you.… But I beg of you, don't make me a fool!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, if you pay such compliments and + if I—want them—what then? You are very original, very + gallant, Mr. Kurt Dorn, and I—I rather like you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll get angry with you," he + threatened.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You couldn't.… I'm the only + girl you're going to leave behind—and if you got + angry I'd never write to you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It thrilled Lenore and wrung her heart + to see how her talk affected him. He was in a torment. He + believed she spoke lightly, girlishly, to tease + him—that she was only a gay-hearted girl, fancy-free + and just a little proud of her conquest over even him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I surrender. Say what you like," he + said, resignedly. "I'll stand anything—just to get + your letters."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If you go I'll write as often as you + want me to," she replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With that they emerged upon the + harvest-field. Machines and engines dotted the golden + slope, and wherever they were located stood towering + straw-stacks. Horses and men and wagons were strung out as + far as the eye could see. Long streams of chaff and dust + and smoke drifted upward.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, there's trouble in the very + air," said Dorn. "Look!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She saw a crowd of men gathering round + one of the great combine-harvesters. Some one was + yelling.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Let's stay away from trouble," + replied Lenore. "We've enough of our own."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm going over there," declared Dorn. + "Perhaps you'd better wait for me—or go back."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well! You're the first boy who + ever—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Come on," he interrupted, with grim + humor. "I'd rather enjoy your seeing me break + loose—as I will if there's any I.W.W. trickery."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Before they got to the little crowd + Lenore both heard and saw her father. He was in a rage and + not aware of her presence. Jake and Bill, the cowboys, + hovered over him. Anderson strode to and fro, from one side + of the harvester to the other. Lenore did not recognize any + of the harvest-hands, and even the driver was new to her. + They were not a typical Western harvest crew, that was + certain. She did not like their sullen looks, and Dorn's + muttered imprecation, the moment he neared them, confirmed + her own opinion.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's foreman stood + gesticulating, pale and anxious of face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, I don't hold you responsible," + roared the rancher. "But I want action.… I want to + know why this machine's broke down."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It was in perfect workin' order," + declared the foreman. "I don't know why it broke down."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's the fourth machine in two + days. No accident, I tell you," shouted Anderson. Then he + espied Dorn and waved a grimy hand. "Come here, Dorn," he + called, and stepped out of the group of dusty men. + "Somethin' wrong here. This new harvester's broke down. + It's a McCormack an' new to us. But it has worked great an' + I jest believe it's been tampered with… Do you know + these McCormack harvesters?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. They're reliable," replied + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah-huh! Wal, get your coat off an' + see what's been done to this one."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn took off his coat and was about + to throw it down, when Lenore held out her hand for it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Unhitch the horses," said Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson gave this order, which was + complied with. Then Dorn disappeared around or under the + big machine.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, I'll bet he tells us + somethin' in a minute," said Anderson to her. "These new + claptraps are beyond me. I'm no mechanic."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dad, I don't like the looks of your + harvest-hands," whispered Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, this is a sample of the lot I + hired. No society for you, my lass!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm going to stay now," she + replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn appeared to be raising a racket + somewhere out of sight under or inside the huge harvester. + Rattling and rasping sounds, creaks and cracks, attested to + his strong and impatiently seeking hands.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Presently he appeared. His white shirt + had been soiled by dust and grease. There was chaff in his + fair hair. In one grimy hand he held a large monkey-wrench. + What struck Lenore most was the piercing intensity of his + gaze as he fixed it upon her father.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Anderson, I knew right where to find + it," he said, in a sharp, hard voice. "This monkey-wrench + was thrown upon the platform, carried to the elevator into + the thresher.… Your machine is torn to pieces + inside—out of commission!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah-huh!" exclaimed Anderson, as if + the truth was a great relief.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Where'd that monkey-wrench come + from?" asked the foreman, aghast. "It's not ours. I don't + buy that kind."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson made a slight, significant + motion to the cowboys. They lined up beside him, and, like + him, they looked dangerous.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Come here, Kurt," he said, and then, + putting Lenore before him, he moved a few steps aside, out + of earshot of the shifty-footed harvest-hands. "Say, you + called the turn right off, didn't you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Anderson, I've had a hard experience, + all in one harvest-time," replied Dorn. "I'll bet you I can + find out who threw this wrench into your harvester."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I don't doubt you, my lad. But + how?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It had to be thrown by one of these + men near the machine. That harvester hasn't run twenty feet + from where the trick was done.… Let these men face + me. I'll find the guilty one."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wait till we get Lenore out of the + way," replied Anderson</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boss, me an' Bill can answer fer thet + outfit as it stands, an' no risks fer nobody," put in Jake, + coolly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's reply was cut short by a + loud explosion. It frightened Lenore. She imagined one of + the steam-engines had blown up.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That thresher's on fire," shouted + Dorn, pointing toward a big machine that was attached by an + endless driving belt to an engine.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The workmen, uttering yells and + exclamations, ran toward the scene of the new accident, + leaving Anderson, his daughter, and the foreman behind. + Smoke was pouring out of the big harvester. The + harvest-hands ran wildly around, shouting and calling, + evidently unable to do anything. The line of wagons full of + wheat-sheaves broke up; men dragged at the plunging horses. + Then flame followed the smoke out of the thresher.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I've heard of threshers catchin' + fire," said Anderson, as if dumfounded, "but I never seen + one.… Now how on earth did that happen?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Another trick, Anderson," replied + Dorn. "Some I.W.W. has stuffed a handful of matches into a + wheat-sheaf. Or maybe a small bomb!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah-huh!… Come on, let's go over + an' see my money burn up.… Kurt, I'm gettin' some new + education these days."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn appeared to be unable to restrain + himself. He hurried on ahead of the others. And Anderson + whispered to Lenore, "I'll bet somethin's comin' off!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This alarmed Lenore, yet it also + thrilled her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The threshing-machine burned like a + house of cards. Farm-hands came running from all over the + field. But nothing, manifestly, could be done to save the + thresher. Anderson, holding his daughter's arm, calmly + watched it burn. There was excitement all around; it had + not been communicated, however, to the rancher. He looked + thoughtful. The foreman darted among the groups of watchers + and his distress was very plain. Dorn had gotten out of + sight. Lenore still held his coat and wondered what he was + doing. She was thoroughly angry and marveled at her + father's composure. The big thresher was reduced to a + blazing, smoking hulk in short order.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn came striding up. His face was + pale and his mouth set.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mr. Anderson, you've got to make a + strong stand—and quick," he said, deliberately.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon. An' I'm ready, if it's the + right time," replied the rancher. "But what can we + prove?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's proof," declared Dorn, + pointing at the ruined thresher. "Do you know all your + honest hands?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, an' I've got enough to clean up + this outfit in no time. We're only waitin'."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What for?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I reckon for what's just come + off."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Don't let them go any farther.… + Look at these fellows. Can't you tell the I.W.W.'s from the + others?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, I can't unless I count all the + new harvest-hands I.W.W.'s."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Every one you don't know here is in + with that gang," declared Dorn, and he waved a swift hand + at the groups. His eyes swept piercingly over, and + apparently through, the men nearest at hand.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At this juncture Jake and Bill, with + two other cowboys, strode up to Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Another accident, boss," said Jake, + sarcastically. "Ain't it about time we corralled some of + this outfit?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson did not reply. He had + suddenly imitated Lenore, who had become solely bent upon + Dorn's look. That indeed was cause for interest. It was + directed at a member of the nearest group—a man in + rough garb, with slouch-hat pulled over his eyes. As Lenore + looked she saw this man, suddenly becoming aware of Dorn's + scrutiny, hastily turn and walk away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hold on!" called Dorn, his voice a + ringing command. It halted every moving person on that part + of the field. Then Dorn actually bounded across the + intervening space.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Come on, boys," said Anderson, "get + in this. Dorn's spotted some one, an' now that's all we + want.… Lenore, stick close behind me. Jake, you keep + near her."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They moved hastily to back up Dorn, + who had already reached the workman he had halted. Anderson + took out a whistle and blew such a shrill blast that it + deafened Lenore, and must have been heard all over the + harvest-field. Not improbably that was a signal agreed upon + between Anderson and his men. Lenore gathered that all had + been in readiness for a concerted movement and that her + father believed Dorn's action had brought the climax.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Haven't I seen you before?" queried + Dorn, sharply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The man shook his head and kept it + bent a little, and then he began to edge back nearer to the + stragglers, who slowly closed into a group behind him. He + seemed nervous, shifty.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He can't speak English," spoke up one + of them, gruffly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn looked aggressive and stern. + Suddenly his hand flashed out to snatch off the slouch-hat + which hid the fellow's face. Amazingly, a gray wig came + with it. This man was not old. He had fair thick hair.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">For a moment Dorn gazed at the + slouch-hat and wig. Then with a fierce action he threw them + down and swept a clutching hand for the man. The fellow + dodged and, straightening up, he reached for a gun. But + Dorn lunged upon him. Then followed a hard grappling sound + and a hoarse yell. Something bright glinted in the sun. It + made a sweeping circle, belched fire and smoke. The report + stunned Lenore. She shut her eyes and clung to her father. + She heard cries, a scuffling, sodden blows.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake! Bill!" called Anderson. "Hold + on! No gun-play yet! Dorn's makin' hash out of that + fellow.… But watch the others sharp!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Lenore looked again. Dorn had + twisted the man around and was in the act of stripping off + the further disguise of beard, disclosing the pale and + convulsed face of a comparatively young man.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal"><i>"Glidden!"</i> burst out Dorn. His + voice had a terrible ring of furious amaze. His whole body + seemed to gather as in a knot and then to spring. The man + called Glidden went down before that onslaught, and his gun + went flying aside.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Three of Glidden's group started for + it. The cowboy Bill leaped forward, a gun in each hand. + "Hyar!… Back!" he yelled. And then all except the two + struggling principals grew rigid.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore's heart was burning in her + throat. The movements of Dorn were too swift for her sight. + But Glidden she saw handled as if by a giant. Up and down + he seemed thrown, with bloody face, flinging arms, while he + uttered hoarse bawls. Dorn's form grew more distinct. It + plunged and swung in frenzied energy. Lenore heard men + running and yells from all around. Her father spread wide + his arm before her, so that she had to bend low to see. He + shouted a warning. Jake was holding a gun thrust + forward.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boss, he's goin' to kill Glidden!" + said the cowboy, in a low tone.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's reply was incoherent, but + its meaning was plain.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore's lips and tongue almost denied + her utterance. "Oh!… Don't let him!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The crowd behind the wrestling couple + swayed back and forth, and men changed places here and + there. Bill strode across the space, guns leveled. + Evidently this action was due to the threatening movements + of several workmen who crouched as if to leap on Dorn as he + whirled in his fight with Glidden.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, it's about time!" yelled + Anderson, as a number of lean, rangy men, rushing from + behind, reached Bill's side, there to present an armed and + threatening front.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">All eyes now centered on Dorn and + Glidden. Lenore, seeing clearly for the first time, + suffered a strange, hot paroxysm of emotion never before + experienced by her. It left her weak. It seemed to stultify + the cry that had been trying to escape her. She wanted to + scream that Dorn must not kill the man. Yet there was a + ferocity in her that froze the cry. Glidden's coat and + blouse were half torn off; blood covered him; he strained + and flung himself weakly in that iron clutch. He was beaten + and bent back. His tongue hung out, bloody, fluttering with + strangled cries. A ghastly face, appalling in its fear of + death!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore broke her mute spell of mingled + horror and passion.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"For God's sake, don't let Dorn kill + him!" she implored.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why not?" muttered Anderson. "That's + Glidden. He killed Dorn's father—burned his + wheat—ruined him!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dad—for <i>my</i>—sake!" + she cried brokenly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake, stop him!" yelled Anderson. + "Pull him off!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">As Lenore saw it, with eyes again half + failing her, Jake could not separate Dorn from his + victim.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Leggo, Dorn!" he yelled. "You're + cheatin' the gallows!…Hey, Bill, he's a bull!… + Help, hyar—quick!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore did not see the resulting + conflict, but she could tell by something that swayed the + crowd when Glidden had been freed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hold up this outfit!" yelled Anderson + to his men. "Come on, Jake, drag him along." Jake appeared, + leading the disheveled and wild-eyed Dorn. "Son, you did my + heart good, but there was some around here who didn't want + you to spill blood. An' that's well. For I am seein' + red.…Jake, you take Dorn an' Lenore a piece toward + the house, then hurry back."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Lenore felt that she had hold of + Dorn's arm and she was listening to Jake without + understanding a word he said, while she did hear her + father's yell of command, "Line up there, you + I.W.W.'s!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jake walked so swiftly that Lenore had + to run to keep up. Dorn stumbled. He spoke incoherently. He + tried to stop. At this Lenore clasped his arm and cried, + "Oh, Kurt, come home with me!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They hurried down the slope. Lenore + kept looking back. The crowd appeared bunched now, with + little motion. That relieved her. There was no more + fighting.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Presently Dorn appeared to go more + willingly. He had relaxed. "Let go, Jake," he said. + "I'm—all right—now. That arm hurts."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, you'll excuse me, Dorn, for + handlin' you rough.… Mebbe you don't remember + punchin' me one when I got between you an' Glidden?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did I?… I couldn't see, Jake," + said Dorn. His voice was weak and had a spent ring of + passion in it. He did not look at Lenore, but kept his face + turned toward the cowboy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon this 's fur enough," + rejoined Jake, halting and looking back. "No one comin'. + An' there'll be hell to pay out there. You go on to the + house with Miss Lenore.… Will you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," replied Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Rustle along, then.… An' you, + Miss Lenore, don't you worry none about us."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore nodded and, holding Dorn's arm + closely, she walked as fast as she could down the lane.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I—I kept your coat," she said, + "though I never thought of it—till just now."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She was trembling all over, hot and + cold by turns, afraid to look up at him, yet immensely + proud of him, with a strange, sickening dread. He walked + rather dejectedly now, or else bent somewhat from weakness. + She stole a quick glance at his face. It was white as a + sheet. Suddenly she felt something wet and warm trickle + from his arm down into her hand. Blood! She shuddered, but + did not lose her hold. After a faintish instant there came + a change in her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Are you—hurt?" she asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I guess—not. I don't know," he + said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But the—the blood," she + faltered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He held up his hands. His knuckles + were bloody and it was impossible to tell whether from + injury to them or not. But his left forearm was badly + cut.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The gun cut me.… And he bit me, + too," said Dorn. "I'm sorry you were there.… What a + beastly spectacle for you!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Never mind me," she murmured. "I'm + all right <i>now!</i>… But, oh!—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She broke off eloquently.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Was it you who had the cowboys pull + me off him? Jake said, as he broke me loose, 'For Miss + Lenore's sake!'"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It was dad who sent them. But I + begged him to."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That was Glidden, the I.W.W. agitator + and German agent.… He—just the same as murdered + my father.… He burned my wheat—lost my + all!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I—I know, Kurt," whispered + Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I meant to kill him!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That was easy to tell.… Oh, + thank God, you did not!… Come, don't let us stop." + She could not face the piercing, gloomy eyes that went + through her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why should you care?.… Some one + will have to kill Glidden."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, do not talk so," she implored. + "Surely, now you're glad you did not?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I don't understand myself. But I'm + certainly sorry you were there.… There's a beast in + men—in me!… I had a gun in my pocket. But do + you think I'd have used it?… I wanted to feel his + flesh tear, his bones break, his blood spurt—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes!… That was the Hun in me!" + he declared, in sudden bitter passion.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, my friend, do not talk so!" she + cried. "You make me—Oh, there is <i>no</i> Hun in + you!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, that's what ails me!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There is <i>not</i>!" she flashed + back, roused to passion. "You had been made desperate. You + acted as any wronged man! You fought. He tried to kill you. + I saw the gun. No one could blame you.… I had my own + reason for begging dad to keep you from killing him—a + selfish woman's reason!… But I tell you I was so + furious—so wrought up—that if it had been any + man but <i>you</i>—he should have killed him!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, you're beyond my + understanding," replied Dorn, with emotion. "But I thank + you—for excusing me—for standing up for + me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It was nothing.…Oh, how you + bleed!.… Doesn't that hurt?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I've no pain—no feeling at + all—except a sort of dying down in me of what must + have been hell."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They reached the house and went in. No + one was there, which fact relieved Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm glad mother and the girls won't + see you," she said, hurriedly. "Go up to your room. I'll + bring bandages."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He complied without any comment. + Lenore searched for what she needed to treat a wound and + ran up-stairs. Dorn was sitting on a chair in his room, + holding his arm, from which blood dripped to the floor. He + smiled at her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You would be a pretty Red Cross + nurse," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore placed a bowl of water on the + floor and, kneeling beside Dorn, took his arm and began to + bathe it. He winced. The blood covered her fingers.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My blood on your hands!" he + exclaimed, morbidly. "German blood!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, you're out of your head," + retorted Lenore, hotly. "If you dare to say that again + I'll—" She broke off.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What will you do?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore faltered. What would she do? A + revelation must come, sooner or later, and the strain had + begun to wear upon her. She was stirred to her depths, and + instincts there were leaping. No sweet, gentle, kindly + sympathy would avail with this tragic youth. He must be + carried by storm. Something of the violence he had shown + with Glidden seemed necessary to make him forget himself. + All his whole soul must be set in one direction. He could + not see that she loved him, when she had looked it, acted + it, almost spoken it. His blindness was not to be + endured.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt Dorn, don't dare to—to say + that again!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She ceased bathing his arm, and looked + up at him suddenly quite pale.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I apologize. I am only bitter," he + said. "Don't mind what I say.… It's so good of + you—to do this."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then in silence Lenore dressed his + wound, and if her heart did beat unwontedly, her fingers + were steady and deft. He thanked her, with moody eyes + seeing far beyond her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"When I lie—over + there—with—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If you go!" she interrupted. He was + indeed hopeless. "I advise you to rest a little."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'd like to know what becomes of + Glidden," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So should I. That worries me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Weren't there a lot of cowboys with + guns?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So many that there's no need for you + to go out—and start another fight."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I did start it, didn't I?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You surely did," She left him then, + turning in the doorway to ask him please to be quiet and + let the day go by without seeking those excited men again. + He smiled, but he did not promise.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">For Lenore the time dragged between + dread and suspense. From her window she saw a motley crowd + pass down the lane to the main road. No harvesters were + working. At the noon meal only her mother and the girls + were present. Word had come that the I.W.W. men were being + driven from "Many Waters." Mrs. Anderson worried, and + Lenore's sisters for once were quiet. All afternoon the + house was lifeless. No one came or left. Lenore listened to + every little sound. It relieved her that Dorn had remained + in his room. Her hope was that the threatened trouble had + been averted, but something told her that the worst was yet + to come.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was nearly supper-time when she + heard the men returning. They came in a body, noisy and + loitering, as if reluctant to break away from one another. + She heard the horses tramp into the barns and the loud + voices of drivers.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When she went down-stairs she + encountered her father. He looked impressive, triumphant! + His effort at evasion did not deceive Lenore. But she + realized at once that in this instance she could not get + any news from him. He said everything was all right and + that I.W.W. men were to be deported from Washington. But he + did not want any supper, and he had a low-voiced, + significant interview with Dorn. Lenore longed to know what + was pending. Dorn's voice, when he said at his door, + "Anderson, I'll go!" was ringing, hard, and deadly. It + frightened Lenore. Go where? What were they going to do? + Lenore thought of the vigilantes her father had + organized.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Supper-time was an ordeal. Dorn ate a + little; then excusing himself, he went back to his room. + Lenore got through the meal somehow, and, going outside, + she encountered Jake. The moment she questioned him she + knew something extraordinary had taken place or was about + to take place. She coaxed and entreated. For once Jake was + hard to manage. But the more excuses he made, the more he + evaded her, the greater became Lenore's need to know. And + at last she wore the cowboy out. He could not resist her + tears, which began to flow in spite of her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"See hyar, Miss Lenore, I reckon you + care a heap fer young Dorn—beggin' your pardon?" + queried Jake.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Care for him!… Jake, I love + him."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then take a hunch from me an' keep + him home—with you—to-night."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Does father want Kurt Dorn to + go—wherever he's going?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I should smile! Your dad likes + the way Dorn handles I.W.W.'s," replied Jake, + significantly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Vigilantes!" whispered Lenore.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XX</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half + concealed behind the curtains. It had dawned upon her that + she had an ordeal at hand. Her heart palpitated. She heard + his quick step on the stairs. She called before she showed + herself.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hello!… Oh, but you startled + me!" he exclaimed. He had been surprised, too, at the + abrupt meeting. Certainly he had not been thinking of her. + His pale, determined face attested to stern and excitable + thought.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He halted before her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Where are you going?" asked + Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"To see your father."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What about?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's rather important," he replied, + with hesitation.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Will it take long?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He showed embarrassment. + "I—He—We'll be occupied 'most all evening."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Indeed!… Very well. If you'd + rather be—<i>occupied</i>—than spend the + evening with me!" Lenore turned away, affecting a + disdainful and hurt manner.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, it's not that," he burst out. + "I—I'd rather spend an evening with you than anybody + else—or do anything."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's very easy to say, Mr. Dorn," + she returned, lightly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But it's true," he protested.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Come out of the hall. Father will + hear us," she said, and led him into the room. It was not + so light in there, but what light there was fell upon his + face and left hers in shadow.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I've made an—an appointment for + to-night," he declared, with difficulty.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Can't you break it?" she asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. That would lay me open + to—to cowardice—perhaps your father's + displeasure."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt Dorn, it's brave to give up some + things!… And if you go you'll incur <i>my</i> + displeasure."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Go!" he ejaculated, staring at + her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, I know!… And + I'm—well, not flattered to see you'd rather go hang + I.W.W.'s than stay here with me." Lenore did not feel the + assurance and composure with which she spoke. She was + struggling with her own feelings. She believed that just as + soon as she and Kurt understood each other—faced each + other without any dissimulation—then she would feel + free and strong. If only she could put the situation on a + sincere footing! She must work for that. Her difficulty was + with a sense of falsity. There was no time to plan. She + must change his mind.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Her words had made him start.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then you know?" he asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Of course."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm sorry for that," he replied, + soberly, as he brushed a hand up through his wet hair.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But you will stay home?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No," he returned, shortly, and he + looked hard.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, I don't want <i>you</i> mixed + up with any lynching-bees," she said, earnestly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm a citizen of Washington. I'll + join the vigilantes. I'm American. I've been ruined by + these I.W.W.'s. No man in the West has lost so much! + Father—home—land—my great harvest of + wheat!… Why shouldn't I go?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There's no reason + except—<i>me</i>," she replied, rather + unsteadily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He drew himself up, with a deep + breath, as if fortifying himself. "That's a mighty good + reason.… But you will be kinder if you withdraw your + objections."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Can't you conceive of any reason why + I—I beg you not to go?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I can't," he replied, staring at her. + It seemed that every moment he spent in her presence + increased her effect upon him. Lenore felt this, and that + buoyed up her failing courage.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, you've made a very + distressing—a terrible and horrible blunder," she + said, with a desperation that must have seemed something + else to him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My heavens! What have I done?" he + gasped, his face growing paler. How ready he was to see + more catastrophe! It warmed her heart and strengthened her + nerve.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The moment had come. Even if she did + lose her power of speech she still could show him what his + blunder was. Nothing in all her life had ever been a + hundredth part as hard as this. Yet, as the words formed, + her whole heart seemed to be behind them, forcing them out. + If only he did not misunderstand!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then she looked directly at him and + tried to speak. Her first attempt was inarticulate, her + second was a whisper, "Didn't you ever—think + I—I might care for you?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was as if a shock went over him, + leaving him trembling. But he did not look as amazed as + incredulous. "No, I certainly never did," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well—that's your + blunder—for I—I do. You—you + never—never—asked me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You do what—care for me?… + What on earth do you mean by that?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore was fighting many emotions now, + the one most poignant being a wild desire to escape, which + battled with an equally maddening one to hide her face on + his breast.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Yet she could see how white he had + grown—how different. His hands worked convulsively + and his eyes pierced her very soul.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What should a girl mean—telling + she cared?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I don't know. Girls are beyond me," + he replied, stubbornly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Indeed that's true. I've felt so far + beyond you—I had to come to this."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore," he burst out, hoarsely, "you + talk in riddles! You've been so strange, yet so fine, so + sweet! And now you say you care for me!… Care?… + What does that mean? A word can drive me mad. But I never + dared to hope. I love you—love you—love + you—my God! you're all I've left to love. + I—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Do you think you've a monopoly on all + the love in the world?" interrupted Lenore, coming to her + real self. His impassioned declaration was all she needed. + Her ordeal was over.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It seemed as if he could not believe + his ears or eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Monopoly! World!" he echoed. "Of + course I don't. But—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, I love you just as much + as—as you love me.… So there!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore had time for one look at his + face before he enveloped her. What a relief to hide her + own! It was pressed to his breast very closely. Her eyes + shut, and she felt hot tears under the lids. All before her + darkened sight seemed confusion, whirling chaos. It seemed + that she could not breathe and, strangely, did not need to. + How unutterably happy she felt! That was an age-long + moment—wonderful for her own relief and + gladness—full of changing emotions. Presently Kurt + appeared to be coming to some semblance of rationality. He + released her from that crushing embrace, but still kept an + arm around her while he held her off and looked at her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, will you kiss me?" he + whispered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She could have cried out in sheer + delight at the wonder of that whisper in her ear. It had + been she who had changed the world for Kurt Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes—presently," she replied, + with a tremulous little laugh. "Wait till—I get my + breath—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I was beside myself—am so yet," + he replied, low voiced as if in awe. "I've been lifted to + heaven.… It cannot be true. I believe, yet I'll not + be sure till you kiss me.… You—Lenore Anderson, + this girl of my dreams! Do you love me—is it + true?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, Kurt, indeed I do—very + dearly," she replied, and turned to look up into his face. + It was transfigured. Lenore's heart swelled as a deep and + profound emotion waved over her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Please kiss me—then."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She lifted her face, flushing scarlet. + Their lips met. Then with her head upon his shoulder and + her hands closely held she answered the thousand and one + questions of a bewildered and exalted lover who could not + realize the truth. Lenore laughed at him and eloquently + furnished proof of her own obsession, and told him how and + why and when it all came about.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Not for hours did Kurt come back to + actualities. "I forgot about the vigilantes," he exclaimed, + suddenly. "It's too late now.… How the time has + flown!… Oh, Lenore, thought of other things breaks + in, alas!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He kissed her hand and got up. Another + change was coming over him. Lenore had long expected the + moment when realization would claim his attention. She was + prepared.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, you forgot your appointment with + dad and the vigilantes. You've missed some excitement and + violence."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His face had grown white + again—grave now and troubled. "May I speak to your + father?" he asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," she replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If I come back from the + war—well—not crippled—will you promise to + marry me?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, I promise now."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That seemed to shake him. "But, + Lenore, it is not fair to you. I don't believe a soldier + should bind a girl by marriage or engagement before he goes + to war. She should be free.… I want you to be + free."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's for you to say," she replied, + softly. "But for my part, I don't want to be free—if + you go away to war."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If!… I'm going," he said, with + a start. "You don't want to be free? Lenore, would you be + engaged to me?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My dear boy, of course I + would.… It seems I <i>am,</i> doesn't it?" she + replied, with one of her deep, low laughs.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He gazed at her, fascinated, worked + upon by overwhelming emotions. "Would you marry + me—before I go?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," she flashed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He bent and bowed then under the + storm. Stumbling to her, almost on his knees, he brokenly + expressed his gratitude, his wonder, his passion, and the + terrible temptation that he must resist, which she must + help him to resist.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, I love you. I will see things + through your eyes, if I must. I want to be a comfort to + you, not a source of sorrow."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But, Lenore, what comfort can I + find?… To leave you now is going to be + horrible!… To part from you now—I don't see how + I can."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Lenore dared to broach the + subject so delicate, so momentous.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You need not part from me. My father + has asked me to try to keep you home. He secured exemption + for you. You are more needed here than at the front. You + can feed many soldiers. You would be doing your + duty—with honor!… You would be a soldier. The + government is going to draft young men for farm duty. Why + not you? There are many good reasons why you would be + better than most young men. Because you know wheat. And + wheat is to become the most important thing in the world. + No one misjudges your loyalty.… And surely you see + that the best service to your country is what you can do + best."