OCR Text |
Show f Judith 9 the J I Plaifl MAW? MANNING, ,Vj' J JLCvJLMJL3 Aulkofot-LoriAlllnlh.m.D.Dkrupl" J, ' Coprlh(, 1903. by Mainr DfolK.fi . I Tbnt tliey woro all more or lets In lovo with her there could be uo doiibt. An a matter of fnct, Judith ltodnoy tlld not depcud on the scnrclty of women wom-en In the dcHert for her pro-pmlnciico In U10 Intercuts of this hot hendod Rroup. Her personality nnd through no con-scions con-scions effort of hern would have been pre-eminent anywhere. As It wan, In thlj. w.ouian-orwiken wllileiuexH, jilii inTglit hnve Ht In i'if up 11 modeiTi ellltlon of the Trojan war nt any moment. That hhu dlil not, despite the lurking HURRestlon of temptation written nil over her, brought hack the worda of Leamler, "If Judy wasn't a good girl tline hoys would Just uatchrnlly he-rome he-rome extinct sliootln' each other upon account of her" And yet what u woman hIio wail It I struck MImh Carmlchiicl as she watched Judllh hold these warring elements In the hollow of her hand that her Interest might he due to a certain temperamental temperamen-tal fuMou; that thero might lie at the essence of her being it suhtlo combination combina-tion of saint ami devil. One could fancy fan-cy her lending an army on a crilsado or piovoklng a barroom brawl. The challenging tinllty of her beauty, tho vividness of color, the suggestion of endurance en-durance and radiating health In every linn were comparable tn the great primeval forces about her. At present neither polo of her character, charac-ter, as It had been hastily estimated, wos oveu remotely suggested. The atmosphere at-mosphere In the postotllce was, considering con-sidering the potential violence of Its vl.sltori, singularly calm And Judith, feeding these wild bonier lads on scraps of clmlt and banter and retaining retain-ing their absolute loyalty, was a sight worth seeing, She had the ulertnes of a lion tamer locked In a cugc with the lords of the Jungle; the rashly confident hc humbled, the mcclc shu exalted, and nil with such genuine good fellowship, such an absence of coijuotry In the gentnl-gauif of giro and take, that one conned to wonder at eon tho devotion of I.eander. And slnco they were to her, on her own confession, but "spurs and sombreros" one wondered at the elaboration of the comedy, the endless wire pulling In the manipulation of these most plcturinUP marionettes until one remembered tin outlaw brother broth-er and felt that what slit- did she did for him. "Ain't there a loo letter for me?" Tho joiiug man who Inquired seemed to belong to 11 different race from these bronzed squires of tho saddle He. HUg gested overcrowded excursion boats on Sunday nfteinoins lu swarming eastern cities. lie buttonholed every one and explained his presence lu the west on the score of his health, as though leaving his native asphalt were a thing Hint demanded npolog. "Yes," answered the postmistress, with n real motherly note, "here Is one from Uiigous & Co." A roir went up nt this and the blush- lig tenderfoot pocketed his third bill for the most theatrical style of .Mexican .Mex-ican xomhrcio; It hud a brass Miake colled lounil the crown for 11 hatband, and a cow puncher In good and regular standing would lime preferred going bareheaded to wearing It. "She seems to bo pressing her suit, son. You better mime the daj," one of the loungers suggested. "The blamed thing ain't worth $'J."," the young mau from the east declared. A conspicuous silence followed It seemed to Iriltute the owner of the hut that no one would defend It. "It ain't wot th It," he repealed. "I think you allowed ,ou was out here for your health?" a big Texan In-ipilrcd. In-ipilrcd. "Hetchcr life," swaggered the man with the hat, "N'York's goad enough for me." "Hut" mid the Te.xnti smiled Mveet-ly Mveet-ly "tho man who sold you tbo hat ain't out hero for his." Judith hid her head nnd stamped letters let-ters 'lho boys were suspiciously quiet, then some one began to slug. Tho postmistress waited for the last note of tho chorus to din nway, and read from a package she held In her hand: "'Mrs. Henry I.ce, Deer Lodge. Wyoming.' Well, Henry, hero's n wedding wed-ding present, I