JephthalTs Daughter: A Story of Patriarchal Times. By JULIA MACRUDER... ( ^nubatut uw iMt im mi H m: Bu»u :i So>i CHAPTER I. ieyfctUfc the Gileadite, had only one *fc.:d. • yuan* maiden named Nama tat and bond* her be bad neither son nmr daughter. Now, Jephihah was a mighty bu of raior and bis name was feared exceeding.?, albeit be bad a bean awaat kind and tender, and the rbsrf treasure at his heart was even the maiden N'amarab for he bad been father and mother and all ia all to the vat* child, whose other parent had dted and Vft her to the great soldier, a* the aole fruit at a happ? wedded lore, too early cat of by death As tha child grew into girlhood. It waa known to her. by comparing her father to tha other men she saw. that he was not as they: a gloom was ever an his fare, except when his eyes were upon her. and than, indeed, he would kiM Kamarah Her he watched aad ‘ended as ki* ail ia all. aad so great was his love and kindness to her that i»*f heart was knit to hi*, evea as hit to hern And in all the land there • a* no maiden so fair aad beautiful. ! Hey eyes were like cool stream* of lim ps* water, for riesraew* and for blue ness like the beavea above. Her skta fur whiteness was like the leaves of some little woodland flower oa which 1 tie son hath never shone, but which the gentle winds of shady place* have flawed aad kept cool Her hair won derful. soft and dusky, was like the brows loaves of the forest, mad when she shook it down it a rapped the slim *M»m of bar body round aad clothed her like s garment Her voice, when she spoke was ever sweet aad low as the rowing of the wood doves ia the te* sad whey she lifted it up. awd sang with the maidens that were her companions. It was for clearness, like the sky lark's . What wonder that Namarab was ua «o her father as the light of his eyes. 1 and that many young mm. strong and goodly to see looked upon her with favor and sought her to wife But of all these she would have none dis daining even to hear them speak aad saying only that her life aad service were her father's wholly, sad she de • aired the love and companionship of no a. an but him Whea be was at home, she never left his side; tempting his appetite w ith dainty duhe* a ben he was exhausted sad ia need of food. wn.ac him with her owa hands at table and bringing herself the fresh wafer for his ablution*, after which ■die would bend her head for hi* biest and then lift op her fare with a smile of radiance, good to cheer the weary man If It was his will to stay at home aad rest him from his streau ows exercise* of arms, she would sit beside him. and draw his great head down a pun her lap. and with her lit tle milk-white fingers ruffle or smooth the thick masses of his curly hair aad msfBibeftt board until abe coaxed him to steep. * What love do ! want more than lor abe would atk heraelf * Why mould I leave him desolate. to take up my life with another vho mnct ever be as a stranger to me compared to him who bath been my rompunkm and my friend my whole 1‘fe through? And where la another like unto kirn? In all tbe land there la not one who. be And when Jephthah would wake front alorp. abe would clasp and ellng to him. and be* him that they never obould be parted ‘Nay. my daughter. ' be would a» aver. ~it mwt not be that thou aacri Inetl thy youn* life for me for whom ph-oaurr la over I would have thee wedded to a good man who wU! cher tah tbee: and In aeeing thee happy and having thy children on my knee I aball know the beat Joy that la left for Then Samara h would weep and im plore him not to aend ber from him. anying that whot be pictured aa her lupplaraa to ber like tbe very fber of dmfk eo greatly did ake dread M Whereat ber father Jephthah would but mb. and say It would not be ao with ber one day. when the lord and mooter of bar heart should come He !• here." abe would any. Binging | her white arms about him. “there will be never any other.'* And Jephlhah would smile again and say only the one word ' Wait.** whereat Namarah would grow almost angry, and tears of veutlon would spring into her eyes. Then would Jephthah rouse himself and stand upright on his strong legs and lift her in his mighty arms as though she were still the little maid he used to toss and dandle, and hold her high above his head, and refuse to let her down from this unseemly alti tude until the break of her childish laughter had blown away her tears. CHAPTER IF. It happened one fair morning, when e*rth and sky seemed all to meet in a blessed promise of tranquility and peace, that Namarah stood in the midst of ber garden, with a small basket on he.