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He sat down beside her, with serious + frown and somber eyes. "Lenore, are you asking me not to go + to war?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I am," she replied. "I have + thought it all over. I've given up my brother. I'd not ask + you to stay home if you were needed at the front as much as + here. That question I have had out with my + conscience.… Kurt, don't think me a silly, + sentimental girl. Events of late have made me a woman."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He buried his face in his hands. + "That's the most amazing of all—you—Lenore + Anderson, my American girl—asking me not to go to + war."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But, dear, it is not so amazing. It's + reasonable. Your peculiar point of view makes it look + different. I am no weak, timid, love-sick girl afraid to + let you go!… I've given you good, honorable, + patriotic reasons for your exemption from draft. Can you + see that?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. I grant all your claims. I know + wheat well enough to tell you that if vastly more + wheat-raising is not done the world will starve. That would + hold good for the United States in forty years without + war."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then if you see my point why are you + opposed to it?" she asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Because I am Kurt Dorn," he replied, + bitterly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His tone, his gloom made her shiver. + It would take all her intelligence and wit and reason to + understand him, and vastly more than that to change him. + She thought earnestly. This was to be an ordeal profoundly + more difficult than the confession of her love. It was + indeed a crisis dwarfing the other she had met. She sensed + in him a remarkably strange attitude toward this war, + compared with that of her brother or other boys she knew + who had gone.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Because you are Kurt Dorn," she said, + thoughtfully. "It's in the name, then.… But I think + it a pretty name—a good name. Have I not consented to + accept it as mine—for life?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He could not answer that. Blindly he + reached out with a shaking hand, to find hers, to hold it + close. Lenore felt the tumult in him. She was shocked. A + great tenderness, sweet and motherly, flooded over her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dearest, in this dark hour—that + was so bright a little while ago—you must not keep + anything from me," she replied. "I will be true to you. I + will crush my selfish hopes. I will be your mother.… + tell me why you must go to war because you are Kurt + Dorn."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My father was German. He hated this + country—yours and mine. He plotted with the I.W.W. He + hated your father and wanted to destroy him.… Before + he died he realized his crime. For so I take the few words + he spoke to Jerry. But all the same he was a traitor to my + country. I bear his name. I have German in me.… And + by God I'm going to pay!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His deep, passionate tones struck into + Lenore's heart. She fought with a rising terror. She was + beginning to understand him. How helpless she + felt—how she prayed for inspiration—for + wisdom!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Pay!… How?" she asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"In the only way possible. I'll see + that a Dorn goes to war—who will show his American + blood—who will fight and kill—and be + killed!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His passion, then, was more than + patriotism. It had its springs in the very core of his + being. He had, it seemed, a debt that he must pay. But + there was more than this in his grim determination. And + Lenore divined that it lay hidden in his bitter reference + to his German blood. He hated that—doubted himself + because of it. She realized now that to keep him from going + to war would be to make him doubt his manhood and + eventually to despise himself. No longer could she think of + persuading him to stay home. She must forget herself. She + knew then that she had the power to keep him and she could + use it, but she must not do so. This tragic thing was a + matter of his soul. But if he went to war with this bitter + obsession, with this wrong motive, this passionate desire + to spill blood in him that he hated, he would lose his + soul. He must be changed. All her love, all her woman's + flashing, subtle thought concentrated on this fact. How + strange the choice that had been given her! Not only must + she relinquish her hope of keeping him home, but she must + perhaps go to desperate ends to send him away with a + changed spirit. The moment of decision was agony for + her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, this is a terrible hour for + both of us," she said, "but, thank Heaven, you have + confessed to me. Now I will confess to you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Confess?… You?… What + nonsense!" he exclaimed. But in his surprise he lifted his + head from his hands to look at her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"When we came in here my mind was made + up to make you stay home. Father begged me to do it, and I + had my own selfish motive. It was love. Oh, I do love you, + Kurt, more than you can dream of!… I justified my + resolve. I told you that. But I wanted you. I wanted your + love—your presence. I longed for a home with you as + husband—master—father to my babies. I dreamed + of all. It filled me with terror to think of you going to + war. You might be + crippled—mangled—murdered.… Oh, my dear, + I could not bear the thought!… So I meant to overcome + you. I had it all planned. I meant to love you—to beg + you—to kiss you—to make you stay—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, what are you saying?" he + cried, in shocked amaze.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She flung her arms round his neck. + "Oh, I could—I could have kept you!" she answered, + low voiced and triumphant. "It fills me with joy.… + Tell me I could have kept you—tell me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. I've no power to resist you. But + I might have hated—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hush!… It's all might + have.… I've risen above myself."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, you distress me. A little + while ago you bewildered me with your sweetness and + love.… Now—you look like an angel or a + goddess.… Oh, to have your face like + this—always with me! Yet it distresses me—so + terrible in purpose. What are you about to tell me? I see + something—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Listen," she broke in. "I meant to + make you weak. I implore you now to be strong. You must go + to war! But with all my heart and soul I beg you to go with + a changed spirit.… You were about to do a terrible + thing. You hated the German in you and meant to kill it by + violence. You despised the German blood and you meant to + spill it. Like a wild man you would have rushed to fight, + to stab and beat, to murder—and you would have left + your breast open for a bayonet-thrust.… Oh, I know + it!… Kurt, you are horribly wrong. That is no way to + go to war.… War is a terrible business, but men don't + wage it for motives such as yours. We Americans all have + different strains of + blood—English—French—German. One is as + good as another. You are obsessed—you are out of your + head on this German question. You must kill that + idea—kill it with one bayonet-thrust of sense.… + You must go to war as my soldier—with my ideal. Your + country has called you to help uphold its honor, its + pledged word. You must fight to conquer an enemy who + threatens to destroy freedom.… You must be brave, + faithful, merciful, clean—an American soldier!… + You are only one of a million. You have no personal need + for war. You are as good, as fine, as noble as any + man—my choice, sir, of all the men in the + world!… I am sending you. I am giving you up.… + Oh, my darling—you will never know how hard it + is!… But go! Your life has been sad. You have lost so + much. I feel in my woman's heart what will be—if only + you'll change—if you see God in this as I see. + Promise me. Love that which you hated. Prove for yourself + what I believe. Trust me—promise me… + Then—oh, I know God will send you back to me!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He fell upon his knees before her to + bury his face in her lap. His whole frame shook. His hands + plucked at her dress. A low sob escaped him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore," he whispered, brokenly, "I + can't see God in this—for me!… I can't + promise!"</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Thirty masked men sat around a long + harvest mess-table. Two lanterns furnished light enough to + show a bare barnlike structure, the rough-garbed plotters, + the grim set of hard lips below the half-masks, and big + hands spread out, ready to draw from the hat that was + passing.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The talk was low and serious. No names + were spoken. A heavy man, at the head of the table, said: + "We thirty, picked men, represent the country. Let each + member here write on his slip of paper his choice of + punishment for the I.W.W.'s—death or + deportation.…"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The members of the band bent their + masked faces and wrote in a dead silence. A noiseless wind + blew through the place. The lanterns flickered; huge + shadows moved on the walls. When the papers had been passed + back to the leader he read them.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Deportation," he announced. "So much + for the I.W.W. men.… Now for the leader.… But + before we vote on what to do with Glidden let me read an + extract from one of his speeches. This is authentic. It has + been furnished by the detective lately active in our + interest. Also it has been published. I read it because I + want to bring home to you all an issue that goes beyond our + own personal fortunes here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Leaning toward the flickering flare of + the lantern, the leader read from a slip of paper: "If the + militia are sent out here to hinder the I.W.W. we will make + it so damned hot for the government that no troops will be + able to go to France.… I don't give a damn what this + country is fighting for.… I am fighting for the + rights of labor.… American soldiers are Uncle Sam's + scabs in disguise."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The deep, impressive voice ended. The + leader's huge fist descended upon the table with a crash. + He gazed up and down the rows of sinister masked figures. + "Have you anything to say?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No," replied one.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Pass the slips," said another.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">And then a man, evidently on in years, + for his hair was gray and he looked bent, got up. + "Neighbors," he began "I lived here in the early days. For + the last few years I've been apologizing for my home town. + I don't want to apologize for it any longer."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He sat down. And a current seemed to + wave from him around that dark square of figures. The + leader cleared his throat as if he had much to say, but he + did not speak. Instead he passed the hat. Each man drew + forth a slip of paper and wrote upon it. The action was not + slow. Presently the hat returned round the table to the + leader. He spilled its contents, and with steady hand + picked up the first slip of paper.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Death!" he read, sonorously, and laid + it down to pick up another. Again he spoke that grim word. + The third brought forth the same, and likewise the next, + and all, until the verdict had been called out thirty + times.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"At daylight we'll meet," boomed out + that heavy voice. "Instruct Glidden's guards to make a show + of resistance.… We'll hang Glidden to the railroad + bridge. Then each of you get your gangs together. Round up + all the I.W.W.'s. Drive them to the railroad yard. There + we'll put them aboard a railroad train of empty cars. And + that train will pass under the bridge where Glidden will be + hanging.… We'll escort them out of the country."</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That August dawn was gray and cool, + with gold and pink beginning to break over the dark eastern + ranges. The town had not yet awakened. It slept unaware of + the stealthy forms passing down the gray road and of the + distant hum of motor-cars and trot of hoofs.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Glidden's place of confinement was a + square warehouse, near the edge of town. Before the + improvised jail guards paced up and down, strangely + alert.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Daylight had just cleared away the + gray when a crowd of masked men appeared as if by magic and + bore down upon the guards. There was an apparent desperate + resistance, but, significantly, no cries or shots. The + guards were overpowered and bound.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The door of the jail yielded to heavy + blows of an ax. In the corner of a dim, bare room groveled + Glidden, bound so that he had little use of his body. But + he was terribly awake. When six men entered he asked, + hoarsely: "What're you—after?… What—you + mean?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They jerked him erect. They cut the + bonds from his legs. They dragged him out into the light of + breaking day.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When he saw the masked and armed force + he cried: "My God!… What'll you—do with + me?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Ghastly, working, sweating, his face + betrayed his terror.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're to be hanged by the neck," + spoke a heavy, solemn voice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The man would have collapsed but for + the strong hands that upheld him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What—for?" he gasped.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"For I.W.W. crimes—for + treason—for speeches no American can stand in days + like these." Then this deep-voiced man read to Glidden + words of his own.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Do you recognize that?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Glidden saw how he had spoken his own + doom. "Yes, I said that," he had nerve left to say. + "But—I insist on + arrest—trial—justice!… I'm no + criminal.… I've big interests behind me.… + You'll suffer—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A loop of a lasso, slung over his head + and jerked tight, choked off his intelligible utterance. + But as the silent, ruthless men dragged him away he gave + vent to terrible, half-strangled cries.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The sun rose red over the fertile + valley—over the harvest fields and the pastures and + the orchards, and over the many towns that appeared lost in + the green and gold of luxuriance.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In the harvest districts west of the + river all the towns were visited by swift-flying motor-cars + that halted long enough for a warning to be shouted to the + citizens, "Keep off the streets!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Simultaneously armed forces of men, on + foot and on horseback, too numerous to count, appeared in + the roads and the harvest fields.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They accosted every man they met. If + he were recognized or gave proof of an honest identity he + was allowed to go; otherwise he was marched along under + arrest. These armed forces were thorough in their search, + and in the country districts they had an especial interest + in likely camping-places, and around old barns and + straw-stacks. In the towns they searched every corner that + was big enough to hide a man.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">So it happened that many motley groups + of men were driven toward the railroad line, where they + were held until a freight-train of empty cattle-cars came + along. This train halted long enough to have the I.W.W. + contingent driven aboard, with its special armed guard + following, and then it proceeded on to the next station. As + stations were many, so were the halts, and news of the + train with its strange freight flashed ahead. Crowds lined + the railroad tracks. Many boys and men in these crowds + carried rifles and pistols which they leveled at the I.W.W. + prisoners as the train passed. Jeers and taunts and threats + accompanied this presentation of guns.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Before the last station of that wheat + district was reached full three hundred members of the + I.W.W., or otherwise suspicious characters, were packed + into the open cars. At the last stop the number was greatly + augmented, and the armed forces were cut down to the few + guards who were to see the I.W.W. deported from the + country. Here provisions and drinking-water were put into + the cars. And amid a hurrahing roar of thousands the train + with its strange load slowly pulled out.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It did not at once gather headway. The + engine whistled a prolonged blast—a signal or warning + not lost on many of its passengers.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">From the front cars rose shrill cries + that alarmed the prisoners in the rear. The reason soon + became manifest. Arms pointed and eyes stared at the figure + of a man hanging from a rope fastened to the center of a + high bridge span under which the engine was about to + pass.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The figure swayed in the wind. It + turned half-way round, disclosing a ghastly, distorted + face, and a huge printed placard on the breast, then it + turned back again. Slowly the engine drew one car-load + after another past the suspended body of the dead man. + There were no more cries. All were silent in that + slow-moving train. All faces were pale, all eyes + transfixed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The placard on the hanged man's breast + bore in glaring red a strange message: <i>Last warning</i>. + 3-7-77.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The figures were the ones used in the + frontier days by vigilantes.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A dusty motor-car climbed the long + road leading up to the Neuman ranch. It was not far from + Wade, a small hamlet of the wheat-growing section, and the + slopes of the hills, bare and yellow with waving grain, + bore some semblance to the Bend country. Four men—a + driver and three cowboys—were in the automobile.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A big stone gate marked the entrance + to Neuman's ranch. Cars and vehicles lined the roadside. + Men were passing in and out. Neuman's home was + unpretentious, but his barns and granaries and stock-houses + were built on a large scale.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Bill, are you goin' in with me after + this pard of the Kaiser's?" inquired Jake, leisurely + stretching himself as the car halted. He opened the door + and stiffly got out. "Gimme a hoss any day fer gittin' + places!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jake, my regard fer your rep as + Anderson's foreman makes me want to hug the background," + replied Bill. "I've done a hell of a lot these last + forty-eight hours."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I reckon you have, Bill, an' no + mistake.… But I was figgerin' on you wantin' to see + the fun."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Fun!… Jake, it 'll be fun + enough fer me to sit hyar an' smoke in the shade, an' watch + fer you to come a-runnin' from thet big German + devil.… Pard, they say he's a bad man!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure. I know thet. All them Germans + is bad."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If the boss hadn't been so dog-gone + strict about gun-play I'd love to go with you," responded + Bill. "But he didn't give me no orders. You're the whole + outfit this round-up."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Bill, you'd have to take orders from + me," said Jake, coolly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure. Thet's why I come with + Andy."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The other cowboy, called Andy, + manifested uneasiness, and he said: "Aw, now, Jake, you + ain't a-goin' to ask me to go in there?… An' me + hatin' Germans the way I do!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nope. I guess I'll order Bill to go + in an' fetch Neuman out," replied Jake, complacently, as he + made as if to re-enter the car.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Bill collapsed in his seat. "Jake," he + expostulated, weakly, "this job was given you because of + your rep fer deploomacy.… Sure I haven't none of + thet.… An' you, Jake, why you're the smoothest an' + slickest talker thet ever come to the Northwest."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Evidently Jake had a vulnerable point. + He straightened up with a little swagger. "Wal, you watch + me," he said. "I'll fetch the big Dutchman eatin' out of my + hand.… An' say, when we git him in the car an' start + back let's scare the daylights out of him."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Thet'd be powerful fine. But + how?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You fellers take a hunch from me," + replied Jake. And he strode off up the lane toward the + ranch-house.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jake had been commissioned to acquaint + Neuman with the fact that recent developments demanded his + immediate presence at "Many Waters." The cowboy really had + a liking for the job, though he pretended not to.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Neuman had not yet begun harvesting. + There were signs to Jake's experienced eye that the + harvest-hands were expected this very day. Jake fancied he + knew why the rancher had put off his harvesting. And also + he knew that the extra force of harvest-hands would not + appear. He was regarded with curiosity by the women members + of the Neuman household, and rather enjoyed it. There were + several comely girls in evidence. Jake did not look a + typical Northwest foreman and laborer. Booted and spurred, + with his gun swinging visibly, and his big sombrero and + gaudy scarf, he looked exactly what he was, a cowman of the + open ranges.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His inquiries elicited the fact that + Neuman was out in the fields, waiting for the + harvest-hands.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, if he's expectin' thet outfit of + I.W.W.'s he'll never harvest," said Jake, "for some of them + is hanged an' the rest run out of the country."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jake did not wait to see the effect of + his news. He strode back toward the fields, and with the + eye of a farmer he appraised the barns and corrals, and the + fields beyond. Neuman raised much wheat, and enough alfalfa + to feed his stock. His place was large and valuable, but + not comparable to "Many Waters."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Out in the wheat-fields were engines + with steam already up, with combines and threshers and + wagons waiting for the word to start. Jake enjoyed the keen + curiosity roused by his approach. Neuman strode out from a + group of waiting men. He was huge of build, ruddy-faced and + bearded, with deep-set eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Are you Neuman?" inquired Jake.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's me," gruffly came the + reply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm Anderson's foreman. I've been + sent over to tell you thet you're wanted pretty bad at + 'Many Waters.'"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The man stared incredulously. + "What?… Who wants me?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Anderson. An' I reckon there's + more—though I ain't informed."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Neuman rumbled a curse. Amaze + dominated him. "Anderson!… Well, I don't want to see + him," he replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon you don't," was the cowboy's + cool reply.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The rancher looked him up and down. + However familiar his type was to Anderson, it was strange + to Neuman. The cowboy breathed a potential force. The least + significant thing about his appearance was that swinging + gun. He seemed cool and easy, with hard, keen eyes. + Neuman's face took a shade off color.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But I'm going to harvest to-day," he + said. "I'm late. I've a hundred hands coming."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nope. You haven't none comin'," + asserted Jake.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What!" ejaculated Neuman.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Reckon it's near ten o'clock," said + the cowboy. "We run over here powerful fast."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, it's near ten," bellowed Neuman, + on the verge of a rage.… "I haven't harvest-hands + coming!… What's this talk?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, about nine-thirty I seen all + your damned I.W.W.'s, except what was shot an' hanged, + loaded in a cattlecar an' started out of the country."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A blow could not have hit harder than + the cowboy's biting speech. Astonishment and fear shook + Neuman before he recovered control of himself.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If it's true, what's that to me?" he + bluffed, in hoarse accents.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Neuman, I didn't come to answer + questions," said the cowboy, curtly. "My boss jest sent me + fer you, an' if you bucked on comin', then I was to say it + was your only chance to avoid publicity an' bein' run out + of the country."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Neuman was livid of face now and + shaking all over his huge frame.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Anderson threatens me!" he shouted. + "Anderson suspicions me!… <i>Gott in + Himmel</i>!… Me he always cheated! An' now he + insults—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Say, it ain't healthy to talk like + thet about my boss," interrupted Jake, forcibly. "An' we're + wastin' time. If you don't go with me we'll be comin' + back—the whole outfit of us!… Anderson means + you're to face his man!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What man?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn. Young Dorn, son of old Chris + Dorn of the Bend.… Dorn has some things to tell you + thet you won't want made public.… Anderson's givin' + you a square deal. If it wasn't fer thet I'd sling my gun + on you!… Do you git my hunch?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The name of Dorn made a slack figure + of the aggressive Neuman.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"All right—I go," he said, + gruffly, and without a word to his men he started off.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jake followed him. Neuman made a short + cut to the gate, thus avoiding a meeting with any of his + family. At the road, however, some men observed him and + called in surprise, but he waved them back.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Bill, you an' Andy collect yourselves + an' give Mr. Neuman a seat," said Jake, as he opened the + door to allow the farmer to enter.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The two cowboys gave Neuman the whole + of the back seat, and they occupied the smaller side seats. + Jake took his place beside the driver.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Burn her up!" was his order.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The speed of the car made conversation + impossible until the limits of a town necessitated slowing + down. Then the cowboys talked. For all the attention they + paid to Neuman, he might as well not have been present. + Before long the driver turned into a road that followed a + railroad track for several miles and then crossed it to + enter a good-sized town. The streets were crowded with + people and the car had to be driven slowly. At this + juncture Jake suggested.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Let's go down by the bridge."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure," agreed his allies.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then the driver turned down a still + more peopled street that sloped a little and evidently + overlooked the railroad tracks. Presently they came in + sight of a railroad bridge, around which there appeared to + be an excited yet awestruck throng. All faces were turned + up toward the swaying form of a man hanging by a rope tied + to the high span of the bridge.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, Glidden's hangin' there yet," + remarked Jake, cheerfully.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With a violent start Neuman looked out + to see the ghastly placarded figure, and then he sank + slowly back in his seat. The cowboys apparently took no + notice of him. They seemed to have forgotten his + presence.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Funny they'd cut all the other + I.W.W.'s down an' leave Glidden hangin' there," observed + Bill.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Them vigilantes sure did it up + brown," added Andy. "I was dyin' to join the band. But they + didn't ask me."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nor me," replied Jake, regretfully. + "An' I can't understand why, onless it was they was afeared + I couldn't keep a secret."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Who is them vigilantes, anyhow?" + asked Bill, curiously.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I reckon nobody knows. But I + seen a thousand armed men this mornin'. They sure looked + bad. You ought to have seen them poke the I.W.W.'s with + cocked guns."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Was any one shot?" queried Andy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not in the daytime. Nobody killed by + this Citizens' Protective League, as they call themselves. + They just rounded up all the suspicious men an' herded them + on to thet cattle-train an' carried them off. It was at + night when the vigilantes worked—masked an' secret + an' sure bloody. Jest like the old vigilante days! … + An' you can gamble they ain't through yet."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Uncle Sam won't need to send any + soldiers here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I should smile not. Thet'd be a + disgrace to the Northwest. It was a bad time fer the I.W.W. + to try any tricks on us."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jake shook his lean head and his jaw + bulged. He might have been haranguing, cowboy-like, for the + benefit of the man they feigned not to notice, but it was + plain, nevertheless, that he was angry.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What gits me wuss 'n them I.W.W.'s is + the skunks thet give Uncle Sam the double-cross," said + Andy, with dark face. "I'll stand fer any man an' respect + him if he's aboveboard an' makes his fight in the open. But + them coyotes thet live off the land an' pretend to be + American when they ain't—they make me pisen mad."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I heerd the vigilantes has marked men + like thet," observed Bill.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll give you a hunch, fellers," + replied Jake, grimly. "By Gawd! the West won't stand fer + traitors!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">All the way to "Many Waters," where it + was possible to talk and be heard, the cowboys continued in + like strain. And not until the driver halted the car before + Anderson's door did they manifest any awareness of + Neuman.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Git out an' come in," said Jake to + the pallid, sweating rancher.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He led Neuman into the hall and + knocked upon Anderson's study door. It was opened by + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, hyar we are," announced Jake, + and his very nonchalance attested to pride.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson was standing beside his desk. + He started, and his hand flashed back significantly as he + sighted his rival and enemy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No gun-play, boss, was your orders," + said Jake. "An' Neuman ain't packin' no gun."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was plain that Anderson made a + great effort at restraint. But he failed. And perhaps the + realization that he could not kill this man liberated his + passion. Then the two big ranchers faced each + other—Neuman livid and shaking, Anderson black as a + thunder-cloud.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Neuman, you hatched up a plot with + Glidden to kill me," said Anderson, bitterly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Neuman, in hoarse, brief answer, + denied it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure! Deny it. What do we care? + … We've got you, Neuman," burst out Anderson, his + heavy voice ringing with passion. "But it's not your + low-down plot thet's r'iled me. There's been a good many + men who've tried to do away with me. I've outplayed you in + many a deal. So your personal hate for me doesn't count. + I'm sore—an' you an' me can't live in the same place, + because you're a damned traitor. You've lived here for + twenty years. You've grown rich off the country. An' you'd + sell us to your rotten Germany. What I think of you for + that I'm goin' to tell you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson paused to take a deep breath. + Then he began to curse Neuman. All the rough years of his + frontier life, as well as the quieter ones of his ranching + days, found expression in the swift, thunderous roll of his + terrible scorn. Every vile name that had ever been used by + cowboy, outlaw, gambler, leaped to Anderson's stinging + tongue. All the keen, hard epithets common to the modern + day he flung into Neuman's face. And he ended with a + profanity that was as individual in character as its + delivery was intense.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm callin' you for my own relief," + he concluded, "an' not that I expect to get under your + hide."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then he paused. He wiped the beaded + drops from his forehead, and he coughed and shook himself. + His big fists unclosed. Passion gave place to dignity.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Neuman, it's a pity you an' men like + you can't see the truth. That's the mystery to me—why + any one who had spent half a lifetime an' prospered here in + our happy an' beautiful country could ever hate it. I never + will understand that. But I do understand that America will + never harbor such men for long. You have your reasons, I + reckon. An' no doubt you think you're justified. That's the + tragedy. You run off from hard-ruled Germany. You will not + live there of your own choice. You succeed here an' live in + peace an' plenty.… An', by God! you take up with a + lot of foreign riffraff an' double-cross the people you owe + so much!… What's wrong with your mind?… Think + it over.… An' that's the last word I have for + you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson, turning to his desk, took up + a cigar and lighted it. He was calm again. There was really + sadness where his face had shown only fury. Then he + addressed Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, it's up to you now," he said. + "As my superintendent an' some-day partner, what you'll say + goes with me.… I don't know what bein' square would + mean in relation to this man."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson sat down heavily in his desk + chair and his face became obscured in cigar smoke.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Neuman, do you recognize me?" asked + Dorn, with his flashing eyes on the rancher.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No," replied Neuman.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm Chris Dorn's son. My father died + a few days ago. He overtaxed his heart fighting fire in the + wheat … Fire set by I.W.W. men. Glidden's men! + … They burned our wheat. Ruined us!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Neuman showed shock at the news, at + the sudden death of an old friend, but he did not express + himself in words.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Do you deny implication in Glidden's + plot to kill Anderson?" demanded Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," replied Neuman.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, you're a liar!" retorted Dorn. + "I saw you with Glidden and my father. I followed you at + Wheatly—out along the railroad tracks. I slipped up + and heard the plot. It was I who snatched the money from my + father."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Neuman's nerve was gone, but with his + stupid and stubborn process of thought he still denied, + stuttering incoherently.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Glidden has been hanged," went on + Dorn. "A vigilante band has been organized here in the + valley. Men of your known sympathy will not be safe, + irrespective of your plot against Anderson. But as to that, + publicity alone will be enough to ruin you.… + Americans of the West will not tolerate traitors.… + Now the question you've got to decide is this. Will you + take the risks or will you sell out and leave the + country?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll sell out," replied Neuman.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What price do you put on your ranch + as it stands?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"One hundred thousand dollars."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn turned to Anderson and asked, "Is + it worth that much?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. Seventy-five thousand would be a + big price," replied the rancher.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Neuman, we will give you seventy-five + thousand for your holdings. Do you accept?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I have no choice," replied Neuman, + sullenly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Choice!" exclaimed Dorn. "Yes, you + have. And you're not being cheated. I've stated facts. You + are done in this valley. You're ruined <i>now!</i> And + Glidden's fate stares you in the face.… Will you sell + and leave the country?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," came the deep reply, wrenched + from a stubborn breast.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Go draw up your deeds, then notify + us," said Dorn, with finality.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jake opened the door. Stolidly and + slowly Neuman went out, precisely as he had entered, like a + huge man in conflict with unintelligible thoughts.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Send him home in the car," called + Anderson.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">For two fleeting days Lenore Anderson + was happy when she forgot, miserable when she remembered. + Then the third morning dawned.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At the breakfast-table her father had + said, cheerily, to Dorn: "Better take off your coat an' + come out to the fields. We've got some job to harvest that + wheat with only half-force.… But, by George! my + trouble's over."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn looked suddenly blank, as if + Anderson's cheery words had recalled him to the realities + of life. He made an incoherent excuse and left the + table.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah-huh!" Anderson's characteristic + exclamation might have meant little or much. "Lenore, what + ails the boy?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Nothing that I know of. He has been + as—as happy as I am," she replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then it's all settled?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Father, I—I—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kathleen's high, shrill, gleeful voice + cut in: "Sure it's settled! Look at Lenorry blush!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore indeed felt the blood stinging + face and neck. Nevertheless, she laughed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Come into my room," said + Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She followed him there, and as he + closed the door she answered his questioning look by + running into his arms and hiding her face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, I'll be dog-goned!" the rancher + ejaculated, with emotion. He held her and patted her + shoulder with his big hand. "Tell me, Lenore."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There's little to tell," she replied, + softly. "I love him—and he loves me so—so well + that I've been madly happy—in spite + of—of—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Is that all?" asked Anderson, + dubiously.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Is not that enough?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But Dorn's lovin' you so well doesn't + say he'll not go to war."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">And it was then that forgotten + bitterness returned to poison Lenore's cup of joy.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah!"… she whispered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good Lord! Lenore, you don't mean you + an' Dorn have been alone all the time these few + days—an' you haven't settled that war question?" + queried Anderson, in amaze.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes.… How strange!… But + since—well, since something + happened—we—we forgot," she replied, + dreamily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wal, go back to it," said Anderson, + forcibly. "I want Dorn to help me.… Why, he's a + wonder!… He's saved the situation for us here in the + valley. Every rancher I know is praisin' him high. An' he + sure treated Neuman square. An' here I am with three big + wheat-ranches on my hands!… Lenore, you've got to + keep him home."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dad!… I—I could not!" + replied Lenore. She was strangely realizing an indefinable + change in herself. "I can't try to keep him from going to + war. I never thought of that since—since we confessed + our love.