The Project Gutenberg EBook of Judith Of The Plains by Marie Manning

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Title: Judith Of The Plains

Author: Marie Manning

Release Date: April 2005 [Ebook #15573]

Language: English

Character set encoding: US-ASCII

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JUDITH OF THE PLAINS***

Judith Of The Plains
By Marie Manning

Harper & Brothers Publishers
New York And London

Copyright, 1903. By Harper & Brothers

Printed In The United States Of America

[Image #1]

Peter's Hand Sought Hers, And All Her Woman's Fear Of The Vague Terrors Of
The Dreadful Night Spoke In Her Answering Pressure--See p. 154.

CONTENTS

"Town"
The Encounter
Leander And His Lady
Judith, The Postmistress
The Trail Of Sentiment
A Daughter Of The Desert
Chugg Takes The Ribbons
The Rodneys At Home
Mrs. Yellett And Her "Gov'ment"
On Horse-thief Trail
The Cabin In The Valley
The Round-up
Mary's First Day In Camp
Judith Adjusts The Situation
The Wolf-hunt
In The Land Of The Red Silence
Mrs. Yellett Contends With A Cloudburst
Foreshadowed
"Rocked By A Hempen String"
The Ball

JUDITH OF THE PLAINS

I

"Town"

It was June, and a little past sunrise, but there was no hint of early
summer freshness in the noxious air of the sleeping-car as it toiled like
a snail over the infinity of prairie. From behind the green-striped
curtains of the berths, now the sound of restless turning and now a
long-drawn sigh signified the uneasy slumber due to stifling air and
discomfort.

The only passenger stirring was a girl whose youth drooped under the
unfavorable influences of foul air, fatigue, and a strained anxiety to
come to the end of this fateful journey. She had been up while it was yet
dark, and her hand--luggage, locked, strapped, and as pitifully new at the
art of travelling as the girl herself, clustered about the hem of her blue
serge skirt like chicks about a hen. The engine shrieked, but its voice
sounded weak and far off in that still ocean of space; the girl tightened
her grasp on the largest of the satchels and looked at the approaching