guess And my congratulations, con-gratulations, though you've hardly treated us well In never saying n word." The unfortunate Henry, who hadn't oveu a sweetheart nnd who was noted us tho shiest man In the "Goose Creek Outllt," bad to submit to the mock 1 congratulations of every rann In tho , room and promise to set up tho drinks Inter, 1 never felt we'd Loop you long, son. Them golden curls seldom gets n chance to rlpeu singly." "Shoshone squaw, did jou say she was, Henry? They ain't much for looks, but Uiere's a heap of wear to 'em." "Ob, go on, now; you fellows know I nln't married." And the hoy handled the package with a sort of dumb wonder, won-der, as If the superscription were Indisputable In-disputable evidence of n wife's existence. exist-ence. "Open It, Henry. You bhore don't hnrbor seuthnents of curiosity regarding regard-ing the postctllco dealings of your lady." "Now, old mnn, this here mny be grounds for divorce." """Bee "what Tho "oilier fellow's sending send-ing your wife." Henry, badgered, Jostled, the tnrget of many a homely witticism, finally opened tho pnekuge, which proved to be u sample bottle of bnby food. At sight of It they howled like Apaches, and Henry was forced to receive their congratulations. Judith, who had been an Interested onlooker without Joining In lho merriment, now detected In the tenor of their humor n tendency toward to-ward breadth. In nn Instant her manner man-ner was olllclnl. Mapping the tablo with her mailing stamp, sho. announced: an-nounced: "Hoys, this postofllce closes In ten minutes. If you want to buy any stamps." The silence following this statement on tho part of the postmistress w its Instantaneous. In-stantaneous. Henry took his mirth provoking packngo and went his way. Some of thu moro hllnrlously Inclined followed 1dm. Tho remainder confined themselves absolutely to business, scrawling istol cards or lending their mall, Tile iiiiimce of the olllclnl stump on the letters as the postmistress checked them off for the mall bug was tho only sound In the hot stillness, A heavily built mau, older than those who had been keeping tho pnstotD.ee lively, now took advantage of the lull to approach Judith. He hnd a twinkling twin-kling face, all circles and pouches, but It grew graver as he spoko to the postmistress. post-mistress. He was Major Atkins, formerly for-merly cavalry otllcer, but since his retirement 11 cattleman, whose herds grazed to the I'anhandlp of Texas. As 3 H v -i "Uct him nut nl the stale, Judy " he took his mall, talking meantime of polities, of tilt; heat, of the lack of water, lu the loud olce for which ho was famous, he niaunged, with clumsy diplomacy, to Interject a word or two for her own ear alone. "Jim's out," he couwyed to her In a suecessfullj iiiullled olce. "He's out, ami they're after blm, lint (let him out of the state, Judy-get hlui out, quick. He tried to kill Simpson at Mrs. '('laik's lu town yesterdaj. The little eastern gill that's here will tell you." 1 Then the major was cone before Judith could pei feet ly realize the significance of what he hud told her ' She threw back her head and the ill-e lu her thlnnt licit Like n wild forest thing at the first warning hound M10 considered: "Was It time for Uigut, or was the warning but the crackling of a twig? Major Atkins was a cattle 'man. Her brother hated all cattlemen. How dlslnteiested bad been the major's ma-jor's wniuliig? He had always been lier friend. Mrs. Atkins had been one of the ladles at the post who had helped help-ed to send her to school to tho nuns at Santa Fe. She despised herself for doubting, jet these were troublous times, nnd all wns fair between sheep and cnttlo men, Major Atkins had spoken spo-ken of the castci n girl. Then that pretty pret-ty little curly haired creature, whom Judith had found standing In the sunshine, sun-shine, had seen Jim had heard him threaten to kill. Should she ask her nbout It consult her? Judith's training train-ing was uot oue to Impel her to give her confidence to strnugers. Still she hnd liked the, little eastern girl. In n few minutes moro the group lu the postofllce began to disperse under the skillful manipulation of tho