… But it's made some difference.… + It'll kill me, I think, to let him go—but I'd die + before I'd ask him to stay home."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah-huh!" sighed Anderson, and, + releasing her, he began to pace the room. "I don't begin to + understand you, girl. But I respect your feelin's. It's a + hell of a muddle!… I'd forgotten the war myself while + chasin' off them I.W.W.'s.… But this war has + <i>got</i> to be reckoned with!… Send Dorn to + me!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore found Dorn playing with + Kathleen. These two had become as brother and sister.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, dad wants to see you," said + Lenore seriously.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn looked startled, and the light of + fun on his face changed to a sober concern.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You told him?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, Kurt, I told him what little I + had to tell."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He gave her a strange glance and then + slowly went toward her father's study. Lenore made a futile + attempt to be patient. She heard her father's deep voice, + full and earnest, and she heard Dorn's quick, passionate + response. She wondered what this interview meant. Anderson + was not one to give up easily. He had set his heart upon + holding this capable young man in the great interests of + the wheat business. Lenore could not understand why she was + not praying that he be successful. But she was not. It was + inexplicable and puzzling—this change in + her—this end of her selfishness. Yet she shrank in + terror from an impinging sacrifice. She thrust the thought + from her with passionate physical gesture and with stern + effort of will.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn was closeted with her father for + over an hour. When he came out he was white, but apparently + composed. Lenore had never seen his eyes so piercing as + when they rested upon her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Whew!" he exclaimed, and wiped his + face. "Your father has my poor old dad—what does + Kathleen say?—skinned to a frazzle!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What did he say?" asked Lenore, + anxiously.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"A lot—and just as if I didn't + know it all better than he knows," replied Dorn, sadly. + "The importance of wheat; his three ranches and nobody to + run them; his growing years; my future and a great + opportunity as one of the big wheat men of the Northwest; + the present need of the government; his only son gone to + war, which was enough for his family.… And then he + spoke of you—heiress to 'Many Waters'—what a + splendid, noble girl you were—like your mother! What + a shame to ruin your happiness—your future!… He + said you'd make the sweetest of wives—the truest of + mothers!… Oh, my God!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore turned away her face, shocked + to her heart by his tragic passion. Dorn was silent for + what seemed a long time.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"And—then he cussed + me—hard—as no doubt I deserved," added + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But—what did you say?" she + whispered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I said a lot, too," replied Dorn, + remorsefully.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did—did you—?" began + Lenore, and broke off, unable to finish.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I arrived—to where I am + now—pretty dizzy," he responded, with a smile that + was both radiant and sorrowful. He took her hands and held + them close. "Lenore!… if I come home from the + war—still with my arms and + legs—whole—will you marry me?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Only come home <i>alive</i>, and no + matter what you lose, yes!—yes!" she whispered, + brokenly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But it's a conditional proposal, + Lenore," he insisted. "You must never marry half a + man."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I will marry <i>you</i>!" she cried, + passionately.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It seemed to her that she loved him + all the more, every moment, even though he made it so hard + for her. Then through blurred, dim eyes she saw him take + something from his pocket and felt him put a ring on her + finger.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It fits! Isn't that lucky," he said, + softly. "My mother's ring, Lenore.…"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He kissed her hand.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kathleen was standing near them, + open-eyed and open-mouthed, in an ecstasy of + realization.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kathleen, your sister has promised to + marry me—when I come from the war," said Dorn to the + child.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She squealed with delight, and, + manifestly surrendering to a long-considered temptation, + she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him + close.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's perfectly grand!" she cried. + "But what a chump you are for going at all—when you + could marry Lenorry!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That was Kathleen's point of view, and + it must have coincided somewhat with Mr. Anderson's.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kathleen, you wouldn't have me be a + slacker?" asked Dorn, gently.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. But we let Jim go," was her + argument.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn kissed her, then turned to + Lenore. "Let's go out to the fields."</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was not a long walk to the alfalfa, + but by the time she got there Lenore's impending woe was as + if it had never been. Dorn seemed strangely gay and + unusually demonstrative; apparently he forgot the war-cloud + in the joy of the hour. That they were walking in the open + seemed not to matter to him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, some one will see you," Lenore + remonstrated.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're more beautiful than ever + to-day," he said, by way of answer, and tried to block her + way.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore dodged and ran. She was fleet, + and eluded him down the lane, across the cut field, to a + huge square stack of baled alfalfa. But he caught her just + as she got behind its welcome covert. Lenore was far less + afraid of him than of laughing eyes. Breathless, she backed + up against the stack.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're—a—cannibal!" she + panted. But she did not make much resistance.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You're—a goddess!" he + replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Me!… Of what?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why, of 'Many Waters'!… Goddess + of wheat!… The sweet, waving wheat, rich and + golden—the very spirit of life!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If anybody sees you—mauling + me—this way—I'll not seem a goddess to + him.… My hair is down—my waist—Oh, + Kurt!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Yet it did not very much matter how + she looked or what happened. Beyond all was the assurance + of her dearness to him. Suddenly she darted away from him + again. Her heart swelled, her spirit soared, her feet were + buoyant and swift. She ran into the uncut alfalfa. It was + thick and high, tangling round her feet. Here her progress + was retarded. Dorn caught up with her. His strong hands on + her shoulders felt masterful, and the sweet terror they + inspired made her struggle to get away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You shall—not—hold me!" + she cried.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But I will. You must be + taught—not to run," he said, and wrapped her tightly + in his arms.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Now surrender your kisses + meekly!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I—surrender!… But, Kurt, + someone will see… Dear, we'll go + back—or—somewhere—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Who can see us here but the birds?" + he said, and the strong hands held her fast. "You will kiss + me—enough—right now—even if the whole + world—looked on!" he said, ringingly. "Lenore, my + soul!… Lenore, I love you!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He would not be denied. And if she had + any desire to deny him it was lost in the moment. She + clasped his neck and gave him kiss for kiss.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But her surrender made him think of + her. She felt his effort to let her go.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore's heart felt too big for her + breast. It hurt. She clung to his hand and they walked on + across the field and across a brook, up the slope to one of + Lenore's favorite seats. And there she wanted to rest. She + smoothed her hair and brushed her dress, aware of how he + watched her, with his heart in his eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Had there ever in all the years of the + life of the earth been so perfect a day? How dazzling the + sun! What heavenly blue the sky! And all beneath so gold, + so green! A lark caroled over Lenore's head and a quail + whistled in the brush below. The brook babbled and gurgled + and murmured along, happy under the open sky. And a soft + breeze brought the low roar of the harvest fields and the + scent of wheat and dust and straw.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Life seemed so stingingly full, so + poignant, so immeasurably worth living, so blessed with + beauty and richness and fruitfulness.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, your eyes are + windows—and I can see into your soul. I can + read—and first I'm uplifted and then I'm sad."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was he who talked and she who + listened. This glorious day would be her strength when + the—Ah! but she would not complete a single bitter + thought.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She led him away, up the slope, across + the barley-field, now cut and harvested, to the great, + swelling golden spaces of wheat. Far below, the engines and + harvesters were humming. Here the wheat waved and rustled + in the wind. It was as high as Lenore's head.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's fine wheat," observed Dorn. "But + the wheat of my desert hills was richer, more golden, and + higher than this."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No regrets to-day!" murmured Lenore, + leaning to him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">There was magic in those + words—the same enchantment that made the hours fly. + She led him, at will, here and there along the + rustling-bordered lanes. From afar they watched the busy + harvest scene, with eyes that lingered long on a great, + glittering combine with its thirty-two horses plodding + along.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I can drive them. Thirty-two horses!" + she asserted, proudly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. Will you come? I will show + you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It is a temptation," he said, with a + sigh. "But there are eyes there. They would break the + spell."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Who's talking about eyes now?" she + cried.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They spent the remainder of that day + on the windy wheat-slope, high up, alone, with the beauty + and richness of "Many Waters" beneath them. And when the + sun sent its last ruddy and gold rays over the western + hills, and the weary harvesters plodded homeward, Lenore + still lingered, loath to break the spell. For on the way + home, she divined, he would tell her he was soon to + leave.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Sunset and evening star! Their beauty + and serenity pervaded Lenore's soul. Surely there was a + life somewhere else, beyond in that infinite space. And the + defeat of earthly dreams was endurable.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They walked back down the wheat lanes + hand in hand, as dusk shadowed the valley; and when they + reached the house he told her gently that he must go.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But—you will stay to-night?" + she whispered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. It's all arranged," he replied, + thickly. "They're to drive me over—my train's due at + eight.… I've kept it—till the last few + minutes."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">They went in together.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We're too late for dinner," said + Lenore, but she was not thinking of that, and she paused + with head bent. "I—I want to say good-by to + you—here." She pointed to the dim, curtained entrance + of the living-room.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'd like that, too," he replied. + "I'll go up and get my bag. Wait."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore slowly stepped to that shadowed + spot beyond the curtains where she had told her love to + Dorn; and there she stood, praying and fighting for + strength to let him go, for power to conceal her pain. The + one great thing she could do was to show him that she would + not stand in the way of his duty to himself. She realized + then that if he had told her sooner, if he were going to + remain one more hour at "Many Waters," she would break down + and beseech him not to leave her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She saw him come down-stairs with his + small hand-bag, which he set down. His face was white. His + eyes burned. But her woman's love made her divine that this + was not a shock to his soul, as it was to hers, but + stimulation—a man's strange spiritual accounting to + his fellow-men.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He went first into the dining-room, + and Lenore heard her mother's and sisters' voices in reply + to his. Presently he came out to enter her father's study. + Lenore listened, but heard no sound there. Outside, a + motor-car creaked and hummed by the window, to stop by the + side porch. Then the door of her father's study opened and + closed, and Dorn came to where she was standing.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore did precisely as she had done a + few nights before, when she had changed the world for him. + But, following her kiss, there was a terrible instant when, + with her arms around his neck, she went blind at the + realization of loss. She held to him with a savage + intensity of possession. It was like giving up life. She + knew then, as never before, that she had the power to keep + him at her side. But a thought saved her from exerting + it—the thought that she could not make him less than + other men—and so she conquered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, I want you to think + always—how you loved me," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Loved you? Oh, my boy! It seems your + lot has been hard. You've toiled—you've lost + all—and now…"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Listen," he interrupted, and she had + never heard his voice like that. "The thousands of boys who + go to fight regard it a duty. For our country!… I had + that, but more.… My father was German… and he + was a traitor. The horror for me is that I hate what is + German in <i>me</i>.… I will have to kill that. But + you've helped me.… I know I'm American. I'll do my + duty, whatever it is. I would have gone to war only a beast + with my soul killed before I ever got there.… With no + hope—no possibility of return!… But you love + me!… Can't you see—how great the + difference?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore understood and felt it in his + happiness. "Yes, Kurt, I know.… Thank God, I've + helped you.… I want you to go. I'll pray always. I + believe you will come back to me.… Life could not be + so utterly cruel…" She broke off.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Life can't rob me now—nor + death," he cried, in exaltation. "I have your love. Your + face will always be with me—as now—lovely and + brave!… Not a tear!… And only that sweet smile + like an angel's!… Oh, Lenore, what a girl you + are!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Say good-by—and go," she + faltered. Another moment would see her weaken.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I must hurry." His voice was a + whisper—almost gone. He drew a deep breath. + "Lenore—my promised wife—my star for all the + black nights—God bless you—keep you!… + Good-by!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She spent all her strength in her + embrace, all her soul in the passion of her farewell kiss. + Then she stood alone, tottering, sinking. The swift steps, + now heavy and uneven, passed out of the hall—the door + closed—the motor-car creaked and rolled + away—the droning hum ceased.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">For a moment of despairing shock, + before the storm broke, Lenore blindly wavered there, + unable to move from the spot that had seen the beginning + and the end of her brief hour of love. Then she summoned + strength to drag herself to her room, to lock her door.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Alone! In the merciful darkness and + silence and loneliness!… She need not lie nor play + false nor fool herself here. She had let him go! + Inconceivable and monstrous truth! For what?… It was + not now with her, that deceiving spirit which had made her + brave. But she was a woman. She fell upon her knees beside + her bed, shuddering.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That moment was the beginning of her + sacrifice, the sacrifice she shared in common now with + thousands of other women. Before she had pitied; now she + suffered. And all that was sweet, loving, noble, and + motherly—all that was womanly—rose to meet the + stretch of gray future, with its endless suspense and + torturing fear, its face of courage for the light of day, + its despair for the lonely night, and its vague faith in + the lessons of life, its possible and sustaining and + eternal hope of God.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Camp—, <i>October</i>—.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Dear Sister Lenore,—It's been + long since I wrote you. I'm sorry, dear. But I haven't just + been in shape to write. Have been transferred to a + training-camp not far from New York. I don't like it. The + air is raw, penetrating, different from our high mountain + air in the West. So many gray, gloomy days! And + wet—why you never saw a rain in Washington! Fine + bunch of boys, though. We get up in the morning at 4:30. + Sweep the streets of the camp! I'm glad to get up and + sweep, for I'm near frozen long before daylight. Yesterday + I peeled potatoes till my hands were cramped. Nine million + spuds, I guess! I'm wearing citizen's clothes—too + thin, by gosh!—and sleeping in a tent, on a canvas + cot, with one blanket. Wouldn't care a—(scoose me, + sis)—I wouldn't mind if I had a real gun, and some + real fighting to look forward to. Some life, I don't think! + But I meant to tell you why I'm here.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">You remember how I always took to + cowboys. Well, I got chummy with a big cow puncher from + Montana. His name was Andersen. Isn't that queer? His name + same as mine except for the last e where I have o. He's a + Swede or Norwegian. True-blue American? Well, I should + smile. Like all cowboys! He's six feet four, broad as a + door, with a flat head of an Indian, and a huge, bulging + chin. Not real handsome, but say! he's one of the finest + fellows that ever lived. We call him Montana.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">There were a lot of rough-necks in our + outfit, and right away I got in bad. You know I never was + much on holding my temper. Anyway, I got licked powerful + fine, as dad would say, and I'd been all beaten up but for + Montana. That made us two fast friends, and sure some + enemies, you bet.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">We had the tough luck to run into six + of the rough-necks, just outside of the little town, where + they'd been drinking. I never heard the name of one of that + outfit. We weren't acquainted at all. Strange how they + changed my soldier career, right at the start! This day, + when we met them, they got fresh, and of course I had to + start something. I soaked that rough-neck, sis, and don't + you forget it. Well, it was a fight, sure. I got laid + out—not knocked out, for I could see—but I + wasn't any help to pard Montana. It looked as if he didn't + need any. The rough-necks jumped him. Then, one after + another, he piled them up in the road. Just a + swing—and down went each one—cold. But the + fellow I hit came to and, grabbing up a pick-handle, with + all his might he soaked Montana over the head. What an + awful crack! Montana went down, and there was blood + everywhere.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">They took Montana to the hospital, + sewed up his head. It wasn't long before he seemed all + right again, but he told me sometimes he felt queer. Then + they put us on a troop-train, with boys from California and + all over, and we came East. I haven't seen any of those + other Western boys, though, since we got here.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">One day, without any warning, Montana + keeled over, down and out. Paralysis! They took him to a + hospital in New York. No hope, the doctors said, and he was + getting worse all the time. But some New York surgeon + advised operation, anyway. So they opened that healed-over + place in his head, where the pick-handle hit—and what + do you think they found? A splinter off that pick-handle, + stuck two inches under his skull, in his brain! They took + it out. Every day they expected Montana to die. But he + didn't. But he <i>will</i> die. I went over to see him. + He's unconscious part of the time—crazy the rest. No + part of his right side moves! It broke me all up. Why + couldn't that soak he got have been on the Kaiser's + head?</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I tell you, Lenore, a fellow has his + eye teeth cut in this getting ready to go to war. It makes + me sick. I enlisted to fight, not to be chased into a + climate that doesn't agree with me—not to sweep roads + and juggle a wooden gun. There are a lot of things, but + say! I've got to cut out that kind of talk.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I feel almost as far away from you all + as if I were in China. But I'm nearer France! I hope you're + well and standing pat, Lenore. Remember, you're dad's white + hope. I was the black sheep, you know. Tell him I don't + regard my transfer as a disgrace. The officers didn't and + he needn't. Give my love to mother and the girls. Tell them + not to worry. Maybe the war will be over before—I'll + write you often now, so cheer up.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Your loving brother,</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Jim.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal" + style='margin-top:24.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:.4in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'> + Camp—, <i>October</i>—.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">My Dearest Lenore,—If my writing + is not very legible it is because my hand shakes when I + begin this sweet and sacred privilege of writing to my + promised wife. My other letter was short, and this is the + second in the weeks since I left you. What an endless time! + You must understand and forgive me for not writing oftener + and for not giving you definite address.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I did not want to be in the Western + regiment, for reasons hard to understand. I enlisted in New + York and am trying hard to get into the Rainbow Division, + with some hope of success. There is nothing to me in being + a member of a crack regiment, but it seems that this one + will see action first of all American units. I don't want + to be an officer, either.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">How will it be possible for me to write + you as I want to—letters that will be free of the + plague of myself—letters that you can treasure if I + never come back? Sleeping and waking, I never forget the + wonderful truth of your love for me. It did not seem real + when I was with you, but, now that we are separated, I know + that it is real. Mostly my mind contains only two + things—this constant memory of you, and that other + terrible thing of which I will not speak. All else that I + think or do seems to be mechanical.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">The work, the training, is not + difficult for me, though so many boys find it desperately + hard. You know I followed a plow, and that is real toil. + Right now I see the brown fallow hills and the great + squares of gold. But visions or thoughts of home are rare. + That is well, for they hurt like a stab. I cannot think now + of a single thing connected with my training here that I + want to tell you. Yet some things I must tell. For + instance, we have different instructors, and naturally some + are more forcible than others. We have one at whom the boys + laugh. He tickles them. They like him. But he is an ordeal + for me. The reason is that in our first bayonet practice, + when we rushed and thrust a stuffed bag, he made us yell, + <i>"God damn you, German—die!"</i> I don't imagine + this to be general practice in army exercises, but the fact + is he started us that way. I can't forget. When I begin to + charge with a bayonet those words leap silently, but + terribly, to my lips. Think of this as reality, + Lenore—a sad and incomprehensible truth in 1917. All + in me that is spiritual, reasonable, all that was once + hopeful, revolts at this actuality and its meaning. But + there is another side, that dark one, which revels in + anticipation. It is the cave-man in me, hiding by night, + waiting with a bludgeon to slay. I am beginning to be + struck by the gradual change in my comrades. I fancied that + I alone had suffered a retrogression. I have a deep + consciousness of baseness that is going to keep me aloof + from them. I seem to be alone with my own soul. Yet I seem + to be abnormally keen to impressions. I feel what is going + on in the soldiers' minds, and it shocks me, set me + wondering, forces me to doubt myself. I keep saying it must + be my peculiar way of looking at things.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Lenore, I remember your appeal to me. + Shall I ever forget your sweet face—your sad eyes + when you bade me hope in God?—I am trying, but I do + not see God yet. Perhaps that is because of my + morbidness—my limitations. Perhaps I will face him + over there, when I go down into the Valley of the Shadow. + One thing, however, I do begin to see is that there is a + divinity in men. Slowly something divine is revealing + itself to me. To give up work, property, friends, sister, + mother, home, sweetheart, to sacrifice all and go out to + fight for country, for honor—that indeed is divine. + It is beautiful. It inspires a man and lifts his head. But, + alas! if he is a thinking man, when he comes in contact + with the actual physical preparation for war, he finds that + the divinity was the hour of his sacrifice and that, to + become a good soldier, he must change, forget, grow hard, + strong, merciless, brutal, humorous, and callous, all of + which is to say base. I see boys who are tender-hearted, + who love life, who were born sufferers, who cannot inflict + pain! How many silent cries of protest, of wonder, of + agony, must go up in the night over this camp! The sum of + them would be monstrous. The sound of them, if voiced, + would be a clarion blast to the world. It is sacrifice that + is divine, and not the making of an efficient soldier.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I shall write you endlessly. The action + of writing relieves me. I feel less burdened now. Sometimes + I cannot bear the burden of all this unintelligible + consciousness. My mind is not large enough. Sometimes I + feel that I am going to be every soldier and every + enemy—each one in his strife or his drifting or his + agony or his death. But despite that feeling I seem alone + in a horde. I make no friends. I have no way to pass my + leisure but writing. I can hardly read at all. When off + duty the boys amuse themselves in a hundred + ways—going to town, the theaters, and movies; chasing + the girls (especially that to judge by their talk); play; + boxing; games; and I am sorry to add, many of them gamble + and drink. But I cannot do any of these things. I cannot + forget what I am here for. I cannot forget that I am + training to kill men. Never do I forget that soon I will + face death. What a terrible, strange, vague thrill that + sends shivering over me! Amusement and forgetfulness are + past for Kurt Dorn. I am concerned with my soul. I am + fighting that black passion which makes of me a sleepless + watcher and thinker.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">If this war only lets me live long + enough to understand its meaning! Perhaps that meaning will + be the meaning of life, in which case I am longing for the + unattainable. But underneath it all must be a colossal + movement of evolution, of spiritual growth—or of + retrogression. Who knows? When I ask myself what I am going + to fight for, I answer—for my country, as a + patriot—for my hate, as an individual. My time is + almost up. I go on duty. The rain is roaring on the thin + roof. How it rains in this East! Whole days and nights it + pours. I cannot help but think of my desert hills, always + so barren and yellow, with the dust-clouds whirling. One + day of this rain, useless and wasted here, would have saved + the Bend crop of wheat. Nature is almost as inscrutable as + God.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Lenore, good-by for this time. Think of + me, but not as lonely or unhappy or uncomfortable out + there in the cold, raw, black, wet night. I will be + neither. Some one—a spirit—will keep beside me + as I step the beat. I have put unhappiness behind me. And + no rain or mud or chill will ever feaze me.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Yours with love,</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Kurt Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal" + style='margin-top:24.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:.4in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'> + Camp—, <i>October</i>—.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Dear Sister Lenore,—After that + little letter of yours I could do nothing more than look up + another pin like the one I sent Kathleen. I inclose it. + Hope you will wear it.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I'm very curious to see what your + package contains. It hasn't arrived yet. All the mail comes + late. That makes the boys sore.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">The weather hasn't been so wet lately + as when I last wrote, but it's colder. Believe me these + tents are not steam-heated! But we grin and try to look + happy. It's not the most cheerful thing to hear the old + call in the morning and tumble out in the cold gray dawn. + Say! I've got two blankets now. <i>Two!</i> Just time for + mess, then we hike down the road. I'm in for artillery now, + I guess. The air service really fascinated me, but you + can't have what you want in this business.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ"><i>Saturday</i>.—This letter will + be in sections. No use sending you a little dab of news now + and then. I'll write when I can, and mail when the letter + assumes real proportions. Your package arrived and I was + delighted. I think I slept better last night on your little + pillow than any night since we were called out. My pillow + before was your sleeveless jersey.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">It's after three A.M. and I'm on + guard—that is, battery guard, and I have to be up + from midnight to reveille, not on a post, but in my tent, + so that if any of my men (I'm a corporal now), whom I + relieve every two hours, get into trouble they can call me. + Non-coms. go on guard once in six days, so about every + sixth night I get along with no sleep.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">We have been ordered to do away with + all personal property except shaving outfit and absolutely + necessary articles. We can't keep a foot-locker, trunk, + valise, or even an ordinary soap-box in our tents. + Everything must be put in one barrack bag, a canvas sack + just like a laundry-bag.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Thank the girls for the silk + handkerchief and candy they sent. I sure have the sweetest + sisters of any boy I know. I never appreciated them when I + had them. I'm learning bitter truths these days. And tell + mother I'll write her soon. Thank her for the pajamas and + the napkins. Tell her I'm sorry a soldier has no use for + either.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">This morning I did my washing of the + past two weeks, and I was so busy that I didn't hear the + bugle blow, and thereby got on the "black book." Which + means that I won't get any time off soon.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Before I forget, Lenore, let me tell + you that I've taken ten thousand dollars' life insurance + from the government, in your favor as beneficiary. This + costs me only about six and a half dollars per month, and + in case of my death—Well, I'm a soldier, now. Please + tell Rose I've taken a fifty-dollar Liberty Bond of the new + issue for her. This I'm paying at the rate of five dollars + per month and it will be delivered to her at the end of ten + months. Both of these, of course, I'm paying out of my + government pay as a soldier. The money dad sent me I spent + like water, lent to the boys, threw away. Tell him not to + send me any more. Tell him the time has come for Jim + Anderson to make good. I've a rich dad and he's the best + dad any harum-scarum boy ever had. I'm going to prove more + than one thing this trip.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">We hear so many rumors, and none of + them ever come true. One of them is funny—that we + have so many rich men with political influence in our + regiment that we will never get to France! Isn't that the + limit? But it's funny because, if we have rich men, I'd + like to see them. Still, there are thirty thousand soldiers + here, and in my neck of the woods such rumors are laughed + and cussed at. We hear also that we're going to be ordered + South. I wish that would come true. It's so cold and drab + and muddy and monotonous.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">My friend Montana fooled everybody. He + didn't die. He seems to be hanging on. Lately he recovered + consciousness. Told me he had no feeling on his left side, + except sometimes his hand itched, you know, like prickly + needles. But Montana will never be any good again. That + fine big cowboy! He's been one grand soldier. It sickens me + sometimes to think of the difference between what thrilled + me about this war game and what we get. Maybe, + though—There goes my call. I must close. Love to + all.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Jim.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal" + style='margin-top:24.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:.4in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'> + New York City, <i>October</i>—.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Dearest Lenore,—It seems about + time that I had a letter from you. I'm sure letters are on + the way, but they do not come quickly. The boys complain of + the mail service. Isn't it strange that there is not a soul + to write me except you? Jeff, my farm-hand, will write me + whenever I write him, which I haven't done yet.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I'm on duty here in New York at an + armory bazaar. It's certainly the irony of fate. Why did + the officer pick on me, I'd like to know? But I've never + complained of an order so far, and I'm standing it. Several + of us—and they chose the husky boys—have been + sent over here, for absolutely no purpose that I can see + except to exhibit ourselves in uniform. It's a woman's + bazaar, to raise money for war-relief work and so on. The + hall is almost as large as that field back of your house, + and every night it is packed with people, mostly young. My + comrades are having fun out of it, but I feel like a fish + out of water.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Just the same, Lenore, I'm learning + more every day. If I was not so disgusted I'd think this + was a wonderful opportunity. As it is, I regard it only as + an experience over which I have no control and that + interests me in spite of myself. New York is an awful + place—endless, narrow, torn-up streets crowded with + hurrying throngs, taxicabs, cars, and full of noise and + dust. I am always choked for air. And these streets reek. + Where do the people come from and where are they going? + They look wild, as if they had to go somewhere, but did not + know where that was. I've no time or inclination to see New + York, though under happier circumstances I think I'd like + to.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">People in the East seem strange to me. + Still, as I never mingled with many people in the West, I + cannot say truly whether Eastern people are different from + Western people. But I think so. Anyway, while I was in + Spokane, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles I did not + think people were greatly concerned about the war. Denver + people appeared not to realize there was a war. But here in + New York everything is war. You can't escape it. You see + that war will soon obsess rich and poor, alien and neutral + and belligerent, pacifist and militarist. Since I wrote you + last I've tried to read the newspapers sent to us. It's + hard to tell you which makes me the sicker—the + prattle of the pacifist or the mathematics of the military + experts. Both miss the spirit of men. Neither has any soul. + I think the German minds must all be mathematical.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">But I want to write about the women and + girls I see, here in New York, in the camps and towns, on + the trains, everywhere. Lenore, the war has thrown them off + their balance. I have seen and studied at close hand women + of all classes. Believe me, as the boys say, I have thought + more than twice whether or not I would tell you the stark + truth. But somehow I am impelled to. I have an overwhelming + conviction that all American girls and mothers should know + what the truth is. They will never be told, Lenore, and + most would never believe if they were told. And that is one + thing wrong with people.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I believe every soldier, from the time + he enlists until the war is ended, should be kept away from + women. This is a sweeping statement and you must take into + account the mind of him who makes it. But I am not leaping + at conclusions. The soldier boys have terrible peril facing + them long before they get to the trenches. Not all, or + nearly all, the soldiers are going to be vitally affected + by the rottenness of great cities or by the mushroom + hotbeds of vice springing up near the camps. These evils + exist and are being opposed by military and government, by + police and Y.M.C.A., and good influence of good people. But + they will never wholly stamp it out.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Nor do I want to say much about the + society women who are "rushing" the officers. There may be + one here and there with her heart in the right place, but + with most of them it must be, first, this something about + war that has unbalanced women; and secondly, a fad, a + novelty, a new sentimental stunt, a fashion set by some + leader. Likewise I want to say but little about the horde + of common, street-chasing, rattled-brained women and girls + who lie in wait for soldiers at every corner, so to speak. + All these, to be sure, may be unconsciously actuated by + motives that do not appear on the surface; and if this be + true, their actions are less bold, less raw than they + look.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">What I want to dwell upon is my + impression of something strange, unbalanced, + incomprehensible, about the frank conduct of so many + well-educated, refined, and good women I see; and about the + eagerness, restlessness, the singular response of nice + girls to situations that are not natural.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">To-night a handsome, stylishly gowned + woman of about thirty came up to me with a radiant smile + and a strange brightness in her eyes. There were five + hundred couples dancing on the floor, and the music and + sound of sliding feet made it difficult to hear her. She + said: "You handsome soldier boy! Come dance with me?" I + replied politely that I did not dance. Then she took hold + of me and said, "I'll teach you." I saw a wedding-ring on + the hand she laid on my arm. Then I looked straight at her, + "Madam, very soon I'll be learning the dance of death over + in France, and my mind's concerned with that." She grew red + with anger. She seemed amazed. And she snapped, "Well, you + <i>are</i> a queer soldier!" Later I watched her flirting + and dancing with an officer.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Overtures and advances innumerable have + been made to me, ranging from the assured possession-taking + onslaught like this woman's to the slight, subtle + something, felt more than seen, of a more complex nature. + And, Lenore, I blush to tell you this, but I've been mobbed + by girls. They have a thousand ways of letting a soldier + <i>know!</i> I could not begin to tell them. But I do not + actually realize what it is that is conveyed, that I know; + and I am positive the very large majority of soldiers + <i>misunderstand</i>. At night I listen to the talks of my + comrades, and, well—if the girls only heard! Many + times I go out of hearing, and when I cannot do that I + refuse to hear.