* arm. from which she was scat tering grain to a flock of white doves, which, fluttering from far and near, tame to her feet and sank down there, a Moving mass of snowy plumage, from which her slender figure, clad in spot less white, rose up like a human ema nation from their pure loveliness of hue and outline. Her face and throat and hands were pure white, too. and a look of deep serenity was upon her. The sky above seemed not more still and placid. She raised her hand and put a few grains of the food into her mouth, and at the motion some of the doves were frightened and flew* up. with a whir ring noise, only to circle round and «ome back again and fall to nodding and dipping about for the grain at her feet. Presently one of the flock flew up and alighted on her shoulder, then another and another. Namarah opened her red lips and showed the dark grains held tight between her little white teeth; at which a pecking and fluttering began among the three tame doves, as she would offer her mouth first to one and then another. It was evidently a familiar game which all the participants enjoyed. Suddenly there was a great whirring and fluttering and the whole flock flew wildly off. and were out of sight be hind the trees, before Namarah. left quite alone, perceived the cause of their fright. A young man. taller even than Jephthah. her father, but with the ruddiness of youth and dawning manhood upon his beardless face, stood before ber. all in shining armor, on which the moving light danced and glinted. He had taken off his helmet, and sunlight kissed sunlight in the gold of his thick curls. And. behold, when Namarah turned and looked at him. a strange thing came to pass. Her white cheeks, which no one had ever seen other than calm and color less. were all at once suffused with pink, as if a rose had been suddenly placed beneath a piece of fair white cambric; and in that moment she be came a hundred times more beauti ful than she had ever been before. The young man colored, too. and bent his golden head, ms she said: • If this be the maiden. Namarah. thy father Jephthah hath sent me to ask of thee some pieces wl his armor that he hath need of.** “ Is he going into a fight?” the maid en asked, the rose disappearing from her cheeks. "Will he not see me. to say farewrell?” "There is. in truth, some danger of a fight.” the young man answered. “ for the times are troublous, and a mighty man like Jephthah must be ever ready; but his came is great and terrible, and in going forth to put down the enemy that hath so suddenly arisen. I think the report that thy fa ther Jephthah ieadeth the host w*ill be enough, and that there will lie no bloodshed But. maiden.” he added, more gently, seeing that her face look<>d still affrighted. "I pray thee have no fear for the safety of thy fa ther. I will even guard his body with my own.” And. as he spoke, he looked on her and loved her. Namarah met the look, and the trouble of her face grew deeper. She felt the disturbing power of that quiet gaze but all ber thought was for her father. "Maiden,” the young man mur mured. in a voice that bad a softened cadence, "already, even today, there hath been a surprise attack, and your father hath been in danger; but it please God that I should be near him. to protect him. as I could, and for this cause Jephthah. thy father, hath , choaen me to be his armor bearer, so that in future my place will be beside him; and 1 say but the truth when I teli tbee that I will protect his life with my own.” "But. truly.” said Namarah. “thou . art very noble, and life to thee is even also dear.” “Life would be dear to ice no longer maiden.*’ he made answer. ‘If i should look upon tby face to tell thee tbai I lived and Jephthah. thy father, was aimin'* Thl* time, when he spake the words "thy father.** it seemed unto the maid en that his voice dwelt upon them by the space of half a second. The idea glanced through her agitated mind like lightning but afterward she be thought herself of it. But now the young man spake again, and reminded her of his errand. “My lord Jephthah hath sent thee hia blessing through me.” he said, “and he prays thee to be of good cheer, and to dread no danger for him.” “I cannot choose but dread.” the maiden answered, as she walked be side him to the house, and led the way to where her father's armor lay. "Kay. but surely.