The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1915-01-29
CHAPTER Iv-continued.

But she would not be denied. She
thrust 1t upon him and once his eyei
had fallen up 1t, they chung there
though evidently against his will. All
she knew that Reuther's exquisite
ccuntenance would plead for itself!
God seldom grants to such beauty sc
lovely spirit. If the features them
selves failed to appeal, certainly be
must feel the charm of an expression
which had already netted so many
hearts. Rreathlessly she watched him
and. as she watched, she noted the
heavy lines carved in his face BY
thought and possibly by sorrow
slowly relax and his eyes fill with q
wtstful tenderness.
Parents must learn to endure bit
terness. l have not been exempt my
self from such. Your child will moi
die. You have years of mutual com
partnership before you, while l have
nothing. And now let US end this in.
tarview. so painful to us both. You
have said"
NO." she broke In with sudden
7ehemence, all the more startling from
the restraint in which she had held
herself up to this moment, II have
not said-I have not begun to say
what seethes like consuming fire in
my breast. / spoke of miracle-will
you not listen, judge? am not wild;
am not unconscious Of presumption.
am only in earnest, in deadly ear
nest. A miracle is possible. The gulf
between these two may yet be
SPAWNED. / see way"
What change was this to which she
had suddenly become witness? The
face which had not lost all it's underly-
Ing benignancy even when 1t looked
its coolest, had now become settled
and hard. His manner was absolutely
repellent as he broke in with the quick
disclaimer:
But there is no way. What mir
acte could ever make your daughter,
lovely as she undoubtedly is, fitting
match for my son! None. madam, alb.
soiutely none. Such an alliance would
be monstrous; unnatural"
'Why?" The word came out boldly.
Because her father died the death
OF criminal"
The answer was equally blunt.
Yes; criminal over whose trial
his father presided as Judge"
nus ud 40 n.
cetoEt.
"A judge. however. who showed him
every consideration possible. was
told at the time and l have been as.
sured by many since that you were
more than just to him in your rulings.
Judge Ostrander"-he had taken a
step toward the hall door; but he
paused at this utterance of his name
answer me- this one question. Why
did you do this? You must have hated
him deeply-your feeling for Mr.. Eth
eridge was well known. Then why
such magnanimity toward the man
who stood on trial for killing him?'
Uraccustomed to be questioned,
though living In an atmosphere Of con.
dnuai yes and no. he stared at the
veiied features OF one who so dared. as
IL he found II hard to excuse such pre-
sumption. But he answered her new
erthe,ess, and with decided emphasis:
Possibly because his victim was
my friend and lifelong companion. A
Judge fears his own prejudices."
Possibly; but you had another rea-
son, Judge: q reason which justified
you IN your own eyes at the time and
which justifies you. In mine now and
always. Am / not right? This is no
courtroom: the case Is one of the past;
it can never be reopened; the pris-
oner is dead. Answer me, then, as one
sorrowing mortal replies to another.
hadn't you another reason?"
The Judge. panoplied though he was
or thought he was, against all conceiv-
able attack. WINGED at this repetition
OF question he had hoped to ignore,
and in his anxiety to hide this involun-
tary betrayal of weakness allowed his
anger to have full vent, as he cried out
Ia no measured terms:
What is the meaning of all this ?
What are you after? Why are you
raking up these bygones, which only
make the present condition Of affairs
darker and more hopeless? Oliver
Ostra1der, under no circumstances
and by means of no sophistries, can
ever marry the daughter Of John SEQ
vile. should think you would see
that for yourself"
but II John should be proved to
have suffered wrongfully? If he should
be shown to have been innocent?"
His rebuke was quick, instant. With
a force and earnestness which recalled
the courtroom he replied: