J

THE GREEN JADE

By Lulu L. Bridges

A ROMANCE OF THE DESERT

This is a story of facts. I am coa sidered civilized 1 have the outward appearance of modern -efinemcntI have learned ratio and projiortlon in an exclusive college and disprove*! them at Monte Carlo: 1 have appeared before clubs with papers of philanthropic subject and misantheapie sub stance. 1 have spent days sluimninc in the name . f charity and nights acting in the nam? of society. Like an uncharttred sattelite, 1 have swung round the world in a path that fr.des as fast as i move, recognized only by the phosphorence «.f my Jeweu and the nebula of my voiles and pon gees. But. despite all this, savagery is my heritage. The call of the trackless seas and sandj lonliness stirs m> heart more than all the idle chatter of wearied and wearying gentility. This innate inheritance I can account for only by analyzing myself as a Hybrid freak. Wizards of plant and animal-kind have long ago proven the law of thBrinn monk, that nature preserves the characteristics of parentage scientific accuracy through countless generations. The best of the breed show the colorings emphasized or the fleecf elongated cr silvered; others display the weakness of some far remote parent: while one now and then shatters all laws of heredity and establishes a

freak.

Thus can I understand how savager.is my heritage, bequeathed by the forbears who dwelt .n caves near the firths and the ancestors who floated with the sands, driven by the lawless winds, purposeless and without destination. The history and attributes of the whole Scotch race seem wri.ten in the blue of my mother's eye: in the'hair where the sun's ray rests and sparkle as if ic were composed of myriad crystals. in the heart which can no more be easily won than could the ancestral territory, though once won. loyal for-

ever.

Through my father's veins ran the Mood of the royal lineage of the land of adventure whose queen once sent the Pinta and her sisters into unknown seas to find a Fountain of youth and

a treasure land of gems of gc'd.

My friend-mother never told me the story that might have explained my l-.nilpathy to the wooded hills or thrown light on my perversity of disposition. it was only from a sparklin;:

of her eye and a softening of the

4hat 1 gathered, link by link, a fairy chain, as it were, that traced backward into the days of her romance,

solved the mystery for me.

Somewhere in the realm of long ag\ •..te had been won by -■ dlstlti ruished young Spanish officer; attracted perhaps by Ms contrasting personal appearance. though more likely by his self tenderness, the counterpart of which her maiden heart yearned for. but found not in the sturdiness of her

own race.

The remembrance of that father is limited to a single etching in the gal>lery of memory. The dimmed pictun shows a dark handsome face whose eyes glowed with a worshipful lov for his child, when his strong arms cla-ped me close and swung me upon the most beautiful horse 1 have seen. The tin-type in mother's hair trunk pictures a mounted, lythe. straight figured man in un-form, adorned with cold buttons, braid at epaulettes and glittering sword. 1 loved the horse for a long time, could not understand why my mother paled at my childish praise of the noble animal which had borne mvfather to the battle's front and'tall-n with him in death. Could it be that hei change of miefr betokened a Jeal ousy of the steed Could the charg< r be blamed for the husband's death while sharing the fate with him* Per haps. Put still another reason:

k's taw was working i Arab ancester ha-

Castilian knight not alon

tinge of hired, but brav

The Brinn n

latalisti

i battle and t

devot

enouch.

In formal recognition, but to escape the blinding dust and stiflinc rind. Like all strangers. 1 looked merely upon its - heat and desolation and wondered why God had made it. back igneous rocks seemed monume its to the wrath of prehistoric, volcano* s, whose very' Ares dried tip the t>ea.- at their feet, destroyed every contalror of life and then with flaming tongu* s forbade life ever to enter what 1 know to bt my and many an other's Eden. But later, when we decided to winter near the dividing line where the stream, on the western slope bound in glad anticipation toward the great Pacific and on the Eastern strive to assuag • the monstrous thirst of count less m-les of sand and salt. 1 one day caught a breath that lulled to sleep the lun of the throbbing social world and avoke a love for this trackless

