| OCR Text |
Show ANN BLDJfS DEIIT, I Tlie judges wero In their places, Onta.de the fog weighed heavily npon ' the ahapelcie bull ling effaced the walls nnd glmil Itself to the windows, conceal, lug their frosty flowering. In the bill Itself th nlr even tldck and stifling Itamelteslofi'iieepaklnB peas. anti. can dn vie, nnd the 1 eerie n eentlln- ! on in the apiicr gbweea ef Iho skylight i torne.1 nloivly And l il.ifnllj- The jurors tori, leaned weanly against I tho backs ut llietr chain, ejno ol thent hid rliiseel his eyes an 1 let his hsnd fall j Inert, lolled to somnolence by llw monotonous monot-onous ecrateldng of the cletka pen. Ane ther tappwl an 1 aoftly beet the rat- ' n plan with bis pern II nn the table j The prs blent pushed liK leieattMles to the tip of Ma neeas au 1 mopped Ills ilimp blow, hie stern any eym. with a glacial stare, lieeit fiti illy np.m llie door whence would laano the eniprlia In oeurse of trial, and oil wham the) waited to renounce re-nounce the sente ne-e. Is tliei-i! not still another onerde-Ina onerde-Ina 1 1 lb', prea--ntl) , of tur sleejir look-Ii look-Ii g lip-lilt at his elbow In A hard, re-aonant re-aonant v re Due ' responded the itthl-r: ' Klrl " ' Eh Wen! bring lierltt then," -aid the . preeldent. The crier mlled, the d)r opened, the gill entered. A current of fresh nlr rII led In with her and softly Tanned tbe faces and I Ickleel tho lathes of the cntlotis nnlit-ante. nnlit-ante. At tho aamo moment A ray of sunlight t'leraod the alnvu ling f ig nn I elanceil bnlween the frosty etolilngs of the panes across the dusty walls and furniture nf tha liall of audience I "A girl" hail said tho tlptaH a child, I ratlier, scarcely more thin onlheerge of maidenhood, and so pretty in her Utile furred jacket embrol lered with wreaths and hliwenmiand fitting like the akin the rounded waist, straight and slender ns the stem of a jemng palm. Ilsrblsck eyes wtin lowered lo tho floor, but her white brow was clear and unclouded, "What Is It Heat Jou have dons, my child!" questioned tho president Indifferently. Indiffer-ently. The girl nervously rearranged her htti'lkcrcblcf that covered her beil, e iiaght he r breath beavlly,t!ien answered, slghtngt "My affair la ud, M. le President, very, veri sod." Her voice, soft and dolorous, went to the heart like good music, that, even when one hears It no longer, se-etns still to vibrate In the air anl change everything every-thing by Its ni)sterlous Influence The fares of the jurors wero no longer souioruar. Tbcportrvltof Ihs ting, nnd farther away still of tbe Judex Curio-, appesreel lo make lo her from the silent wall lienUnant signs, encuuraglni her to bravely recount the affair "so very, rtry ead." "Hut see yon," said she, "this writing; "It will t. II you Utter than I ran " Only she had first to seek it, to unclasp tlie buttons of her corsage aud draw It frutn her bosom A piece' ef crackling parchment, sluiuiiod an 1 closed with the pvmderoti) aTtcIal seal ''A judgment." murmured tlie prcsl dent, runntliit his eye over the paper, "a juelgiuent ngiiost Anno llede, Awlgnvl to la Kin today a punishment se,f six months impri'oq incut,' The gill nl.l surrowf ullyi the handkerchief hand-kerchief lnosSie-,l by th movement, fell from her head, And a heavy tresa of her ling block hair, all unbound, veiled her fentuna. It songht, p. tin,, to shield them from tho 0uo of tho people, for It she si as white as a ldy a wldle ngo, eko was purple with alintitu at Ihlsinumcut "It be a week eluco werecelreilit," stsmmreel she In a broken voice. "The eonrteflleer brought It hluielf nnd c-x-llalncl what It wlnlieil to tell ua, en 1 my poor mother said to mo- 'Thou mut go, my child, the 1-iw U the law, and one shoell not take It as n pleasantry ' 1 have come, therefore, to to begin tho six laoutlu" Tlio prualdsnt wiped his glaixa, thwil wipoil them ag-lu, his cold stem gsie re-eking tbe faces cf