264
MANY INVENTIONS
the knife. Love-o'-Women niver turned a hair, but by the Living Power, for I saw ut, a stone twisted under the Paythan man's feet an' he came down full sprawl, an' his knife wint tinkling acrost the rocks! "T tould you I was Cain," sez Love-o'- Women. " Fwhat's the use ay killin' him? He's an honust man —hby compare."
'I was not dishputin' abont the morils av Paythans that tide, so I dhropped Love-o'-Women's butt acrost the man's face, an' " Hurry into camp," I sez, "for this may be the first av a rush."
'There was no rush after all, though we waited undher arms to give them a chanst. The Paythan man must ha' come alone for the mischief, an' afther a while Love-o'-Women wint back to his tint wid that quare lurchin' sind-off in his walk that I eud niver understand. Begad, I pitied him, an' the more bekase he made me think for the rest av the night av the day whin I was confirmed Corp'ril, not actin' Lef'tinant, an' my thoughts was not good to me'
'Ye can ondersthand that afther that night we came to talkin' a dale together, an' bit by bit ut came out fwhat I'd suspicioned. The whole av his earr'in's on an' divilments had come back on him hard, as liquor comes back whin you've been on the dhrink for a wake. All he'd said an' all he'd done, an' only he cud tell how much that was, come back, and there was niver a minut's peace in his sowl. 'Twas the Horrors widout any cause to see, an' vet, an' yet—fwhat am I talkin' av? He'd ha' taken the Horrors wid thankfulness. HBeyon' the repentince ay the man, an' that was beyon' the nature avy man— awful, awful, to behould!—there was more that was