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Lenore, I am talking about nice girls + now. I am merciless. There are many girls like + you—they seem like you, though none so pretty. I + mean, you know, there are certain manners and distinctions + that at once mark a really nice girl. For a month I've been + thrown here and there, so that it seems I've seen as many + girls as soldiers. I have been sent to different + entertainments given for soldiers. At one place a woman got + up and invited the girls to ask the boys to dance. At + another a crowd of girls were lined up wearing different + ribbons, and the boys marched along until each one found + the girl wearing a ribbon to match the one he wore. That + was his partner. It was interesting to see the eager, + mischievous, brooding eyes of these girls as they watched + and waited. Just as interesting was it to see this boy's + face when he found his partner was ugly, and that boy swell + with pride when he found he had picked a "winner." It was + all adventure for both boys and girls. But I saw more than + that in it. Whenever I could not avoid meeting a girl I + tried to be agreeable and to talk about war, and soldiers, + and what was going on. I did not dance, of course, and I + imagine more than one girl found me a "queer soldier."</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">It always has touched me, though, to + see and feel the sweetness, graciousness, sympathy, + kindness, and that other indefinable something, in the + girls I have met. How they made me think of you, Lenore! No + doubt about their hearts, their loyalty, their Americanism. + Every soldier who goes to France can fight for some girl! + They make you feel that. I believe I have gone deeper than + most soldiers in considering what I will call war-relation + of the sexes. If it is normal, then underneath it all is a + tremendous inscrutable design of nature or God. If that be + true, actually true, then war must be inevitable and right! + How horrible! My thoughts confound me sometimes. Anyway, + the point I want to make is this: I heard an officer tell + an irate father, whose two daughters had been insulted by + soldiers: "My dear sir, it is regrettable. These men will + be punished. But they are not greatly to blame, because so + many girls throw themselves at their heads. Your daughters + did not, of course, but they should not have come here." + That illustrates the fixed idea of the military, all + through the ranks—<i>Women throw themselves at + soldiers!</i> It is true that they do. But the idea is + false, nevertheless, because the mass of girls are + misunderstood.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Misunderstood!—I can tell you + why. Surely the mass of American girls are nice, fine, + sweet, wholesome. They are young. The news of war liberates + something in them that we can find no name for. But it must + be noble. A soldier! The very name, from childhood, is one + to make a girl thrill. What then the actual thing, the + uniform, invested somehow with chivalry and courage, the + clean-cut athletic young man, somber and fascinating with + his intent eyes, his serious brow, or his devil-may-care + gallantry, the compelling presence of him that breathes of + his sacrifice, of his near departure to privation, to + squalid, comfortless trenches, to the fire and hell of war, + to blood and agony and death—in a word to fight, + fight, fight for women!… So through this beautiful + emotion women lose their balance and many are + misunderstood. Those who would not and could not be bold + are susceptible to advances that in an ordinary time would + not affect them. War invests a soldier with a glamour. Love + at first sight, flirtations, rash intimacies, quick + engagements, immediate marriages. The soldier who is soon + going away to fight and perhaps to die strikes hard at the + very heart of a girl. Either she is not her real self then, + or else she is suddenly transported to a womanhood that is + instinctive, elemental, universal for the future. She feels + what she does not know. She surrenders because there is an + imperative call to the depths of her nature. She sacrifices + because she is the inspiritor of the soldier, the reward + for his loss, the savior of the race. If women are the + spoils of barbarous conquerors, they are also the sinews, + the strength, the soul of defenders.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">And so, however you look at it, war + means for women sacrifice, disillusion, heartbreak, agony, + doom. I feel that so powerfully that I am overcome; I am + sick at the gaiety and playing; I am full of fear, wonder, + admiration, and hopeless pity for them.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">No man can tell what is going on in the + souls of soldiers while noble women are offering love and + tenderness, throwing themselves upon the altar of war, + hoping blindly to send their great spirits marching to the + front. Perhaps the man who lives through the war will feel + the change in his soul if he cannot tell it. Day by day I + think I see a change in my comrades. As they grow + physically stronger they seem to grow spiritually lesser. + But maybe that is only my idea. I see evidences of fear, + anger, sullenness, moodiness, shame. I see a growing + indifference to fatigue, toil, pain. As these boys harden + physically they harden mentally. Always, 'way off there is + the war, and that seems closely related to the near duty + here—what it takes to make a man. These fellows will + measure men differently after this experience with + sacrifice, obedience, labor, and pain. In that they will + become great. But I do not think these things stimulate a + man's mind. Changes are going on in me, some of which I am + unable to define. For instance, physically I am much bigger + and stronger than I was. I weigh one hundred and eighty + pounds! As for my mind, something is always tugging at it. + I feel that it grows tired. It wants to forget. In spite of + my will, all of these keen desires of mine to know + everything lag and fail often, and I catch myself drifting. + I see and feel and hear without thinking. I am only an + animal then. At these times sight of blood, or a fight, or + a plunging horse, or a broken leg—and these sights + are common—affects me little until I am quickened and + think about the meaning of it all. At such moments I have a + revulsion of feeling. With memory comes a revolt, and so + on, until I am the distressed, inquisitive, and morbid + person I am now. I shudder at what war will make me. Actual + contact with earth, exploding guns, fighting comrades, + striking foes, will make brutes of us all. It is wrong to + shed another man's blood. If life was meant for that why do + we have progress? I cannot reconcile a God with all this + horror. I have misgivings about my mind. If I feel so + acutely here in safety and comfort, what shall I feel over + there in peril and agony? I fear I shall laugh at death. + Oh, Lenore, consider that! To laugh in the ghastly face of + death! If I yield utterly to a fiendish joy of bloody + combat, then my mind will fail, and that in itself would be + evidence of God.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I do not read over my letters to you, I + just write. Forgive me if they are not happier. Every hour + I think of you. At night I see your face in the shadow of + the tent wall. And I love you unutterably.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Faithfully,</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Kurt Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal" + style='margin-top:24.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:.4in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'> + Camp ——, <i>November</i> —,</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Dear Sister,—It's bad news I've + got for you this time. Something bids me tell you, though + up to now I've kept unpleasant facts to myself.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">The weather has knocked me out. My cold + came back, got worse and worse. Three days ago I had a + chill that lasted for fifteen minutes. I shook like a leaf. + It left me, and then I got a terrible pain in my side. But + I didn't give in, which I feel now was a mistake. I stayed + up till I dropped.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I'm here in the hospital. It's a long + shed with three stoves, and a lot of beds with other sick + boys. My bed is far away from a stove. The pain is bad yet, + but duller, and I've fever. I'm pretty sick, honey. Tell + mother and dad, but not the girls. Give my love to all. And + don't worry. It'll all come right in the end. This beastly + climate's to blame.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ"><i>Later</i>,—It's night now. I + was interrupted. I'll write a few more lines. Hope you can + read them. It's late and the wind is moaning outside. It's + so cold and dismal. The fellow in the bed next to me is out + of his head. Poor devil! He broke his knee, and they put + off the operation—too busy! So few doctors and so + many patients! And now he'll lose his leg. He's talking + about home. Oh, Lenore! <i>Home!</i> I never knew what home + was—till now.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I'm worse to-night. But I'm always bad + at night. Only, to-night I feel strange. There's a weight + on my chest, besides the pain. That moan of wind makes me + feel so lonely. There's no one here—and I'm so cold. + I've thought a lot about you girls and mother and dad. Tell + dad I made good.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Jim</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Jim's last letter was not taken + seriously by the other members of the Anderson family. The + father shook his head dubiously. "That ain't like Jim," but + made no other comment. Mrs. Anderson sighed. The young + sisters were not given to worry. Lenore, however, was + haunted by an unwritten meaning in her brother's + letter.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Weeks before, she had written to Dorn + and told him to hunt up Jim. No reply had yet come from + Dorn. Every day augmented her uneasiness, until it was + dreadful to look for letters that did not come. All this + fortified her, however, to expect calamity. Like a bolt out + of the clear sky it came in the shape of a telegram from + Camp —— saying that Jim was dying.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The shock prostrated the mother. Jim + had been her favorite. Mr. Anderson left at once for the + East. Lenore had the care of her mother and the management + of "Many Waters" on her hands, which duties kept her + mercifully occupied. Mrs. Anderson, however, after a day, + rallied surprisingly. Lenore sensed in her mother the + strength of the spirit that sacrificed to a noble and + universal cause. It seemed to be Mrs. Anderson's conviction + that Jim had been shot, or injured by accident in + gun-training, or at least by a horse. Lenore did not share + her mother's idea and was reluctant to dispel it. On the + evening of the fifth day after Mr. Anderson's departure a + message came, saying that he had arrived too late to see + Jim alive. Mrs. Anderson bore the news bravely, though she + weakened perceptibly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The family waited then for further + news. None came. Day after day passed. Then one evening, + while Lenore strolled in the gloaming, Kathleen came + running to burst out with the announcement of their + father's arrival. He had telephoned from Vale for a car to + meet him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Not long after that, Lenore, who had + gone to her room, heard the return of the car and + recognized her father's voice. She ran down in time to see + him being embraced by the girls, and her mother leaning + with bowed head on his shoulder.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, I fetched Jim—back," he + said, steadily, but very low. "It's all arranged.… + An' we'll bury him to-morrow."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh—dad!" cried Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hello, my girl!" he replied, and + kissed her. "I'm sorry to tell you I couldn't locate Kurt + Dorn.… That New York—an' that trainin' + camp!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He held up his hands in utter futility + of expression. Lenore's quick eyes noted his face had grown + thin and haggard, and she made sure with a pang that his + hair was whiter.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm sure glad to be home," he said, + with a heavy expulsion of breath. "I want to clean up an' + have a bite to eat."</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore was so disappointed at failing + to hear from Dorn that she did not think how singular it + was her father did not tell more about Jim. Later he seemed + more like himself, and told them simply that Jim had + contracted pneumonia and died without any message for his + folk at home. This prostrated Mrs. Anderson again.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Later Lenore sought her father in his + room. He could not conceal from her that he had something + heartrending on his mind. Then there was more than tragedy + in his expression. Lenore felt a leap of fear at what + seemed her father's hidden anger. She appealed to + him—importuned him. Plainer it came to her that he + wanted to relieve himself of a burden. Then doubling her + persuasions, she finally got him to talk.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, it's not been so long ago + that right here in this room Jim begged me to let him + enlist. He wasn't of age. But would I let him go—to + fight for the honor of our country—for the future + safety of our home?… We all felt the boy's eagerness, + his fire, his patriotism. Wayward as he's been, we suddenly + were proud of him. We let him go. We gave him up. He was a + part of our flesh an' blood—sent by us + Andersons—to do our share."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson paused in his halting speech, + and swallowed hard. His white face twitched strangely and + his brow was clammy. Lenore saw that his piercing gaze + looked far beyond her for the instant that he broke + down.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Jim was a born fighter," the father + resumed. "He wasn't vicious. He just had a leanin' to help + anybody. As a lad he fought for his little + pards—always on the right side—an' he always + fought fair.… This opportunity to train for a soldier + made a man of him. He'd have made his mark in the war. + Strong an' game an' fierce, he'd … he'd … Well, + he's dead—he's <i>dead!</i>… Four months after + enlistment he's dead.… An' he never had a rifle in + his hands! He never had his hands on a machine-gun or a + piece of artillery!… He never had a uniform! He never + had an overcoat! He never …"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Mr. Anderson's voice shook so + that he had to stop to gain control. Lenore was horrified. + She felt a burning stir within her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lemme get this—out," choked + Anderson, his face now livid, his veins bulging. "I'm drove + to tell it. I was near all day locatin' Jim's company. + Found the tent where he'd lived. It was cold, damp, muddy. + Jim's messmates spoke high of him. Called him a + prince!… They all owed him money. He'd done many a + good turn for them. He had only a thin blanket, an' he + caught cold. All the boys had colds. One night he gave that + blanket to a boy sicker than he was. Next day he got + worse.… There was miles an' miles of them tents. I + like to never found the hospital where they'd sent Jim. An' + then it was six o'clock in the mornin'—a raw, bleak + day that'd freeze one of us to the marrow. I had trouble + gettin' in. But a soldier went with me an'—an' + …"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's voice went to a whisper, + and he looked pityingly at Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That hospital was a barn. No doctors! + Too early.… The nurses weren't in sight. I met one + later, an', poor girl! she looked ready to drop + herself!… We found Jim in one of the little rooms. No + heat! It was winter there.… Only a bed!… Jim + lay on the floor, dead! He'd fallen or pitched off the bed. + He had on only his underclothes that he had on—when + he—left home.… He was stiff—an' must + have—been dead—a good while."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore held out her trembling hands. + "Dead—Jim dead—like that!" she faltered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. He got pneumonia," replied + Anderson, hoarsely. "The camp was full of it."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But—my God! Were not + the—the poor boys taken care of?" implored Lenore, + faintly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's a terrible time. All was done + that <i>could</i> be done!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then—it was all—for + nothing?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"All! All! Our boy an' many like + him—the best blood of our country—Western + blood—dead because … because …"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's voice failed him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, Jim! Oh, my brother!… Dead + like a poor neglected dog! Jim—who enlisted to + fight—for—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore broke down then and hurried + away to her room.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With great difficulty Mrs. Anderson + was revived, and it became manifest that the prop upon + which she had leaned had been slipped from under her. The + spirit which had made her strong to endure the death of her + boy failed when the sordid bald truth of a miserable and + horrible waste of life gave the lie to the splendid + fighting chance Jim had dreamed of.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When Anderson realized that she was + fading daily he exhausted himself in long expositions of + the illness and injury and death common to armies in the + making. More deaths came from these causes than from war. + It was the elision of the weaker element—the survival + of the fittest; and some, indeed very many, mothers must + lose their sons that way. The government was sound at the + core, he claimed; and his own rage was at the few + incompetents and profiteers. These must be weeded + out—a process that was going on. The gigantic task of + a government to draft and prepare a great army and navy was + something beyond the grasp of ordinary minds. Anderson + talked about what he had seen and heard, proving the + wonderful stride already made. But all that he said now + made no impression upon Mrs. Anderson. She had made her + supreme sacrifice for a certain end, and that was as much + the boy's fiery ambition to fight as it was her duty, + common with other mothers, to furnish a man at the front. + What a hopeless, awful sacrifice! She sank under it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Those were trying days for Lenore, + just succeeding her father's return; and she had little + time to think of herself. When the mail came, day after + day, without a letter from Dorn, she felt the pang in her + breast grow heavier. Intimations crowded upon her of + impending troubles that would make the present ones seem + light.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was not long until the mother was + laid to rest beside the son.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When that day ended, Lenore and her + father faced each other in her room, where he had always + been wont to come for sympathy. They gazed at each other, + with hard, dry eyes. Stark-naked truth—grim + reality—the nature of this catastrophe—the + consciousness of war—dawned for each in the look of + the other. Brutal shock and then this second exceeding + bitter woe awakened their minds to the futility of + individual life.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore—it's over!" he said, + huskily, as he sank into a chair. "Like a nightmare!… + What have I got to live for?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You have us girls," replied Lenore. + "And if you did not have us there would be many others for + you to live for.… Dad, can't you + see—<i>now</i>?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon. But I'm growin' old an' + mebbe I've quit."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, dad, you'll never quit. Suppose + all we Americans quit. That'd mean a German victory. Never! + Never! Never!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"By God! you're right!" he ejaculated, + with the trembling strain of his face suddenly fixing. + Blood and life shot into his eyes. He got up heavily and + began to stride to and fro before her. "You see clearer + than me. You always did, Lenore."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm beginning to see, but I can't + tell you," replied Lenore, closing her eyes. Indeed, there + seemed a colossal vision before her, veiled and strange. + "Whatever happens, we <i>cannot</i> break. It's because of + the war. We have our tasks—greater now than ever we + believe could be thrust upon us. Yours to show men what you + are made of! To raise wheat as never before in your life! + Mine to show my sisters and my friends—all the + women—what their duty is. We must sacrifice, work, + prepare, and fight for the future."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon," he nodded solemnly. "Loss + of mother an' Jim changes this damned war. Whatever's in my + power to do must go on. So some one can take it up when + I—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That's the great conception, dad," + added Lenore, earnestly. "We are tragically awakened. We've + been surprised—terribly struck in the dark. Something + monstrous and horrible!… I can feel the menace in it + for all—over every family in this broad land."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, you said once that + Jim—Now, how'd you know it was all over for him?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"A woman's heart, dad. When I said + good-by to Jim I knew it was good-by forever."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did you feel that way about Kurt + Dorn?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. He will come back to me. I dream + it. It's in my spirit—my instinct of life, my + flesh-and-blood life of the future—it's in my belief + in God. Kurt Dorn's ordeal will be worse than death for + him. But I believe as I pray—that he will come home + alive."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then, after all, you do hope," said + her father. "Lenore, when I was down East, I seen what + women were doin'. The bad women are good an' the good women + are great. I think women have more to do with war then men, + even if they do stay home. It must be because women are + mothers.… Lenore, you've bucked me up. I'll go at + things now. The need for wheat next year will be beyond + calculation. I'll buy ten thousand acres of that wheatland + round old Chris Dorn's farm. An' my shot at the Germans + will be wheat. I'll raise a million bushels!"</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Next morning in the mail was a long, + thick envelope addressed to Lenore in handwriting that + shook her heart and made her fly to the seclusion of her + room.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">New York City, <i>November</i> + —.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">DEAREST,—when you receive this I + will be in France.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Lenore sustained a strange shock. + The beloved handwriting faded, the thick sheets of paper + fell; and all about her seemed dark and whirling, as the + sudden joy and excitement stirred by the letter changed to + sickening pain.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"<i>France</i><i>!</i> He's in + France?" she whispered. "Oh, Kurt!" A storm of love and + terror burst over her. It had the onset and the advantage + of a bewildering surprise. It laid low, for the moment, her + fortifications of sacrifice, strength, and resolve. She had + been forced into womanhood, and her fear, her agony, were + all the keener for the intelligence and spirit that had + repudiated selfish love. Kurt Dorn was in France in the + land of the trenches! Strife possessed her and had a moment + of raw, bitter triumph. She bit her lips and clenched her + fists, to restrain the impulse to rush madly around the + room, to scream out her fear and hate. With forcing her + thought, with hard return to old well-learned arguments, + there came back the nobler emotions. But when she took up + the letter again, with trembling hands, her heart fluttered + high and sick, and she saw the words through blurred + eyes.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">…I'll give the letter to an + ensign, who has promised to mail it the moment he gets back + to New York.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Lenore, your letter telling me about + Jim was held up in the mail. But thank goodness, I got it + in time. I'd already been transferred, and expected orders + any day to go on board the transport, where I am writing + now. I'd have written you, or at least telegraphed you, + yesterday, after seeing Jim, if I had not expected to see + him again to-day. But this morning we were marched on board + and I cannot even get this letter off to you.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Lenore, your brother is a very sick + boy. I lost some hours finding him. They did not want to + let me see him. But I implored—said that I was + engaged to his sister—and finally I got in. The nurse + was very sympathetic. But I didn't care for the doctors in + charge. They seemed hard, hurried, brusque. But they have + their troubles. The hospital was a long barracks, and it + was full of cripples.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">The nurse took me into a small, bare + room, too damp and cold for a sick man, and I said so. She + just looked at me.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Jim looks like you more than any other + of the Andersons. I recognized that at the same moment I + saw how very sick he was. They had told me outside that he + had a bad case of pneumonia. He was awake, perfectly + conscious, and he stared at me with eyes that set my heart + going.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Hello, Jim!" I said, and offered my + hand, as I sat down on the bed. He was too weak to shake + hands.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Who're you?" he asked. He couldn't + speak very well. When I told him my name and that I was his + sister's fiancé his face changed so he did not look + like the same person. It was beautiful. Oh, it showed how + homesick he was! Then I talked a blue streak about you, + about the girls, about "Many Waters"—how I lost my + wheat, and everything. He was intensely interested, and + when I got through he whispered that he guessed Lenore had + picked a "winner." What do you think of that? He was + curious about me, and asked me questions till the nurse + made him stop. I was never so glad about anything as I was + about the happiness it evidently gave him to meet me and + hear from home. I promised to come next day if we did not + sail. Then he showed what I must call despair. He must have + been passionately eager to get to France. The nurse dragged + me out. Jim called weakly after me: "Good-by, Kurt. Stick + some Germans for me!" I'll never forget his tone nor his + look.… Lenore, he doesn't expect to get over to + France.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I questioned the nurse, and she shook + her head doubtfully. She looked sad. She said Jim had been + the lion of his regiment. I questioned a doctor, and he was + annoyed. He put me off with a sharp statement that Jim was + not in danger. But I think he is. I hope and pray he + recovers.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ"><i>Thursday</i>.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">We sailed yesterday. It was a wonderful + experience, leaving Hoboken. Our transport and the dock + looked as if they had a huge swarm of yellow bees hanging + over everything. The bees were soldiers. The most profound + emotion I ever had—except the one when you told me + you loved me—came over me as the big boat swung free + of the dock—of the good old U.S., of home. I wanted + to jump off and swim through the eddying green water to the + piles and hide in them till the boat had gone. As we backed + out, pulled up tugs, and got started down the river, my + thrills increased, until we passed the Statue of + Liberty—and then I couldn't tell how I felt. One + thing, I could not see very well.… I gazed beyond the + colossal statue that France gave to the U.S.—'way + across the water and the ships and the docks toward the + West that I was leaving. Feeling like mine then only comes + once to a man in his life. First I seemed to see all the + vast space, the farms, valleys, woods, deserts, rivers, and + mountains between me and my golden wheat-hills. Then I saw + my home, and it was as if I had a magnificent photograph + before my very eyes. A sudden rush of tears blinded me. + Such a storm of sweetness, regret, memory! Then at last + you—<i>you</i> as you stood before me last, the very + loveliest girl in all the world. My heart almost burst, and + in the wild, sick pain of the moment I had a strange, + comforting flash of thought that a man who could leave you + must be impelled by something great in store for him. I + feel that. I told you once. To laugh at death! That is what + I shall do. But perhaps that is not the great experience + which will come to me.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">I saw the sun set in the sea, 'way back + toward the western horizon, where the thin, dark line that + was land disappeared in the red glow. The wind blows hard. + The water is rough, dark gray, and cold. I like the taste + of the spray. Our boat rolls heavily and many boys are + already sick. I do not imagine the motion will affect me. + It is stuffy below-deck. I'll spend what time I can above, + where I can see and feel. It was dark just now when I came + below. And as I looked out into the windy darkness and + strife I was struck by the strangeness of the sea and how + it seemed to be like my soul. For a long time I have been + looking into my soul, and I find such ceaseless strife, + such dark, unlit depths, such chaos. These thoughts and + emotions, always with me, keep me from getting close to my + comrades. No, not me, but it keeps them away from me. I + think they regard me strangely. They all talk of + submarines. They are afraid. Some will lose sleep at night. + But I never think of a submarine when I gaze out over the + tumbling black waters. What I think of, what I am going + after, what I need seems far, far away. Always! I am no + closer now than when I was at your home. So it has not to + do with distance. And Lenore, maybe it has not to do with + trenches or Germans.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ"><i>Wednesday</i>.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">It grows harder to get a chance to + write and harder for me to express myself. When I could + write I have to work or am on duty; when I have a little + leisure I am somehow clamped. This old chugging boat beats + the waves hour after hour, all day and all night. I can + feel the vibration when I'm asleep. Many things happen that + would interest you, just the duty and play of the soldiers, + for that matter, and the stories I hear going from lip to + lip, and the accidents. Oh! so much happens. But all these + rush out of my mind the moment I sit down to write. There + is something at work in me as vast and heaving as the + ocean.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">At first I had a fear, a dislike of the + ocean. But that is gone. It is indescribable to stand on + the open deck at night as we are driving on and on and + on—to look up at the grand, silent stars, that know, + that understand, yet are somehow merciless—to look + out across the starlit, moving sea. Its ceaseless movement + at first distressed me; now I feel that it is perpetually + moving to try to become still. To seek a level! To find + itself! To quiet down to peace! But that will never be. And + I think if the ocean is not like the human heart, then what + is it like?</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">This voyage will be good for me. The + hard, incessant objective life, the physical life of a + soldier, somehow comes to a halt on board ship. And every + hour now is immeasurable for me. Whatever the mystery of + life, of death, of what drives me, of why I cannot help + fight the demon in me, of this thing called war—the + certainty is that these dark, strange nights on the sea + have given me a hope and faith that the truth is not + utterly unattainable.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ"><i>Sunday.</i></p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">We're in the danger zone now, with + destroyers around us and a cruiser ahead. I am all eyes and + ears. I lose sleep at night from thinking so hard. The ship + doctor stopped me the other day—studied my face. Then + he said: "You're too intense. You think too hard.… + Are you afraid?" And I laughed in his face. "Absolutely + no!" I told him. "Then forget—and mix with the boys. + Play—cut up—fight—do anything but + <i>think!</i>" That doctor is a good chap, but he doesn't + figure Kurt Dorn if he imagines the Germans can kill me by + making me think.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">We're nearing France now, and the very + air is charged. An aeroplane came out to meet + us—welcome us, I guess, and it flew low. The soldiers + went wild. I never had such a thrill. That air game would + just suit me, if I were fitted for it. But I'm no mechanic. + Besides, I'm too big and heavy. My place will be in the + front line with a bayonet. Strange how a bayonet fascinates + me!</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">They say we can't write home anything + about the war. I'll write you something, whenever I can. + Don't be unhappy if you do not hear often—or if my + letters cease to come. My heart and my mind are full of + you. Whatever comes to me—the training over + here—the going to the trenches—the + fighting—I shall be safe if only I can remember + you.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">With love,</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">Kurt.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore carried that letter in her + bosom when she went out to walk in the fields, to go over + the old ground she and Kurt had trod hand in hand. From the + stone seat above the brook she watched the sunset. All was + still except the murmur of the running water, and somehow + she could not long bear that. As the light began to shade + on the slopes, she faced them, feeling, as always, a + strength come to her from their familiar lines. Twilight + found her high above the ranch, and absolutely alone. She + would have this lonely hour, and then, all her mind and + energy must go to what she knew was imperative duty. She + would work to the limit of her endurance.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was an autumn twilight, with a cool + wind, gray sky, and sad, barren slopes. The fertile valley + seemed half obscured in melancholy haze, and over toward + the dim hills beyond night had already fallen. No stars, no + moon, no afterglow of sunset illumined the grayness that in + this hour seemed prophetic of Lenore's future.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"'Safe!' he said. 'I shall be safe if + only I can remember you,'" she whispered to herself, + wonderingly. "What did he mean?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Pondering the thought, she divined it + had to do with Dorn's singular spiritual mood. He had gone + to lend his body as so much physical brawn, so much weight, + to a concerted movement of men, but his mind was apart from + a harmony with that. Lenore felt that whatever had been the + sacrifice made by Kurt Dorn, it had been passed with his + decision to go to war. What she prayed for then was + something of his spirit.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Slowly, in the gathering darkness, she + descended the long slope. The approaching night seemed sad, + with autumn song of insects. All about her breathed faith, + from the black hills above, the gray slopes below, from the + shadowy void, from the murmuring of insect life in the + grass. The rugged fallow ground under her feet seemed to + her to be a symbol of faith—faith that winter would + come and pass—the spring sun and rain would burst the + seeds of wheat—and another summer would see the + golden fields of waving grain. If she did not live to see + them, they would be there just the same; and so life and + nature had faith in its promise. That strange whisper was + to Lenore the whisper of God.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXVI</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Through the pale obscurity of a French + night, cool, raw, moist, with a hint of spring in its + freshness, a line of soldiers plodded along the lonely, + melancholy lanes. Wan starlight showed in the rifts between + the clouds. Neither dark nor light, the midnight hour had + its unreality in this line of marching men; and its reality + in the dim, vague hedges, its spectral posts, its barren + fields.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Rain had ceased to fall, but a fine, + cold, penetrating mist filled the air. The ground was muddy + in places, slippery in others; and here and there it held + pools of water ankle-deep. The stride of the marching men + appeared short and dragging, without swing or rhythm. It + was weary, yet full of the latent power of youth, of unused + vitality. Stern, clean-cut, youthful faces were set + northward, unchanging in the shadowy, pale gleams of the + night. These faces lifted intensely whenever a strange, + muffled, deep-toned roar rolled out of the murky north. The + night looked stormy, but that rumble was not thunder. Fifty + miles northward, beyond that black and mysterious horizon, + great guns were booming war.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Sometimes, as the breeze failed, the + night was silent except for the slow, sloppy tramp of the + marching soldiers. Then the low voices were hushed. When + the wind freshened again it brought at intervals those + deep, significant detonations which, as the hours passed, + seemed to grow heavier and more thunderous.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At length a faint gray light appeared + along the eastern sky, and gradually grew stronger. The + dawn of another day was close at hand. It broke as if + reluctantly, cold and gray and sunless.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The detachment of United States troops + halted for camp outside of the French village of + A——.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt Dorn was at mess with his + squad.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The months in France had flown away on + wings of training and absorbing and waiting. Dorn had + changed incalculably. But all he realized of it was that he + weighed one hundred and ninety pounds and that he seemed to + have lived a hundred swift lives. All that he saw and felt + became part of him. His comrades had been won to him as + friends by virtue of his ever-ready helping hand, by his + devotion to training, by his close-lipped acceptance of all + the toils and knocks and pains common to the making of a + soldier. The squad lived together as one large family of + brothers. Dorn's comrades had at first tormented him with + his German name; they had made fun of his abstraction and + his letter-writing; they had misunderstood his aloofness. + But the ridicule died away, and now, in the presaged nature + of events, his comrades, all governed by the physical life + of the soldier, took him for a man.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps it might have been chance, or + it might have been true of all the American squads, but the + fact was that Dorn's squad was a strangely assorted set of + young men. Perhaps that might have been Dorn's conviction + from coming to live long with them. They were a part of the + New York Division of the —th, all supposed to be New + York men. As a matter of fact, this was not true. Dorn was + a native of Washington. Sanborn was a thick-set, sturdy + fellow with the clear brown tan and clear brown eyes of the + Californian. Brewer was from South Carolina, a lean, lanky + Southerner, with deep-set dark eyes. Dixon hailed from + Massachusetts, from a fighting family, and from Harvard, + where he had been a noted athlete. He was a big, lithe, + handsome boy, red-faced and curly-haired. Purcell was a + New-Yorker, of rich family, highly connected, and his easy, + clean, fine ways, with the elegance of his person, his + blond distinction, made him stand out from his khaki-clad + comrades, though he was clad identically with them. Rogers + claimed the Bronx to be his home and he was proud of it. He + was little, almost undersized, but a knot of muscle, a + keen-faced youth with Irish blood in him. These particular + soldiers of the squad were closest to Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Corporal Bob Owens came swinging in to + throw his sombrero down.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's the orders, Bob?" some one + inquired.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We're going to rest here," he + replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The news was taken impatiently by + several and agreeably by the majority. They were all + travel-stained and worn. Dorn did not comment on the news, + but the fact was that he hated the French villages. They + were so old, so dirty, so obsolete, so different from what + he had been accustomed to. But he loved the pastoral French + countryside, so calm and picturesque. He reflected that + soon he would see the devastation wrought by the Huns.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Any news from the front?" asked + Dixon.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I should smile," replied the + corporal, grimly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, open up, you clam!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Owens thereupon told swiftly and + forcibly what he had heard. More advance of the + Germans—it was familiar news. But somehow it was + taken differently here within sound of the guns. Dorn + studied his comrades, wondering if their sensations were + similar to his. He expressed nothing of what he felt, but + all the others had something to say. Hard, cool, fiery, + violent speech that differed as those who uttered it + differed, yet its predominant note rang fight.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Just heard a funny story," said + Owens, presently.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Spring it," somebody replied.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"This comes from Berlin, so they say. + According to rumor, the Kaiser and the Crown Prince seldom + talk to each other. They happened to meet the other day. + And the Crown Prince said: 'Say, pop, what got us into this + war?'</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The Emperor replied, 'My son, I was + deluded.'</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"'Oh, sire, impossible!' exclaimed the + Prince. 'How could it be?'</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"'Well, some years ago I was visited + by a grinning son-of-a-gun from New York—no other + than the great T.R. I took him around. He was most + interested in my troops. After he had inspected them, and + particularly the Imperial Guard, he slapped me on the back + and shouted, "Bill, you could lick the world!" … And, + my son, I fell for it!'"