postmistress. post-mistress. To some bIio sold stamps with nn nlr of "God speed you," and they were soon but dwindling specks on tho horizon. To others she Implied such friendly farewells that there was nothing to do but betnke themselves to their saddles. Others had compromised with tho saloon opposite, nud their roaring mirth enmo In snatches of song nnd shouts of laughter. She fastened up the little pllo of letters that had remnlned uucnlled for with what seemed seem-ed a deliberate slowness. Iincli time any one entered the room she looked up. Then tho hopo died hard In her face, Loaudcr enme In with catlike tread nnd removed tho pigeonholes ffoto tho table, The postoillce was ''J p( " 1 h iiif 11 - ii 1 11 1 1 " --- closet. 0 d j life lind "been rcsuiut J ntthcl . . CHArTnil V. WITHIN the house the travelers travel-ers hod disposed themselves In a repressed nud melancholy melan-choly circle that suggested tin" suspended nnlmutlon of it funeral gathering. The fat Indy had turned back her skirt to save her traelfug dress, The stage was late, and there was no good an,d sufficient reason for wearing It out. A similar consideration considera-tion of economy led her to flirt off flics with her second best pocket hand' kerchief. Mrs. I)nx presided over the gathering with nwful severity. "Chugg's never ben so late as this," said Mrs. Dux, rocking herself furiously. furi-ously. I.eander, the fat Indy and Miss Carmlchael meekly murmured nsjent nnd condemnation. "And there ain't a sign of him," tnld Mrs. Dax, returning to the house after straining the landscape through her nil ohservnnt eye and not detecting him In any of the remote pin pricks on the horizon In which these plains folk Invariably In-variably decipher 11 herd of antelope, nn elk or two or n horseman. Judith had continued her unquiet pacing In tho blinding glare while thu group within doms, somnolent from the heat and the Incessant shrilling of the locusts, droningly talked and dozed, l'nth time she turned Judith would stop and scan the yellow road, shading her e.es with her hand, and each time she had turned away and resumed her walk Mary, who gae the postmistress postmis-tress no unstinted share of admiration for the courage with which she faced her difficulties and who had been seeking seek-ing an opportunity to signify her friendship, now that sho saw the Inst of the gallants depart, Inquired of Judith Ju-dith If she might Join her. They walked without speaking for several minutes, cujojlng 11 sense of comradeship haitlly lu keeping with the brevity of their acquaintance. A freedom from restraint spnretl them the necessity of exchanging small talk, that frequently Irritating toll exacted as tribute to possible friendship. The desert lay white and palpitating beneath tho noonday glare, and from the outermost rim of desolation came dancing "dust devils" whirling nnd gliding through the mazes of their eerie dunce. "I think sometimes," said Judith, "that they are the ghosts of those who have died of thirst In tho desert." Mnry shuddered Imperceptibly. "How do j on stand It with never a glimpse of the sen?" "You'll Ioe It or hate It. The desert Is too Jealous for half measures. As for the sea" Judith shrugged her Hue shoulders "from nil Ive heard of It, It must be vcrj w et." Lnch felt a reticence about broaching broach-ing the subject uppermost In her thoughts Judith from the Instinctive tendency toward secretlveness that was part of the heritage of her Indian blood; Mary because the subject so closely loncerued this girl for whom she felt such genulue admiration. Judith finally brought up tho matter with an abruptness that scarce concealed con-cealed her anxiety "You saw my brother yesterday ut Mrs Clark's eating house. Will you be good enough to tell me Just what happemsl?" Main related the Incident In detail, Judith ems., examining her minutely as to the temper of the men nt table toward to-ward Jim. Did she know If any cattlemen cattle-men were present? Did she hear where her brother hud gone? Mnry hud heard nothing further after he hnd left the entlng house The only one fcho had talked to had been Mrs. Clark, whose sjnipathy had been en-tttely