Wild Oranges
1
John Woolfolk's loss of his
young bride turned him
against the world. He
dreaded to be ensnared
again by love, lest the cup
of happiness once more
be dashed from his lips -
2
- and for three years
he had found a haven
of solitude upon the
vast wastes of the sea.
- Frank Mayo.
3
Paul Halvard, cook
and sailor, was his
only companion.
- Ford Sterling.
4
An unfrequented inlet
on the Georgia coast,
guarded by a treacherous
bar.
5
"How about a nice little
stack of wheats - ?"
6
Thrust unwillingly into the horror
of the Civil War, Litchfield
Stope had been stricken with
the curse of Fear, and the
obsession had descended upon
his granddaughter Millie.
- Nigel de Brulier.
- Virginia Valli.
7
From across the still water
came the languorous
perfume of oleanders
and orange blossoms.
8
Wild Oranges - at first
surprisingly bitter, but
after a moment pungent
and zestful with a never-
to-be-forgotten flavor.
9
"What - what do you want?"
10
"I came ashore to arrange
for a supply of water - but
I've stolen your oranges."
11
"We have plenty of both -
help yourself."
12
Into the lives of the
defenseless Stopes, Nicholas,
part man and part child,
had forced himself.
- Charles A. Post.
13
"My initials - my name
is John Woolfolk."
14
"Mine is Stope - Millie
Stope. I'm glad to
know you."
15
There was an irresistible
lure about the place, which
savored of another of
Life's intriguing traps.
16
Morning had never
been so beautiful
to Millie Stope.
17
"Gimme a kiss, Millie."
18
"Gimme a kiss, or I'll
put you in the swamp!"
19
"Maybe you came for a
supply of water - maybe
something else. Get off
our place!"
20
The incident aroused
Woolfolk.
21
"I came about a water
cask of mine that your
man broke."
22
"I'd like to see him."
23
"You're the man who
broke my water cask."
24
"It was full of our
water."
25
"I warn you - let my
man and my property
alone!"
26
"Then leave our property
alone - and stay away
from Millie too!"
27
"I'll not argue with you.
Just remember - hands
off!"
28
"Don't get me started,
I tell you!"
29
"You can start any
time you like."
30
"Don't get me started,
I tell you! Don't get
me started!"
31
"I've been thinking a
lot about you since last
night. Where did you
come from?"
32
"Boston's my home. Have
you ever been there?"
33
"I was born in that house,
and I've never been
anywhere."
34
"But I've traveled a
lot - on maps I found
in grandfather's old
books. Japan, Hawaii,
India, Spain -"
35
"You remind me of the cast-
iron dog that used to stand
on our lawn. I talked to
it by the hour, but it just
rusted away - cold and
indifferent to the last."
36
"I suppose you'll be
going soon?"
37
"Yes, tomorrow - at
daybreak."
38
But long after sunup the
little craft was still at
anchor, with no evidence
of a contemplated
departure.
39
"If there's still time,
I want to return your
call."
40
"Why, it couldn't be
neater if you were
two nice old ladies."
41
"There's a fair wind
for a sail, sir."
42
"Please, it would be
so wonderful!"
43
"I wonder if you know
what it means to me -
buried here in this
wilderness?"
44
For an hour the freedom
of the open sea thundered
a challenge to her
captive soul.
45
"Free! At last -
free!"
46
"It's all so big -
so terrifying!"
47
"Why are you so
afraid of things?"
48
"Heredity - a curse
which descended from
my grandfather to my
father - and to me."
49
"It's unjust to be
condemned to die in
a swamp, with all one's
instinct in the sky."
50
"It's so wonderful to
have such freedom!
You are to be envied."
51
"Hardly. The only thing
I valued in life was
taken from me in an
instant - my wife."
52
"It gave me a freedom
I did not want, and
left me a lonely, aimless
wanderer."
53
"Who is that fellow?
Why do you fear him?"
54
"I can't tell you -
I'm afraid - take me
back, please!"
55
Mystery - the insidious
scents of earth - the
veiled lure of sex -
Life's traps were set with
just such treacheries! -
56
- The least surrender
would bind him with a
multitude of attachments -
he must escape!
57
"Get under way at
once."
58
"I'm crazy about you,
Millie. Please marry
me. I've always wanted
to live right -"
59
"How dare you speak
to me like that! You
must leave here
tomorrow."
60
"Don't say that, Millie -
please don't get me
started."
61
"Please be nice to me,
Millie - something
terrible will happen
if you're not."
62
Once more life had
been left behind.
Ahead lay solitude -
and freedom!
63
"Take the wheel -
we're going back."
64
A stiff wind blowing up
the coast had made it
dangerous for Woolfolk's
boat to cross the bar
until late next morning.
65
"I was afraid you
had gone - forever."
66
"I had to come back -
I couldn't go away
without you."
67
"Millie, I love you!"
68
"Don't you feel any
response at all in your
heart - the slightest return
for my longing?"
69
"If we could only
get away from here -"
70
"You shall go away
with me tonight."
71
"I'll deal with
Nicholas now!"
72
"No, no! He would
kill us both!"
73
"Last night he said,
unless I sent you
away, he would get
you - and me too!"
74
"He said if I ran away,
he'd kill grandfather!"
75
"Tell him I've promised to
leave tonight. Then at
eight o'clock you and
your grandfather come to
the wharf. I'll be waiting."
76
"I've warned you what'll
happen if you try to
leave."
77
"If anything happens to
me, the boat and a sum
of money belong to you.
Everything else that I
own will go to Miss Stope."
78
"Extinguish all lights -
let's get out of here
at once!"
79
"We're drawing three feet
of water, sir - there's
hardly more than that
on the bar tonight."
80
"We'll never make it,
sir - it'll be suicide
to try to cross that
bar in this blow!"
81
"Cut loose the anchor -
raise the jib!"
82
"Mark the breakers -
fetch her between!"
83
"Five!"
84
"Four!"
85
"Three and a half!"
86
"Three and a quarter!"
87
"Four!"
88
"Five! We're clear!"
89
"Free! At last, free!
I'm not afraid now."
90
Life is so dreadfully in
the dark. There are maps
to guide us to strange
places, but none for souls.
John Woolfolk had entrusted
his soul to Millie.
The
End
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