Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-03-12


did, that she had begun to care for him
1t was no secret between them that the
heroine of Jasper's 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 a subtle skill that re-
vealed to Rachel when she received a
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 inhec
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. I can no longer
hide it from you if would
The first intimation he had of re-
| fusal was the trembling Of Rachel 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.
'tWhy do you speak to me now? I
cannot bear it-after what we have
seen tonight. .
s'Why-what''- he had stammered
and then was silent.
Rachel withdrew her arm from his,
but still waszed near him.
Then he cried out with the anguish
Of one who begins to see a great loss
facing him where he expected q great
! joy.
"Rachell 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.
emo she had replied. ''There was
a time-I 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.
''Some time, when I am more wor-
thy?'' he had asked in a low voice, but
she 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 RacheIs 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
meaning Of her refusal. When the clock
in the First church steeple struck l. he
was still sitting at his desk, staring at
the last page of manuscript OF his I'M
finished nova.
Rachel Winslow went up to her room
duu 1dC6u UGI CIV CIlIlS . tx DSI1CIlCO Will
conflicting emotions. Had she ever
loved Jasper Chase? Yes-no. One mo- /!
ment she felt that her life's happiness |
was at stake over the result of her &C |
ton; another, she had a strange feel !
ing Of relief that she had spoken as she |
Gid. There was one great Overmastering |
feeling in her. The response of the |
Wretched creatures in the tent to her !
singing, the swift, awesome presence of
the Holy Spirit, had affected her as
never in all her life before. The mo-
ment Jasper had spoken her name and
she realized that he was telling her of
his love she had felt sudden revulsion
for him, as if he should have respected
the supernatural events they had just
witnessed. She felt as if it were not the
time to be absorbed in any thing less
than the divine glory of those CONVEX
sions. The thought that all the time
she was singing with the one passion of
her soul to touch the conscience of that
tent full of sin Jasper Chase had been
moved by it simply to love her for him
self gave her shock as of irreverence
on her part as well as on his. She could
not tell why she felt as she did only
she knew that if he had not told her to-
night she would still have felt the same
toward him as she always had
What was that feeling? What had
he been to herx Had she made mis-
take? She went to her bookcase and
took out the novel which Jasper had
given her. Her face deepened in color
as she turned to certain passages which
she had read often and which she knew
Jasper had written for her. She read
them again. Somehow they failed to
touch her strongly. She closed the book