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This story fetched a roar from every + soldier present except Dorn. An absence of mirth in him had + been noted before.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn, can't you laugh!" protested + Dixon.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure I can—when I hear + something funny," replied Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His comrades gazed hopelessly at + him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My Lawd! boy, thet was shore funny," + drawled Brewer with his lazy Southern manner.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, you're not human," said Owens, + sadly. "That's why they call you Demon Dorn."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">All the boys in the squad had + nicknames. In Dorn's case several had been applied by + irrepressible comrades before one stuck. The first one + received a poor reception from Kurt. The second happened to + be a great blunder for the soldier who invented it. He was + not in Dorn's squad, but he knew Dorn pretty well, and in a + moment of deviltry he had coined for Dorn the name "Kaiser + Dorn." Dorn's reaction to this appellation was discomfiting + and painful for the soldier. As he lay flat on the ground, + where Dorn had knocked him, he had struggled with a natural + rage, quickly to overcome it. He showed the right kind of + spirit. He got up. "Dorn, I apologize. I was only in fun. + But some fun is about as funny as death." On the way out he + suggested a more felicitous name—Demon Dorn. Somehow + the boys took to that. It fitted many of Dorn's violent + actions in training, especially the way he made a bayonet + charge. Dorn objected strenuously. But the name stuck. No + comrade or soldier ever again made a hint of Dorn's German + name or blood.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Fellows, if a funny story can't make + Dorn laugh, he's absolutely a dead one," said Owens.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Spring a new one, quick," spoke up + some one. "Gee! it's great to laugh.… Why, I've not + heard from home for a month!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn, will you beat it so I can + spring this one?" queried Owens.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure," replied Dorn, amiably, as he + started away. "I suppose you think me one of these + I-dare-you-to-make-me-laugh sort of chaps."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Forget her, Dorn—come out of + it!" chirped up Rogers.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">To Dorn's regret, he believed that he + failed his comrades in one way, and he was always trying to + make up for it. Part of the training of a soldier was the + ever-present need and duty of cheerfulness. Every member of + the squad had his secret, his own personal memory, his + inner consciousness that he strove to keep hidden. Long ago + Dorn had divined that this or that comrade was looking + toward the bright side, or pretending there was one. They + all played their parts. Like men they faced this + incomprehensible duty, this tremendous separation, this + dark and looming future, as if it was only hard work that + must be done in good spirit. But Dorn, despite all his + will, was mostly silent, aloof, brooding, locked up in his + eternal strife of mind and soul. He could not help it. + Notwithstanding all he saw and divined of the sacrifice and + pain of his comrades, he knew that his ordeal was + infinitely harder. It was natural that they hoped for the + best. He had no hope.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Boys," said Owens, "there's a squad + of Blue Devils camped over here in an old barn. Just back + from the front. Some one said there wasn't a man in it who + hadn't had a dozen wounds, and some twice that many. We + must see that bunch. Bravest soldiers of the whole war! + They've been through the three years—at + Verdun—on the Marne—and now this awful Flanders + drive. It's up to us to see them."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">News like this thrilled Dorn. During + all the months he had been in France the deeds and valor of + these German-named Blue Devils had come to him, here and + there and everywhere. Dorn remembered all he heard, and + believed it, too, though some of the charges and some of + the burdens attributed to these famed soldiers seemed + unbelievable. His opportunity had now come. With the moving + up to the front he would meet reality; and all within him, + the keen, strange eagerness, the curiosity that perplexed, + the unintelligible longing, the heat and burn of passion, + quickened and intensified.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Not until late in the afternoon, + however, did off duty present an opportunity for him to go + into the village. It looked the same as the other villages + he had visited, and the inhabitants, old men, old women and + children, all had the somber eyes, the strained, hungry + faces, the oppressed look he had become accustomed to see. + But sad as were these inhabitants of a village near the + front, there was never in any one of them any absence of + welcome to the Americans. Indeed, in most people he met + there was a quick flashing of intense joy and gratitude. + The Americans had come across the sea to fight beside the + French. That was the import, tremendous and beautiful.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn met Dixon and Rogers on the main + street of the little village. They had been to see the Blue + Devils.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Better stay away from them," advised + Dixon, dubiously.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No!… Why?" ejaculated Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dixon shook his head. "Greatest bunch + I ever looked at. But I think they resented our presence. + Pat and I were talking about them. It's strange, Dorn, but + I believe these Blue Devils that have saved France and + England, and perhaps America, too, don't like our being + here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Impossible!" replied Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Go and see for yourself," put in + Rogers. "I believe we all ought to look them over."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Thoughtfully Dorn strode on in the + direction indicated, and presently he arrived at the end of + the village, where in an old orchard he found a low, + rambling, dilapidated barn, before which clusters of + soldiers in blue lounged around smoking fires. As he drew + closer he saw that most of them seemed fixed in gloomy + abstraction. A few were employed at some task of hand, and + several bent over the pots on fires. Dorn's sweeping gaze + took in the whole scene, and his first quick, strange + impression was that these soldiers resembled ghouls who had + lived in dark holes of mud.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt meant to make the most of his + opportunity. To him, in his peculiar need, this meeting + would be of greater significance than all else that had + happened to him in France. The nearest soldier sat on a + flattened pile of straw around which the ground was muddy. + At first glance Kurt took him to be an African, so dark + were face and eyes. No one heeded Kurt's approach. The + moment was poignant to Kurt. He spoke French fairly well, + so that it was emotion rather than lack of fluency which + made his utterance somewhat unintelligible. The soldier + raised his head. His face seemed a black flash—his + eyes piercingly black, staring, deep, full of terrible + shadow. They did not appear to see in Kurt the man, but + only the trim, clean United States army uniform. Kurt + repeated his address, this time more clearly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The Frenchman replied gruffly, and + bent again over the faded worn coat he was scraping with a + knife. Then Kurt noticed two things—the man's great, + hollow, spare frame and the torn shirt, stained many + colors, one of which was dark red. His hands resembled both + those of a mason, with the horny callous inside, and those + of a salt-water fisherman, with bludgy fingers and barked + knuckles that never healed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn had to choose his words slowly, + because of unfamiliarity with French, but he was + deliberate, too, because he wanted to say the right thing. + His eagerness made the Frenchman glance up again. But while + Dorn talked of the long waits, the long marches, the + arrival at this place, the satisfaction at nearing the + front, his listener gave no sign that he heard. But he did + hear, and so did several of his comrades.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We're coming strong," he went on, his + voice thrilling. "A million of us this year! We're + untrained. We'll have to split up among English and French + troops and learn how from you. But we've come—and + we'll fight!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then the Frenchman put on his coat. + That showed him to be an officer. He wore medals. The dark + glance he then flashed over Dorn was different from his + first. It gave Dorn both a twinge of shame and a thrill of + pride. It took in Dorn's characteristic Teutonic blond + features, and likewise an officer's swift appreciation of + an extraordinarily splendid physique.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You've German blood," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. But I'm American," replied Dorn, + simply, and he met that soul-searching black gaze with all + his intense and fearless spirit. Dorn felt that never in + his life had he been subjected to such a test of his + manhood, of his truth.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My name's Huon," said the officer, + and he extended one of the huge deformed hands.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Mine's Dorn," replied Kurt, meeting + that hand with his own.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Whereupon the Frenchman spoke rapidly + to the comrade nearest him, so rapidly that all Kurt could + make of what he said was that here was an American soldier + with a new idea. They drew closer, and it became manifest + that the interesting idea was Kurt's news about the + American army. It was news here, and carefully pondered by + these Frenchmen, as slowly one by one they questioned him. + They doubted, but Dorn convinced them. They seemed to like + his talk and his looks. Dorn's quick faculties grasped the + simplicity of these soldiers. After three terrible years of + unprecedented warfare, during which they had performed the + impossible, they did not want a fresh army to come along + and steal their glory by administering a final blow to a + tottering enemy. Gazing into those strange, seared faces, + beginning to see behind the iron mask, Dorn learned the one + thing a soldier lives, fights, and dies + for—glory.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt Dorn was soon made welcome. He + was made to exhaust his knowledge of French. He was studied + by eyes that had gleamed in the face of death. His hand was + wrung by hands that had dealt death. How terribly he felt + that! And presently, when his excitement and emotion had + subsided to the extent that he could really see what he + looked at, then came the reward of reality, with all its + incalculable meaning expressed to him in the gleaming + bayonets, in the worn accoutrements, in the greatcoats like + clapboards of mud, in the hands that were claws, in the + feet that hobbled, in the strange, wonderful significance + of bodily presence, standing there as proof of valor, of + man's limitless endurance. In the faces, ah! there Dorn + read the history that made him shudder and lifted him + beyond himself. For there in those still, dark faces, of + boys grown old in three years, shone the terror of war and + the spirit that had resisted it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn, in his intensity, in the + over-emotion of his self-centered passion, so terribly + driven to prove to himself something vague yet + all-powerful, illusive yet imperious, divined what these + Blue Devil soldiers had been through. His mind was more + than telepathic. Almost it seemed that souls were bared to + him. These soldiers, quiet, intent, made up a grim group of + men. They seemed slow, thoughtful, plodding, wrapped and + steeped in calm. But Dorn penetrated all this, and + established the relation between it and the nameless and + dreadful significance of their weapons and medals and + uniforms and stripes, and the magnificent vitality that was + now all but spent.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn might have resembled a curious, + adventure-loving boy, to judge from his handling of rifles + and the way he slipped a strong hand along the gleaming + bayonet-blades. But he was more than the curious youth: he + had begun to grasp a strange, intangible something for + which he had no name. Something that must be attainable for + him! Something that, for an hour or a moment, would make + him a fighter not to be slighted by these supermen!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Whatever his youth or his impelling + spirit of manhood, the fact was that he inspired many of + these veterans of the bloody years to Homeric narratives of + the siege of Verdun, of the retreat toward Paris, of the + victory of the Marne, and lastly of the Kaiser's battle, + this last and most awful offensive of the resourceful and + frightful foe.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Brunelle told how he was the last + survivor of a squad at Verdun who had been ordered to hold + a breach made in a front stone wall along the out posts. + How they had faced a bombardment of heavy guns—a + whistling, shrieking, thundering roar, pierced by the + higher explosion of a bursting shell—smoke and + sulphur and gas—the crumbling of walls and downward + fling of shrapnel. How the lives of soldiers were as lives + of gnats hurled by wind and burned by flame. Death had a + manifold and horrible diversity. A soldier's head, with + ghastly face and conscious eyes, momentarily poised in the + air while the body rode away invisibly with an exploding + shell! He told of men blown up, shot through and riddled + and brained and disemboweled, while their comrades, grim + and unalterable, standing in a stream of blood, lived + through the rain of shells, the smashing of walls, lived to + fight like madmen the detachment following the bombardment, + and to kill them every one.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Mathie told of the great + retreat—how men who had fought for days, who were + unbeaten and unafraid, had obeyed an order they hated and + could not understand, and had marched day and night, day + and night, eating as they toiled on, sleeping while they + marched, on and on, bloody-footed, desperate, and terrible, + filled with burning thirst and the agony of ceaseless + motion, on with dragging legs and laboring breasts and + red-hazed eyes, on and onward, unquenchable, with the + spirit of France.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Sergeant Delorme spoke of the sudden + fierce about-face at the Marne, of the irresistible + onslaught of men whose homes had been invaded, whose + children had been murdered, whose women had been enslaved, + of a ruthless fighting, swift and deadly, and lastly of a + bayonet charge by his own division, running down upon + superior numbers, engaging them in hand-to-hand conflict, + malignant and fatal, routing them over a field of blood and + death.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Monsieur Dorn, do you know the French + use of a bayonet?" asked Delorme.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No," replied Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"<i>Allons!</i> I will show you," he + said, taking up two rifles and handing one to Dorn. "Come. + It is so—and so—a trick. The boches can't face + cold steel.… Ah, monsieur, you have the supple wrists + of a juggler! You have the arms of a giant! You have the + eyes of a duelist! You will be one grand spitter of German + pigs!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn felt the blanching of his face, + the tingling of his nerves, the tightening of his muscles. + A cold and terrible meaning laid hold of him even in the + instant when he trembled before this flaming-eyed French + veteran who complimented him while he instructed. How + easily, Dorn thought, could this soldier slip the bright + bayonet over his guard and pierce him from breast to back! + How horrible the proximity of that sinister blade, with its + glint, its turn, its edge, so potently expressive of its + history! Even as Dorn crossed bayonets with this inspired + Frenchman he heard a soldier comrade say that Delorme had + let daylight through fourteen boches in that memorable + victory of the Marne.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You are very big and strong and + quick, monsieur," said the officer Huon, simply. "In + bayonet-work you will be a killer of boches."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In their talk and practice and help, + in their intent to encourage the young American soldier, + these Blue Devils one and all dealt in frank and inevitable + terms of death. That was their meaning in life. It was + immeasurably horrible for Dorn, because it seemed a + realization of his imagined visions. He felt like a child + among old savages of a war tribe. Yet he was fascinated by + this close-up suggestion of man to man in battle, of German + to American, of materialist to idealist, and beyond all + control was the bursting surge of his blood. The exercises + he had gone through, the trick he had acquired, somehow had + strange power to liberate his emotion.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The officer Huon spoke English, and + upon his words Dorn hung spellbound.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You Americans have the fine dash, the + nerve. You will perform wonders. But you don't realize what + this war is. You will perish of sheer curiosity to see or + eagerness to fight. But these are the least of the horrors + of this war.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Actual fighting is to me a relief, a + forgetfulness, an excitement, and is so with many of my + comrades. We have survived wounds, starvation, shell-shock, + poison gas and fire, the diseases of war, the awful toil of + the trenches. And each and every one of us who has served + long bears in his mind the particular horror that haunts + him. I have known veterans to go mad at the screaming of + shells. I have seen good soldiers stand upon a trench, + inviting the fire that would end suspense. For a man who + hopes to escape alive this war is indeed the ninth circle + of hell.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My own particular horrors are mud, + water, and cold. I have lived in dark, cold mud-holes so + long that my mind concerning them is not right. I know it + the moment I come out to rest. Rest! Do you know that we + cannot rest? The comfort of this dirty old barn, of these + fires, of this bare ground is so great that we cannot rest, + we cannot sleep, we cannot do anything. When I think of the + past winter I do not remember injury and agony for myself, + or the maimed and mangled bodies of my comrades. I remember + only the horrible cold, the endless ages of waiting, the + hopeless misery of the dugouts, foul, black rat-holes that + we had to crawl into through sticky mud and filthy water. + Mud, water, and cold, with the stench of the dead clogging + your nostrils! That to me is war!… <i>Les + Misérables!</i> You Americans will never know that, + thank God. For it could not be endured by men who did not + belong to this soil. After all, the filthy water is half + blood and the mud is part of the dead of our people."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Huon talked on and on, with the + eloquence of a Frenchman who relieves himself of a burden. + He told of trenches dug in a swamp, lived in and fought in, + and then used for the graves of the dead, trenches that had + to be lived in again months afterward. The rotting dead + were everywhere. When they were covered the rain would come + to wash away the earth, exposing them again. That was the + strange refrain of this soldier's moody lament—the + rain that fell, the mud that forever held him rooted fast + in the tracks of his despair. He told of night and storm, + of a weary squad of men, lying flat, trying to dig in under + cover of rain and darkness, of the hell of cannonade over + and around them. He told of hours that blasted men's souls, + of death that was a blessing, of escape that was torture + beyond the endurance of humans. Crowning that night of + horrors piled on horrors, when he had seen a dozen men + buried alive in mud lifted by a monster shell, when he had + seen a refuge deep underground opened and devastated by a + like projectile, came a cloud-burst that flooded the + trenches and the fields, drowning soldiers whose injuries + and mud-laden garments impeded their movements, and + rendering escape for the others an infernal labor and a + hideous wretchedness, unutterable and insupportable.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Round the camp-fires the Blue Devils + stood or lay, trying to rest. But the habit of the trenches + was upon them. Dorn gazed at each and every soldier, so + like in strange resemblance, so different in physical + characteristics; and the sad, profound, and terrifying + knowledge came to him of what they must have in their + minds. He realized that all he needed was to suffer and + fight and live through some little part of the war they had + endured and then some truth would burst upon him. It was + there in the restless steps, in the prone forms, in the + sunken, glaring eyes. What soldiers, what men, what giants! + Three and a half years of unnamable and indescribable fury + of action and strife of thought! Not dead, nor stolid like + oxen, were these soldiers of France. They had a simplicity + that seemed appalling. We have given all; we have stood in + the way, borne the brunt, saved you—this was flung at + Dorn, not out of their thought, but from their presence. + The fact that they were there was enough. He needed only to + find these bravest of brave warriors real, alive, throbbing + men.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn lingered there, loath to leave. + The great lesson of his life held vague connection in some + way with this squad of French privates. But he could not + pierce the veil. This meeting came as a climax to four + months of momentous meetings with the best and the riffraff + of many nations. Dorn had studied, talked, listened, and + learned. He who had as yet given nothing, fought no enemy, + saved no comrade or refugee or child in all this whirlpool + of battling millions, felt a profound sense of his + littleness, his ignorance. He who had imagined himself + unfortunate had been blind, sick, self-centered. Here were + soldiers to whom comfort and rest were the sweetest + blessings upon the earth, and they could not grasp them. No + more could they grasp them than could the gaping civilians + and the distinguished travelers grasp what these grand + hulks of veteran soldiers had done. Once a group of + civilians halted near the soldiers. An officer was their + escort. He tried to hurry them on, but failed. Delorme + edged away into the gloomy, damp barn rather than meet such + visitors. Some of his comrades followed suit. Ferier, the + incomparable of the Blue Devils, the wearer of all the + French medals and the bearer of twenty-five wounds received + in battle—he sneaked away, afraid and humble and + sullen, to hide himself from the curious. That action of + Ferier's was a revelation to Dorn. He felt a sting of + shame. There were two classes of people in relation to this + war—those who went to fight and those who stayed + behind. What had Delorme or Mathie or Ferier to do with the + world of selfish, comfortable, well-fed men? Dorn heard a + million voices of France crying out the bitter + truth—that if these war-bowed veterans ever returned + alive to their homes it would be with hopes and hearts and + faiths burned out, with hands forever lost to their old + use, with bodies that the war had robbed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn bade his new-made friends adieu, + and in the darkening twilight he hurried toward his own + camp.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If I could go back home now, + honorably and well, I would never do it," he muttered. "I + couldn't bear to live knowing what I know now—unless + I had laughed at this death, and risked it—and dealt + it!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He was full of gladness, of + exultation, in contemplation of the wonderful gift the + hours had brought him. More than any men of history or + present, he honored these soldiers the Germans feared. Like + an Indian, Dorn respected brawn, courage, fortitude, + silence, aloofness.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There was a divinity in those + soldiers," he soliloquized. "I felt it in their complete + ignorance of their greatness. Yet they had pride, jealousy. + Oh, the mystery of it all!… When my day comes I'll + last one short and terrible hour. I would never make a + soldier like one of them. No American could. They are + Frenchmen whose homes have been despoiled."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In the tent of his comrades that night + Dorn reverted from old habit, and with a passionate + eloquence he told all he had seen and heard, and much that + he had felt. His influence on these young men, long + established, but subtle and unconscious, became in that + hour a tangible fact. He stirred them. He felt them + thoughtful and sad, and yet more unflinching, stronger and + keener for the inevitable day.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXVII</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The monstrous possibility that had + consumed Kurt Dorn for many months at last became an + event—he had arrived on the battle-front in + France.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">All afternoon the company of United + States troops had marched from far back of the line, + resting, as darkness came on, at a camp of reserves, and + then going on. Artillery fire had been desultory during + this march; the big guns that had rolled their thunder + miles and miles were now silent. But an immense activity + and a horde of soldiers back of the lines brought strange + leaden oppression to Kurt Dorn's heart.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The last slow travel of his squad over + dark, barren space and through deep, narrow, winding lanes + in the ground had been a nightmare ending to the long + journey. France had not yet become clear to him; he was a + stranger in a strange land; in spite of his tremendous + interest and excitement, all seemed abstract matters of his + feeling, the plague of himself made actuality the substance + of dreams. That last day, the cumulation of months of + training and travel, had been one in which he had observed, + heard, talked and felt in a nervous and fevered excitement. + But now he imagined he could not remember any of it. His + poignant experience with the Blue Devils had been a reality + he could never forget, but now this blackness of + subterranean cavern, this damp, sickening odor of earth, + this presence of men, the strange, muffled sounds—all + these were unreal. How had he come here? His mind labored + with a burden strangely like that on his chest. A + different, utterly unfamiliar emotion seemed rising over + him. Maybe that was because he was very tired and very + sleepy. Sometime that night he must go on duty. He ought to + sleep. It was impossible. He could not close his eyes. An + effort to attend to what he was actually doing disclosed + the fact that he was listening with all his strength. For + what? He could not answer then. He heard the distant, + muffled sounds, and low voices nearer, and thuds and + footfalls. His comrades were near him; he heard their + breathing; he felt their presence. They were strained and + intense; like him, they were locked up in their own prison + of emotions.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Always heretofore, on nights that he + lay sleepless, Dorn had thought of the two things dearest + on earth to him—Lenore Anderson and the golden + wheat-hills of his home. This night he called up Lenore's + image. It hung there in the blackness, a dim, pale phantom + of her sweet face, her beautiful eyes, her sad lips, and + then it vanished. Not at all could he call up a vision of + his beloved wheat-fields. So the suspicion that something + was wrong with his mind became a certainty. It angered him, + quickened his sensitiveness, even while he despaired. He + ground his teeth and clenched his fists and swore to + realize his presence there, and to rise to the occasion as + had been his vaunted ambition.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Suddenly he felt something slimy and + hairy against his wrist—then a stinging bite. A rat! + A trench rat that lived on flesh! He flung his arm + violently and beat upon the soft earth. The incident of + surprise and disgust helped Dorn at least in one way. His + mind had been set upon a strange and supreme condition of + his being there, of an emotion about to overcome him. The + bite of a rat, drawing blood, made a literal fact of his + being a soldier, in a dugout at the front waiting in the + blackness for his call to go on guard. This incident proved + to Dorn his limitations, and that he was too terribly + concerned with his feelings ever to last long as a soldier. + But he could not help himself. His pulse, his heart, his + brain, all seemed to beat, beat, beat with a nameless + passion.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Was he losing his nerve—was he + afraid? His denial did not reassure him. He understood that + patriotism and passion were emotions, and that the + realities of a soldier's life were not.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn forced himself to think of + realities, hoping thus to get a grasp upon his vanishing + courage. And memory helped him. Not so many days, weeks, + months back he had been a different man. At Bordeaux, when + his squad first set foot upon French soil! That was a + splendid reality. How he had thrilled at the welcome of the + French sailors!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then he thought of the strenuous round + of army duties, of training tasks, of traveling in cold + box-cars, of endless marches, of camps and villages, of + drills and billets. Never to be forgotten was that morning, + now seemingly long ago, when an officer had ordered the + battalion to pack. "We are going to the front!" he + announced. Magic words! What excitement, what whooping, + what bragging and joy among the boys, what hurry and bustle + and remarkable efficiency! That had been a reality of + actual experience, but the meaning of it, the terrible + significance, had been beyond the mind of any American.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'm here—at the + front—now," whispered Dorn to himself. "A few rods + away are Germans!" … Inconceivable—no reality + at all! He went on with his swift account of things, with + his mind ever sharpening, with that strange, mounting + emotion flooding to the full, ready to burst its barriers. + When he and his comrades had watched their transport trains + move away—when they had stood waiting for their own + trains—had the idea of actual conflict yet dawned + upon them? Dorn had to answer No. He remembered that he had + made few friends among the inhabitants of towns and + villages where he had stayed. What leisure time he got had + been given to a seeking out of sailors, soldiers, and men + of all races, with whom he found himself in remarkable + contact. The ends of the world brought together by one war! + How could his memory ever hold all that had come to him? + But it did. Passion liberated it. He saw now that his eye + was a lens, his mind a sponge, his heart a gulf.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Out of the hundreds of thousands of + American troops in France, what honor it was to be in the + chosen battalion to go to the front! Dorn lived only with + his squad, but he felt the envy of the whole army. What + luck! To be chosen from so many—to go out and see the + game through quickly! He began to consider that differently + now. The luck might be with the soldiers left behind. + Always, underneath Dorn's perplexity and pondering, under + his intelligence and spirit at their best, had been a + something deeply personal, something of the internal of + him, a selfish instinct. It was the nature of + man—self-preservation.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Like a tempest swept over Dorn the + most significant ordeal and lesson of his experience in + France—that wonderful reality when he met the Blue + Devils and they took him in. However long he lived, his + life must necessarily be transformed from contact with + those great men.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The night march over the unending + roads, through the gloom and the spectral starlight, with + the dull rumblings of cannon shocking his heart—that + Dorn lived over, finding strangely a minutest detail of + observation and a singular veracity of feeling fixed in his + memory.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Afternoon of that very day, at the + reserve camp somewhere back there, had brought an officer's + address to the soldiers, a strong and emphatic appeal as + well as order—to obey, to do one's duty, to take no + chances, to be eternally vigilant, to believe that every + man had advantage on his side, even in war, if he were not + a fool or a daredevil. Dorn had absorbed the speech, + remembered every word, but it all seemed futile now. Then + had come the impressive inspection of equipment, a careful + examination of gas-masks, rifles, knapsacks. After that the + order to march!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn imagined that he had remembered + little, but he had remembered all. Perhaps the sense of + strange unreality was only the twist in his mind. Yet he + did not know where he was—what part of + France—how far north or south on the front + line—in what sector. Could not that account for the + sense of feeling lost?</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Nevertheless, he was there at the end + of all this incomprehensible journey. He became possessed + by an irresistible desire to hurry. Once more Dorn + attempted to control the far-flinging of his + thoughts—to come down to earth. The earth was there + under his hand, soft, sticky, moldy, smelling vilely. He + dug his fingers into it, until the feel of something like a + bone made him jerk them out. Perhaps he had felt a stone. A + tiny, creeping, chilly shudder went up his back. Then he + remembered, he felt, he saw his little attic room, in the + old home back among the wheat-hills of the Northwest. Six + thousand miles away! He would never see that room again. + What unaccountable vagary of memory had ever recalled it to + him? It faded out of his mind.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Some of his comrades whispered; now + and then one rolled over; none snored, for none of them + slept. Dorn felt more aloof from them than ever. How + isolated each one was, locked in his own trouble! Every one + of them, like himself, had a lonely soul. Perhaps they were + facing it. He could not conceive of a careless, + thoughtless, emotionless attitude toward this first night + in the front-line trench.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn gradually grew more acutely + sensitive to the many faint, rustling, whispering sounds in + and near the dugout.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A soldier came stooping into the + opaque square of the dugout door. His rifle, striking the + framework, gave out a metallic clink. This fellow expelled + a sudden heavy breath as if throwing off an oppression.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Is that you, Sanborn?" This whisper + Dorn recognized as Dixon's. It was full of suppressed + excitement.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Guess it's my turn next. + How—how does it go?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Sanborn's laugh had an odd little + quaver. "Why, so far as I know, I guess it's all right. + Damn queer, though. I wish we'd got here in daytime.… + But maybe that wouldn't help."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Humph!… Pretty quiet out + there?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"So Bob says, but what's he + know—more than us? I heard guns up the line, and + rifle-fire not so far off."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Can you see any—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Not a damn thing—yet + everything," interrupted Sanborn, enigmatically.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dixon!" called Owens, low and + quickly, from the darkness.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dixon did not reply. His sudden hard + breathing, the brushing of his garments against the door, + then swift, soft steps dying away attested to the fact of + his going.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn tried to compose himself to rest, + if not to sleep. He heard Sanborn sit down, and then + apparently stay very still for some time. All of a sudden + he whispered to himself. Dorn distinguished the word + "hell."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What's ailin' you, pard?" drawled + Brewer.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Sanborn growled under his breath, and + when some one else in the dugout quizzed him curiously he + burst out: "I'll bet you galoots the state of California + against a dill pickle that when your turn comes you'll be + sick in your gizzards!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We'll take our medicine," came in the + soft, quiet voice of Purcell.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">No more was said. The men all + pretended to fall asleep, each ashamed to let his comrade + think he was concerned.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A short, dull, heavy rumble seemed to + burst the outer stillness. For a moment the dugout was + silent as a tomb. No one breathed. Then came a jar of the + earth, a creaking of shaken timbers. Some one gasped + involuntarily. Another whispered:</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"By God! the real thing!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn wondered how far away that + jarring shell had alighted. Not so far! It was the first he + had ever heard explode near him. Roaring of cannon, + exploding of shell—this had been a source of + every-day talk among his comrades. But the jar, the tremble + of the earth, had a dreadful significance. Another rumble, + another jar, not so heavy or so near this time, and then a + few sharply connected reports, clamped Dorn as in a cold + vise. Machine-gun shots! Many thousand machine-gun shots + had he heard, but none with the life and the spite and the + spang of these. Did he imagine the difference? Cold as he + felt, he began to sweat, and continually, as he wiped the + palms of his hands, they grew wet again. A queer sensation + of light-headedness and weakness seemed to possess him. The + roots of his will-power seemed numb. Nevertheless, all the + more revolving and all-embracing seemed his mind.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The officer in his speech a few hours + back had said the sector to which the battalion had been + assigned was alive. By this he meant that active + bombardment, machine-gun fire, hand-grenade throwing, and + gas-shelling, or attack in force might come any time, and + certainly must come as soon as the Germans suspected the + presence of an American force opposite them.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That was the stunning reality to + Dorn—the actual existence of the Huns a few rods + distant. But realization of them had not brought him to the + verge of panic. He would not flinch at confronting the + whole German army. Nor did he imagine he put a great price + upon his life. Nor did he have any abnormal dread of pain. + Nor had the well-remembered teachings of the Bible troubled + his spirit. Was he going to be a coward because of some + incalculable thing in him or force operating against him? + Already he sat there, shivering and sweating, with the load + on his breast growing laborsome, with all his sensorial + being absolutely at keenest edge.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Rapid footfalls halted his + heart-beats. They came from above, outside the dugout, from + the trench.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn, come out!" called the + corporal.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn's response was instant. But he + was as blind as if he had no eyes, and he had to feel his + way to climb out. The indistinct, blurred form of the + corporal seemed half merged in the pale gloom of the + trench. A cool wind whipped at Dorn's hot face. Surcharged + with emotion, the nature of which he feared, Dorn followed + the corporal, stumbling and sliding over the wet boards, + knocking bits of earth from the walls, feeling a sick icy + gripe in his bowels. Some strange light flared + up—died away. Another rumble, distinct, heavy, and + vibrating! To his left somewhere the earth received a + shock. Dorn felt a wave of air that was not wind.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The corporal led the way past + motionless men peering out over the top of the wall, and on + to a widening, where an abutment of filled bags loomed up + darkly. Here the corporal cautiously climbed up breaks in + the wall and stooped behind the fortification. Dorn + followed. His legs did not feel natural. Something was lost + out of them. Then he saw the little figure of Rogers beside + him. Dorn's turn meant Rogers's relief. How pale against + the night appeared the face of Rogers! As he peered under + his helmet at Dorn a low whining passed in the air + overhead. Rogers started slightly. A thump sounded out + there, interrupting the corporal, who had begun to speak. + He repeated his order to Dorn, bending a little to peer + into his face. Dorn tried to open his lips to say he did + not understand, but his lips were mute. Then the corporal + led Rogers away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That moment alone, out in the open, + with the strange, windy pall of night—all-enveloping, + with the flares, like sheet-lightning, along the horizon, + with a rumble here and a roar there, with whistling fiends + riding the blackness above, with a series of popping, + impelling reports seemingly close in front—that drove + home to Kurt Dorn a cruel and present and unescapable + reality.