vast*

The trausnion of my affections came suddenly at daybreas. when in a passing whim. 1 changed my usual morning ramble from the western slope, and climbed to the very summit to catch the first glimps- of the sun. The pancrama that flashed upon my sight when heaven's gates opened and Phoebus' horses burst through lives indelibly photographed on my 4 brain, though the sunrise, itself was unnoticed. Like those dreams when rearon ‘s sleeping and imagination alone guard. I beheld a wealth of Jewels, which 1 had never befoi e fancied in istence. From the crown of a faity queen at night had come each separate grain of desert's sand, whose glittering radiance was enhanced by the dawning light. Each pebble was an artist's palette whereon uie colors had blended HU every hue and tint that endless combinations could conceive suggested liiliputlzn ball room where midget beauties wore piush coats and satin gowns, a nation of tiny royalty and as the heat waves caught the sun's rays like the turning of a kaliedeoscope each second reeled off films of such glistening beauty that I wondered !( this were not God's storehouse and these the Jewels to be burled in the mines of worlds and stars yet unborn. As I watched, the Jewels melted into sea of glass, from whose conca.e depths ascended a single ray of warmth striking my heart and heating my blood to Arab fervor. no longer a child of the world Arab of the desert entering

upon my heritage!

Forgetting my waiting breakfest and unmindgul of the deceptive distanc. I spc’ down the mountain and through the foothills but. lured on by the hope of still greater treasures, leaving th* mine road. 1 turned into the sands, themselves, surrounded by mesqui?"

and cat a.

My objective point was a small rive*hose bed was dry save when tnc rainy season made of It a flood renl. Here I found, in an angle, a nook had sildo"! sent Its blaze and 1 could rest touching the mute sirens that had enticed me so

far from home.

trishly. 1 gathered some nea.me into my tap. f>ne was an amc blue that grew deeper as moltlure brought out its depth. It recalled me my mother's eyes ee 1 pressed it tightly, fancying her flneors in a love clasp around by own . Then clearly her face appear.-d and suddenly. 1 seemed to hear her anxious call as she discovered my chair empty at the table. I started as If to go. dropping try pebbles as 1 did so. all thought:* :.nd visions of mother grew dim-

vanished.

I'as it from my exhausting walk, almost nervous delirium in my new found happiness, oryas >t some wieru uncanny influence of this sandy cemetery of heroic lives that had woven

some psychic spell around me?

I trembled and sought my beads.

Alas, they were at home.

Then there aros.* from ray lonely hauling heart a prayer, not as 1 was used to praying, but half wished, half uttered, that my new found friends tn their brilliant hued garments might b the incarnation of alv ? -nt loved ones, and in the da;

he passed away. 1 saw the frost of homeless chill cover the noble head. Hr had in his life no pebbles to

speak of love.

Guiltily. 1 slipped the amber with the blue and Tom was again forgotten. A pebble of greyish white like an unpolished diamond lay near my feet. Stooping. 1 touched it. Instantly thought* reverted to my debut party. Here was the dress my dearest friend wore on th-t night of nights. How 1 loved her! How 1 confided my every secret to her keeping' How often swore eternal friendship, praying to die

ue same day!

'Thus ran our beautiful comradeship, untl we chanced to sllow our common 'hicb we proudly boasted, to be applied to the same young n her present husband. Now. even the stone is not hall cold as she or 1 And then I found a gold brown one which reflected the strands of another

chum's hair

Next, a violet tint was a vivid r> minder of a life long friend .unetfusiv* but true, whose one beauty lay in her

violet eyes.

Soon, a cold black Jewel whether a quartz charred in some volcanic caldron or a polished hesalt. I am not geologist enough to decide, attracted oy attention. As it lay in my hand this somber stone seemed to morphosizE and a silver plate Rest—spoke not of my heart as 1 gazed for the last time upon lips '.hat had been mine. Yes. this stone beautiful even under the black wings of death—and this stone alone w silent to my touch, yet I clasped it tightly than the rest and held it

longer.

