The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-09-02

marshes with their rusty vegetation
fhesr black pod. and fitting logs
She wns coming 70 them DoE. for
t~r Path lay along their border and
soers she was beside them. and drsE
long breath, fnhelEDg the fresh OCEAN
air with IL bray sfEseif She looked
ont to seq. where luminous glow
along the horizon c1Enn1eM0r2ted the
going down Of the SIN, and sziilen
fsesaste above pres2eed the gathering
81 the storm She b1pesa With tees-
inx 81 pity new 20 her. that y might
be efs1r for an boar or two OF the
sssorroz. that the bzrSal Of the Elite
child might rot he made dreartsr oF
riogdssf skies ard q drTFfag ra1rt-
Sot Tar away. on she marsh. surround
81 ~ broad pools which reflected the
distant glow il the SKY. she saw the
tan chimney II steam derrick and &
sox. bzFge-Iike shape that seemed 20 be
anchored ia the mud. She did not
give berself fnuch time - speculate
nrw Night was fast falling. and q
little ahead She saw the tiny brook she
sought. But think En0snentl Was
il the right place
She hesitafesi for an instant in
doats and pcrpiezsty, tisen locked
auiekiv about 10 determine her be4r-
fngx 81 s0Tae familiar landmarks
There On the bluff was the square 0ut-
lines Of her old home. isst visible
against the sky. and there, OIL 70 the
right. FAR beyond. were the harbor
ligfsts. Just > little further on, then
sharp turn to the left. a climb up the
roeks 10 the little bench that lay be-
tween the bluffs and shore. and sac
wsuia tini the dowerS. she pressed
harriesily on TO gain the place before
il should be wholly dark. She knes a
way up the bluffs, a steep and winding
path. bg which she could gain the
lighted upper street when she was
done. II oaIy she could find the flow
ers. the dewy spring flowers. with
theft faint. sweet odor and their fresh,
shel;ering leaves Al worldly
thoughts seemed 70 fall away from
her. the weight OF disappointment and
care was lifted from her heart, and she
felt like an eager child. bent on her
quest.
But what was this-she solid ground
giving way beneath her feet. every step
taking her DEE per, into boit0H1iesS
ooxe. her feet drawn down and held a.
II by Ieaden weights This was not
The way ID used 10 be along the banks
Of the little brook. In moment the
full horror OF the situation flashed
upon her. Deceived BY the dim light,
or rendered careless hy her wandering
thoughts, she had strayed further from
the town than she had supposed, and
what she had mistaken for the little
brook was really an estuary OF the sea,
bordered by treacherous bogs, pot
ton Of the great waste OF tide land
which the company were seeking TO
reclaim. Quick and sharp came other
recoIleetions. She remembered that
children had been lost there while at
play. She remembered that every
nov and then some man or woman
had mysteri0usly disappeared from
sight and knowledge and il had been
whispered about that they had been
last seen walking aleng the border
OF the tidelands. But these were
people OF the lower classes, about
whom the Yanderpools had given
themselves little concern. she
remembered now-ah, how sharply.
that she had read with a curling lip
that portion OF the young engineers
argument before the harboF commits
sioners when he was pleading for per
mission to so on with his work, where
in he had advanced as one of his
strongest pleas, that many lives would
be saved by the completion of the
enterprise And now she, Judith
yanderpool, the last Of her name. was
about Co succumb 10 this unheroic
destiny. IL was better so. She would
have chosen this very way OF death,
II she might She had been tortured
by one dread, over and over again
during these years of poverty and
privation, and she gave little hys-
terical laugh a. she rendered il now.
ii she had broken down and died in
the midst OF her unsuccessful struggle
she had not the wherewithal TO buy
her funeral shroud. Now no one
would know, no one would care.
Oh, the terror of IL, Not death.
MANY we're there who would know her
aud greet her gladly; father, mother,
brother. friends OF her childhood
only friends she had kept. But that
last thought. To drop out and never
be missed; 20 leave behind her not
human being who would care. Why
should she grieve over it nowg She
had, OF her own viii, separated herself
from all human interests: she had
never cared for human companionShip
or love.
But, oh God, she did care. She
knew il now. Face to face with this
terrible and lonely death she had come
| 20 a knowledge OF herself. Nursing
her foolish pride and family traditions,
| measuring all the world by false stand
ards, she had wronged herself most of
all. What was il that so touched her
| in the humble home she had just left,
breaking down the barriers OF her own
reserve. drawing her on and out Of
herself, until she longed to claim some
little part In it7 What was il but the
glad and sacred atmosphere Of pure
family Affection
oh, her life had been empty. empty
| And the one human love that she
might have had-She knew il now
would have made her a happy woman.
she had scornfully rejected. oh, il
she could only live her life over. il she
could but take up its tangled threads
| again with cleared vision and ham
hled heart
Ii was then that she sent up her
first and only cry for help. Hitherto
| she had been silently resigniug herself
TO death With calmness and dignity
boiitting a NandcFpoo.. Now pro-
lenged and mournful cry went out
over the marshes, which startled the
| seagulls, which rolled and wheeled
aimlcssly about against the darkening
skv. The cry was taken up and an
swered far out on the marshes. There
was a sudden oommotion about the
barge. lanterns flashed outside, and
by their light she could see dark forms
moving about But shc-she was sink
! inr sinking
/ When she came Ia herself she was in
her own little room. Itwas very quiet
aud comfortable Her landlady fitted
/ in an ont. with a look Of honest con
Germ on her careworn face SO the
! world was not so hard. after all She
the Gopgon seemed glad that her
delinquent iodgeT was alive and said
no word about the rent overdue.
Somebody had pulled the lounge ON
which she Law M to the stove, and
there was a FIRE there. the first for
many weeks. for her own fuel had
given cat in February. and she had
been freezing ever since freezing
heart and body And what WAS that
brewing ON the stowe, that sent such a
delicious fragrance through the room ?
Now my dear, said the 6orgon.
pouring something into a clumsy
esrihen cup, and handing il to her
isftfss s...ft L. sf.fs ems. SO sd,fa..