Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-01-11
CHAPTER Y.
II any man serve me. let him follow me.

pT1N-.rS anl taking WITH a iIILle SIOup
Of converty that, il the great expert
ence Of their new life, clung to the
evangelist with a personal helplessness
that made 1t as impossible for him to
leave them as if they had been depend
ing upon him TO save them from phys
lcal death Among these converts was
Rollin Page.
Virginia and her uncle had gone
home about II O'Clock, and Rachel and
Jasper Chase had gone with them as
Ear as the avenue whore Virginia lived
DR.. West had walked on a little way
with them to his own house, and Rachel
and Jasper had then gone on together
to her mother =.
That was httIs after 4. It was
now striking midnight, and Jasper
Chase sat in his room staring At the pa
pers on his desk and going Ovor the last
half hour with painful persistence.
He had told Rachel Winslow Of his
love for her. and she had not given her
love in return.
1t would be difficult to know what
was most powerful in the impulse that
had moved him to speak to her tonight.
He had yielded to his feelings without
any special thought Of results to him
self because he had felt SO certain that
Rachel would respond to his love for
her. He tri 4 to recall now just the i'm
preston she made on him when he first
SPOKE to her.
Never had her beauty and her strength
influenced him as tonight. While she
was singing he saw IT. heard DO one
else. The tent swarmca with confused
crowd Of faces, ANA H. knew h. was
sitting there hemncd in by a mob Of
people, but they had no meaning to
him. He felt powerlea5 TO avoid speak
ing to her He knew he should speak
when they were once alone.
Now that he had spoken he felt that
he had misjudgod either Rachel or the
opportunity He knew, or thought he
did, that she had begun to care for him.
1t was no secret between them that the
heroine of Jasper first novel had been
his own ideal Of Rachel, and the hero
of the story was himself, and they had
loved each other in the book. and
Rachel had not objected. No one else
knew. The names and characters had
been drawn with subtle skill that re-
vealed to Rachel, when she received Il
COPY Of the book from Jasper, the fact
of his love for her, and she had not been
offended That was nearly a year ago
Tonight Jasper Chase recalled the
scene between them, with every lnfiec-
ton and movement uncrased from his
memory. He evon recalled the fact that
he began to speak just ut that point on
the avenue where few days before he
had met Rachel walking with Rollin
Page. He had wondered Mt the time
what Rollin was saying.
"Rachel, Jasper had said, and it
was the first time he had ever spoken
her first name, II never knew until to-
night how much | love you. Why
should / try to conceal any longer what
you have seen me look? You know |
love you rs my life, | can no longer
hide it from you if / would.
The first intimation he had Of a re
fusal was the trembling OF Rachel g 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
ga5 sad. but firm and quiet. when She
spoke.
"Why do you speak to me now?
cannot bear it--after what we have
seer tonight.
'Why-what" he had stammercd
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 great
joy.
"Rachell DO yOu not love me? II
not my love for you IA sacred rs any
thing in all Of life itselff"
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 movement 70
clutch her arm, and she had moved n
little farther from him.
"No, " she had replied. There was
n time cannot answer for that. You
should not have spoken to me tonight.
He had seen in these words his an
swcr He was extremely sensitive.
Nothing short Of a joyous response tc
his own love would have satisfied him.
He could not think Of pleading with
her.
"Some time when / am more wor-
thyH' he had asked in low voice, but
che did not seem to hear, and they had
parted Mt her home, and he recalled
vividly the fact that no good night had
been snid
Now, as hc went ever the brief but
significant scene, he lashed himself fOl
his foolish precipitancy. He had moi
reckOned on Rachel's tense, passionate
absorption Of all her feeling in th'
scenes at the tent which were 80 new
| in her mind. But he did not know hel
well enough even yet TO understand the
meaning Of her refusal When the clocl
| in the First church steeple struck /, h'
was still sitting at his desk, staring a
the last page Of manuscript Of his un
| finished novel
Rachel Winslow went up to her room
AID faced her evenings experience will
conflicting emotions. Had she eve
| loved Jasper Chase? Ycs-nO. One mo
mcnt she felt that her lifes happines
was at stake over the result of her ac
| ton; another, she had n strange feel
ing Of relief that she had spoken as sh
did. There was one great ovcrmasterinl
feeling in her The response Of tn
wrctched creatures in the tent 10 he
| singing, the swift, awesOme presence o
the Holy Spirit, had affected her n
never in all her life before The mo
ment jasper had spoken her name an
she realized that he was telling her q
his love sho had felt sudden rcvulsioi
for him. as if no should have respects
tho supernatural events thoy had jua
witnessed She felt rs If it were not Tn
time to be absorbed I'm anything les
than the divine glory Of those conver
sions The Thought that all the tim
she was singing with the one passion {
her soul tC touch the conscience Of tha
tent fun Of siu Jasper Chase had bee
moved by il simply 10 love hcr for hin
self gave her n shock ~ Of irrevcrcnC
on her part as well ~ on his She coul
not tell -hy she folt MS she did onl
sho knew that If he had not told her e
night she would slill huyo felt tho sam
toward him as she always had.
What was that fccling2 What ha
ne been To herr Had aho made mi