Thus life's past came surging back s I wandered in the oend of the river. And as I touched each stone, like the murmur of a cone shell, whispers of friendship and love, voices of kindness reproach, spoke and echoed in my

inner mind.

fraught with life had become

these deseiT sands that I planned to

day after day, as a devotee would

go to a medium to converse with their dead. But another feeling also possessed me—a feeling of insufficiency; an idea that my rainbow lacked yet

color, the spectrum of my heart

showed an incompleteness. What wts

1 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 wb**n wc struggle with the decisive battles of

life? Is It not that at last

sclous faculties are overpowered and a giant risos from the hidden recesses if our little known subconscious selves.' and mores the pen or causes the lips to utter the fatal word or directs an act dynamic? It must he so. for in that very moment 1 stooped and picked up the onl; ugly stone 1 had yet found. It had no lustre but instead an unctuous feel. No prismatic crystallization or even roui. d form made, ip for Its lack of co’ tty. It had

not and could not tak-

1 had added, guided b> ■ or uuutscovered force a plain green Jade. Long I revelled in the companionship of my fetiches until nature Introduced the evil spirit of the desert. Thirst. By now it was past the noon hour and hunger added fatigue. Hastily, I started for home, calling my faithful dog upon whom the desert held no '.harm but who shared with me both the thirst and the hunger.

•nteed the main road and

toiled'ui* the foot hills, 1 heard behind the labored strokes of a moto*\ Its presence was so incongruous. I houghtle*sly turned and stared. In•tantly. it stopped beside me. and the lone occupant of the car almost gruffly bade me ride. Despite his rather un;ept appearance, his unshaven 'ace. md the dust covered clothing..something inspired confidence in hi!

When we reached the summit of th mountain, with a sudden motion of the wrist, he swung the car to the left. I pointed to my home. For the first time he smiled. It was like the sunshine and calm following a store: Letting the lever almost to the last notch we sped over the crest of th.* mountain and though the expcrlcnct as peculiarly unconventional. 1 felt half willingness to go on. Mile after mile we sped until 1 began to be the questioner, he the user of monosyllables. 1 pleaded to return. Persur. sions, tears, temper had no etfect -bringing in response only a shake of the head. Then 1 started to grasp the wheel and found in my clasped finger* a stone How long I had held it I do not know: I loosed it and Im mediately, without seeming cause or reason the breaks were set. we swung back to the north and were swiftly borne home. The stone I held wt

green Jad?.

Alone In my room that night. 1 found I could hardly leave my contemplation of the stones to seek the rest I so much needed. Arrange them jade seemed among them a stranger In bold contact. Away from

At one point the road turned sheer against the side of the mountain. A iearfui precipice on the right. Inconsciously 1 had drawn the green Jade from my satchel and held U loosely between thumb and finger. A flash of the sun di<w my eyes to it and I was amazed .o notice what unhad escaped my scrutiny a small red spot embedded in its point At the sway and tremor of the car 1 lurched to one side, dropping the stone. As It fell I saw its prism ray.* flood its surface, as the blood of a wounded soldier turns crimson the

rtd where he is slain.

Before 1 culd fully understand that

I had suffered a loss, we dipped down

the inslfffe and came to a sudden stop Before us tongues of fire, ever

anon shot upward from the shaft: grey clouds arose from Its black depths pressing hard against the sides, as If loathe to meet the anguish It had cost.

All that we could learn w-as that

a teriffle explosion had occurred. Beneath somewhere were nearly a hui.dred human beings, husbands, sons. I lathers, brothers of the white faced 'stricken women who crowded and

wailed at the shaft's entrance. Soon the cage was lowered with

the pebble bar and under the mellow. „ _ , , . , . , orders to first bring up the Urine..

home lamp the color softened and ,

..... Then passed moments that seemeu to the oily feel became a touch of halm. ^ ^ , , v „ fir: ,

When at last I slept, ft was only

dream a strange dream: over and over came the choice of retaining but one of my precious new found Jems. On waking T refused to acknowledg* y dream-hour decision, jtatherin? them into my hand-bag. 1 started at once to return to my shrine in the bend

of the river.