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At that instant, like bitter fate, + shot up a rocket, or a star-flare of calcium light, + bursting to expose all underneath in pitiless radiance. + With a gasp that was a sob, Dorn shrank flat against the + wall, staring into the fading circle, feeling a creep of + paralysis. He must be seen. He expected the sharp, biting + series of a machine-gun or the bursting of a bomb. But + nothing happened, except that the flare died away. It had + come from behind his own lines. Control of his muscles had + almost returned when a heavy boom came from the German + side. Miles away, perhaps, but close! That boom meant a + great shell speeding on its hideous mission. It would pass + over him. He listened. The wind came from that side. It was + cold; it smelled of burned powder; it carried sounds he was + beginning to appreciate—shots, rumbles, spats, and + thuds, whistles of varying degree, all isolated sounds. + Then he caught a strange, low moaning. It rose. It was + coming fast. It became an o-o-o-O-O-O! Nearer and nearer! + It took on a singing whistle. It was + passing—no—falling!… A mighty blow was + delivered to the earth—a jar—a splitting shock + to windy darkness; a wave of heavy air was flung + afar—and then came the soft, heavy thumping of + falling earth.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That shell had exploded close to the + place where Dorn stood. It terrified him. It reduced him to + a palpitating, stricken wretch, utterly unable to cope with + the terror. It was not what he had expected. What were + words, anyhow? By words alone he had understood this shell + thing. Death was only a word, too. But to be blown to + atoms! It came every moment to some poor devil; it might + come to him. But that was not fighting. Somewhere off in + the blackness a huge iron monster belched this hell out + upon defenseless men. Revolting and inconceivable + truth!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was Dorn's ordeal that his + mentality robbed this hour of novelty and of adventure, + that while his natural, physical fear incited panic and + nausea and a horrible, convulsive internal retching, his + highly organized, exquisitely sensitive mind, more like a + woman's in its capacity for emotion, must suffer through + imagining the infinite agonies that he might really escape. + Every shell then must blow him to bits; every agony of + every soldier must be his.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But he knew what his duty was, and as + soon as he could move he began to edge along the short + beat. Once at the end he drew a deep and shuddering breath, + and, fighting all his involuntary instincts, he peered over + the top. An invisible thing whipped close over his head. It + did not whistle; it cut. Out in front of him was only + thick, pale gloom, with spectral forms, leading away to the + horizon, where flares, like sheet-lightning of a summer + night's storm, ran along showing smoke and bold, ragged + outlines. Then he went to the other end to peer over there. + His eyes were keen, and through long years of habit at + home, going about at night without light, he could see + distinctly where ordinary sight would meet only a blank + wall. The flat ground immediately before him was bare of + living or moving objects. That was his duty as sentinel + here—to make sure of no surprise patrol from the + enemy lines. It helped Dorn to realize that he could + accomplish this duty even though he was in a torment.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That space before him was empty, but + it was charged with current. Wind, shadow, gloom, smoke, + electricity, death, spirit—whatever that current was, + Dorn felt it. He was more afraid of that than the + occasional bullets which zipped across. Sometimes shots + from his own squad rang out up and down the line. Off + somewhat to the north a machine-gun on the Allies' side + spoke now and then spitefully. Way back a big gun boomed. + Dorn listened to the whine of shells from his own side with + a far different sense than that with which he heard shells + whine from the enemy. How natural and yet how unreasonable! + Shells from the other side came over to destroy him; shells + from his side went back to save him. But both were shot to + kill! Was he, the unknown and shrinking novice of a + soldier, any better than an unknown and shrinking soldier + far across there in the darkness? What was equality? But + these were Germans! That thing so often said—so + beaten into his brain—did not convince out here in + the face of death.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Four o'clock! With the gray light came + a gradually increasing number of shells. Most of them + struck far back. A few, to right and left, dropped near the + front line. The dawn broke—such a dawn as he never + dreamed of—smoky and raw, with thunder spreading to a + circle all around the horizon.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He was relieved. On his way in he + passed Purcell at the nearest post. The elegant New-Yorker + bore himself with outward calm. But in the gray dawn he + looked haggard and drawn. Older! That flashed through + Dorn's mind. A single night had contained years, more than + years. Others of the squad had subtly changed. Dixon gave + him a penetrating look, as if he wore a mask, under which + was a face of betrayal, of contrast to that soldier + bearing, of youth that was gone forever.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The squad of men to which Dorn + belonged had to be on the lookout continually for an attack + that was inevitable. The Germans were feeling out the line, + probably to verify spy news of the United States troops + taking over a sector. They had not, however, made sure of + this fact.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The gas-shells came over regularly, + making life for the men a kind of suffocation most of the + time. And the great shells that blew enormous holes in + front and in back of their position never allowed a + relaxation from strain. Drawn and haggard grew the faces + that had been so clean-cut and brown and fresh.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">One evening at mess, when the sector + appeared quiet enough to permit of rest, Rogers was talking + to some comrades before the door of the dugout.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It sure got my goat, that little + promenade of ours last night over into No Man's Land," he + said. "We had orders to slip out and halt a German patrol + that was supposed to be stealing over to our line. We + crawled on our bellies, looking and listening every minute. + If that isn't the limit! My heart was in my mouth. I + couldn't breathe. And for the first moments, if I'd run + into a Hun, I'd had no more strength than a rabbit. But all + seemed clear. It was not a bright night—sort of + opaque and gloomy—shadows everywhere. There wasn't + any patrol coming. But Corporal Owens thought he heard men + farther on working with wire. We crawled some more. And we + must have got pretty close to the enemy lines—in + fact, we had—when up shot one of those damned calcium + flares. We all burrowed into the ground. I was paralyzed. + It got as light as noon—strange greenish-white flare. + It magnified. Flat as I lay, I saw the German embankments + not fifty yards away. I made sure we were goners. Slowly + the light burned out. Then that machine-gun you all heard + began to rattle. Something queer about the way every shot + of a machine-gun bites the air. We heard the bullets, low + down, right over us. Say, boys, I'd almost rather be hit + and have it done with!… We began to crawl back. I + wanted to run. We all wanted to. But Owens is a nervy guy + and he kept whispering. Another machine-gun cut loose, and + bullets rained over us. Like hail they hit somewhere ahead, + scattering the gravel. We'd almost reached our line when + Smith jumped up and ran. He said afterward that he just + couldn't help himself. The suspense was awful. I know. I've + been a clerk in a bank! Get that? And there I was under a + hail of Hun lead, without being able to understand why, or + feel that any time had passed since giving up my job to go + to war. Queer how I saw my old desk!… Well, that's + how Smith got his. I heard the bullets spat him, sort of + thick and soft.… Ugh!… Owens and I dragged him + along, and finally into the trench. He had a bullet through + his shoulder and leg. Guess he'll live, all right.… + Boys, take this from me. Nobody can <i>tell</i> you what a + machine-gun is like. A rifle, now, is not so much. You get + shot at, and you know the man must reload and aim. That + takes time. But a machine-gun! Whew! It's a comb—a + fine-toothed comb—and you're the louse it's after! + You hear that steady rattle, and then you hear bullets + everywhere. Think of a man against a machine-gun! It's not + a square deal."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dixon was one of the listeners. He + laughed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Rogers, I'd like to have been with + you. Next time I'll volunteer. You had action—a run + for your money. That's what I enlisted for. Standing + still—doing nothing but wait—that drives me + half mad. My years of football have made action necessary. + Otherwise I go stale in mind and body.… Last night, + before you went on that scouting trip, I had been on duty + two hours. Near midnight. The shelling had died down. All + became quiet. No flares—no flashes anywhere. There + was a luminous kind of glow in the sky—moonlight + through thin clouds. I had to listen and watch. But I + couldn't keep back my thoughts. There I was, a soldier, + facing No Man's Land, across whose dark space were the Huns + we have come to regard as devils in brutality, yet less + than men.… And I thought of home. No man knows what + home really is until he stands that lonely midnight guard. + A shipwrecked sailor appreciates the comforts he once had; + a desert wanderer, lost and starving, remembers the food he + once wasted; a volunteer soldier, facing death in the + darkness, thinks of his home! It is a hell of a + feeling!… And, thinking of home, I remembered my + girl. I've been gone four months—have been at the + front seven days (or is it seven years?) and last night in + the darkness she came to me. Oh yes! she was there! She + seemed reproachful, as she was when she coaxed me not to + enlist. My girl was not one of the kind who sends her lover + to war and swears she will die an old maid unless he + returns. Mine begged me to stay home, or at least wait for + the draft. But I wasn't built that way. I enlisted. And + last night I felt the bitterness of a soldier's fate. All + this beautiful stuff is bunk!… My girl is a peach. + She had many admirers, two in particular that made me run + my best down the stretch. One is club-footed. He couldn't + fight. The other is all yellow. Him she liked best. He had + her fooled, the damned slacker.… I wish I could + believe I'd get safe back home, with a few Huns to my + credit—the Croix de Guerre—and an officer's + uniform. That would be great. How I could show up those + fellows!… But I'll get killed—as sure as God + made little apples I'll get killed—and she will marry + one of the men who would not fight!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was about the middle of a clear + morning, still cold, but the sun was shining. Guns were + speaking intermittently. Those soldiers who were off duty + had their gas-masks in their hands. All were gazing + intently upward.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn sat a little apart from them. He, + too, looked skyward, and he was so absorbed that he did not + hear the occasional rumble of a distant gun. He was + watching the airmen at work—the most wonderful and + famous feature of the war. It absolutely enthralled Dorn. + As a boy he had loved to watch the soaring of the golden + eagles, and once he had seen a great wide-winged condor, + swooping along a mountain-crest. How he had envied them the + freedom of the heights—the loneliness of the + unscalable crags—the companionship of the clouds! + Here he gazed and marveled at the man-eagles of the + air.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">German planes had ventured over the + lines, flying high, and English planes had swept up to + intercept them. One was rising then not far away, climbing + fast, like a fish-hawk with prey in its claws. Its color, + its framework, its propeller, and its aviator showed + distinctly against the sky. The buzzing, high-pitched drone + of its motor floated down.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The other aeroplanes, far above, had + lost their semblance to mechanical man-driven machines. + They were now the eagles of the air. They were rising, + circling, diving in maneuvers that Dorn knew meant pursuit. + But he could not understand these movements. To him the + air-battle looked as it must have looked to an Indian. + Birds of prey in combat! Dorn recalled verses he had + learned as a boy, written by a poet who sang of future wars + in the air. What he prophesied had come true. Was there not + a sage now who could pierce the veil of the future and sing + of such a thing as sacred human life? Dorn had his doubts. + Poets and dreamers appeared not to be the men who could + halt materialism. Strangely then, as Dorn gazed bitterly up + at these fierce fliers who fought in the heavens, he + remembered the story of the three wise men and of + Bethlehem. Was it only a story? Where on this sunny spring + morning was Christ, and the love of man for man?</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At that moment one of the forward + aeroplanes, which was drifting back over the enemy lines, + lost its singular grace of slow, sweeping movement. It + poised in the air. It changed shape. It pitched as if from + wave to wave of wind. A faint puff of smoke showed. Tiny + specks, visible to Dorn's powerful eyes, seemed to detach + themselves and fall, to be followed by the plane itself in + sheer downward descent.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn leaped to his feet. What a + thrilling and terrible sight! His comrades stood + bareheaded, red faces uplifted, open-mouthed and wild with + excitement, not daring to disobey orders and yell at the + top of their lungs. Dorn felt, strong above the softened + wonder and thought of a moment back, a tingling, pulsating + wave of gushing blood go over him. Like his comrades, he + began to wave his arms and stamp and bite his tongue.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Swiftly the doomed plane swept down + out of sight. Gone! At that instant something which had + seemed like a bird must have become a broken mass. The + other planes drifted eastward.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn gasped, and broke the spell on + him. He was hot and wet with sweat, quivering with a + frenzy. How many thousand soldiers of the Allies had seen + that downward flight of the boche? Dorn pitied the + destroyed airman, hated himself, and had all the fury of + savage joy that had been in his comrades.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn, relieved from guard and + firing-post, rushed back to the dugout. He needed the dark + of that dungeon. He crawled in and, searching out the + remotest, blackest corner, hidden from all human eyes, and + especially his own, he lay there clammy and wet all over, + with an icy, sickening rend, like a wound, in the pit of + his stomach. He shut his eyes, but that did not shut out + what he saw. "<i>So help me God!</i>" he whispered to + himself.… Six endless months had gone to the + preparation of a deed that had taken one second! That + transformed him! His life on earth, his spirit in the + beyond, could never be now what they might have been. And + he sobbed through grinding teeth as he felt the + disintegrating, agonizing, irremediable forces at work on + body, mind, and soul.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He had blown out the brains of his + first German.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Fires of hell, in two long lines, + bordering a barren, ghastly, hazy strip of land, burst + forth from the earth. From holes where men hid poured + thunder of guns and stream of smoke and screeching of iron. + That worthless strip of land, barring deadly foes, shook as + with repeated earthquakes. Huge spouts of black and yellow + earth lifted, fountain-like, to the dull, heavy bursts of + shells. Pound and jar, whistle and whine, long, broken + rumble, and the rattling concatenation of quick shots like + metallic cries, exploding hail-storm of iron in the air, a + desert over which thousands of puffs of smoke shot up and + swelled and drifted, the sliding crash far away, the + sibilant hiss swift overhead. Boom! Weeeee—eeeeooooo! + from the east. Boom! Weeeee—eeeeooooo! from the + west.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At sunset there was no let-up. The + night was all the more hideous. Along the horizon flashed + up the hot sheets of lightning that were not of a summer + storm. Angry, lurid, red, these upflung blazes and flames + illumined the murky sky, showing in the fitful and + flickering intervals wagons driving toward the front, and + patrols of soldiers running toward some point, and great + upheavals of earth spread high.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This heavy cannonading died away in + the middle of the night until an hour before dawn, when it + began again with redoubled fury and lasted until + daybreak.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dawn came reluctantly, Dorn thought. + He was glad. It meant a charge. Another night of that + hellish shrieking and bursting of shells would kill his + mind, if not his body. He stood on guard at a + fighting-post. Corporal Owens lay at his feet, wounded + slightly. He would not retire. As the cannons ceased he + went to sleep. Rogers stood close on one side, Dixon on the + other. The squad had lived through that awful night. + Soldiers were bringing food and drink to them. All appeared + grimly gay.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn was not gay. But he knew this was + the day he would laugh in the teeth of death. A slumbrous, + slow heat burned deep in him, like a covered fire, fierce + and hot at heart, awaiting the wind. Watching there, he did + not voluntarily move a muscle, yet all his body twitched + like that of the trained athlete, strained to leap into the + great race of his life.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">An officer came hurrying through. The + talking hushed. Men on guard, backs to the trench, never + moved their eyes from the forbidden land in front. The + officer spoke. Look for a charge! Reserves were close + behind. He gave his orders and passed on.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then an Allied gun opened up with a + boom. The shell moaned on over. Dorn saw where it burst, + sending smoke and earth aloft. That must have been a signal + for a bombardment of the enemy all along this sector, for + big and little guns began to thunder and crack.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The spectacle before Dorn's hard, keen + eyes was one that he thought wonderful. Far across No Man's + Land, which sloped somewhat at that point in the plain, he + saw movement of troops and guns. His eyes were telescopic. + Over there the ground appeared grassy in places, with green + ridges rising, and patches of brush and straggling trees + standing out clearly. Faint, gray-colored squads of + soldiers passed in sight with helmets flashing in the sun; + guns were being hauled forward; mounted horsemen dashed + here and there, vanishing and reappearing; and all through + that wide area of color and action shot up live black + spouts of earth crowned in white smoke that hung in the air + after the earth fell back. They were beautiful, these + shell-bursts. Round balls of white smoke magically appeared + in the air, to spread and drift; long, yellow columns or + streaks rose here, and there leaped up a fan-shaped, dirty + cloud, savage and sinister; sometimes several shells burst + close together, dashing the upflung sheets of earth + together and blending their smoke; at intervals a huge, + creamy-yellow explosion, like a geyser, rose aloft to + spread and mushroom, then to detach itself from the heavier + body it had upheaved, and float away, white and graceful, + on the wind.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Sinister beauty! Dorn soon lost sight + of that. There came a gnawing at his vitals. The far scene + of action could not hold his gaze. That dark, uneven, + hummocky break in the earth, which was a goodly number of + rods distant, yet now seemed close, drew a startling + attention. Dorn felt his eyes widen and pop. Spots and + dots, shiny, illusive, bobbed along that break, behind the + mounds, beyond the farther banks. A yell as from one lusty + throat ran along the line of which Dorn's squad held the + center. Dorn's sight had a piercing intensity. All was hard + under his grip—his rifle, the boards and bags against + which he leaned. Corporal Owens rose beside him, + bareheaded, to call low and fiercely to his men.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The gray dots and shiny spots leaped + up magically and appallingly into men. German soldiers! + Boches! Huns on a charge! They were many, but wide apart. + They charged, running low.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Machine-gun rattle, rifle-fire, and + strangled shouts blended along the line. From the charging + Huns seemed to come a sound that was neither battle-cry nor + yell nor chant, yet all of them together. The gray + advancing line thinned at points opposite the machine-guns, + but it was coming fast.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn cursed his hard, fumbling hands, + which seemed so eager and fierce that they stiffened. They + burned, too, from their grip on the hot rifle. Shot after + shot he fired, missing. He could not hit a field full of + Huns. He dropped shells, fumbled with them at the breech, + loaded wildly, aimed at random, pulled convulsively. His + brain was on fire. He had no anger, no fear, only a great + and futile eagerness. Yell and crack filled his ears. The + gray, stolid, unalterable Huns must be driven back. Dorn + loaded, crushed his rifle steady, pointed low at a great + gray bulk, and fired. That Hun pitched down out of the gray + advancing line. The sight almost overcame Dorn. Dizzy, with + blurred eyes, he leaned over his gun. His abdomen and + breast heaved, and he strangled over his gorge. Almost he + fainted. But violence beside him somehow, great heaps of + dust and gravel flung over him, hoarse, wild yells in his + ears, roused him. The boches were on the line! He leaped + up. Through the dust he saw charging gray forms, thick and + heavy. They plunged, as if actuated by one will. Bulky + blond men, ashen of face, with eyes of blue fire and brutal + mouths set grim—Huns!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Up out of the shallow trench sprang + comrades on each side of Dorn. No rats to be cornered in a + hole! Dorn seemed drawn by powerful hauling chains. He did + not need to climb! Four big Germans appeared simultaneously + upon the embankment of bags. They were shooting. One swung + aloft an arm and closed fist. He yelled like a demon. He + was a bomb-thrower. On the instant a bullet hit Dorn, + tearing at the side of his head, stinging excruciatingly, + knocking him down, flooding his face with blood. The shock, + like a weight, held him down, but he was not dazed. A body, + khaki-clad, rolled down beside him, convulsively flopped + against him. He bounded erect, his ears filled with a + hoarse and clicking din, his heart strangely lifting in his + breast.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Only one German now stood upon the + embankment of bags and he was the threatening bomb-thrower. + The others were down—gray forms wrestling with brown. + Dixon was lunging at the bomb-thrower, and, reaching him + with the bayonet, ran him through the belly. He toppled + over with an awful cry and fell hard on the other side of + the wall of loaded bags. The bomb exploded. In the streaky + burst Dixon seemed to charge in bulk—to be flung + aside like a leaf by a gale.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Little Rogers had engaged an enemy who + towered over him. They feinted, swung, and cracked their + guns together, then locked bayonets. Another German + striding from behind stabbed Rogers in the back. He writhed + off the bloody bayonet, falling toward Dorn, showing a + white face that changed as he fell, with quiver of torture + and dying eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That dormant inhibited self of Dorn + suddenly was no more. Fast as a flash he was upon the + murdering Hun. Bayonet and rifle-barrel lunged through him, + and so terrible was the thrust that the German was thrown + back as if at a blow from a battering-ram. Dorn whirled the + bloody bayonet, and it crashed to the ground the rifle of + the other German. Dorn saw not the visage of the + foe—only the thick-set body, and this he ripped open + in one mighty slash. The German's life spilled out + horribly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn leaped over the bloody mass. + Owens lay next, wide-eyed, alive, but stricken. Purcell + fought with clubbed rifle, backing away from several foes. + Brewer was being beaten down. Gray forms closing in! Dorn + saw leveled small guns,, flashes of red, the impact of lead + striking him. But he heard no shots. The roar in his ears + was the filling of a gulf. Out of that gulf pierced his + laugh. Gray + forms—guns—bullets—bayonets—death—he + laughed at them. His moment had come. Here he would pay. + His immense and terrible joy bridged the ages between the + past and this moment when he leaped light and swift, like a + huge cat, upon them. They fired and they hit, but Dorn + sprang on, tigerishly, with his loud and nameless laugh. + Bayonets thrust at him were straws. These enemies gave way, + appalled. With sweep and lunge he killed one and split a + second's skull before the first had fallen. A third he + lifted and upset and gored, like a bull, in one single + stroke. The fourth and last of that group, screaming his + terror and fury, ran in close to get beyond that sweeping + blade. He fired as he ran. Dorn tripped him heavily, and he + had scarcely struck the ground when that steel transfixed + his bulging throat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Brewer was down, but Purcell had been + reinforced. Soldiers in brown came on the run, shooting, + yelling, brandishing. They closed in on the Germans, and + Dorn ran into that mêlée to make one thrust at + each gray form he encountered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Shriller yells along the + line—American yells—the enemy there had given + ground! Dorn heard. He saw the gray line waver. He saw + reserves running to aid his squad. The Germans would be + beaten back. There was whirling blackness in his head + through which he seemed to see. The laugh broke hoarse and + harsh from his throat. Dust and blood choked him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Another gray form blocked his leaping + way. Dorn saw only low down, the gray arms reaching with + bright, unstained blade. His own bloody bayonet clashed + against it, locked, and felt the helplessness of the arms + that wielded it. An instant of pause—a heaving, + breathless instinct of impending exhaustion—a moment + when the petrific mace of primitive man stayed at the + return of the human—then with bloody foam on his lips + Dorn spent his madness.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A supple twist—the French + trick—and Dorn's powerful lunge, with all his + ponderous weight, drove his bayonet through the enemy's + lungs.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"<i>Ka—ma—rod!</i>" came + the strange, strangling cry.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A weight sagged down on Dorn's rifle. + He did not pull out the bayonet, but as it lowered with the + burden of the body his eyes, fixed at one height, suddenly + had brought into their range the face of his foe.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A boy—dying on his bayonet! Then + came a resurrection of Kurt Dorn's soul. He looked at what + must be his last deed as a soldier. His mind halted. He saw + only the ghastly face, the eyes in which he expected to see + hate, but saw only love of life, suddenly reborn, suddenly + surprised at death.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"God save you, German! I'd give my + life for yours!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Too late! Dorn watched the youth's + last clutching of empty fingers, the last look of + consciousness at his conqueror, the last quiver. The youth + died and slid back off the rigid bayonet. War of men!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A heavy thud sounded to the left of + Dorn. A bursting flash hid the face of his German victim. A + terrific wind, sharp and hard as nails, lifted Dorn into + roaring blackness.…</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXIX</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Many Waters" shone white and green + under the bright May sunshine. Seen from the height of + slope, the winding brooks looked like silver bands across a + vast belt of rainy green and purple that bordered the broad + river in the bottom-lands. A summer haze filled the air, + and hints of gold on the waving wheat slopes presaged an + early and bountiful harvest.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was warm up there on the slope + where Lenore Anderson watched and brooded. The breeze + brought fragrant smell of fresh-cut alfalfa and the + rustling song of the wheat. The stately house gleamed white + down on the terraced green knoll; horses and cattle grazed + in the pasture; workmen moved like snails in the brown + gardens; a motor-car crept along the road far below, with + its trail of rising dust.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Two miles of soft green wheat-slope + lay between Lenore and her home. She had needed the + loneliness and silence and memory of a place she had not + visited for many months. Winter had passed. Summer had come + with its birds and flowers. The wheat-fields were again + waving, beautiful, luxuriant. But life was not as it had + been for Lenore Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt Dorn, private, mortally + wounded!—So had read the brief and terrible line in a + Spokane newspaper, publishing an Associated Press despatch + of Pershing's casualty-list. No more! That had been the + only news of Kurt Dorn for a long time. A month had dragged + by, of doubt, of hope, of slow despairing.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Up to the time of that fatal + announcement Lenore had scarcely noted the fleeting of the + days. With all her spirit and energy she had thrown herself + into the organizing of the women of the valley to work for + the interests of the war. She had made herself a leader who + spared no effort, no sacrifice, no expense in what she + considered her duty. Conservation of food, intensive farm + production, knitting for soldiers, Liberty Loans and Red + Cross—these she had studied and mastered, to the end + that the women of the great valley had accomplished work + which won national honor. It had been excitement, joy, and + a strange fulfilment for her. But after the shock caused by + the fatal news about Dorn she had lost interest, though she + had worked on harder than ever.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Just a night ago her father had gazed + at her and then told her to come to his office. She did so. + And there he said: "You're workin' too hard. You've got to + quit."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh no, dad. I'm only tired to-night," + she had replied. "Let me go on. I've planned so—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No!" he said, banging his desk. + "You'll run yourself down."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But, father, these are war-times. + Could I do less—could I think of—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You've done wonders. You've been the + life of this work. Some one else can carry it on now. You'd + kill yourself. An' this war has cost the Andersons + enough."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Should we count the cost?" she + asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson had sworn. "No, we shouldn't. + But I'm not goin' to lose my girl. Do you get that + hunch?… I've bought bonds by the bushel. I've given + thousands to your relief societies. I gave up my son + Jim—an' that cost us mother.… I'm raisin' a + million bushels of wheat this year that the government can + have. An' I'm starvin' to death because I don't get what I + used to eat.… Then this last + blow—Dorn!—that fine young wheat-man, the + best—Aw! Lenore…"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But, dad, is—isn't there + any—any hope?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson was silent.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dad," she had pleaded, "if he were + really dead—buried—oh! wouldn't I feel it?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You've overworked yourself. Now + you've got to rest," her father had replied, huskily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But, dad …"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I said no.… I've a heap of + pride in what you've done. An' I sure think you're the best + Anderson of the lot. That's all. Now kiss me an' go to + bed."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That explained how Lenore came to be + alone, high up' on the vast wheat-slope, watching and + feeling, with no more work to do. The slow climb there had + proved to her how much she needed rest. But work even under + strain or pain would have been preferable to endless hours + to think, to remember, to fight despair.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Mortally wounded! She whispered the + tragic phrase. When? Where? How had her lover been mortally + wounded? That meant death. But no other word had come and + no spiritual realization of death abided in her soul. It + seemed impossible for Lenore to accept things as her father + and friends did. Nevertheless, equally impossible was it + not to be influenced by their practical minds. Because of + her nervousness, of her overstrain, she had lost a good + deal of her mental poise; and she divined that the only + help for that was certainty of Dorn's fate. She could bear + the shock if only she could know positively. And leaning + her face in her hands, with the warm wind blowing her hair + and bringing the rustle of the wheat, she prayed for + divination.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">No answer! Absolutely no mystic + consciousness of death—of an end to her love here on + earth! Instead of that breathed a strong physical presence + of life all about her, in the swelling, waving slopes of + wheat, in the beautiful butterflies, in the singing birds + low down and the soaring eagles high above—life + beating and surging in her heart, her veins, unquenchable + and indomitable. It gave the lie to her morbidness. But it + seemed only a physical state. How could she find any + tangible hold on realities?</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She lifted her face to the lonely sky, + and her hands pressed to her breast where the deep ache + throbbed heavily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It's not that I can't give him up," + she whispered, as if impelled to speak. "I <i>can</i>. I + <i>have</i> given him up. It's this torture of suspense. + Oh, not to <i>know!</i>… But if that newspaper had + claimed him one of the killed, I'd not believe."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">So Lenore trusted more to the mystic + whisper of her woman's soul than to all the unproven + outward things. Still trust as she might, the voice of the + world dinned in her ears, and between the two she was on + the rack. Loss of Jim—loss of her mother—what + unfilled gulfs in her heart! She was one who loved only + few, but these deeply. To-day when they were gone was + different from yesterday when they were + here—different because memory recalled actual words, + deeds, kisses of loved ones whose life was ended. Utterly + futile was it for Lenore to try to think of Dorn in that + way. She saw his stalwart form down through the summer + haze, coming with his springy stride through the wheat. + Yet—the words—mortally wounded! They had burned + into her thought so that when she closed her eyes she saw + them, darkly red, against the blindness of sight. Pain was + a sluggish stream with source high in her breast, and it + moved with her unquickened blood. If Dorn were really dead, + what would become of her? Selfish question for a girl whose + lover had died for his country! She would work, she would + be worthy of him, she would never pine, she would live to + remember. But, ah! the difference to her! Never for her who + had so loved the open, the silken rustle of the wheat and + the waving shadows, the green-and-gold slopes, the birds of + the air and the beasts of the field, the voice of child and + the sweetness of life—never again would these be the + same to her, if Dorn were gone forever.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">That ache in her heart had + communicated itself to all her being. It filled her mind + and her body. Tears stung her eyes, and again they were dry + when tears would have soothed. Just as any other girl she + wept, and then she burned with fever. A longing she had + only faintly known, a physical thing which she had + resisted, had become real, insistent, beating. Through love + and loss she was to be denied a heritage common to all + women. A weariness dragged at her. Noble spirit was not a + natural thing. It must be intelligence seeing the higher. + But to be human was to love life, to hate death, to faint + under loss, to throb and pant with heavy sighs, to lie + sleepless in the long dark night, to shrink with + unutterable sadness at the wan light of dawn, to follow + duty with a laggard sense, to feel the slow ebb of vitality + and not to care, to suffer with a breaking heart.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Sunset hour reminded Lenore that she + must not linger there on the slope. So, following the + grass-grown lane between the sections of wheat, she wended + a reluctant way homeward. Twilight was falling when she + reached the yard. The cooling air was full of a fragrance + of flowers freshly watered. Kathleen appeared on the path, + evidently waiting for her. The girl was growing tall. + Lenore remembered with a pang that her full mind had left + little time for her to be a mother to this sister. Kathleen + came running, excited and wide-eyed.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, I thought you'd never come," + she said. "I know something. Only dad told me not to tell + you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then don't," replied Lenore, with a + little start.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But I'd never keep it," burst out + Kathleen, breathlessly. "Dad's going to New York."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore's heart contracted. She did not + know how she felt. Somehow it was momentous news.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"New York! What for?" she asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He says it's about wheat. But he + can't fool me. He told me not to mention it to you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The girl was keen. She wanted to + prepare Lenore, yet did not mean to confide her own + suppositions. Lenore checked a rush of curiosity. They went + into the house. Lenore hurried to change her outing clothes + and boots and then went down to supper. Rose sat at table, + but her father had not yet come in. Lenore called him. He + answered, and presently came tramping into the dining-room, + blustering and cheerful. Not for many months had Lenore + given her father such close scrutiny as she did then. He + was not natural, and he baffled her. A fleeting, vague hope + that she had denied lodgment in her mind seemed to have + indeed been wild and unfounded. But the very fact that her + father was for once unfathomable made this situation + remarkable. All through the meal Lenore trembled, and she + had to force herself to eat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, I'd like to see you," said + her father, at last, as he laid down his napkin and rose. + Almost he convinced her then that nothing was amiss or + different, and he would have done so if he had not been too + clever, too natural. She rose to follow, catching + Kathleen's whisper:</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Don't let him put it over on you, + now!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson lighted a big cigar, as + always after supper, but to Lenore's delicate sensitiveness + he seemed to be too long about it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, I'm takin' a run to New + York—leave to-night at eight—an' I want you to + sort of manage while I'm gone. Here's some jobs I want the + men to do—all noted down here—an' you'll answer + letters, 'phone calls, an' all that. Not much work, you + know, but you'll have to hang around. Somethin' important + might turn up."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, dad. I'll be glad to," she + replied. "Why—why this sudden trip?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson turned away a little and ran + his hand over the papers on his desk. Did she only imagine + that his hand shook a little?</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wheat deals, I reckon—mostly," + he said. "An' mebbe I'll run over to Washington."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He turned then, puffing at his cigar, + and calmly met her direct gaze. If there were really more + than he claimed in his going, he certainly did not intend + to tell her. Lenore tried to still her mounting emotion. + These days she seemed all imagination. Then she turned away + her face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Will you try to find out if Kurt Dorn + died of his wound—and all about him?" she asked, + steadily, but very low.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, I sure will!" he exclaimed, + with explosive emphasis. No doubt the sincerity of that + reply was an immense relief to Anderson. "Once in New York, + I can pull wires, if need be. I absolutely promise you I'll + find out—what—all you want to know."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore bade him good-by and went to + her room, where calmness deserted her for a while. Upon + recovering, she found that the time set for her father's + departure had passed. Strangely, then the oppression that + had weighed upon her so heavily eased and lifted. The + moment seemed one beyond her understanding. She attributed + her relief, however, to the fact that her father would soon + end her suspense in regard to Kurt Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In the succeeding days Lenore regained + her old strength and buoyancy, and something of a control + over the despondency which at times had made life + misery.