The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-01-31
CHAPTER XIX.
a NEW LIGHT,

I
A NEW LIGHT.
= , HEN Bess had changed her
" " not to accuse George she
went through a complete
transformation Of feelings. Her family
/ became. uppermost in her mind again.
That feeling had been bred ia her
/ for generations before she was born,
and her love for Jim had almost made
/ her forget It. She had been willing to
quarrel with them al, but now ii was
different.
/ She realized that it had been very
hard to her father to have his family
I dragged into the matter so prominent
T ~. and she realized, too, that George
was not a criminal. AS yet, she could
not think of the case without feeling
I that George knew something about II,
but she was perfectly sure that he had
not committed the crime, or had been
/ interested in Il except in an accidental
way.
Bess remained in the house the first
F day OF the trial She had yielded to
| her fathers persuasion and decided that
{ il would cause too much talk if she at
4 tended.
/ Tt was hard for her to stay away, and
stiU harder 20 remain in the house
alone with the flock Of thoughts that
rushed through her mind continually.
/ At noon when her father and brother
/ came home for lunch she did not ask
I them anything about the trial The
/ whole question was carefully avoided,
When they had gone back 10 the
court house her Cousin Tom came and
/ tried TO sympathize with her, but Bess
/ was too impatient. she left him and re-
/ turned 10 her room. She was not 81
/ the mood for sympathy, especially from
( Tom Griswold, whom everybody cited
as a moral example.
It was too painful TO think OF how
/ good he was and how bad people now
/ thought Jim TO be
/ AT about George rushed ia. Bess
! knew from his face and agitated man
/ ner that he had left the court on &C
/ count of personal feeling. She ques-
toned him. but he affected an indiffer-
/ ence. and Immediately went out driv-
/ ing with his new horse.
AT night, when her father came home,
/ there was nothing said about the trial
I for an hour or more.
Then Bess suggested:
"WM the trial take very long. father?"
.
row. There isn't much evidence 10 be
brought out hope for your sake that
. it win be over tomorrow"
why for my sake?" asked Bess
/ wonderingly.
+ Because your name comes up all the
way through the case. That lawyer
Of the young scouudreI seems to w Mt
/ to hide behind your petucoats. He
/ keeps throwing up things about you.
F COufOuud TT I can't stand IT,"
+ Bess could not understand why she
T should figure ia the trial but from
/ her fathers frritability she knew tat
I her name must have been mentioned
/ several times II her father had only
/ told her more honestly he would have
I said that the States attorney was the
/ lawyer who kept bringing up the elope-
I ment.
/ But Mr. Brown was so savage in his
/ hatred for Jim and his lawyer that he
/ blamed Fl all upon them.
! Bess thought OF this new fact all that
( night She ccs'5 not believe that Jim
would try 10 shelter himself by the use
OF her name But her fathers anger
must have been caused by something
OF that nature. and she could only
wonder.
The next noon. when he came home.
le was boiling over with rage and ours
ing Jim and his lawyer for bringing his
family particularly his Bess, into the
+ case AS "a matter of fact. ic was the
States attorney again VINO was re-
/ sp0usiDle for the publicity that day.
But the banker could not see that he
was at faults he blamed it all on Jim.
and almost made Bess feel that her
lover was trying 20 shield himself be-
hind her In order 90 get the jury to dis
agree.
u wasn't that she doubted him so
much, but she knew little of law. and
thought -Hat possibly the lawyer naL
convinced Jim tfat the only course
open u1 him was t0 bring in Bess' name
iu the nope OF "a jury disagreement
All afternoon she DroJdcd over it, 10
was not right for her 10 make her
whole family and lbs old name suffer
iu this way ii Jim or his lawyer were
taking advantage of g., IL was cowardIy
Then her father came home after the
trial was all over.
The blow was not s0ltened for her
bit Her father told her brutaliy
that Jim had got what DE deserved.
Then the banker launched into a TRADE
about Jim's last request.
"Bess" he said. 81 was right You
were wrong. AT the last minute that
young criminal and his Iewyer sought
20 make capital out Of you. and got the
date OF execution postponed by working
On the court with your name"
Father, you don't mean it,' cried
Bess, her nerves already wrought up 10
the highest tension by the news Of Jlm'z
fate.
yes" continued the banker hotIy.
''Itaey bawled out your name through
out the whole courtroom, they worked
on public sympathy by showing your
love for that degenerate criminal. Bess,
If you had been there you would have
hated the man who once dared 10 love
YOU
lie worked BeEs up 20 a great pitch OF
emotion. She could not doubt him. She
did not know what 10 do
George came IN and with a growI re-
psated the gossip ne had heard in the
Ufffave AMT Now #ha ola ~