Part 27 (1/2)

I made an effort to concentrate my remnant of faith on a double event, na, and that he would come my hen he started He, at least, was a man and a brother

I would interview him as he passed, and----

Faith scored He didn't delay long, and he caht

But he ca over his shoulder to Jim as he bustled past Even in the distance, I fancied her attitude was that of a girl who had i that she was powerless to stop

I could n't believe in the reality of the spectacle But the illusion was there, palpable enough; and it consisted chiefly of a deterht hand on the lock of a long duck gun, his left partly along the barrel, and the cheek of the stock resting against his hip Beyond doubt he was after solanced behind me, and round the expanse of bare fallow, but there was n't even a eneral bearing, his depressed head and doard vigilance, showed that he was stalking ground ga perched on the stack This was apparent to ot within thirty or forty yards, and was holding the gun ready to clap to his shoulder Also I noticed that several other wo now approached within point-blank range, he deployed to the left, in order to outflank whatever he was after

Of course, you would have rushed hirasp, and broken it across your knee; you would have despoiled hinominy Yes, I know So would I

What I actually did, however, was to s, which landed me in the bottom of the drain I called to oon, I had noticed a deep, narrow, miniature ravine, eaten into one side of the drain by a tributary channel, and well sheltered by the foliage of large docks, now run up to seed

In thirty seconds, I was rustling into this friendly cover

Therethe seeding stee

Still holding his weapon at the ready, he had circled round the stack till his view commanded all its recesses Then he looked up and down the drain, peered under the culvert, and cast his eye across the fallow in every direction Apparently satisfied, he threw the gun on his shoulder, and started off toward the lower end of the garden I saw hiarden and the lagoon; then I backed out into the drain

But I could gain nothing by staying there, and just as little by going back to e that oon And, logically, the stack ought now to be one of the safest places in the province

So I returned to ht one eye to bear on the holie of the fruit trees, as he rode down along the farther side of the garden to the dry crossing in the lagoon; and presently I saw hio up the opposite bank, and disappear in the scrub Another instance of erratic shunting on ht have accosted hiun, and with his s What on earth had she told hi

Just at this moment, the sun, which had risen behind a dense bank of clouds, suddenly burst forth The colourless monotony of the scene flashed into ht; and, against the so, with other drapery, on a line between the house and garden, leaped out in ravishi+ng chiaro-oscuro!

A lifelong education, directing the inherent loyalty of hu in the shape of national or associational bunting with a sacredness difficult to express in words Loyalty to soredient in our ue the object, the ood enough to adore, provided the worshi+pper has in so, froe to the ”forky pennon”

of Lord Mars of the Isle of Man

Noith insignia, as with everything else, it is deprivation only that gives a true sense of value; and, speaking fro, which covers fabulous nificance beside that forky pennon on the farmer's clothes-line, which latter covers, in a far htly viewed, I say, that double-barrelled ensign is the proudest gonfalon ever kissed by wanton zephyrs Whoop! Vive Les----! Thou sun, shi+ne on thelorious Semper eadem, the banner of our pride

There was no tiht be taken into the house at any moly uard over their alien flag The ---- to hiarrison an alerte, though I should have to sacrifice the old straw-stack

'Tis dangerous when the baser nature cohty opposites: the old straw-stack is the baser nature; theand myself

Few men, I think, have a healthier hatred of incendiarism than I have

This hatred dates froly irass off half the county

The origin of that fire still reation wasa boy of ten or twelve, who used to lie awake half the night, wondering what could be done to a person for trying to s of the dead grass

But noas a choice between the old straw-stack and o I anisance of dile up old grievances that would be better forgotten; but, as I said before, Coh I was by Abraha scruple as reat operation, as well as every small or middle-sized one, consists of details, as a circle consists of degrees; and the person responsible for the grand enterprisedetail The details of a death-penalty, for instance, are revolting enough; and here you hteous judgment You must perceive that the white hands of the ultra-respectable judge are the hands which reeve the noose; which adjust the same round the neck of the ht-cap; which rip the other person's ankles, and hang on till he is dead-dead-dead and the Lord has mercy on his soul It is as unreasonable to despise M de Melbourne, or M de Sydney, for his little share in a scragging operation as it would be to heap contumely on coraph

Having, in the present instance, no subordinate to carry out my details, I realised their unpleasantness, even whilst speciously justifying the enterprise as a whole Further provocation was required to overcome my aversion to the dirty work; and this provocation was forthco in ample measure

I had withdrawn from the corner of the stack into my nook, to lay a few plans, and to hastily review the ethics of the matter; now I crept back to feastht first; and I nearly fainted

When I recovered oon