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Show Hi IJ fa : r0 I I Judith of the I' Plaifl MARIE MANNING, j Jj JHJJLA.JLfeJ AolhorofUfd llinh.a.. Dr.tropC I . V" Capyrljbt. 1903. bj U.rpr Drollteri i I I l $4 M I1 ...... ... ... ... ... ... J. . - .1. .. B And rormpvcr .Imlilli cnlcroil, lmt " a Judllli Hint ww utr.inge to llii'in. J There wiw ulmtit lier n while r.iillimcn ' thill kept tlu iliuiccr.s bark, mill 111 her k ' I p.Vt'N something "f Miir.vn look i hIio H; J- turned from Culvnrj ihe diuicrr-t Mill H I Itept the lo-tltlon of (In- tlgure, tho Bt men with their iimm iihuiil their part- Hj i' ners' wnlstH, Hit' women Hlepping for- Ij ward. They were like the piilnteil llg- Hj i ures of ilniK'cru In n fro-ieo. And Hj iinioiig them hIoihI Jiulllh, waiting to Hi ' play her pint, waiting to nhow her ; I world thut she eonlil dunce mill he iner-Hi iner-Hi ry liecniise nil wiw well with her and H' v liers. Illlt the'tirom'eil hoiih of the mill-H mill-H die hung for Hie honor of n dunce. Hj Thoy were afraid of her. It would ho ' ' j like dancing with the (lentil nngel. H She looked from fnee to fnee. Surely HJ Home one would uhIc her to dance, and H ' I her eyes fell on lleiiilei'Hon returning HJ from the hottled eonrage In the hunk Hi room. Some word wiih due from him H t 1 to explain IiIh terror of a inninent net. H j "Oil, MW .luillth, I thought yon wiih H ' n rIhwI when I Keen you at the win- I H d0W" H , ! "A ghost that's ready to dance." Shu U"f j held out her hand to lilni. In her gen Hj ' Hire there wart something of royal coin- H ' ' iiiuiid, and IIenileou, rending tho If ( meaning In her eyes, stepped forward. Hj I Her fnee, nlmiHt a perfect replica of Hf tho dead iiiiiu'h, looked at him. It "I hrlng you greeting from my broth- HJ,' er," Hhe Kiild. "He lmi tone on a long Hj Journey." HJ IlenderHou started. Through the Htlll HJ room ran the murmur, "Itoduey'H out HJV wltted them; he's played a Joke on llm HJ rope!" And .ludllli, his daredevil Hlster, HJ had come with his greetings to lien- HJt , dcrson, leader of the faction ugaltiHt hlui. The tide had turned. The up- HJ plnuse that is over the meed of thti H j, winner wax hers to command. The Hf cuttle faction were ready to ship tlui HJ, ' praises of her splendid audacity. In Htf f their hearts they were Kind In tho II ' thought that Jim hud outwitted them. HJi Mlgtui'K how daHlied across the HJ strings, and he drew from the little HJ; brown fiddle uiusle that iiKaln mado HJ' them merry anil glowing. The manic k"1 cumo back to the dance, the blood leaped leap-ed again with the merry mildness, and Ht- they Hwept to the bowing like leave HJljf when the tlrst faint wall of winter HJ! cries In the trees, HJ r Hamilton, Htandlng apart with Kitty HJ Colebrooke, hud been a dii7ed witness HJ" ; of tho scene. With the rest he hud HJ watclml the entrance of Judith, hud HJ been stunniHl liy the change In her up- HJ. i pea ru nee, had seen her triumph and HJ heard the rumor of Jim's escape, and 1 his heart had warmeil with the good word. She had probably managed tho plan and hud come tonight. In the Joy of her triumph, to hurl In their faces that she had outwitted them. And she had paid the penalty of her courage - HJ" her face told that. What u womitii HJ she was! She was the one woman In HJ all the world for lilni, though his blind HJ eyes hud faced the light for years and HJ had not known It. He hud siimiidcred HJ the strength of his youth In the pur- HJ null of a little wax light and bad not HJ i liinrked the serene shining of the moon. HJ ! "And a man there was and be tuiido HJ i bis prayer," be ipiolisl to lilinself. Well, i thank (Sod that It hud not beeu an- HJ f Hwered. IIu would take her away M ( K from here. She could take her place In '1 bis family and retteet credit on his B E choice. Ills family, his friends-he B I wlnceil at the tliotiglit of their possible HJ I reception of the news, Hut Judith's HJ presence would adjust these ditllcul- m B ties. Ho would present her to Kitty HJ I now, that bis old friend might see HJ what manner of woman she was. Kit- HJ ' ty, ho felt, would bo kind In memory HJ of the old days. She would give to HJ -1 them both In friendship wliut she bud HJ denied blm In loe. And as lie warm- HJ imI to the thought he turned to the wo HJ; man of his oiilh. And she read a look HJ In his face that had not been there In a HJ long time. Had he, then, come buck HJ to