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A golden day of sunlight and azure + blue of sky ushered in the month of June. "Many Waters" was + a world of verdant green. Lenore had all she could do to + keep from flying to the slopes. But as every day now + brought nearer the possibility of word from her father, she + stayed at home. The next morning about nine o'clock, while + she was at her father's desk, the telephone-bell rang. It + did that many times every morning, but this ring seemed to + electrify Lenore. She answered the call hurriedly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hello, Lenore, my girl! How are you?" + came rolling on the wire.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dad! Dad! Is it—you?" cried + Lenore, wildly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sure is. Just got here. Are you an' + the girls O.K.?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We're well—fine. Oh, dad + …"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You needn't send the car. I'll hire + one."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes—yes—but, + dad—Oh, tell me …"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wait! I'll be there in five + minutes."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She heard him slam up the receiver, + and she leaned there, palpitating, with the queer, vacant + sounds of the telephone filling her ear.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Five minutes!" Lenore whispered. In + five more minutes she would know. They seemed an eternity. + Suddenly a flood of emotion and thought threatened to + overwhelm her. Leaving the office, she hurried forth to + find her sisters, and not until she had looked everywhere + did she remember that they were visiting a girl friend. + After this her motions seemed ceaseless; she could not + stand or sit still, and she was continually going to the + porch to look down the shady lane. At last a car appeared, + coming fast. Then she ran indoors quite aimlessly and out + again. But when she recognized her father all her outward + fears and tremblings vanished. The broad, brown flash of + his face was reality. He got out of the car lightly for so + heavy a man, and, taking his valise, he dismissed the + chauffeur. His smile was one of gladness, and his greeting + a hearty roar.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore met him at the porch steps, + seeing in him, feeling as she embraced him, that he + radiated a strange triumph and finality.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Say, girl, you look somethin' like + your old self," he said, holding her by the shoulders. + "Fine! But you're a woman now.… Where are the + kids?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"They're away," replied Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"How you stare!" laughed Anderson, as + with arm round her he led her in. "Anythin' queer about + your dad's handsome mug?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His jocular tone did not hide his deep + earnestness. Never had Lenore felt him so forceful. His + ruggedness seemed to steady her nerves that again began to + fly. Anderson took her into his office, closed the door, + threw down his valise.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Great to be home!" he exploded, with + heavy breath.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore felt her face blanch; and that + intense quiver within her suddenly stilled.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Tell me—quick!" she + whispered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He faced her with flashing eyes, and + all about him changed. "You're an Anderson! You can stand + shock?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Any—any shock but + suspense."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I lied about the wheat + deal—about my trip to New York. I got news of Dorn. I + was afraid to tell you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dorn is alive," went on Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore's hands went out in mute + eloquence.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He was all shot up. He can't live," + hurried Anderson, hoarsely. "But he's alive—he'll + live to see you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh! I knew, I <i>knew!</i>" whispered + Lenore clasping her hands. "Oh, thank God!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, steady now. You're gettin' + shaky. Brace there, my girl!… Dorn's alive. I've + brought him home. He's here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"<i>Here!</i>" screamed Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. They'll have him here in half an + hour."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore fell into her father's arms, + blind and deaf to all outward things. The light of day + failed. But her consciousness did not fade. Before it + seemed a glorious radiance that was the truth lost for the + moment, blindly groping, in whirling darkness. When she did + feel herself again it was as a weak, dizzy, palpitating + child, unable to stand. Her father, in alarm, and probable + anger with himself, was coaxing and swearing in one breath. + Then suddenly the joy that had shocked Lenore almost into + collapse forced out the weakness with amazing strength. She + blazed. She radiated. She burst into utterance too swift to + understand.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hold on there, girl!" interrupted + Anderson. "You've got the bit in your teeth.… Listen, + will you? Let me talk. Well—well, there now.… + Sure, it's all right, Lenore. You made me break it + sudden-like.… Listen. There's all summer to talk. + Just now you want to get a few details. Get 'em + straight.… Dorn is on the way here. They put his + stretcher—we've been packin' him on one—into a + motor-truck. There's a nurse come with me—a man + nurse. We'd better put Dorn in mother's room. That's the + biggest an' airiest. You hurry an' open up the windows an' + fix the bed.… An' don't go out of your head with joy. + It's sure more 'n we ever hoped for to see him alive, to + get him home. But he's done for, poor boy! He can't + live.… An' he's in such shape that I don't want you + to see him when they fetch him in. Savvy, girl! You'll stay + in your room till we call you. An' now rustle."</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore paced and crouched and lay in + her room, waiting, listening with an intensity that hurt. + When a slow procession of men, low-voiced and soft-footed, + carried Kurt Dorn into the house and up-stairs Lenore + trembled with a storm of emotion. All her former agitation, + love, agony, and suspense, compared to what she felt then, + was as nothing. Not the joy of his being alive, not the + terror of his expected death, had so charged her heart as + did this awful curiosity to see him, to realize him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At last a step—a knock—her + father's voice: "Lenore—come!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Her ordeal of waiting was over. All + else she could withstand. That moment ended her weakness. + Her blood leaped with the irresistable, revivifying current + of her spirit. Unlocking the door, Lenore stepped out. Her + father stood there with traces of extreme worry fading from + his tired face. At sight of her they totally vanished.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Good! You've got nerve. You can see + him now alone. He's unconscious. But he's not been greatly + weakened by the trip. His vitality is wonderful. He comes + to once in a while. Sometimes he's rational. Mostly, + though, he's out of his head. An' his left arm is + gone."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson said all this rapidly and low + while they walked down the hall toward the end room which + had not been used since Mrs. Anderson's death. The door was + ajar. Lenore smelled strong, pungent odors of + antiseptics.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson knocked softly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Come out, you men, an' let my girl + see him," he called.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Doctor Lowell, the village + practitioner Lenore had known for years, tiptoed out, + important and excited.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, it's to bad," he said, + kindly, and he shook his head.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Another man glided out with the + movements of a woman. He was not young. His aspect was + pale, serious.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, this is Mr. Jarvis, the + nurse.… Now—go in, an' don't forget what I + said."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She closed the door and leaned back + against it, conscious of the supreme moment of her life. + Dorn's face, strange yet easily recognizable, appeared + against the white background of the bed. That moment was + supreme because it showed him there alive, justifying the + spiritual faith which had persisted in her soul. If she had + ever, in moments of distraction, doubted God, she could + never doubt again.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The large room had been bright, with + white curtains softly blowing inward from the open windows. + As she crept forward, not sure on her feet, all seemed to + blur, so that when she leaned over the still face to kiss + it she could not see clearly. Her lips quivered with that + kiss and with her sob of thankfulness.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My soldier!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She prayed then, with her head beside + his on the pillow, and through that prayer and the strange + stillness of her lover she received a subtle shock. Sweet + it was to touch him as she bent with eyes hidden. Terrible + it would be to look—to see how the war had wrecked + him. She tried to linger there, all tremulous, all + gratitude, all woman and mother. But an incalculable force + lifted her up from her knees.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Ah!" she gasped, as she saw him with + cleared sight. A knife-blade was at her heart. Kurt Dorn + lay before her gaze—a man, and not the boy she had + sacrificed to war—a man by a larger frame, and by + older features, and by a change difficult to grasp.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">These features seemed a mask, + transparent, unable to hide a beautiful, sad, stern, and + ruthless face beneath, which in turn slowly gave to her + startled gaze sloping lines of pain and shades of gloom, + and the pale, set muscles of forced manhood, and the faint + hectic flush of fever and disorder and derangement. A + livid, angry scar, smooth, yet scarcely healed, ran from + his left temple back as far as she could see. That + established his identity as a wounded soldier brought home + from the war. Otherwise to Lenore his face might have been + that of an immortal suddenly doomed with the curse of + humanity, dying in agony. She had expected to see Dorn + bronzed, haggard, gaunt, starved, bearded and + rough-skinned, bruised and battered, blinded and mutilated, + with gray in his fair hair. But she found none of these. + Her throbbing heart sickened and froze at the nameless + history recorded in his face. Was it beyond her to + understand what had been his bitter experience? Would she + never suffer his ordeal? Never! That was certain. An + insupportable sadness pervaded her soul. It was not his + life she thought of, but the youth, the nobility, the + splendor of him that war had destroyed. No intuition, no + divination, no power so penetrating as a woman's love! By + that piercing light she saw the transformed man. He knew. + He had found out all of physical life. His hate had gone + with his blood. Deeds—deeds of terror had left their + imprint upon his brow, in the shadows under his eyes, that + resembled blank walls potent with invisible meaning. Lenore + shuddered through all her soul as she read the merciless + record of the murder he had dealt, of the strong and + passionate duty that had driven him, of the eternal + remorse. But she did not see or feel that he had found God; + and, stricken as he seemed, she could not believe he was + near to death.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This last confounding thought held her + transfixed and thrilling, gazing down at Dorn, until her + father entered to break the spell and lead her away.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXX</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was night. Lenore should have been + asleep, but she sat up in the dark by the window. + Underneath on the porch, her father, with his men as + audience, talked like a torrent. And Lenore, hearing what + otherwise would never have gotten to her ears, found + listening irresistible. Slow, dragging footsteps and the + clinking of spurs attested to the approach of cowboys.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Howdy, boys! Sit down an' be + partic'lar quiet. Here's some smokes. I'm wound up an' + gotta go off or bust," Anderson said, "Well, as I was + sayin', we folks don't know there's a war, from all outward + sign here in the Northwest. But in that New York town I + just come from—God Almighty! what goin's-on! Boys, I + never knew before how grand it was to be American. New + York's got the people, the money, an' it's the outgoin' an' + incomin' place of all pertainin' to this war. The Liberty + Loan drive was on. The streets were crowded. Bands an' + parades, grand-opera stars singin' on the corners, famous + actors sellin' bonds, flags an' ribbons an' banners + everywhere, an' every third man you bumped into wearin' + some kind of uniform! An' the women were runnin' wild, like + a stampede of two-year-olds.… I rode down Fifth + Avenue on one of them high-topped buses with seats on. Talk + about your old stage-coach—why, these 'buses had 'em + beat a mile! I've rode some in my day, but this was the + ride of my life. I couldn't hear myself think. Music at + full blast, roar of traffic, voices like whisperin' without + end, flash of red an' white an' blue, shine of a thousand + automobiles down that wonderful street that's like a canon! + An' up overhead a huge cigar-shaped balloon, an' then an + airplane sailin' swift an' buzzin' like a bee. Them was the + first air-ships I ever seen. No wonder—Jim wanted + to—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson's voice broke a little at + this juncture and he paused. All was still except the + murmur of the running water and the song of the insects. + Presently Anderson cleared his throat and resumed:</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"I saw five hundred Australian soldiers + just arrived in New York by way of Panama. Lean, wiry boys + like Arizona cowboys. Looked good to me! You ought to have + heard the cheerin'. Roar an' roar, everywhere they marched + along. I saw United States sailors, marines, soldiers, + airmen, English officers, an' Scotch soldiers. Them last + sure got my eye. Funny plaid skirts they wore—an' + they had bare legs. Three I saw walked lame. An' all had + medals. Some one said the Germans called these Scotch + 'Ladies from hell.' … When I heard that I had to ask + questions, an' I learned these queer-lookin' + half-women-dressed fellows were simply hell with cold + steel. An' after I heard that I looked again an' wondered + why I hadn't seen it. I ought to know men!… Then I + saw the outfit of Blue Devil Frenchmen that was sent over + to help stimulate the Liberty Loan. An' when I seen them I + took off my hat. I've knowed a heap of tough men an' bad + men an' handy men an' fightin' men in my day, but I + reckoned I never seen the like of the Blue Devils. I can't + tell you why, boys. Blue Devils is another German name for + a regiment of French soldiers. They had it on the + Scotch-men. Any Western man, just to look at them, would + think of Wild Bill an' Billy the Kid an' Geronimo an' + Custer, an' see that mebbe the whole four mixed in one + might have made a Blue Devil.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"My young friend Dorn, that's dyin' + up-stairs, now—he had a name given him. 'Pears that + this war-time is like the old days when we used to hit on + right pert names for everybody.… Demon Dorn they + called him, an' he got that handle before he ever reached + France. The boys of his outfit gave it to him because of + the way he run wild with a bayonet. I don't want my girl + Lenore ever to know that.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"A soldier named Owens told me a lot. + He was the corporal of Dorn's outfit, a sort of foreman, I + reckon. Anyway, he saw Dorn every day of the months they + were in the service, an' the shell that done Dorn made a + cripple of Owens. This fellow Owens said Dorn had not got + so close to his bunk-mates until they reached France. Then + he begun to have influence over them. Owens didn't know how + he did it—in fact, never knew it at all until the + outfit got to the front, somewhere in northern France, in + the first line. They were days in the first line, close up + to the Germans, watchin' an' sneakin' all the time, + shootin' an' dodgin', but they never had but one real + fight.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"That was when one mornin' the Germans + came pilin' over on a charge, far outnumberin' our boys. + Then it happened. Lord! I wish I could remember how Owens + told that scrap! Boys, you never heard about a real scrap. + It takes war like this to make men fighters.… Listen, + now, an' I'll tell you some of the things that come off + durin' this German charge. I'll tell them just as they come + to mind. There was a boy named Griggs who ran the German + barrage—an' that's a gantlet—seven times to + fetch ammunition to his pards. Another boy, on the same + errand, was twice blown off the road by explodin' shells, + an' then went back. Owens told of two of his company who + rushed a bunch of Germans, killed eight of them, an' + captured their machine-gun. Before that German charge a big + shell came over an' kicked up a hill of mud. Next day the + Americans found their sentinel buried in mud, dead at his + post, with his bayonet presented.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Owens was shot just as he jumped up + with his pards to meet the chargin' Germans. He fell an' + dragged himself against a wall of bags, where he lay + watchin' the fight. An' it so happened that he faced Dorn's + squad, which was attacked by three times their number. He + saw Dorn shot—go down, an' thought he was + done—but no! Dorn came up with one side of his face + all blood. Dixon, a college football man, rushed a German + who was about to throw a bomb. Dixon got him, an' got the + bomb, too, when it went off. Little Rogers, an Irish boy, + mixed it with three Germans, an' killed one before he was + bayoneted in the back. Then Dorn, like the demon they'd + named him, went on the stampede. He had a different way + with a bayonet, so Owens claimed. An' Dorn was heavy, + powerful, an' fast. He lifted an' slung those two Germans, + one after another, quick as that!—like you'd toss a + couple of wheat sheafs with your pitchfork, an' he sent + them rollin', with blood squirtin' all over. An' then four + more Germans were shootin' at him. Right into their teeth + Dorn run—laughin' wild an' terrible, Owens said, an' + the Germans couldn't stop that flashin' bayonet. Dorn + ripped them all open, an' before they'd stopped floppin' he + was on the bunch that'd killed Brewer an' were makin' it + hard for his other pards.… Whew!—Owens told it + all as if it'd took lots of time, but that fight was like + lightnin' an' I can't remember how it was. Only Demon Dorn + laid out nine Germans before they retreated. <i>Nine!</i> + Owens seen him do it, like a mad bull loose. Then the shell + came over that put Dorn out, an' Owens, too.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Well, Dorn had a mangled arm, an' many + wounds. They amputated his arm in France, patched him up, + an' sent him back to New York with a lot of other wounded + soldiers. They expected him to die long ago. But he hangs + on. He's full of lead now. What a hell of a lot of killin' + some men take!… My boy Jim would have been like + that!</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"So there, boys, you have a little bit + of American fightin' come home to you, straight an' true. I + say that's what the Germans have roused. Well, it was a bad + day for them when they figgered everythin' on paper, had it + all cut an' dried, but failed to see the spirit of + men!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore tore herself away from the + window so that she could not hear any more, and in the + darkness of her room she began to pace to and fro, + beginning to undress for bed, shaking in some kind of a + frenzy, scarcely knowing what she was about, until sundry + knocks from furniture and the falling over a chair awakened + her to the fact that she was in a tumult.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What—<i>am</i> I—doing!" + she panted, in bewilderment, reaching out in the dark to + turn on the light.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Like awakening from a nightmare, she + saw the bright light flash up. It changed her feeling. Who + was this person whose image stood reflected in the mirror? + Lenore's recognition of herself almost stunned her. What + had happened? She saw that her hair fell wildly over her + bare shoulders; her face shone white, with red spots in her + cheeks; her eyes seemed balls of fire; her lips had a + passionate, savage curl; her breast, bare and heaving, + showed a throbbing, tumultuous heart. And as she realized + how she looked, it struck her that she felt an inexplicable + passion. She felt intense as steel, hot as fire, quivering + with the pulsation of rapid blood, a victim to + irrepressible thrills that rushed over her from the very + soles of her feet to the roots of her hair. Something + glorious, terrible, and furious possessed her. When she + understood what it was she turned out the light and fell + upon the bed, where, as the storm slowly subsided, she + thought and wondered and sorrowed, and whispered to + herself.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The tale of Dorn's tragedy had stirred + to the depths the primitive, hidden, and unplumbed in the + unknown nature of her. Just now she had looked at herself, + at her two selves—the white-skinned and fair-haired + girl that civilization had produced—and the blazing, + panting, savage woman of the bygone ages. She could not + escape from either. The story of Demon Dorn's terrible + fight had retrograded her, for the moment, to the female of + the species, more savage and dangerous than the male. No + use to lie! She had gloried in his prowess. He was her man, + gone out with club, to beat down the brutes that would + steal her from him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Alas! What are we? What am I?" she + whispered. "Do I know myself? What could I not have done a + moment ago?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She had that primitive thing in her, + and, though she shuddered to realize it, she had no regret. + Life was life. That Dorn had laid low so many enemies was + grand to her, and righteous, since these enemies were as + cavemen come for prey. Even now the terrible thrills chased + over her. Demon Dorn! What a man! She had known just what + he would do—and how his spiritual life would go + under. The woman of her gloried in his fight and the soul + of her sickened at its significance. No hope for any man or + any woman except in God!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">These men, these boys, like her father + and Jake, like Dorn and his comrades—how simple, + natural, inevitable, elemental they were! They loved a + fight. They might hate it, too, but they loved it most. + Life of men was all strife, and the greatness in them came + out in war. War searched out the best and the worst in men. + What were wounds, blood, mangled flesh, agony, and death to + men—to those who went out for liberation of something + unproven in themselves? Life was only a breath. The secret + must lie in the beyond, for men could not act that way for + nothing. Some hidden purpose through the ages!</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson had summoned a great + physician, a specialist of world renown. Lenore, of course, + had not been present when the learned doctor examined Kurt + Dorn, but she was in her father's study when the report was + made. To Lenore this little man seemed all intellect, all + science, all electric current.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">He stated that Dorn had upward of + twenty-five wounds, some of them serious, most trivial, and + all of them combined not necessarily fatal. Many soldiers + with worse wounds had totally recovered. Dorn's vitality + and strength had been so remarkable that great loss of + blood and almost complete lack of nourishment had not + brought about the present grave condition.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"He will die, and that is best for + him," said the specialist. "His case is not extraordinary. + I saw many like it in France during the first year of war + when I was there. But I will say that he must have been + both physically and mentally above the average before he + went to fight. My examination extended through periods of + his unconsciousness and aberration. Once, for a little + time, he came to, apparently sane. The nurse said he had + noticed several periods of this rationality during the last + forty-eight hours. But these, and the prolonged vitality, + do not offer any hope.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"An emotion of exceeding intensity and + duration has produced lesions in the kinetic organs. Some + passion has immeasurably activated his brain, destroying + brain cells which might not be replaced. If he happened to + live he might be permanently impaired. He might be + neurasthenic, melancholic, insane at times, or even grow + permanently so.… It is very sad. He appears to have + been a fine young man. But he will die, and that really is + best for him."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Thus the man of science summed up the + biological case of Kurt Dorn. When he had gone Anderson + wore the distressed look of one who must abandon his last + hope. He did not understand, though he was forced to + believe. He swore characteristically at the luck, and then + at the great specialist.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I've known Indian medicine-men who + could give that doctor cards an' spades," he exploded, with + gruff finality.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore understood her father perfectly + and imagined she understood the celebrated scientist. The + former was just human and the latter was simply knowledge. + Neither had that which caused her to go out alone into the + dark night and look up beyond the slow-rising slope to the + stars. These men, particularly the scientist, lacked + something. He possessed all the wonderful knowledge of body + and brain, of the metabolism and chemistry of the organs, + but he knew nothing of the source of life. Lenore accorded + science its place in progress, but she hated its + elimination of the soul. Stronger than ever, strength to + endure and to trust pervaded her spirit. The dark night + encompassing her, the vast, lonely heave of wheat-slope, + the dim sky with its steady stars—these were voices + as well as tangible things of the universe, and she was in + mysterious harmony with them. "Lift thine eyes to the hills + from whence cometh thy help!"</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The day following the specialist's + visit Dorn surprised the family doctor, the nurse, + Anderson, and all except Lenore by awakening to a spell of + consciousness which seemed to lift, for the time at least, + the shadow of death.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Kathleen was the first to burst in + upon Lenore with the wonderful news. Lenore could only gasp + her intense eagerness and sit trembling, hands over her + heart, while the child babbled.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I listened, and I peeped in," was + Kathleen's reiterated statement. "Kurt was awake. He spoke, + too, but very soft. Say, he knows he's at 'Many Waters.' I + heard him say, 'Lenore'.… Oh, I'm so happy, + Lenore—that before he dies he'll know you—talk + to you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Hush, child!" whispered Lenore. + "Kurt's not going to die."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But they all say so. That funny + little doctor yesterday—he made me tired—but he + said so. I heard him as dad put him into the car."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, Kathie, I heard him, too, but I + do not believe," replied Lenore, dreamily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt doesn't look so—so sick," + went on Kathleen. "Only—only I don't know + what—different, I guess. I'm crazy to go in—to + see him. Lenore, will they ever let me?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Their father's abrupt entrance + interrupted the conversation. He was pale, forceful, as + when issues were at stake but were undecided.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kathie, go out," he said.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore rose to face him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My girl—Dorn's come + to—an' he's asked for you. I was for lettin' him see + you. But Lowell an' Jarvis say no—not yet.… Now + he might die any minute. Seems to me he ought to see you. + It's right. An' if you say so—"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," replied Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"By Heaven! He shall see you, then," + said Anderson, breathing hard. "I'm justified + even—even if it…" He did not finish his + significant speech, but left her abruptly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Presently Lenore was summoned. When + she left her room she was in the throes of uncontrolled + agitation, and all down the long hallway she fought + herself. At the half-open door she paused to lean against + the wall. There she had the will to still her nerves, to + acquire serenity; and she prayed for wisdom to make her + presence and her words of infinite good to Dorn in this + crisis.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She was not aware of when she + moved—how she ever got to Dorn's bedside. But + seemingly detached from her real self, serene, with + emotions locked, she was there looking down upon him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore!" he said, with far-off voice + that just reached her. Gladness shone from his shadowy + eyes.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Welcome home—my soldier boy!" + she replied. Then she bent to kiss his cheek and to lay + hers beside it.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I never—hoped—to see + you—again," he went on.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, but I knew!" murmured Lenore, + lifting her head. His right hand, brown, bare, and rough, + lay outside the coverlet upon his breast. It was weakly + reaching for her. Lenore took it in both hers, while she + gazed steadily down into his eyes. She seemed to see then + how he was comparing the image he had limned upon his + memory with her face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Changed—you're older—more + beautiful—yet the same," he said. "It + seems—long ago."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, long ago. Indeed I am older. + But—all's well that ends well. You are back."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, haven't you—been + told—I can't live?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, but it's untrue," she replied, + and felt that she might have been life itself speaking.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dear, something's gone—from me. + Something vital gone—with the shell that—took + my arm."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal"><i>"No!"</i> she smiled down upon him. + All the conviction of her soul and faith she projected into + that single word and serene smile—all that was love + and woman in her opposing death. A subtle, indefinable + change came over Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore—I paid—for my + father," he whispered. "I killed Huns!… I spilled + the—blood in me—I hated!… But all was + wrong—wrong!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, but you could not help that," + she said, piercingly. "Blame can never rest upon you. You + were only an—American soldier.… Oh, I know! You + were magnificent.… But your duty that way is done. A + higher duty awaits you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His eyes questioned sadly and + wonderingly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You must be the great sower of + wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Sower of wheat?" he whispered, and a + light quickened in that questioning gaze.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"There will be starving millions after + this war. Wheat is the staff of life. You <i>must</i> get + well.… Listen!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She hesitated, and sank to her knees + beside the bed. "Kurt, the day you're able to sit up I'll + marry you. Then I'll take you home—to your + wheat-hills."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">For a second Lenore saw him + transformed with her spirit, her faith, her love, and it + was that for which she had prayed. She had carried him + beyond the hopelessness, beyond incredulity. Some guidance + had divinely prompted her. And when his mute rapture + suddenly vanished, when he lost consciousness and a pale + gloom and shade fell upon his face, she had no fear.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In her own room she unleashed the + strange bonds on her feelings and suffered their recurrent + surge and strife, until relief and calmness returned to + her. Then came a flashing uplift of soul, a great and + beautiful exaltation. Lenore felt that she had been gifted + with incalculable power. She had pierced Dorn's fatalistic + consciousness with the truth and glory of possible life, as + opposed to the dark and evil morbidity of war. She saw for + herself the wonderful and terrible stairs of sand which + women had been climbing all the ages, and must climb on to + the heights of solid rock, of equality, of salvation for + the human race. She saw woman, the primitive, the female of + the species, but she saw her also as the mother of the + species, made to save as well as perpetuate, learning from + the agony of child-birth and child-care the meaning of Him + who said, "Thou shalt not kill!" Tremendous would be the + final resistance of woman to the brutality of man. Women + were to be the saviors of humanity. It seemed so simple and + natural that it could not be otherwise. Lenore realized, + with a singular conception of the splendor of its truth, + that when most women had found themselves, their mission in + life, as she had found hers, then would come an end to + violence, to greed, to hate, to war, to the black and + hideous imperfection of mankind.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">With all her intellect and passion + Lenore opposed the theory of the scientist and biologists. + If they proved that strife and fight were necessary to the + development of man, that without violence and bloodshed and + endless contention the race would deteriorate, then she + would say that it would be better to deteriorate and to + die. Women all would declare against that, and in fact + would never believe. She would never believe with her + heart, but if her intellect was forced to recognize certain + theories, then she must find a way to reconcile life to the + inscrutable designs of nature. The theory that continual + strife was the very life of plants, birds, beasts, and men + seemed verified by every reaction of the present; but if + these things were fixed materialistic rules of the + existence of animated forms upon the earth, what then was + God, what was the driving force in Kurt Dorn that made + war-duty some kind of murder which overthrew his mind, what + was the love in her heart of all living things, and the + nameless sublime faith in her soul?</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If we poor creatures <i>must</i> + fight," said Lenore, and she meant this for a prayer, "let + the women fight eternally against violence, and let the men + forever fight their destructive instincts!"</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">From that hour the condition of Kurt + Dorn changed for the better. Doctor Lowell admitted that + Lenore had been the one medicine which might defeat the + death that all except she had believed inevitable.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore was permitted to see him a few + minutes every day, for which fleeting interval she must + endure the endless hours. But she discovered that only when + he was rational and free from pain would they let her go + in. What Dorn's condition was all the rest of the time she + could not guess. But she began to get inklings that it was + very bad.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dad, I'm going to insist on staying + with Kurt as—as long as I want," asserted Lenore, + when she had made up her mind.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This worried Anderson, and he appeared + at a loss for words.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I told Kurt I'd marry him the very + day he could sit up," continued Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"By George! that accounts," exclaimed + her father. "He's been tryin' to sit up, an' we've had hell + with him."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dad, he will get well. And all the + sooner if I can be with him more. He loves me. I feel I'm + the only thing that counteracts—the—the madness + in his mind—the death in his soul."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson made one of his violent + gestures. "I believe you. That hits me with a bang. It + takes a woman!… Lenore, what's your idea?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I want to—to marry him," + murmured Lenore. "To nurse him—to take him home to + his wheat-fields."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You shall have your way," replied + Anderson, beginning to pace the floor. "It can't do any + harm. It might save him. An' anyway, you'll be his + wife—if only for … By George! we'll do it. You + never gave me a wrong hunch in your life … but, girl, + it'll be hard for you to see him when—when he has the + spells."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Spells!" echoed Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. You've been told that he raves. + But you didn't know how. Why, it gets even my nerve! It + fascinated me, but once was enough. I couldn't stand to see + his face when his Huns come back to him."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"His Huns!" ejaculated Lenore, + shuddering. "What do you mean?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Those Huns he killed come back to + him. He fights them. You see him go through strange + motions, an' it's as if his left arm wasn't gone. He used + his right arm—an' the motions he makes are the ones + he made when he killed the Huns with his bayonet. It's + terrible to watch him—the look on his face!.… I + heard at the hospital in New York that in France they + photographed him when he had one of the spells.… I'd + hate to have you see him then. But maybe after Doctor + Lowell explains it, you'll understand."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Poor boy! How terrible for him to + live it all over! But when he gets well—when he has + his wheat-hills and me to fill his mind—those spells + will fade."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Maybe—maybe. I hope so. Lord + knows it's all beyond me. But you're goin' to have your + way."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Doctor Lowell explained to Lenore that + Dorn, like all mentally deranged soldiers, dreamed when he + was asleep, and raved when he was out of his mind, of only + one thing—the foe. In his nightmares Dorn had to be + held forcibly. The doctor said that the remarkable and + hopeful indication about Dorn's condition was a gradual + daily gain in strength and a decline in the duration and + violence of his bad spells.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This assurance made Lenore happy. She + began to relieve the worn-out nurse during the day, and she + prepared herself for the first ordeal of actual experience + of Dorn's peculiar madness. But Dorn watched her many hours + and would not or could not sleep while she was there; and + the tenth day of his stay at "Many Waters" passed without + her seeing what she dreaded. Meanwhile he grew perceptibly + better.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The afternoon came when Anderson + brought a minister. Then a few moments sufficed to make + Lenore Dorn's wife.</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXXI</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The remarkable happened. Scarcely had + the minister left when Kurt Dorn's smiling wonder and + happiness sustained a break, as sharp and cold and terrible + as if nature had transformed him from man to beast.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His face became like that of a + gorilla. Struggling up, he swept his right arm over and + outward with singular twisting energy. A bayonet-thrust! + And for him his left arm was still intact! A savage, + unintelligible battle-cry, yet unmistakably German, escaped + his lips.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore stood one instant petrified. + Her father, grinding his teeth, attempted to lead her away. + But as Dorn was about to pitch off the bed, Lenore, with + piercing cry, ran to catch him and force him back. There + she held him, subdued his struggles, and kept calling with + that intensity of power and spirit which must have + penetrated even his delirium. Whatever influence she + exerted, it quieted him, changed his savage face, until he + relaxed and lay back passive and pale. It was possible to + tell exactly when his reason returned, for it showed in the + gaze he fixed upon Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I had—one—of my fits!" he + said, huskily.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh—I don't know what it was," + replied Lenore, with quavering voice. Her strength began to + leave her now. Her arms that had held him so firmly began + to slip away.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Son, you had a bad spell," interposed + Anderson, with his heavy breathing. "First one she's + seen."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, I laid out my Huns again," + said Dorn, with a tragic smile. "Lately I could tell + when—they were coming back."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Did you know just now?" queried + Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I think so. I wasn't really out of my + head. I've known when I did that. It's a strange + feeling—thought—memory … and action + drives it away. Then I seem always to <i>want</i> + to—kill my Huns all over again."