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Show P I K p j f I 1 Judith of the 1 iPlAiris marie mann,ng- H ' Coprrljht. 1903. bj lk.rpr BrotKar H $4 H i ' '"rfulllifrr'l hardly know how to nay H f ,i what t mil going In, 1 feel Hint I have H j 'I hern siifli n bud friend to ,roit, hut .roil H must hear me patiently Together, If H ' yon arc willing, after knowing nil of H mo that nii do. we mint look after H your hi other's ihlldren. That night In H the llttli' house In the viillcy. when thi M j' Utile elmp came to me, don't you re- H i mcinher, there wuh something line ami H ji fearless In the way he illil It. 'You H j!j may belong to the cattle side of the 1 ,J argument.' he seemed to nay, 'hill I H II trust you' Now, .'itidltli dear, thnt M t f! boy's faith In me Is not going to he M . shaken. V Hunt look after theui to- H I ' gether. It N a very little tiling you M '' liaw asked of me, my dearest, hut n M ' , very big one that I am asking of you. M j Do you understand, my .ludltli, It Is H j ! you that I wmi (V Don't think of me B . mm 1 have heeu, .ludltli, hut iih jou urn M i going to innUe me. 1 want you to give M me the right now, thU evening, to H Hhnre nil this troiihle with you. Do H we understand each other, Judith? Is H It to ho? And will you ie hack m i with me now Into the room where H I ' they nrn dancing and let me present M you to tlicni, to the Wetmores, as my M .ludltli', my betrothed?" H ' ' "Hut, Peter, I don't understand. I M J , 1 thought you and Miss Colehrooke H I ' "That's till over, Judith. I did love H ' her once. Oh, you dear, hravo wo- H man, I'm not n hero from any point of H view, and you know It! It'rt hut n H sorry lover that's making his prayer to H you, my dearest. Kill you won't Judge. H I Know, helmed. Vou will love me M .ludltli turned toward the valley tier H ' whole being .thiohhed with a passion- H ate response to the man who stood so H humhly hefoie her, hut there were till- H ties that came llrst. Her mind was H full of Allda and her children, and her H eyes still sought 1'eter's liupMrlugly. H "Vou will he a good friend to them, H I'eter to Jl:u's people? I cannot talk H ' to you of anything else tonight. Vour H heart is big. l'elcr, hut you cannot H feel perhaps" "Listen, Judith. YVIntcvcr friend- H ship and protection I can give yoiir H family you may count upon from now 1 ij tilt the end of time. I will lit; theirs as H . I am yours. I feel your Krlcr, but I H want to hoodie It too. And if you love H me, and I feel, Judith, that you do. H you must let tliem all see toulKlit. H these peoplo who know us liotli, that H wo stand together before all the world H for better or worse. Think. Judith, H and you will see that you owe It to H yourself, to me, to nil these men, who reverence you as the one vtoiuan. the H one Ideal In their lonely lives." H She could not speak. The moment H was too full, the strain had been ton !H great. Hut she smiled s trrender, ami Peter caught her tender! In his anus and kissed her once. Ills Judith she was now, his heroine. 'Iheu without another word he drew her arm through H i his and hit her back to the lights, H where the dancers still held high ear- H Judith's half sister, Kudora, wan H , making a pretty iiuarrcl by pcrversclv H ' forgetting the order In which she had H i given her dances. The girl was so H lJ undeniably happy that Judith dreaded H the grim n ws she must tell her. Ihl- i dorn blusluil as she encounteriHl Ju- H dltli's eye. Her half sister ever offeutl B ' a check on Kuilorn's exuberant co- H ! ipietry. with Its pieclpltatlou of dls- A cusslous that often ended In bullets. i t.camlcr stood on the oittermot fringe H 'j of hidora's potential partners, lie H ' would not have dared to maintain it H openly, jet he was sure the pretty H minx had jiromlsed that dance to him. 1 "Dance with I.e.tnder, dear, and don't i let those men begin quairellug. I've B homethlug to tell you presently," said B Te.tas Tyler stoisl glowering at them ! from the doorway. He would not l catch Juillth's eye as she trlnl to speak to lilin. Kitty sat iiloue for the inn- B meut. She had sent the young lieu- H tenant to fetch her a cup of collee, hut as 1'eter approaclusl with Judith she H "Kitty, may I present to you my llaucee. Miss ItndueyV" H Kit tj rose superbly to the situation. 81io might, indcetl, have made the fl match, she was so overjoyed In tho good fortuuo of her old friend I'eter. H 8he made no reference to the wood- H , laud meeting She hoped for tho hap- f plness of seeing them In town. And she bade I'eter tell the good news to Hj Nannie Wet more. They would bo so J glad. Nannie swallowed n grimace 1 ) and proffered a cousinly hand. She H ( had suspected some such ncws,as this H I when she saxbtbat things were not go- H lug well with Kitty and I'eter. B' "Hotter one dance witli a good part- B uer that can swing ye than several with u feeble partner that leaves ye VH to swing ,our own corners" Judith looked up, smiling. She pee- H ognlxed the cli.iracterlstle utterani'e nf 1 her old friend, .Mrs. Yellett. The ma H1 trlanli had sustalmsl a lireakdown and f( ; urrivisl In couseipieucu when the dance Hi , j was half over, but she was phllosoph- H' h 1 lent, as always, In thu face of tnlsfor- H I tune and loudly uttested her ple.isurn H Vk. '" "' rtou'msl pedal feats of her lug Hrowir iiiiiT Iiapiiy; 1-1-oni me imi-tilde imi-tilde of the group around Judith and I'eter, Mary divined what had hap-pentsl hap-pentsl and cntne to add her congratulations, congratu-lations, liven Mrs, Yellett forgot to choose an axiom as her medium nf expression and kissed .ludltli publicly with alTectlonate unction. Henderson hud effaced himself, and l.eander. proud of Ids triumph and Judith's commendation, com-mendation, sat In u corner ami smiled contentedly. Ignorant of the drama to which they had played horns, the dancers still riotously swung one. nu-other nu-other up and down the length of tho room, and from the little brown lid-dies lid-dies came the gay oiusle of Judith's betrothal. tiik r.Nli. |