en-tttely with Jim. Judith thanked her, but In realltj she knew no more now than she Jind heard from Major Atkins At-kins Judith now stopped lu their walk and stood facing the road as It rolled over the foothills a skein of yellow silk glimmering lu the sun. Then Mary saw that the object spinning nc;oss It lu the distance, hardly bigger tiiun a doll's carriage, was the long delayed stage. She spoke to the postmistress, but apparent she did not heurJu dull was wiitihlug the ueiulug stage us if It might bring some messugu of life and death She .stood still, and tho drooping Hues of her llgure straightened, straight-ened, eerj liber of her beauty kindled. kin-dled. She was like a ll.nne, paling the sunlight. And presently was heurd the uncouth un-couth music of sixteen Iron shod hoofs beating hard from the eurlh rhythmic notes, which presently glow hollow and sonorous as they came rattling over the wooden bridge that spanned the creek, "Chugg!" exclaimed Leamler, rushing rush-ing to the door In a tumult. There was something crucial tu the arrival of the dclajed stage driver. Ills delinquencies de-linquencies had deflected the course of the travelers, left them stranded In a remote corner of tho wilderness, hut now they should ugulu resume the thread of things. Chugg's coming was an event. " 'Tnln't Chugg," snld Lenndcr. "It's Peter Hamilton!" exclaimed Mrs. Dnx. "Land's snkes, the New Yorker!" eald the fat Indy. Only Judith snld nothing. Mr. Hamilton held tho ribbons of that battered prairie stage as If he had been driving past the Judges' bench nt the horse show. Furthermore, he woro blue overalls, a flannel shirt and a sombrero, which sartorial Inventory, while It highly became the slim young giant, added nn cxtrn comedy touch to his rolo of whip. Ho wns as dusty as a miller; close cropned curly head, features and clothes were covered with a fine alkali powdering, hut he carried his youth ns a bnnncr streaming In the blue. And he swung from the stnge with tho easy flow of muscle that s the reward of those who llvo In the saddle i anil woke a tlno nrt"6t tTSowlng-"tEe" lariat. V sM' They greeted him heartily, all but i Jm L t Ju'"tb. who did not trust herself to it Tk ,hlm bofore Ule PTln eyes W ot Mrs- Dax al escaped to the-house. If ' Chngg'g latest excursion Into oblivion bad resulted In n fall from tho box. He was not badly hurt and recupera. tlon was largely a matter of "sleeping t off." concluded roter Hamilton's bul-I bul-I Win of the condition of the stage : , driver. So the travelers were still ma- roouetl at Dax's and the prospect of continuing their Journey was ns vague as ever. "Last I heard of you." imld Mrs. Dax to Hamilton, with n sort of stone ago playfulness, "you was punching ciiwh over to the nitter Hoot." "That's true, Mrs. Dax"-he gave her his most winning smile-"but I could not stay away from you long." Leander grimaced and rubbed hU hands In an ecstasy of delight at lind-Jng lind-Jng n man who had the tcinerltv to ( bandy words with Mrs. Dax. "Hum-m-m-ph!" she whinnied with ' fQUlno coquetry. "Gncss It was rus tlers drought you back hh much as me." l Judith, who hud entered the room In tlmo to hear Mrs. Uax'a last remark, greeted him casually, but her oy as they met his, were full of questioning fear. Had ho eoiye from the Hitter i 1100c range to hunt down her brother? k The thought was Intolerable Vet If B limA w,,en ll 1,ml l,,tlllc" lor goislby hoiuo ' IfirfS tlu'00 weeks ago lie had told her that I ' " ho did not expect to return much be fore tho fall roundup. She lind heard a day or two before that he was again lu tho Wind river country, and her morning vigil beneath the glare of the desert sun had been for him. Mrs. Dax regarded them with the mercllessness of a death watch. Bho remembered the time wheu Hamilton's excuses for his frequent presence at the postolllce had been moie olulii than logical, but now he mi longer camo, und Judith, for all her deliberate deliber-ate flow of spirits, did not quite convince con-vince the watchful eyes of I.eander'a lady. The postmistress was a trlile too cheerful. "Mrs. Dax," pleaded 1'eter boyishly, "I'm perishing for a cup or coffee, and