** said the young m*n. full humbly, "thou wilt be a little comforted because of the promise 1 have given thee.” "Ay” said Namarah. ‘it doth com fort me much, and I thank thee from my very heart, but the thought of bat tie ever makes me tremble, although I am a soldier’s child. I pray thee, give my loving greeting to my father, and tell him I go at once to pray the God of Israel for his safety.” "Maiden. I also would be thought of in thy prayers,” the young man sa!eir goldsmiths in a pendant amid opal* and diamonds. She would be sure to call several times to watch the making of the ornament. It was as he expected. She came of ten. now for some trinket, now to criti cize the work upon her brooch, and on each occasion Waterhouse managed to find an excuse for conversation with her. She did not resent his pertinac ity. She seemed rather to welcome it. Waterhouse spent his days wondering how he might secure an invitation to call. He felt that the acquaintance was destined to be a serious matter with him. He could not trust himself to look in this woman’s eyes lest his ar dent admiration should offend her. When she held out her hand in greet ing and he took it within his own he could feel his heart fluttering within him. He confessed to himself that he was no longer sane. An enchanting madness was upon him. One morning all happened as he desired. Miss Bos well stood looking at a number of un set diamonds, and she held an exquis itely cut one in her hand. “We never seem to reach the end of our conversation,” she said laugh'ng inglv, holding the jewel up to enjoy^s fairy prisms. "I know,” he returned, enjoying the beauty of the white hand that played with the jewel. “Just as you become the most interesting, you go away. You will not even stop to finish the stories you have begun to tell me. What I suffer from these repulses to my curiosity it would be impossible to describe." She smiled at him frankly and It was evident that hidden under her careless words was a deep desire to see him and become better acquainted with him. “Are you never to be seen anywbere oiu^ide of this place?” she asked. “Why do you never follow me and in sist on hearing the conclusions to these uncompleted stories? Come, visit me in my own home and meet my people and talk under more peaceful circum stances.” “When may I come?" asked Water house, eagerly. “Tonight?” “No, no! Not tonight! Yon must appear indifferent to my invitation. It is not good form to be so precipi tate.” “Perhaps I may call this afternoon?" “If you do not exhibit better man ners you shall not be permitted to come at all.” *‘I shall be at your house tomorrow evening,” he replied, decisively. She went smiling, as if happiness had come to her, too. and Waterhouse, full of anticipating dreams, busied himself with rolling the diamonds in their bits of tissue paper and putting them away in the large leather port folo in which they were kept. But he had not proceeded far in his task when he realized that the finest stone of all—the one Miss Boswell had held up to the light while she noted its gleaming beauty—was missing. Water house searched everywhere about the place, though he had to do so surrepti tiously, for he was most anxious that the loss of the stone should not be come known. He guessed how quickly the men in the shop would jump to the conclusion that Miss Boswell was an adventuress, whose fascinating ways had cozened him. The house had cer tain turned-down pages of that sort in its history. But after the shop was closed he returned and by the searching light of the electric lamps hunted till nearly dawn. But it was useless. The jewel was gone. It was what was known as a “daylight’* diamond and of the most intricate cut. Its loss could not be concealed. It was considered one of the most attractive stones in the establishment, although not of great size. In the early forenoon W’aterhouse made his way to Miss Bosw'ell’s house. He determined to tell her of his trou ble. He would not in his most tortur ed moments admit she might have de ceived him and her beauty been a snare. But when he reached her house he was not admitted. The maid said that Miss Boswell had received a tele gram and been called suddenly to the Pacific coast. She did not know her exact address. Waterhouse no further attempted to learn it. He set his teeth hard and went to his employers and told them the whole story. “It does not seem possible that Miss Boswell can be responsible,” they said. “We must withhold our judgment, Mr. Waterhouse.” He thanked them from the bottom of his heart, but he knew that the sus h>icion would not die in Vn