Just when about to leave the mine road again for the dim river trail. ~ quick blast of a horn startled me. and when comprehension dawned. I found myself facing my companion of yesterday. The hot blood rushed to my cheeks. I turned away with no other

sign of recognition.

“Come with me" the voice was pleading. not commanding as when I h«d heard It before. "There has been n holocaust at the mines. We are both needed." The plaintive, trembling and tender sympathy of his tone disclosed a character utterly foreign to what

1 had hitherto seen.

Foreknowing my decision .he had thrown open the rear door of his car. The trip was made hurriedly, silently watched almost fascinated the nearly motionless figure In the front seat.

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grind slowly into hours. With the 111 sign of moving ropes every form eagerly leaned nearer the awful pit: tense and tenser grew the lines on the pallid faces with every foot of its

winding.

Then the blackness left and the maimed bodies came into view. Now I saw my companion rising with subtle power, become the center of the

scene.

He approached: the line was broken and his silent motions were silently

and quickly obeyed.

His face was set. and the deft hand-t seemed possessed with the Spirit cf Divination as they went straight each wound, catching the artery to

stop the ebb of life.

Bathed in blood, but with an angel s touch. Maying the wolf. Greed, oi Death, they moved quickly, steadily unerringly. Seeing them as the sun light filtered through the blood of his suffering fellowmen. I found there tne pinkish beauty, as it adorns a tiara.

hut. in Its massive force and heat ihr, turns the sand into a crystal. 1 turned from the scene of canutcand sought to comfort the weepinghand clutching the Black Stone, until it cut Into my flesh. Now the cage had again descend-*; and was ready with Its second cargo, is hen- mon- need for the physician comforter? The face of the m.v, who stood in the box answered tn* t lifeless body was tend-rv laid on the sand. A girlish wom-.k tottered forward to kneel beside t.if husband of the morning, the magn--.'orce that had drawn her from aho' to shore, the dead half of a life whom oneness was Invisible. She raised her face and hands to Heaven and the other sufferers join ing as in a chorus, there arose on thhot air of the Mojava border-land a cry so bitter, so hopeless, so teriffic. that the heavens seemed u> darken, and the valley beccme a garden, th. Garden oi Geihsemene! . 1 knelt near the physician watching ^ his face as he watched the face of th. child-widow. When the anguish of her lOice reached his ear, the mount*in of his massive manhood melted with a volcanic force of pent up human sym pa thy, and there came frbm his lip* ., cry of pain, keener than though the pangs of death were grappling with

his soul.

1 fell prostrate at his feet and cried. •Forgive me!" My call was unheed:*!. he did not hear, so intent was he upon the duties of the hour. I must hmfalnled, for my next consciousness «*> in the auto an the road near the pre*. pice looking at the yawning depth and remembring my loss, 1 felt momer. tartly '.be strange temptation to let? from its lofty height. Yet, in almo.-' reflex action the thought was crowdti out with a new resolve. As we slowly cllmebd the hill 1 slipped out qui.-.i* and almost r n down the trail to my niche in the river bend. } There I threw myself on my kne.. and i>egan to search for a Jade, ami oh, how many I found, and cast awry foi I found not • nolher with a nitset in an oily dead-hued suriace! Hot long I searched I can only sunnbfc but at last 1 turned back to my shrinMy limbs tottered as I stood, ny ht»;

(Continned on Page Seven)

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lack of ut conventionalities and dii ferences i f social customs which makes the west so unlike the * While my fatigue argued with sense o f propriety, 1 stood mute, until my unknown companion with a hurry consistent with his zenera! bearing, leaped to the ground and almost lifted be into th*' seat beside him. I looke at him in wounded amazement: it:

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Hi- eye* w desert dust hey searched my fare and figure. 1 aught a glint of green, i drew a ut not in fear. 1 was glad to think he journey home would be short. Ot&onversatlon waf hrflk* n. his consi; ag of questions hard* ring on the im pertient. mine on monosyllables uttered is none too kindly tone.

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