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore gazed at him with mournful and + passionate tenderness. "Do you remember that we were just + married?" she asked.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My wife!" he whispered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Husband!… I knew you were + coming home to me.… I knew you would not die.… + I know you will get well."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I begin to feel that, too. + Then—maybe the black spells will go away."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"They must or—or you'll lose + me," faltered Lenore. "If you go on killing your Huns over + and over—it'll be I who will die."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She carried with her to her room a + haunting sense of Dorn's reception of her last speech. Some + tremendous impression it made on him, but whether of fear + of domination or resolve, or all combined, she could not + tell. She had weakened in mention of the return of his + phantoms. But neither Dorn nor her father ever guessed + that, once in her room, she collapsed from sheer feminine + horror at the prospect of seeing Dorn change from a man to + a gorilla, and to repeat the savage orgy of remurdering his + Huns. That was too much for Lenore. She who had been + invincible in faith, who could stand any tests of endurance + and pain, was not proof against a spectacle of Dorn's + strange counterfeit presentment of the actual and terrible + killing he had performed with a bayonet.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">For days after that she was under a + strain which she realized would break her if it was not + relieved. It appeared to be solely her fear of Dorn's + derangement. She was with him almost all the daylight + hours, attending him, watching him sleep, talking a little + to him now and then, seeing with joy his gradual + improvement, feeling each day the slow lifting of the + shadow over him, and yet every minute of every hour she + waited in dread for the return of Dorn's madness. It did + not come. If it recurred at night she never was told. Then + after a week a more pronounced change for the better in + Dorn's condition marked a lessening of the strain upon + Lenore. A little later it was deemed safe to dismiss the + nurse. Lenore dreaded the first night vigil. She lay upon a + couch in Dorn's room and never closed her eyes. But he + slept, and his slumber appeared sound at times, and then + restless, given over to dreams. He talked incoherently, and + moaned; and once appeared to be drifting into a nightmare, + when Lenore awakened him. Next day he sat up and said he + was hungry. Thereafter Lenore began to lose her dread.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, son, let's talk wheat," said + Anderson, cheerily, one beautiful June morning, as he + entered Dorn's room.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Wheat!" sighed Dorn, with a pathetic + glance at his empty sleeve. "How can I even do a man's work + again in the fields?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore smiled bravely at him. "You + will sow more wheat than ever, and harvest more, too."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I should smile," corroborated + Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But how? I've only one arm," said + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Kurt, you hug me better with that one + arm than you ever did with two arms." replied Lenore, in + sublime assurance.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Son, you lose that argument," roared + Anderson. "Me an' Lenore stand pat. You'll sow more an' + better wheat than ever—than any other man in the + Northwest. Get my hunch?… Well, I'll tell you + later.… Now see here, let me declare myself about + you. I seen it worries you more an' more, now you're + gettin' well. You miss that good arm, an' you feel the pain + of bullets that still lodge somewhere's in you, an' you + think you'll be a cripple always. Look things in the face + square. Sure, compared to what you once was, you'll be a + cripple. But Kurt Dorn weighin' one hundred an' ninety let + loose on a bunch of Huns was some man! My Gawd!… + Forget that, an' forget that you'll never chop a cord of + wood again in a day. Look at facts like me an' Lenore. We + gave you up. An' here you're with us, comin' along fine, + an' you'll be able to do hard work some day, if you're + crazy about it. Just think how good that is for Lenore, an' + me, too.… Now listen to this." Anderson unfolded a + newspaper and began to read:</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"Continued improvement, with favorable + weather conditions, in the winter-wheat states and + encouraging messages from the Northwest warrant an increase + of crop estimates made two weeks ago and based mainly upon + the government's report. In all probability the yield from + winter fields will slightly exceed 600,000,000 bushels. + Increase of acreage in the spring states in unexpectedly + large. For example, Minnesota's Food Administrator says the + addition in his state is 40 per cent, instead of the early + estimate of 20 per cent. Throughout the spring area the + plants have a good start and are in excellent condition. It + may be that the yield will rise to 300,000,000 bushels, + making a total of about 900,000,000. From such a crop + 280,000,000 could be exported in normal times, and by + conservation the surplus can easily be enlarged to + 350,000,000 or even 400,000,000. In Canada also estimates + of acreage increase have been too low. It was said that the + addition in Alberta was 20 per cent., but recent reports + make it 40 per cent. Canada may harvest a crop of + 300,000,000 bushels, or nearly 70,000,000 more than last + year's. Our allies in Europe can safely rely upon the + shipment of 500,000,000 bushels from the United States and + Canada.</p> + + <p class="NormalBQ">"After the coming harvest there will be + an ample supply of wheat for the foes of Germany at ports + which can easily be reached. In addition, the large surplus + stocks in Australia and Argentina will be available when + ships can be spared for such service. And the ships are + coming from the builders. For more than a year to come + there will be wheat enough for our war partners, the + Belgians, and the northern European neutral countries with + which we have trade agreements."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore eagerly watched her husband's + face in pleasurable anticipation, yet with some anxiety. + Wheat had been a subject little touched upon and the war + had never been mentioned.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Great!" he exclaimed, with a glow in + his cheeks. "I've been wanting to ask.… Wheat for the + Allies and neutrals—for more than a year!… + Anderson, the United States will feed and save the + world!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I reckon. Son, we're sendin' + thousands of soldiers a day now—ships are buildin' + fast—aeroplanes comin' like a swarm of + bees—money for the government to burn—an' every + American gettin' mad.… Dorn, the Germans don't know + they're ruined!… What do you say?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn looked very strange. "Lenore, + help me stand up," he asked, with strong tremor in his + voice.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, Kurt, you're not able yet," + appealed Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Help me. I want <i>you</i> to do + it."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore complied, wondering and + frightened, yet fascinated, too. She helped him off the bed + and steadied him on his feet. Then she felt him release + himself so he stood free.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What do I say? Anderson I say this. I + killed Germans who had grown up with a training and a + passion for war. I've been a farmer. I did not want to + fight. Duty and hate forced me. The Germans I met fell + before me. I was shell-shot, shocked, gassed, and + bayoneted. I took twenty-five wounds, and then it was a + shell that downed me. I saw my comrades kill and kill + before they fell. That is American. Our enemies are driven, + blinded, stolid, brutal, obsessed, and desperate. They are + German. They lack—not strength nor efficiency nor + courage—but soul."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">White and spent, Dorn then leaned upon + Lenore and got back upon his bed. His passion had thrilled + her. Anderson responded with an excitement he plainly + endeavored to conceal.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I get your hunch," he said. "If I + needed any assurance, you've given it to me. To hell with + the Germans! Let's don't talk about them any more.… + An' to come back to our job. Wheat! Son, I've plans that + 'll raise your hair. We'll harvest a bumper crop at 'Many + Waters' in July. An' we'll sow two thousand acres of winter + wheat. So much for 'Many Waters.'—I got mad this + summer. I blowed myself. I bought about all the farms + around yours up in the Bend country. Big harvest of spring + wheat comin'. You'll superintend that harvest, an' I'll + look after ours here.… An' you'll sow ten thousand + acres of fallow on your own rich hills—this fall. Do + you get that? Ten thousand acres?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Anderson!" gasped Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, Anderson," mimicked the rancher. + "My blood's up. But I'd never have felt so good about it if + you hadn't come back. The land's not all paid for, but it's + ours. We'll meet our notes. I've been up there twice this + spring. You'd never know a few hills had burned over last + harvest. Olsen, an' your other neighbors, or most of them, + will work the land on half-shares. You'll be boss. An' sure + you'll be well for fall sowin'. That'll make you the + biggest sower of wheat in the Northwest."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My sower of wheat!" murmured Lenore, + seeing his rapt face through tears.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dreams are coming true," he said, + softly. "Lenore, just after I saw you the second + time—and fell so in love with you—I had vain + dreams of you. But even my wildest never pictured you as + the wife of a wheat farmer. I never dreamed you loved + wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But, ah, I do!" replied Lenore. "Why, + when I was born dad bought 'Many Waters' and sowed the + slopes in wheat. I remember how he used to take me up to + the fields all green or golden. I've grown up with wheat. + I'd never want to live anywhere away from it. Oh, you must + listen to me some day while I tell you what <i>I</i> + know—about the history and romance of wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Begin," said Dorn, with a light of + pride and love and wonder in his gaze.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Leave that for some other time," + interposed Anderson. "Son, would it surprise you if I'd + tell you that I've switched a little in my ideas about the + I.W.W.?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No," replied Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Well, things happen. What made me + think hard was the way that government man got results from + the I.W.W. in the lumber country. You see, the government + had to have an immense amount of timber for ships, an' + spruce for aeroplanes. Had to have it quick. An' all the + lumbermen an' loggers were I.W.W.—or most of them. + Anyhow, all the strikin' lumbermen last summer belonged to + the I.W.W. These fellows believed that under the + capitalistic order of labor the workers an' their employers + had nothin' in common, an' the government was hand an' + glove with capital. Now this government official went up + there an' convinced the I.W.W. that the best interest of + the two were identical. An' he got the work out of them, + an' the government got the lumber. He dealt with them + fairly. Those who were on the level he paid high an' + considered their wants. Those who were crooked he punished + accordin' to their offense. An' the innocent didn't have to + suffer with the guilty.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That deal showed me how many of the + I.W.W. could be handled. An' we've got to reckon with the + I.W.W. Most all the farm-hands in the country belong to it. + This summer I'll give the square harvesters what they want, + an' that's a big come-down for me. But I won't stand any + monkey-bizness from sore-headed disorganizers. If men want + to work they shall have work at big pay. You will follow + out this plan up in the Bend country. We'll meet this labor + union half-way. After the war there may come trouble + between labor an capital. It begins to seem plain to me + that men who work hard ought to share somethin' of the + profits. If that doesn't settle the trouble, then we'll + know we're up against an outfit with socialist an' + anarchist leaders. Time enough then to resort to measures I + regret we practised last summer."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Anderson, you're fine—you're as + big as the hills!" burst out Dorn. "But you know there was + bad blood here last summer. Did you ever get proof that + German money backed the I.W.W. to strike and embarrass our + government?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No. But I believe so, or else the + I.W.W. leaders took advantage of a critical time. I'm bound + to say that now thousands of I.W.W. laborers are loyal to + the United States, and that made me switch."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll deal with them the same way," + responded Dorn, with fervor.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then Lenore interrupted their + discussion, and, pleading that Dorn was quite worn out from + excitement and exertion, she got her father to leave the + room.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The following several days Lenore + devoted to the happy and busy task of packing what she + wanted to take to Dorn's home. She had set the date, but + had reserved the pleasure of telling him. Anderson had + agreed to her plan and decided to accompany them.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I'll take the girls," he said. "It'll + be a fine ride for them. We'll stay in the village + overnight an' come back home next day.… Lenore, it + strikes me sudden-like, your leavin'.… What will + become of me?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">All at once he showed the ravages of + pain and loss that the last year had added to his life of + struggle. Lenore embraced him and felt her heart full.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Dad, I'm not leaving you," she + protested. "He'll get well up there—find his balance + sooner among those desert wheat-hills. We will divide our + time between the two places. Remember, you can run up there + any day. Your interests are there now. Dad, don't think of + it as separation. Kurt has come into our family—and + we're just going to be away some of the time."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Thus she won back a smile to the worn + face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"We've all got a weak spot," he said, + musingly. "Mine is here—an' it's a fear of growin' + old an' bein' left alone. That's selfish. But I've lived, + an' I reckon I've no more to ask for."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore could not help being sad in the + midst of her increasing happiness. Joy to some brought to + others only gloom! Life was sunshine and storm—youth + and age.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">This morning she found Kathleen + entertaining Dorn. This was the second time the child had + been permitted to see him, and the immense novelty had not + yet worn off. Kathleen was a hero-worshiper. If she had + been devoted to Dorn before his absence, she now manifested + symptoms of complete idolatry. Lenore had forbidden her to + question Dorn about anything in regard to the war. Kathleen + never broke her promises, but it was plain that Dorn had + read the mute, anguished wonder and flame in her eyes when + they rested upon his empty sleeve, and evidently had told + her things. Kathleen was white, wide-eyed, and beautiful + then, with all a child's imagination stirred.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I've been telling Kathie how I lost + my arm," explained Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I hate Germans! I hate war!" cried + Kathleen, passionately.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My dear, hate them always," said + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When Kathleen had gone Lenore asked + Dorn if he thought it was right to tell the child always to + hate Germans.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Right!" exclaimed Dorn, with a queer + laugh. Every day now he showed signs of stronger + personality. "Lenore, what I went through has confused my + sense of right and wrong. Some day perhaps it will all come + clear. But, Lenore, all my life, if I live to be ninety, I + shall hate Germans."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, Kurt, it's too soon for you + to—to be less narrow, less passionate," replied + Lenore, with hesitation. "I understand. The day will come + when you'll not condemn a people because of a form of + government—of military class."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It will never come," asserted Dorn, + positively. "Lenore, people in our country do not + understand. They are too far away from realities. But I was + six months in France. I've seen the ruined villages, + thousands of refugees—and I've met the Huns at the + front. I <i>know</i> I've seen the realities. In regard to + this war I can only feel. You've got to go over there and + see for yourself before you realize. You <i>can</i> + understand this—that but for you and your power over + me I'd be a worn-out, emotionally <i>burnt</i> out man. But + through you I seem to be reborn. Still, I shall hate + Germans all my life, and in the after-life, what ever that + may be. I could give you a thousand reasons. One ought to + suffice. You've read, of course, about the regiment of + Frenchmen called Blue Devils. I met some of them—got + friendly with them. They are great—beyond words to + tell! One of them told me that when his regiment drove the + Huns out of his own village he had found his mother + disemboweled, his wife violated and murdered, his sister + left a maimed thing to become the mother of a Hun, his + daughter carried off, and his little son crippled for life! + … These are cold facts. As long as I live I will + never forget the face of that Frenchman when he told me. + Had he cause to hate the Huns? Have I?… I saw all + that in the faces of those Huns who would have killed me if + they could."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore covered her face with her + hands. "Oh—horrible! … Is there + nothing—no hope—only…?" She faltered and + broke down.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, because there's hate does not + prove there's nothing left.… Listen. The last fight I + had was with a boy. I didn't know it when we met. I was + rushing, head down, bayonet low. I saw only his body, his + blade that clashed with mine. To me his weapon felt like a + toy in the hands of a child. I swept it aside—and + lunged. He screamed '<i>Kamarad</i>!' before the blade + reached him. Too late! I ran him through. Then I looked. A + boy of nineteen! He never ought to have been forced to meet + me. It was murder. I saw him die on my bayonet. I saw him + slide off it and stretch out.… I did not hate + <i>him</i> then. I'd have given my life for his. I hated + what he represented.… That moment was the end of me + as a soldier. If I had not been in range of the exploding + shell that downed me I would have dropped my rifle and have + stood strengthless before the next Hun.… So you see, + though I killed them, and though I hate now, there's + something—something strange and inexplicable."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That something is the divine in you. + It is God!… Oh, believe it, my husband!" cried + Lenore.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn somberly shook his head. "God! I + did not find God out there. I cannot see God's hand in this + infernal war."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But <i>I</i> can. What called you so + resistlessly? What made you go?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You know. The debt I thought I ought + to pay. And duty to my country."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Then when the debt was paid, the duty + fulfilled—when you stood stricken at sight of that + poor boy dying on your bayonet—what happened in your + soul?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I don't know. But I saw the wrong of + war. The wrong to him—the wrong to me! I thought of + no one else. Certainly not of God!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If you had stayed your + bayonet—if you had spared that boy, as you would have + done had you seen or heard him in time—what would + that have been?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Pity, maybe, or scorn to slay a + weaker foe."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, no, no—I can't accept + that," replied Lenore, passionately. "Can you see beyond + the physical?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I see only that men will fight and + that war will come again. Out there I learned the nature of + men."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If there's divinity in you there's + divinity in every man. That will oppose war—end it + eventually. Men are not taught right. Education and + religion will bring peace on earth, good-will to man."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"No, they will not. They never have + done so. We have educated men and religious men. Yet war + comes despite them. The truth is that life is a fight. + Civilization is only skin-deep. Underneath man is still a + savage. He is a savage still because he wants the same he + had to have when he lived in primitive state. War isn't + necessary to show how every man fights for food, clothing, + shelter. To-day it's called competition in business. Look + at your father. He has fought and beaten men like Neuman. + Look at the wheat farmers in my country. Look at the I.W.W. + They all fight. Look at the children. They fight even at + their games. Their play is a make-believe battle or + escaping or funeral or capture. It must be then that some + kind of strife was implanted in the first humans and that + it is necessary to life."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Survival of the fittest!" exclaimed + Lenore, in earnest bitterness. "Kurt, we have changed. You + are facing realities and I am facing the infinite. You + represent the physical, and I the spiritual. We must grow + into harmony with each other. We can't ever hope to learn + the unattainable truth of life. There is something beyond + us—something infinite which I believe is God. My soul + finds it in you.… The first effects of the war upon + you have been trouble, sacrifice, pain, and horror. You + have come out of it impaired physically and with mind still + clouded. These will pass, and therefore I beg of you don't + grow fixed in absolute acceptance of the facts of evolution + and materialism. They cannot be denied, I grant. I see that + they are realities. But also I see beyond them. There is + some great purpose running through the ages. In our day the + Germans have risen, and in the eyes of most of the world + their brutal force tends to halt civilization and kill + idealism. But that's only apparent—only temporary. We + shall come out of this dark time better, finer, wiser. The + history of the world is a proof of a slow growth and + perfection. It will never be attained. But is not the + growth a beautiful and divine thing? Does it now oppose a + hopeless prospect?… Life is inscrutable. When I + think—only think without faith—all seems so + futile. The poet says we are here as on a darkling plain, + swept by confused alarms of struggle and flight, where + ignorant armies clash by night.… Trust me, my + husband! There is something in woman—the instinct of + creation—the mother—that feels what cannot be + expressed. It is the hope of the world."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The mother!" burst out Dorn. "I think + of that—in you.… Suppose I have a son, and war + comes in his day. Suppose he is killed, as I killed that + poor boy!… How, then, could I reconcile that with + this, this something you feel so beautifully? This strange + sense of God! This faith in a great purpose of the + ages!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore trembled in the exquisite pain + of the faith which she prayed was beginning to illumine + Dorn's dark and tragic soul.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If we are blessed with a + son—and if he must go to war—to kill and be + killed—you will reconcile that with God because our + son shall have been taught what you should have been + taught—what must be taught to all the sons of the + future."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"What will—that be?" queried + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"The meaning of life—the truth + of immortality," replied Lenore. "We live on—we + improve. That is enough for faith."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"How will that prevent war?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It will prevent it—in the years + to come. Mothers will take good care that children from + babyhood shall learn the <i>consequences</i> of + fight—of war. Boys will learn that if the meaning of + war to them is the wonder of charge and thunder of cannon + and medals of distinction, to their mothers the meaning is + loss and agony. They will learn the terrible difference + between your fury and eagerness to lunge with bayonet and + your horror of achievement when the disemboweled victims + lie before you. The glory of a statue to the great general + means countless and nameless graves of forgotten soldiers. + The joy of the conquering army contrasts terribly with the + pain and poverty and unquenchable hate of the + conquered."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I see what you mean," rejoined Dorn. + "Such teaching of children would change the men of the + future. It would mean peace for the generations to come. + But as for my boy—it would make him a poor soldier. + He would not be a fighter. He would fall easy victim to the + son of the father who had not taught this beautiful meaning + of life and terror of war. I'd want my son to be a + man."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That teaching—would make + him—all the more a man," said Lenore, beginning to + feel faint.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But not in the sense of muscle, + strength, courage, endurance. I'd rather there never was + peace than have my son inferior to another man's."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"My hope for the future is that + <i>all</i> men will come to teach their sons the wrong of + violence."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore, never will that day come," + replied Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She saw in him the inevitableness of + the masculine attitude; the difference between man and + woman; the preponderance of blood and energy over the + higher motives. She felt a weak little woman arrayed + against the whole of mankind. But she could not despair. + Unquenchable as the sun was this fire within her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"But it <i>might</i> come?" she + insisted, gently, but with inflexible spirit.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, it might—if men + change!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You have changed."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Yes. I don't know myself."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"If we do have a boy, will you let me + teach him what I think is right?" Lenore went on, + softly.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore! As if I would not!" he + exclaimed. "I try to see your way, but just because I can't + I'll never oppose you. Teach <i>me</i> if you can!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">She kissed him and knelt beside his + bed, grieved to see shadow return to his face, yet + thrilling that the way seemed open for her to inspire. But + she must never again choose to talk of war, of materialism, + of anything calculated to make him look into darkness of + his soul, to ponder over the impairment of his mind. She + remembered the great specialist speaking of lesions of the + organic system, of a loss of brain cells. Her inspiration + must be love, charm, care—a healing and building + process. She would give herself in all the unutterableness + and immeasurableness of her woman's heart. She would order + her life so that it would be a fulfilment of his education, + of a heritage from his fathers, a passion born in him, a + noble work through which surely he could be saved—the + cultivation of wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Do you love me?" she whispered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Do I!… Nothing could ever + change my love for you."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I am your wife, you know."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The shadow left his face.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Are you? Really? Lenore + Anderson…"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore Dorn. It is a beautiful name + now."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"It does sound sweet. But you—my + wife? Never will I believe!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"You will have to—very + soon."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Why?" A light, warm and glad and + marveling, shone in his eyes. Indeed, Lenore felt then a + break in the strange aloofness of him—in his + impersonal, gentle acceptance of her relation to him.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"To-morrow I'm going to take you home + to your wheat-hills."</p> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXXII</h2> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore told her conception of the + history and the romance of wheat to Dorn at this critical + time when it was necessary to give a trenchant call to hope + and future.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">In the beginning man's struggle was + for life and the mainstay of life was food. Perhaps the + original discoverer of wheat was a meat-eating savage who, + in roaming the forests and fields, forced by starvation to + eat bark and plant and berry, came upon a stalk of grain + that chewed with strange satisfaction. Perhaps through that + accident he became a sower of wheat.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Who actually were the first sowers of + wheat would never be known. They were older than any + history, and must have been among the earliest of the human + race.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">The development of grain produced + wheat, and wheat was ground into flour, and flour was baked + into bread, and bread had for untold centuries been the + sustenance and the staff of life.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Centuries ago an old Chaldean priest + tried to ascertain if wheat had ever grown wild. That + question never was settled. It was universally believed, + however, that wheat had to have the cultivation of man. + Nevertheless, the origin of the plant must have been + analogous to that of other plants. Wheat-growers must + necessarily have been people who stayed long in one place. + Wandering tribes could not till and sow the fields. The + origin of wheat furnished a legendary theme for many races, + and mythology contained tales of wheat-gods favoring chosen + peoples. Ancient China raised wheat twenty-seven centuries + before Christ; grains of wheat had been found in + prehistoric ruins; the dwellers along the Nile were not + blind to the fertility of the valley. In the days of the + Pharaohs the old river annually inundated its low banks, + enriching the soil of vast areas, where soon a + green-and-gold ocean of wheat waved and shone under the hot + Egyptian sun. The Arabs, on their weird beasts of burden, + rode from the desert wastes down to the land of waters and + of plenty. Rebekah, when she came to fill her earthen + pitcher at the palm-shaded well, looked out with dusky, + dreamy eyes across the golden grain toward the mysterious + east. Moses, when he stood in the night, watching his flock + on the starlit Arabian waste, felt borne to him on the + desert wind a scent of wheat. The Bible said, "He maketh + peace in thy borders and filleth thee with the finest of + the wheat."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Black-bread days of the Middle Ages, + when crude grinding made impure flour, were the days of the + oppressed peasant and the rich landowner, dark days of toil + and poverty and war, of blight and drought and famine; when + common man in his wretchedness and hunger cried out, "Bread + or blood!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">But with the spreading of wheat came + the dawn of a higher civilization; and the story of wheat + down to modern times showed the development of man. + Wheat-fields of many lands, surrounding homes of prosperous + farmers; fruitful toil of happy peoples; the miller and his + humming mill!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">When wheat crossed the ocean to + America it came to strange and wonderful fulfilment of its + destiny. America, fresh, vast, and free, with its sturdy + pioneers ever spreading the golden grain westward; with the + advancing years when railroad lines kept pace with the + indomitable wheat-sowers; with unprecedented harvests + yielding records to each succeeding year; with boundless + fields tilled and planted and harvested by machines that + were mechanical wonders; with enormous flour-mills, humming + and whirring, each grinding daily ten thousand barrels of + flour, pouring like a white stream from the steel rolls, + pure, clean, and sweet, the whitest and finest in the + world!</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">America, the new county, became in + 1918 the salvation of starving Belgium, the mainstay of + England, the hope of France! Wheat for the world! + Wheat—that was to say food, strength, fighting life + for the armies opposed to the black, hideous, medieval + horde of Huns! America to succor and to save, to sacrifice + and to sow, rising out of its peaceful slumber to a mighty + wrath, magnificent and unquenchable, throwing its vast + resources of soil, its endless streams of wheat, into the + gulf of war! It was an exalted destiny for a people. Its + truth was a blazing affront in the face of age-old + autocracy. Fields and toil and grains of wheat, first and + last, the salvation of mankind, the freedom and the food of + the world!</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Far up the slow-rising bulge of valley + slope above the gleaming river two cars climbed leisurely + and rolled on over the height into what seemed a bare and + lonely land of green.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was a day in June, filled with a + rich, thick, amber light, with a fragrant warm wind blowing + out of the west.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">At a certain point on this road, where + Anderson always felt compelled to halt, he stopped the car + this day and awaited the other that contained Lenore and + Dorn.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore's joy in the ride was reflected + in her face. Dorn rested comfortably beside her, upon an + improvised couch. As he lay half propped up by pillows he + could see out across the treeless land that he knew. His + eyes held a look of the returned soldier who had never + expected to see his native land again. Lenore, sensitive to + every phase of his feeling, watched him with her heart + mounting high.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Anderson got out of his car, followed + by Kathleen, who looked glad and mischievous and pretty as + a wild rose.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"I just never can get by this place," + explained the rancher, as he came and stood so that he + could put a hand on Dorn's knee. "Look, son—an' + Lenore, don't you miss this."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Never fear, dad," replied Lenore, "it + was I who first told you to look here."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Terrible big and bare, but grand!" + exclaimed Kathleen.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Lenore looked first at Dorn's face as + he gazed away across the length and breadth of land. Could + that land mean as much to him as it did before he went to + war? Infinitely more, she saw, and rejoiced. Her faith was + coming home to her in verities. Then she thrilled at the + wide prospect before her.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">It was a scene that she knew could not + be duplicated in the world. Low, slow-sloping, billowy + green hills, bare and smooth with square brown patches, + stretched away to what seemed infinite distance. Valleys + and hills, with less fallow ground than ever before, + significant and striking: lost the meager details of clumps + of trees and dots of houses in a green immensity. A million + shadows out of the west came waving over the wheat. They + were ripples of an ocean of grain. No dust-clouds, no + bleached roads, no yellow hills to-day! June, and the + desert found its analogy only in the sweep and reach! A + thousand hills billowing away toward that blue haze of + mountain range where rolled the Oregon. Acreage and mileage + seemed insignificant. All was green—green, the fresh + and hopeful color, strangely serene and sweet and endless + under the azure sky. Beautiful and lonely hills they were, + eloquent of toil, expressive with the brown squares in the + green, the lowly homes of men, the long lines of roads + running everywhither, overwhelmingly pregnant with + meaning—wheat—wheat—wheat—nothing + but wheat, a staggering visual manifestation of vital need, + of noble promise.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"That—that!" rolled out + Anderson, waving his big hand, as if words were useless. + "Only a corner of the great old U.S.!… What would the + Germans say if they could look out over this?… What + do <i>you</i> say, Lenore?"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Beautiful!" she replied, softly. + "Like the rainbow in the sky—God's promise of + life!"</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"An', Kathie, what do <i>you</i> say?" + went on Anderson.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Some wheat-fields!" replied Kathleen, + with an air of woman's wisdom. "Fetch on your young + wheat-sowers, dad, and I'll pick out a husband."</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"An' <i>you</i>, son?" finished + Anderson, as if wistfully, yet heartily playing his last + card. He was remembering Jim—the wild but beloved + son—the dead soldier. He was fearful for the crowning + hope of his years.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"As ye sow—so shall ye reap!" + was Dorn's reply, strong and thrilling. And Lenore felt her + father's strange, heart-satisfying content.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Twilight crept down around the old + home on the hill.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Dorn was alone, leaning at the window. + He had just strength to lean there, with uplifted head. + Lenore had left him alone, divining his wish. As she left + him there came a sudden familiar happening in his brain, + like a snap-back, and the contending tide of gray + forms—the Huns—rushed upon him. He leaned there + at the window, but just the same he awaited the shock on + the ramparts of the trench. A ferocious and terrible storm + of brain, that used to have its reaction in outward + violence, now worked inside him, like a hot wind that drove + his blood. During the spell he fought out his great + fight—again for the thousandth time he rekilled his + foes. That storm passed through him without an outward + quiver.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">His Huns—charged + again—bayoneted again—and he felt acute pain in + the left arm that was gone. He felt the closing of the hand + which was not there. His Huns lay in the shadow, stark and + shapeless, with white faces upward—a line of dead + foes, remorseless and abhorrent to him, forever damned by + his ruthless spirit. He saw the boy slide off his bayonet, + beyond recall, murdered by some evil of which Dorn had been + the motion. Then the prone, gray forms vanished in the + black gulf of Dorn's brain.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">"Lenore will never know—how my + Huns come back to me," he whispered.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Night with its trains of stars! Softly + the darkness unfolded down over the dim hills, lonely, + tranquil, sweet. A night-bird caroled. The song of insects, + very faint and low, came to him like a still, sad music of + humanity, from over the hills, far away, in the + strife-ridden world. The world of men was there and life + was incessant, monstrous, and inconceivable. This old home + of his—the old house seemed full of well-remembered + sounds of mouse and cricket and leaf against the roof and + soft night wind at the eaves—sounds that brought his + boyhood back, his bare feet on the stairs, his father's + aloofness, his mother's love.</p> + <hr /> + + <p class="MsoNormal">Then clearly floated to him a slow + sweeping rustle of the wheat. Breast-high it stood down + there, outside his window, a moving body, higher than the + gloom. That rustle was a voice of childhood, youth, and + manhood, whispering to him, thrilling as never before. It + was a growing rustle, different from that when the wheat + had matured. It seemed to change and grow in volume, in + meaning. The night wind bore it, but life—bursting + life was behind it, and behind that seemed to come a + driving and a mighty spirit. Beyond the growth of the + wheat, beyond its life and perennial gift, was something + measureless and obscure, infinite and universal. Suddenly + Dorn saw that something as the breath and the blood and the + spirit of wheat—and of man. Dust and to dust returned + they might be, but this physical form was only the fleeting + inscrutable moment on earth, springing up, giving birth to + seed, dying out for that ever-increasing purpose which ran + through the ages.</p> + + <p class="MsoNormal">A soft footfall sounded on the stairs. + Lenore came. She leaned over him and the starlight fell + upon her face, sweet, luminous, beautiful. In the sense of + her compelling presence, in the tender touch of her hands, + in the whisper of woman's love, Dorn felt uplifted high + above the dark pale of the present with its war and pain + and clouded mind to wheat—to the fertile fields of a + golden age to come.</p> + </div> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10201 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |