The lion
and the panther had given her less cause for anxiety than did the
return of the unscrupulous Hun, whom she had always distrusted
and feared, and whose repulsiveness was now immeasurably augmented
by his unkempt and filthy appearance, his strange and mirthless
laughter, and his unnatural demeanor. She feared him now with a new
fear as though he had suddenly become the personification of some
nameless horror. The wholesome, outdoor life that she had been
leading had strengthened and rebuilt her nervous system yet it
seemed to her as she thought of him that if this man should ever
touch her she should scream, and, possibly, even faint. Again and
again during the day following their unexpected meeting the woman
reproached herself for not having killed him as she would ja or
jato or any other predatory beast that menaced her existence or
her safety. There was no attempt at self-justification for these
sinister reflections--they needed no justification. The standards
by which the acts of such as you or I may be judged could not
apply to hers. We have recourse to the protection of friends and
relatives and the civil soldiery that upholds the majesty of the
law and which may be invoked to protect the righteous weak against
the unrighteous strong; but Jane Clayton comprised within herself
not only the righteous weak but all the various agencies for the
protection of the weak.
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