her? Was the distance from b.uk HJ to shore lessening us the sea of iiilstm HJ derstillidlng dimlulslied? HJ "Kitty, we were speaking a moiiioni HJ t llgo of .Miss Itoduey Von would like to HJ , Know her, I'm Mire. We've been such HJ j good friends all these years while you HJ were deciding that what 1 wautiHl was B not good for lis and deciding wisely, HJ L ns 1 know now. Look at her! You'll m I understand how she has helped me HJ keei the balance of things. When she's M i finished dancing you'll let me bring her Mf to you, won't youV" M And Kitty, who bad expected much M I dlfferuiit words, struggled with the HJ B inclining of these unexpected ones. M 8 Tho strangeness of tho pain bewildered HI ' her. Her dazed coiiseiousness refused HJ f to accept thut Peter was asking per HJ mission to present lo her a woman HJ whom she thought would not have HJ been permitted to enter her presence. HJ There was about her a white tlame of HJ anger that seemisl to lick up the red HE IiIoimI In her veins as she turned to an Hi HJj 4 "She Is undeniably handsome, Peter, HB but I do not cure to meet your mis HJ HJ He bowed low to her as I 'outeuiiut HJj Swift of Fort Washakie, who was one Hb of tho Wet more party, came to chili.) Pf Kitty's baud for the next dance. Ju HJ dltb and Henderson were leading tho HI lost figure, their hands i la sped high In H , mi urcb, through which Mio daneera H HHHX tjonped. ju cnindej. Alialu mil a-;ilu hVhk hVhVhVhVhVhHl In tried to i-ntiTi Judltl?s eje, ImfTier ghiiice never once mot IiIr. Her groat, lde e.H-s hud a faraway look, us If ihey saw some tragedy, the shadow of which would never fall from her. Slip was Indeed the tragic muse in her lloatlng white drapery, the ragle mil j whose grief Is to deep for tears ITr watched her ns she swept tow ml bin: in tho'llgure of the dance, the bead thrown back, sllghllj I'ireili i.-teued, the mouth smiling with the smile that knows all things the c.vlm holy wells ol truth. It was like her to eintrlve iter brother's e-icape and then to dance with the vety men who bud limited the noose fn.- his banging. I lender n was bowing to her, the dance was over, and the next moment she was alone. "Is It you. PeterV" She thrust a strand of hair back from her temple. Her eyes rested on him for u moment, then wandered till in their absent look was the rapt expression of tho sleepwalker. sleep-walker. The dark rimmed eyes had In their depths the ipilet of a cimtlngra-t cimtlngra-t luu. mid I'eler, seeing these things and knowing the gamut of all her moods, saw that be bad been mistaken She bad not come to dance in triumph In the face of her brother's enemies. There was no triumph In her face, but white, consuming despair. "Did you ask ine to dance V" Again she put buck the strand of hair. "Kor-give "Kor-give ine for being so stupid, but I've kept postotllce today and bad a long ride, and I danced with Henderson." He drew her arm within his and led the way out through the crowd of dancers to the Htnr strewn night. She did not speak again, nor did she seem to notice that they bad left tho room with the dancers. She turned her face toward the lonely valley, where tho drama of her hrolher's passing bad been consummated, and something there was In her look us It turned toward to-ward the hills that told Peter. "Tell tne, Judith, what has happen edV" For answer she pointed toward tho valley. "They did It last night at the I'ead cottonwoods. Henderson led them, I could not stay with Allda. I had to come here to dance that no one might suspect." Her voice was steady, but low and thrilling. In Its deep resounnce was the echo of all human sorrow. There was no hint of accusation, yet Peter felt accused. He felt, now when It was too late, that his position had been one of almost pusillanimous negligence. From the beginning lit1 had taken a linn stuiul against violent measures, lie bad talked, argued, reasoned. Inveighed In-veighed ngulnst violence. No later than a week ago be bad ridden across the desert to tell Henderson that the Wet more out tit would take no part In violence of any sort and that the cattle out tit that did resort to extreme measures meas-ures would miss (be support of tln W-sipiare In any future range bits'-uess. bits'-uess. Hut It bud not been enough. He should have made plain his position hi tegard to Judith. With her as his future fu-ture wife Hie tragedy of the valley would not have been possible. Prom tlio ranch house came the swell of the llihlles, the rhythmic shuttle of feet, the song of tho dancers, dulled by distance. Beside him was Judith, n white spirit, the woman In her dead of grief. And yet through nil the grim horror of the tragedy she remembered the part that had beeu all itted to h.