I'vo got to get back to my outtlt before be-fore dark." "Oh, go on with you," whinnied the gorgon, but she left the room to make tho coffee. Judith's eyes sought his "Why don't you aud Leuuder form a coalition for t the overthrow of the enemj V" Ills voice had dropped a toue lower than In his parley with Mrs. Dax. It might have Implied special devotion, or It ; might have Implied but the passing tribute to a beautiful woman lu a country where women were few-the generic admiration of all men for all I i women, ephemerally specialized by ' Htk place and circumstance. i HL;iBkF Hut .Judith, hat-ashed at every turn, 1rrii"V heartsick with anxiety, had autlcl- I pated lu rotor's coming, If not n holu- tlon of her tioublcs, at least Home evl- I deuce of sustaining sympathy and was i In no mood for lesuscltiitlng the peren- i ulal pleasantries intent l.candcr and ; hlt masterful lady. The shrilling of the locusts emphj- ' sized their silence. She spoke to him , casually of his change of plan, but he I turned the subject, and Judith let the ' mutter diop. She was too simple a woman wo-man to stoop to oblique measures foi the gaining of her n ends. If lie was here to hunt down her brother, If hoi 'was here to see the eastern woman at ! the Wctmore ranch- well, "life was I life," to be taken or left. Thus spoke ' tho fatalism that was the heritage of "her Indian blood. The thought of Miss Colebrooko at ' Wetmore's reminded her of a letter for 1'eter that had been brought that morn- ' Ing by one of the W'etmore cowboys. ' - "I forgot -there's a letter for you." Mho went to the pigeonholes on the wall that held the tlotsam and Jetsam i of unclaimed mail and brought him a square blue linen envelope- distinctly I . a. lady's letter. t - Peter took It with rather a forced all ot magnanimity, as If In neglecting to present It to him soouer she drew heav- ' l t, .lly on his reserve of patience. Tearing I -" open the envelope, he read It voracious ly, read It to the exclusion of his sur-' roundlngs, the world at large aud Ju-" tilth. He strode up and down the floor two or three times and called to Lean- , y , 1 dcr, who was passing; 1 Uk, "ax, 1 uiust have that gray maro of -J SfcS yourH right away." Ho went lu the dl-' rectlon of the stable without a second ' glance at (lie postmistress, and pres-1 ently they saw him galloiilng oft lu tho opposite "direction from which he had come. .Mrs, Dax came In with n tray on which were a pot of coffee and sundry sun-dry substantial delicacies. "Where's he gone?" she demanded, "- putting the Iray down so hard that tho , coffee slopped. ' " " "I duiiuo," said I.eander, "He said j ,Z he'd got to have the gray inn re, sail- v " died her hlsself and rode off." ( Mrs. Dax looked at them all savogo- &'' ly for tho explanation that they could not give. In sending her out to inafco ' " - coffee she felt that Teter, whom sho I 1 ' -, regarded In the light of n weakness, , j- had taken advantage of her affections i V to dupo her In regard to his plans. I "Take them things hack to the kltch- ' riff en," (die commanded I.eander. I '&$?. Mary Conulchael now involuntarily I GsK?- Klanced nt Judith: the fall of the leaf j 1 pSs was lu her cheek. SJgK. i'otcr Hamilton, bowed In his saddle Jft" and flogging forward Inhumanely, bred Only the btuux uittchctl rife KieculatIoli as to his destination among the group that watched him from the Daxcs' front door. Mrs. Dax, who entertained so profound n respect for her own omniscience that sho disdained to arrive at u conclusion conclu-sion by a logical process of deduction, was "plumb certain that he had gone after 'rustlers!'" I.eander, who had held no opinions since his marriage except that llrst and all comprehen slvo tenet of his creed that his wife was u person to bo loved, honored and obeyed Instantly agreed with his lady by a process of rellex action. The fat lady, who had a commonplace for every ev-ery occasion, didn't "know what we, were all coming to." Miss Carmlchael, who was beginning to And her capacity ca-pacity for amazement overstrained, alono nccepted this last incident with apathy. Mr. Hamilton might have gone in swift pursuit of cattle