White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1936-11-19
CHAPTER x-continued
fright by the Bobbs- Merrill Co.

"'All children born before matri |
mony are bastards by our law: and |
so it is of all children born so long
after the death Of the husband,
that. by the usual course of gesta-
ton, they could not be begotten by
him. But this being a matter of
some uncertainty, the law is not
exact as to a few days, forty weeks
being the time allowed. :"
"Now why in the world is Jesse
saying all that for up here in the
hollow with nobody around to hear
him but the mule and it's browsing
like a sleepy old judge on bench.
1t must be Jesse's law book"
Jesse went on, stumbling over
the unusual words:
"'But, if a man dies, and his
widow soon after marries again, and
child is born within such time,
as that by the course of nature it
might have been the child of either
husband; in this case he is said to
be more than ordinarily legitimate;
for he may, when he arrives to
years Of discretion, choose which
of the fathers he pleases.' !"
She could not see Jesse from
where she sat. What would he look
like in the role of orator? The inn
pulse to lay eyes upon him over
came her. She went little far
Their up the ridge overlooking the
hollow and climbed down the rock
behind a clump of redbud.
Jesse was standing under pine
tree before a moss-cOvered rock
which had broken away from the
cliff. He held the yellow bound
Blackstone in his left hand, point
ing with his right forefnger at the
page. tapping it for emphasis, and
making his voice vibrate with his
imitation of mountain lawyer cit
ing a point of law:
-. restraints upon marriage,
especially among the lower classes,
are evidently detrimental to the
public by hindering the increase OF
the people; and to religion and mo-
rality, by encouraging licentious-
ness and debauchery among the sim
gle of both sexes; and thereby de-
stroying one end of society and
government, which is concubitu
prohibere vago.'"
She was fascinated by his zeal
and the reality of the performance
but after he had halted in the pas
sage, stumbling seriously over the
Latin words, the illusion was bro
ken and she felt ashamed at the
thought of spying on Jesse from be-
hind bush and listening to some
thing not meant for her ears. She
would go down to him at once.
"But then. he will see by my face
and the direction / come from thai
have been listening. | will g
back and come across the field"
She climbed back up the rock, an(
went down the gully through tint
cleared space to the plowed tleld
and came down the young corn row
approaching Jesse directly race Z
face. He saw her coming, not Oils
pleased.
II looked for you at the sweet
potato patch" she said as greetlng
Il was just giving the mule
rest and got to looking at the pic
ture of Blackstone here ;"
He showed her the yellow-tinge
engraving of the enormous appear
ing man, solid and legal behind tn
ample contours of his ermine robe
under the careful twistings Of tn
curled fleece wig stood out tn
bushy black eyebrows, the big eye
that had faced with the confdenc
of knowledge and experience, judge
and juries.
.srhey wear funny clothes in ENG
land" Cynthia said.
He still kept his finger In tn
mage where he was reading.
"Have you read clear over there?"
.Na1l not exactly. Only l &C