The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1915-02-25
CHAPTER II.
The New Judith.

FROM sleep as from drugged sCupoT
Judith Trine awakened, struggling
back to consciousness like some ex-
hausted diver from the black depths
to the star-smitten surface Of a night
bound pool.
At first she could by no means rec
ognize her surroundings. This rude
chamber of rough plank walls and
primitive furnishings; this wide, hard
couch she shared with her still slum-
bering sister, Rose; the view revealed
by an open window at the bedside;
fair perspective of tree-clad noun
tains through which a wide-bosomed
canyon rolled down to an emerald
plain, conveyed nothing to her intel
ligence.
A formless sense of some epochal
change in the habits and mental proc
esses of a young lifetime, added to
her confusion.
What, indeed, had become of the
wild thing, Judith Trine of yesterday?
Surely she had little enough in com
mon with this Judith of today, in
whose heart was no more room for
envy, hatred, malice or any uncharit-
ableness, so full was it of love which,
though it was focused upon the person
of one man, none the less embraced
all the world-even her sister and
successful rival in that one mans af-
fections.
This change had not come upon her
without warning. She had been al
most insensibly aware of its advent
through the gradual softening of that
old Judith's hard and vengeful nature
in the course of the last few days.
But now that the revolution was ac-
complished, she hardly knew herself
she hardly knew the world, indeed,
so differently did she regard it-not
without something of the wide-eyed
wondeTment of a child to find all
things so new and strange and beauti-
full.
And this was the work of Love!
Now the chain Of memories was
quite complete, no link lacking in its
continuity. She recalled clearly every
incident that had marked the slow
growth of this great love she had for
Alan Law, from that first day, not yet
a month old, when he had escaped the
fiery deathtrap she had set for him
and repaid her only by risking his life
anew to save her from destruction,
down to this very morning when the
stream from a hydraulic nozzle had
swept over the brink Of three hun
dred-foot precipice crimson racing
automobile containing two desperate
men bent upon comprising the death
of her beloved.
BY that act of sheer self-defense
the world was richer for the loss OF
two black-hearted blackguards, and
Alan Law might now be considered
safe from further persecution-since
there now remained not one soul loyaI
enough to Seneca Trine to prosecute
his private war of vengeance against
Alan. And though that aged mono
maniac had means whereby he might
purchase other scoundrels and cor
rupt them to his hideous purposes
Judith was determined that he should
never again have any opportunity sc
to do. Though Alan, she knew, would
never lift his hand to hinder hel
fathers freedom of action, she, Judith
meant to take such steps as his perse
cution called for If there were any
justice in the land-if there were any
alienists capable Of discriminating be
tween Trine's apparent sanity and his
deep-rooted manfa--then surely no
many days more should pass into his
tory without witnessing his consign
ment to an institution for the crimi
nal insane.
She, Judith, would see to that, anc
then
The woman sighed once more.
Then Rose and Alan would marry
and live happily ever after
But what of Judith?
She made a small gesture of resig
nation to her destiny. What became
Of her no longer mattered, 80 that
Alan were made happy in such hap
piness as he coveted.
And now the thought stirred her
sharply that what was to be done
must be done quickly, if at all.
And the almost level rays of the
declining sun, striking in through the
open window, counseled haste if Judith
we're to accomplish her intention oi
leaving this place and finding hel
father again before nightfall
With the utmost care she rose from
the bed, crept to the door of the room
(now recognized as the quarters of the
foreman of the hydraulic mining out
tit and out into the room adjoining
And there, pulling the door to gently
behind her, she paused and for many
minutes stood in tensestrung contem
plation of the man she loved-Alar
Law, asleep in chair beside table
his head pillowed on his folded arms
This was leave.taking between then
and he would never know.
Far better so: Judith felt she coulC
not trust herself to say farewell t
him without breaking down and con
Tossing the utter wretchedness tina
threatened to overwhelm her eacl
time she forced herself to face tn,
thought that this parting must b.
final