The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1920-07-30
THE GREEN JADE
A ROMANCE OF THE DESERT By Lulu L. Bridges
By Lulu L. Bridges

I her present husband.
| Now, even the stone is not half 81
cold as she or l.
And then l found a gold brown ona
which reflected the strands of another
chum's hair.
| Next, violet tint was vivid re
minder of life long friend ,uneffusive
but true, whose one beauty lay in he1
violet eyes.
| Soon, a cold black jewel whether a
quartz charred in some volcanic cal
dron or a polished besalt, | am moi
geologist enough to decide, attracted
my attention. AS it lay in my hand
this somber stone seemed to meta.
morphosize, and a silver plate: AT
Rest-spoke not of my heart as gaZed
for the last time upon lips that had
been mine. Yes, this stone was he,
beautiful even under the black wings
of death-and this stone alone was
silent to my touch, yet l clasped it
more tightly than the rest and held il
longer.
Thus life's past came surging back
as l wandered in the bend of the river.
And as touched each stone, like the
murmur of a cone shell, whispers OF
| friendship and love, voices of kindness
or reproach, spoke and echoed in my
inner mind.
So fraught with life had become
these desert sands that l planned to
come day after day, as devotee would
go to a medium to converse with their
dead. But another feeling also pos
sessed me-a feeling of insufficiency;
an idea that my rainbow lacked yet
a color, the spectrum of my heart
showed an incompleteness. What was
| it? I could not so much as guess
Thus my conscious self would reason.
Reason? With what? With whom?
To whom or what do we address our
inner thoughts in hours when we
struggle with the decisive battles OF
life? Is it not that at last our con-
scious faculties are overpowered anG
a giant rises from the hidden recesses
If our little known subconscious selves,
and moves the pen or causes the lips
IN NIT hn fat ri
act dynamic? 1t must be so, for in
that very moment stopped and picked
up the only ugly stone had yet found
1t had no lustre but instead an
unctuous feel. No prismatic crystal
liZation or even rounded form made
up for its lack of color beauty. 1t had
not and could not take polish.
had added, guided by within or I'M
discovered force a plain green jade.
Long I revealed in the companion
ship of my fetiches until nature intro
duced the evil spirit of the desert
Thirst. By now it was past the noon
hour and hunger added fatigue. Has
tily, l started for home, calling my
faithful dog upon whom the desert
held no charm but who shared with
me both the thirst and the hunger.
When l enteed the main road and
toiled up the foot hills, heard behind
me the labored strokes of a motor
Its presence was so incongruous, l
thoughtlessly turned and stared. In
stantly, it stopped beside me, and the
lone occupant of the car almost gruffly
babe me ride. Despite his rather I'M
kept appearance, his unshaven face
and the dust covered clothing, some.
thing inspired confidence in him.
AS yet 1 was unaccustomed to the
lack of unconventionalities and dit
ferences of social customs which
makes the west so unlike the east
While my fatigue argued with nv
sense of propriety, l stood mute, until
my unknown companion with a hurry
consistent with his general bearing
leaped to the ground and almost lifted
be into the seat beside him. | locke
at him in wounded amazement; my
terrier growled; yet l was not afraid
The grip of his hand on my arm gave
me mental impression of a stron3
man, an uncut gem that had worth
but not polish, begetting both repug-
dull and through the desert dust as
| they searched my face and figure,
caught CLINT of green. l drew away,
but not in fear l was glad to think
the journey home would be short. Our
conversation was broken, his consist
ing of questions bordering on the i'm
pertient, mine on monosyllables ut
tered in none too kindly tone.
When we reached the summit of the
mountain, with sudden motion of the
wrist, he swung the car to the left.
l pointed to my home. For the first
time he smiled. 1t was like the sun
shine and calm following a storm.
Letting the lever almost to the last
notch we sped over the crest of the
mountain and though the experience
was peculiarly unconventional, I felt
half willingness to go on. Mile after
mile we sped until I began to be the
questioner, he the user of monosyl-
tables. l pleaded to return. Persua.