thieves or he might bo riding the maro to death for pure whimsy. Only Judith Itodney, who suld nothing, felt that he was spurring across tho wilderness at breakneck speed to see u girl at Wet-more's. Wet-more's. Hut her luck of comment caused no ripple of surprise In tho flow of loose lipped spoculatlou that served for the time being to Inject n casual Interest Into tho talk of these folk, bored to the verge of demoralization by long waiting for Chugg. Judith piofeiTcd to coiitlriu her apprehensions ap-prehensions regarding Hamilton's ride alone. She knew had not all her woman's wo-man's intuitions risen in clamorous warning? yet sho imped, hoped de spahingly, even though tho dre.ul alternative alter-native to the girl at the Wctmore ranch threatened lynch law for her brother. Her very gait changed as she withdrew from the group about the door, covertly gaining her Aautage ground Inch by Inch. The heels of -her riding boots made no sound as she stole across the kitchen Door, toeing lu like an Indian tracking tin enemy through the forest. The small window at the hack of the ' kitchen commanded a view of the road , lu all Its sprawling circumlocution. Seen from tills prospect It hud no more design than the Idle scrawitugs of a child ou a bit of paper, but the choice j of roads to good and evil was not I fraught with more momentous eouse- , quences than wus each prong of that fork toward which Hamilton was gal-, loping. The right arm swung toward thu Wctmore ranch, where at certain times during the course of the year a huu- dred cow punchers reported on the stock that grazed lu four states. At certain seasons, llkuwlse, despite the fact that the ranch was well Into the foothill country, there might be found n New York family playing at life primeval with the co-operation of porcelain por-celain bathtubs, a French chef and elect! !c light. The left fork of the road had a meaner mean-er destiny. It dipped straight Into desolation, des-olation, penetrating a naked wilderness wilder-ness where bad men skulked till the evil they hud done was forgotten In deeds (hat called afresh to heaven fur vengeance. venge-ance. Judith watched Hamilton with uar rowing eje. And now she was all Indian, the white woman lu her dead Only the Sioux watched, and, In the patient, Indian style, bided Its time. "Cattle thieves," "the girl at Wet- more's" the words sang themselves lu her head liko an Incantation. "Cattle thieves" meant her brother, their recognized rec-ognized lender her brother, who was dearer to her than the heart in ler breast, the eye lu her head, the right hand that held together tho shambling, uncertain destiny of her people. Would tut turn to the left, Justice, on a pale horse, hunting her brother gallows-ward? gallows-ward? Would he turn toward the right, the niiietuous lover spurring his steed ilii't he might come swiftly to the woman A pulso lu her bosom rose slow!. until her breath was suspended, sus-pended, then fell again. She was still watching, without an outward quiver, long after be had turned to the rlght-nnd rlght-nnd the woman. OHAI'TKIt VI JUDITH knew that the name of tho girl whoso letter scut Peter Hamilton vaulting to the suddlo was 'Catherine Colebrooko. Thcro had been a deal of Jet tor writing between be-tween her and the young cow puncher of Into, of which perforce, by u singular singu-lar Irouy of fnte, the postmistress bad been tho Involuntary Instrument. Tho correspondence had followed a recent hasty Journey to New York, undertaken under-taken somewhat unwillingly by Ham-llton Ham-llton In tbe Interest of certain affairs connected with Hio settlement of nil estate. The precipitancy of this latest turn of events bewildered Judith; but yet a little while a matter of weeks aud days nnd her friendship with Hamilton Hamil-ton had been of that pleasantly Indelt-nlto Indelt-nlto estate shunted somewhere on tho borderland of romance', n kingdom where there U no law but the mutual Interest of the wayfarers. Judith nnd Peter had been pitifully new at the game of life when the gods vouchsafed them the equivocal blessing of propinquity. propin-quity. Judith was but lately come from the convent at Santu