The Falls City tribune., 1909-10-15
THE JUDGES
LOVE

lighted nail III the city or MlnneapO-
lis. Judge Robert Underwood paused
in his walk through the crowded ba-
Ear and. glancing in the direction or
the voice. saw just before him a pet
lily drapoI tent with a trio OF palm
lists plying their art.
The speaker, Of whom nothing was
visible save IA pair of large brown
eyes, the rest of her figure being
carefully shrouded in lace, so ar
ranged as to conceal all identity. gave
him an earnest look in which he
fancied for a moment a CLEAN of
recognition dawned. But the eyelids
dropped as he drew near, and seat
ing himself at the little table he e6.
tended his shapely hand.
Your life" began tie palnIist, lis
a long and successful one; you have
overcome difficulties by a strong will
and indomitGble energy, and are now
wealthy. prominent and beloved. Am
bition prompted you to marry a lady
OF wealth and station, but death
eiaime6 her after a few years; .
have never filled her place. but often
fbh ~ iOi'tA hiIh Nv hi'iicI VI a.
hovish first love m back 20 you.
and the brown-haired girl you left
sobbing In the distant eastern state.
as the train bore you away 10 seek
your fortune, brings a pang of regret.
She waited long for him who never
came, but mark ye, sir. you will meet
again. Within IA twelve-month she will
pecome your bride, and the best
var of YOU life are vet = come
In the library of his beautiful home
that pifht he gave himself up In the
memory of his first love, sweet Alice
Holden. How dear she had been until
ambition had driven Der image from
his mind Twenty years aeo. and now
he was a man of 40, a wellpreseryed
man, with only a touch of gray show
ing at the temples. and Alice was five
years younger. Only a slip of a girl
when he had left her, a woman of IS
now.
q will find her he said, "and if
she is nee she shall be mine"
Two days later saw the judge
speeding back to his native town.
where he found only a few of his boy
hood friends remaining. From these
he learned that Alice. upon The death
of her parents, had left the country |
village to earn her living as a teacher
in a western seminary, NJ one could
tell him where.
The week that followed was a busy
one. Returning n night from a day
spent at court, as he stepped from an
uptown car, a pocketbook slipped ap.
parently unnoticed from its owner
and fell at his feet. The car sped on,
and. STOPPING, he tucked it in an in
ner pocket. mentally resolving to adj
vertise it on the morrow. He dis
missed it from his mind until later
in the evening. in dressing gown and
slippers. he opened the pretty trife.
II was Of Russian leather, and a
bill of small dimensions. some silver
coin and an old-fashioned photograph
met his gaze. Idly he glanced at the
pictured face. then with an exelama.
ton of amazement he sprang to his
feet and looked again. 1t was his
own smooth, boyish face.
Unable to believe his eyes, he
turned the card over, and there. in
his W handwriting were the words,
Robert to Alice-Mizpah.' Alice,
sweet Alice; my first love" whis-
pered the Judge. Il have found you.
Fate has been kind to me"
On the lining of the pocketbook
was printed in small gilt letters Alice
Holden, the Thorndike, Radcliffe ter
race. The next morning the judge
boarded a car and sped on through
the great city out beyond. where COM
raratiye quiet reigned. He found the
Thorndike to be a modest apartment
house, His heart stood still; his
quest was ended. but how would he
be received after all these years? He
would soon know, for he advanced
and knocked.
A sweet feminine voice bade him
enter. and the judge never forgot the
picture that met his gaze. A simple
room in its appointments. but how
homelike! Plants blooming in the
windows. a bird singing In its cage,
bright eolored mats. a writing desk,
a bookcase, and there. sitting before
an open fire. was the love of his
youth, brown-eyed. brown.haired, the
same fair cheeks and red lips. only
more lovely. The girl had matured
into a most beautiful woman.
Alice" he cried, Il have come
back to you"
The woman, who had risen,
stretched out both hands in greeting.
The hour that followed was a happy
one; each had much to relate, and at
its close the man pleaded humbly for
the love that now meant so much to
him.
Let the future years prove my de-
votion,' he said. and she whispered,
with trembling lips;
II have loved but you"
Fate has been very kind to me-"
he said later; fate in the form of a
palmist and a pocketbook."
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