El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-18
PAGES 9 TO u.

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else The tent swarmed with confused
crowd of faces, and he knew. l.. US
sitting there hemmed in by a E.a1 f
people, but they had no meGniro 70
him. He felt powerless to avoid she. -
| ing to her. He knew he should f2ez,1
| when they We're once alone
Now that he had spoken he fe,4 tr2t
he had misjudged either Rachel or to
| opportunity. He knew. or thougl,t lie
did, that she had begun to care FOX Inn
It was no secret between them that tia
heroine of Jasper's first novel had haeu
his own ideal of Rachel. and the hero
of the story was himself. and they ;ic.I
loved each other in the book and
Rachel had not objected. No one else
knew. The names and characters had
been drawn with a subtle skill that re-
vealed to Rachel, when she received
copy of the book from Jasper, the fact
of his love for her, and she had not been
offended. That was nearly year ago.
Tonight Jasper Chase recalled the
scene between them, with every infec-
ton and movement INCREASED from his
memory. He even recalled the fact that
he began to speak just at that point on
the avenue where a few days before he
had met Rachel walking with Rollin
Page. He had wondered at the time
what Rollin was saying.
''Rachel," Jasper had said, and it
was the first time he had ever spoken
her first name 81 never knew until to-
night how much I love you. Why
should I try to conceal any longer what
you have seen me look? You know
love you as my life. 1 can no longer
hide it from you if I would.
The first intimation he had of re-
fusal was the trembling of Rachel's arm
in his own. She had allowed him to
speak and had neither turned her face
toward him nor away from him. She
had looked straight on, and her voice
was sad. but firm and quiet. when she
spoke.
''Why do you speak to me now? I
cannot bear it-after what we have
seen tonight.
"Why--what' he had stammered
and then was silent.
Rachel withdrew her arm from his.
but still walked near him.
Then he cried out with the anguish
of one who begins to see great loss
facing him where he expected a great
joy.
'tRachell Do you not love me? Is
not my love for you as sacred as any
thing in all of life itself?'
She had walked on silent for a few,
steps after that They had passed a
street lamp. Her face was pale and
beautiful He had made a movement to
clutch her arm, and she had moved a
little farther from him.
t'No.' she had replied ''There was
time cannot answer for that. You
should not have spoken to me tonight.
He had seen in these words his an
swer. He was extremely sensitive.
Nothing short Of a joyous response to
his own love would have satisfied him
He could not think of pleading with
her
s'Some time, when I am more wor-
thy? he had asked in a low voice, but
che did not seem to hear. and they had
parted at her home. and he recalled
wildly the fact that no good night had
been said
Now. as he went over the brief but
significant scene. he dashed himself for
his foolish precipitancy He had not
reckoned on Rachel's tense. passionate
absorption of all her feeling in the
scenes at the tent which were so new
in her mind. But he did not know her
well enough even yet to understand the
of her refusal When the clock
in the First church steeple struck 1, he
was still sitting at his desk, staring at.
the last page of manuscript of his I'M
finished novel.
Rachel Winslow went up to her room
and faced her evenings experience with
conflicting emotions. Had she ever
owed Jasper Chase? Yes-no. One mo-
nent she felt that Ter life's happiness
was at stake over the result of her &C
ion: another, she had a strange feel
ng of relief that she had spoken as she
lid There was one great overmastering
ceiling in her. The response of the
vretched creatures in the tent to her
inging, the swift, awesome presence OF
he Holy Spirit. had affected her as
lever in all her life before. The mo-
nent Jasper had spoken her name and
he realized that he was telling her of
lis love she had felt a sudden revulsion
or him, as if he should have respected
he supernatural events they had just
witnessed. She felt as if it were not the
inc to be absorbed in anything less
han the divine glory of those CONVEX
ions. The thought that all the time
ne was singing with the one passion of
er sour cd touch the conscience or rnau
mt full of sin Jasper Chase had been
loved by it simply to love her for him
If gave her shock as of irrevererC,
1 her part as well as on his She corlI
IT tell why she felt as she did: on
10 knew that if he had not told he1 -
ght she would still have felt the ss,..a
ward him as she ALWAYS had
To be continued next Sat
rday. This famous story, the
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