A Man of Two Countries

								

his friend would be all that he should ever know. The intangible, divine
understanding that others knew--the possibility of an appreciation that
would be sweet, came vaguely into his awakening heart. He took a
newspaper clipping from his notebook and read:



     There is an interesting old Chinese legend which relates how an

     angel sits with a long pole which he dips into the Sea of Love and

     lifts a drop of shining water. With an expert motion he turns

     one-half of this drop to the right, the other half to the left,

     where each is immediately transformed into a soul, a male and a

     female; and these souls go seeking each other forever.



     The angel is so constantly occupied that he keeps no track of the

     souls that he separates, and they must depend on their own

     intuition to recognize each other.
The golden haze of the setting sun was not more glorious than the dreams
that came of a loved one ever near, of a son to perpetuate his name; but
the trumpet's brazen call sounding retreat, and its echoing
reverberations, made Danvers spring to his feet, romance and sentiment
laid aside. The present satisfied. Soldiering was good.
O'Dwyer sat up rubbing his eyes, with an exclamation of surprise at the
late hour.
As they ran through the big, open gate with its guard-room and sentry,
they saw Burroughs moving toward the lodges near the timber on the
eastern side of the island, while Toe String Joe, leaving his crony,
came to the fort.
"Sweet Oil Bob's a favorite in the lodges all roight," remarked O'Dwyer.
"There'll be trouble if he don't let Scar Faced Charlie's squaw alone."
"Pine Coulee?" questioned Danvers.
"The same!" said O'Dwyer, and with a salute prompted by affection and
not military compulsion he left Danvers at the barracks.
The arrival of Arthur Latimer with Scar Faced Charlie, making his second
trip since Danvers came to Macleod, unexpectedly settled most of the
problems baffling the silent and lonely Danvers. Charlie's freighting
outfit pulled into Macleod when the troops were drilling, and Philip,
though attentive to the commands of his superior, looked across the
gully and watched the gate-framed picture of the arrival of supplies.
The lurching wagons, the bulls, the men and dogs, loomed large as their
slow movements brought them into the one street of Fort Macleod. Though
there were two outfits, Danvers instantly recognized Scar Faced Charlie,
and saw Latimer run across the dry gully. He warmed with delight as the
troops swept along in their evolutions, for he knew his friend was
watching, and he smiled a welcome as Arthur's cap rose high in happy
salute.
After the parade Philip joined Latimer. The clasp of their hands told
more than the conventional greetings. They leaned on the rail fence of
the reservation and Latimer looked round eagerly. "I like it up here!"
he cried.
"Better than Fort Benton?" questioned Danvers hopefully.