The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-11-23

her feeling for him in the way she
called his name. The easy tenderness
Of the man av'oke. His senses swayed
to the magic Of her voice. the mystery
Of the y tsht, the shadow world in Which
they TWO, 'twixt earth and sky, were
alone. They rode without speaking.
! Peters hand sought hers, and all her
| Woinans terror of the desolation, her
tear OF tlc vague terrors Of the dread
full night, spoke in her answering pres
sure 1t was as if the desert had
given them to each other as they
CROPPED through the silent darkness. In
the great company of earth, sky, 81
lence and this great hearted woman
Peter grew conscious of a real thrill.
There were depths to life-vast. still
depths. This woman's unselfish love for
him made him realize them. He felt
his soul sweeping out Oh the great tide
Of things. Farther and farther it
swept. His patron saint, caution, beck
onlng frantically from the receding
shore, was miles behind "Judith" he
said, and he scarce recognized his own
voice. Judith He struggled as a
swimmer In a drowning clutch. Then
his patron saint threw him a life line
and he saved the situation.
"Judith!' he said, a third time. and
now he knew his voice.
"Look!"' she whispered. The sky had
lost its forbilding blackness. The
sharp notches Of the mountains, faint
" outlined in white, undulated through
an eternity of space. Venus hung in
the west, burning softly as a shaded
lamp The trail they climbed seemed
to end in her pale yellow light
Peter had saved the situation, but
the Wild beauty Of the night stirred in
Hlm that gift Of silvery speech that
was eve! bis tribute to the sex rather
than the woman. He bent toward Ju-
d1th. \ loosened strand of her hair
blew across his cheek. The breakneck
ride to kitty was already the madness
OF a dead and gone incarnation. He
pointed to the pale star and told her it
was the omen Of their destiny; the
formless blacEness through which they
had CROPPED was the way Of life, but
for such rs were not condemned to
eternal darkness Venus held high her
lamp. and they scaled the heights.
And Judith, listening, found her
heart a battlefield of love and hate
'Were women dogs. that men should
play with them in idle moods, caress
them and fling them out for ether
toys" she demanded of herself. even
While the tones Of his voice melted he1.
| lnnermost being to thankfulness for
this hour that be was wholly hers.
Gayly, with ready turns of speech
and snatches Of song trolled in his
musical baritone, Peter rode through
the night even as he rode through life
Sir Knight of the Joyous Heart, un-
brushed by the wing Of sorrow, loving
his pale griefs for the values they gave
the picture. And Judith understood by
reason of that exquisite perception that
was hers i'll all matters pertaining to
him and, knowing, only loved the more.
Peter put restraining hand on Dol
| Iy'S bride and called Judiths name,
and all the mountains made music of
it. The echo sang the old Hebrew
name as if it had been psalm. Peters
voice gave it to the mountains Joyous
~, but the mountains gave it back in
the minor. And Judith was reminded
OF the soft, singing syllables that her
mother in the Indian way had made of
her daughters Indian name. The re.
membrance tugged at her heart In
her JOY at seeing Peter she had for
gotten that the errand that had brought
her was an errand of life and death.
life and death for her brother!
But Peters ready enthusiasms press
ed him hard. Surely love making was
the business of such night "Ah, Jul
dlth, goddess of the heights, if I could
sing your name like the mountains.
would you love me little?'
For his pains he had a flash of white
teeth in smile that recalled his first
acquaintance with Kitty, the sort Of
smile one would give to a mice boy"
| when his maneuvers were a trifle OBJ
vious. "Not if you sang my name as
the chorus Of all the Himalayas and
the Rockies and Andes and with the
fire of all their volcanoes and the beau
ty OF their SHOWS and the strength of
all their hills, for it's not my way to
love little!''
lie bent toward her to brush her
cheek lightly, but Judith, who said lit
tie because she felt much, was in no
mood to brook such dalliance, and, urg-
ing the mare sharply, she cantered
down the divide at peril Of life and
limb. Peter, cursing the heavy footed
beast he rode, came stumbling after.
Judith rode wildly through the night,
leaving Peter laps behind to beseech,
to prophesy dire happening if she
should slip, and to scramble after as
best he might on the heavy footed
beast he repudiated with all his ances-
tors as oxen to the fourth generation.
But the woman kept her pace. She
had stern questions to put to herself,
and they were likely to have truer an
| swers if Peter were elsewhere than
| riding beside her. Whittier was he 60