Fe nnd 'Hamilton from the university, whoso honors availed him little In the trailing of cattle over the range or lu the sweat and tumult of the branding pen, It was n strange election of opportunity for a man who had been class poet and lind rather conspicuously avoided athletics ath-letics during his entire, college coure. Iu pursuing fortune westward Hamilton Hamil-ton did not lack for chroniclers, who would not have missed a good story for the want of an nutnonllo dramatic Interpretation of his plans, ills uncle, said they, who had put him through college, was disposed to let him sink or swim by his own efforts, or, ag-iln, he had quarreled with tills same omulp Otellt llllele Hint wnlL-ml fi-nm lilj hrm olent uncle nnd walked from Ids pre once with no prospects but those within with-in grasp of his own hand Again, he had taken the negative of a fair lady more to heart than two nnd twenty Is In the habit of taking negatives Peter made no confidences. He went west to punch cows for the Wctmore outtlt. out-tlt. He wns a distant connection o' the Wetinores through ills mother's side of the family. Judith's convent upbringing had con-I con-I f erred on her the doubtful advantage I of a gentlewoman's tastes and bearing, j making of her. therefore, nu nllon lu i her father's house. When Mrs. At-. At-. kins, who was responsible for her edu c.ltlon, realized the equiiocal good of , these things and saw, moreover, that I the girl had grown to bo a beauty, she j offered to adopt her, but Judith, with ' the pitiful heroism of youth that understands un-derstands llttlo of what it Is renouue-' renouue-' Ing, thought herself strong enough to hold together a family uncertain of ' purKso as quickslher. j In those tragic days of readjustment came Peter Hamilton, as strange to tho bald conditions of frontier life as the j girl herself. From tho beginning there had been between them the barrier of i elrcuinstauce. Hamilton was poor. j Judith the mainstay of a household I whose thrlftlessness had become a proverb. He came of a family thut numbered a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a famous chief Justice Jus-tice and the dean of a grent university. Judith wus uncertain of her right to the very name she bore! And yet they were young, ho a man, she a woniau 1 eternal fountain of Interest. A pieeo-clous pieeo-clous house of the Illness of things was , the compass Hint eunbled Peter to steer I through the deep waters in tho years i that followed. Hut tho girl paid tho penalty of her great heart. In that I troublous sea of friendship she was 1 soon adrift without rudder, sail or compass, Judith was now eight and twenty, and n sculptor would have found u i hundred stntues In her. Long of llinb, deep bosomed, youth and health radl-; radl-; ated from her as sparks Uy upward. In sunlight her black hair had tho bluish blu-ish Iridescence of u ripe plum. The eyes weie deep and questioning tho eyes of a young seraph whose wiugs had not yet brushed the far distant heights of paradise. And yet lu this wilderness thnt wns famishing for wo-' wo-' man's love aud tears and laughter by a perversity of fnte she walked alone. She was a true daughter of the desert, des-ert, the child of stark, unlovely circumstance. cir-cumstance. No well bred romance of book and bells and churchly beuedic-1 beuedic-1 tlon had Ushensl her Into being. Her maternal grandfather had been the famous fa-mous Sioux chief, Flying Hunk; her grandmother a white woman who knew no Word of her people's tongue nor yet her name or race. The Indians found the white baby sleeping by her dead mother ofter the massacre of an emigrant train. They took her with them, and sin. giew up lu the Hluck Hills country, a white skinned Slou, marrying n chief of the people that lind slain her people. She nccepted her squaw's portion uncomplainingly -slaved cheerfully at squaw's work while her brave made war on the whites, hunted and smoked. She i eared ear-ed her half breed children lu the legends leg-ends of their father's people mid dic-d u withered crone, cursing the prefaces pre-faces who had robbed the Sioux of the buffalo and their hunting ground. To bo continued |