-r, threw till the weight of her personality on the side of the guine she was play-bu. play-bu. "You must lie on our side, Peter, and when there Is talk of Jim's absence you niu-d simply Imply that he is east somewhere You will know, how to meet such Inquiries better than wo w.i men Henderson will be only too glad. You should have seen the wretch when I held out my hand to htm and told him to dunce with me. Ho camv, white and shambling. We have nothing to fear from Henderson. Allda has no money to go away with. She and 1 must stay be and make a beginning for tho children, and, Peter, we want you to help us." He hud no oico to answer her brave words for a minute, and thou bis sen tences came uncertain and halting. "You must think me a poor sort of friend, Judith, one who has been blind till tho eleventh hour and Is then found wanting 1 foel so guilty to yoit, to your brother's wife, to thut little child who put out bis arms so trustfully to tne that night, but I never Imagined that things would como to such a pass ns this. The smaller cattle outfits have been doing a good deal of blustering, but tho more conservative element sup posed that they bad them In check and did not for a moment think that tuoy would take tho law Into their own bands. Hellnvo mo, this lawlessness lias been In the face of every Intluenee that could bo brought to bear, and It shall not go unpunished." Sho spoko to him from tho darknesj as tho spirit of grief might spenk. "An eyo for an eye, ti tooth for a tooth; (bat Is tho Justice of tho plains. Hut, Peter, It Is but poor Justice. What's done Is done, and fresh violence will not give back Allda her husband nor tho llttlo ones their father. What wo need Is friends, one or two loyal souls who, though knowing the hideous truth of, thlq, thing, will. stand by u hi our pitiful' fnlsciiood, I have fold uo one, nor shall 1, but you mid-Peter, you must not laugh at your fellow conspirator F.eander." He took her bands In bis and pressi.1 lliein, Itlg hands they Mere, mid hard cued by many a homely task, but with al tender anil wllh the healing quality of womanliness In the touch of their warm, sup le fingers. Hut tonight she did not seem to know that ho hold them nor to bo conscious of h's piv once. The woman In her was dead of grief. The white spirit In her plrce, that plotted and planned that Jim' children mid Jim's wife might not from henceforth walk In the tlnutnw of the gallows, was beyond the primpt-Ing primpt-Ing of tho flesh. And again sho spoke lo him In tho samo faraway voice, with the same fnrawuy look In her eyes "You intr know, Peter. Hint Loan-dor Loan-dor U at heart of tho salt of the e-irtli. I told him about It all, nnd he asked to be given the commission to deal with tho mi n, lie has risen to lib post magnificently. I beard bint swear the wretches to secrecy, hint to them that he had n groat story to tell them. Thoy were frightened nud llstemsj. Ati'J .he poor little man' that we have so despised told them convincingly bow Jim bad niiido good bis escape. Kveu Henderson half believes we saved blm." Peter hoped that she would uccuse him of his half heurtedncss Indirectly If not openly. It would have inmla bis conscience more comfortable, and bis conscience troubled him sorely tonight. to-night. It was thut fatal habit of procrastination pro-crastination that had brought this thing about. He had hesitated all these weeks about Judith, and while ho bad thrashed out the pro and con of her disadvantageous family connection connec-tion this hideous tragedy had happened. hap-pened. "Peter" and now her eyes seemed to come back to earth again, to lose something some-thing of the faraway look of tho sleepwalker sleep-walker "Peter. I'm cruel to speak to you of these things now. When your heart Is full of your own happiness I come to you like n dark shadow with this tragedy Hut I am glad for the Peter cautjHt her tenderly In hi firmn nntl kltned her once. good that has eomo to you. Peter. Perhaps Per-haps Miss Colelirooke told you of the day I met her In the wood, tho day of the wolf bunt. She was so beautiful. I understood" To be continued |