his colleagues, tha wlnibiws, the tloor, tho great Iron atove, tlirongh whose gratl eloor fiery cywi ri-emcl to einrkle and threateningly regard re-gard him, "Tbe law," ronrmured he, "tho law Is the law!" And be read anew the summary before hlm.the black, a, ruwling scratches across the whlto page-, declaring "Anne llede condemned to six months' Imiiliiouinent i for roc.li lug stolen goods Mesenwhllo tho leaden ventilator hil quickened IU jmce and spun furtonely. Outside the wind hnt risen, and now It shook the wtndoiva, whlatled through the crev Icea aud ae-cmed to hiss remorse-lesly remorse-lesly About the e-ors cf the gaping crowdi "Tho Uw, vpe, the hw Is the lswr Th head of the prratdent tient afllim-ntlvels afllim-ntlvels befire thla Iniisirttinale voice; he ilni.iraul hla eye an 1 tombed the bell fur the tipstaff, "Accompany Anne He.le," sal 1 he, "to tho hou of the fnsiiector of j rlsons " The man bowed, Iho ehll 1 turned obe-dlentlr, obe-dlentlr, but her little iw red lli opeunl nnl shook tremulous!) , aa if wonlj wero on tht-uitU.it shecuull not sjaak. Tirhape, my child," said the presl. dent eoclclng her ellitre-as, "ierhaps yon haie still eotnetblii.T to say 1 1 us." 'Only that 1 inn Usette, Llretto Bede, M le I'resldent Anno It-do was my slater, and wo burled her, poor girl! a week ago." " 'Twos not jou, then, that nas con denmed mil eeiitenes.1" criexl tlie 1 resident, resi-dent, surprised, f Ah! lam Dleu. no! Why should I ' havelieen iHiivlenincl who haie neier done barm to n tlyV" Then why am jou hero, mil child 1 tktiMaiinr "Tliifle-e, Ifj-mnlease, It Is lieranse m-eei Ivili. - t'lli btt-lnese eras Is-Irs-e the re' k1 t it le" ( he h j -1 .orl of BannsrvS ! -is w' en i ' is lying i ".Teoafle s'l ,-i-l white ibJt thla inlwcwr-nrl cnunthaarrlvnl "t'lfvuig tin s'- i.iust anlimlt oh' ' I'Ua'l1 Inhl iayeI for It, Fit t-i lniliatt t. Ins to locel.e It' 'Ii. ' j i tier diesul cf thla. M. le I n -i.u.-iil. ,iud wheii they luul taken her awo) with clewed cte. mute and deaf far ever lay mother nnd I told onr-aalves onr-aalves tlial we mnst repvlr the wrong she had ehine les-ame e f Iht flsnev, Oi-lirh'l Oi-lirh'l Karlonoy le wna for him, nnl wlthont knosrlng II, that ahe alnned, mid wo thoughl' "What, m child-" ' Tint to let her teat peacefully In her roctUl tubes, and Uut no ouo should aay she owed them anything, that we must do as I sail repair tho wrtn-g done by her. My mother has pal 1 the amende for the goals, nnd I hsrn come, M le President, In serve In her I lace the six months In the county prison " Tii serve In her slater's place! Wlwt innocence, wlint simplicity! The jurors smiled brnadlyi llie face of the president was no longer col 1 or ceremonious, cere-monious, nnrwaslt precisely his brow from which he mopped the moisture with n largo )ellow handkerchief. "It is well raid hei "j on were right, my cbll I, but but, now that I think cf If I llo i topped, frowned, and seero-vl to I reflect lotentiy-"now that I think of I It," wntlnned he, "there was an error In I this nltair We have, my de-ir child, sent von the wrong doenment " "The wrong document, M le Presl- 1 ilenll" faltered I.liettc, raising lirrgrrat, sorrowful ej ca In hie face with a g ire nf lletirthreAking reproach, "the wrong doo- umentr" fcibo conld say no more, and the preeldent preel-dent himself was no less moved. "Tlio wrong document, mychlld, yee," sal 1 be firmly, rising from his seat to tenderly pass his linn 1 acresea tho ahlnlng hair, "heron 1 thero" pointing to the henven alnvo them through tho mist veiled window "Jnatlco has given another an-other verdict! "(lo now lo thy mother and tell her from me that thy alster waa not a criin-I criin-I bill tint At.no was Innocent" "Ileforo Owl, at least," odded he, In a I tone onl audible to his own great heart, "before (lod, at lesitr Translated for Short Steirlea from the Hungarian uf Mlfcairath by Ii C Waggener. |
