Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1925-01-09

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Unseen.
ly, to lie smouldering on the rocky
soil, the outstanding trunk glowed,
vivid against the skyline.
In the early morning at least two
pairs of eyes found the plume Of
smoke above the still burning giant
pine. A man named Greene, one Of
the government forest rangers, blaz-
ing a new trail over Devils ridge,
came out upon a height, saw 1t and
watched it frowningly across the miles.
1t called him to hard ride, perhaps
to a difficult journey on foot after he
must leave his horse. He turned
promptly from the work in hand, ran
to his horse, swung up and sped back
to his cabin, to telephone to the near
est station, passing the word. Then
with ak and shovel he began his slow
way toward the beacon.
Bud Lee, from the mOuntain-top
where he and Burkitt had taken
Hampton saw 1t. Lee judged rough
ly that 1t was separated from him by
four or five miles of broken country,
be covered laboriously on foot in
matter Of weary hours.
Lee and Green approached the sig
nal smoke from different quarters, Lee
from the west, Green from the north
east They fought their way on to-
ward 1t with far different emotions
in their breasts. Greene with the de-
sire to do a days work and kill
forest fire in it's beginning, Lee with
the passionate hope Of finding Judith.
Lee reached his journeys end first.
AS he came pantingly up the last
climb he discharged his rifle again
and again, to tell her that he was
coming, to put hope into her. And,
because he was a lover and a lover
must be filed with dread when she
is out of his sight, he felt a growing
anxiety. She had lighted the fire last
night; what might have happened to
her since then? Had she been wan
dering, lost all these days? If moth
ing else, then had she waited here
half the night and In the end had she
gone on plunging deep into some can
yon hidden to him? Would he find
her we'll? Would he find her at all?
Suddenly he called out, shouting
nightly, and began running, though
the way was steep. He had seen Ju-
dith, he had found her. She was
standing among the scattered boulders,
her back to a great rock. She was
waving to him. Her lips were NOV
ing, though he could not see that yet.
could not hear her tremulous:
"Oh, thank God, thank God"
Judith" he called, Judith :"
Now, near enough to see her dis
tinctly, he saw that her face was
white, that the hand she held out was
shaking, that her clothes were torn,
that she looked pitifully in need Of
him. But at last, when he stood at
her side, one Of the old rare smiles
came into Judith's tired eyes, her lips
curved, and she said quietly:
Good morning, Bud Lee. You were
very gO0d-f0 come TO me.
"Oh, Judith" he cried sharply. But
no other word came to his lips then.
The brave little smile had gone, the
whiteness of her face smote him to
the heart. And now she was shaking
from head to foot, and he knew why
she had not stepped out to meet him.
why she had kept her back to the
rock. He thought that she was go
ing to fall, he saw two big tears starr
from the suddenly closed eyelids, and
with a little inarticulate cry he took
her into his arms.
IF you had not come, Bud Lee, I
she whispered family, Il should have
died, I think"
Very tenderly he gathered her up
so that her little boots were swung
clear of the flinty ground and she lay
quiet in his arms. He stood a mo-
ment holding her thus, looking with
eyes alternately hard and tender into
her face. He wanted to hold her thus
always, to watch the glad color come
back into her cheeks, to carry her,
like baby, back across the weary
miles and home. And, oddly, per-
haps, the thought came back to him
and hurt him as 1t had never hurt him