The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965, October 05, 1922, Image 2
THE SEARCH By Grace Livingston HUG-Lutz Copyright, 1619, by J. II- EIppineott Company ‘ Ruth knew in a general way that Jesus Christ was the Savior of the world, that His name should be the remedy for evil; but how to put it to them in sim ple form, ah ! that was it. It was Cameron's search for God, and it seemed that all the world was On the same search. But now to day she had suddenly come on some of the footprints of the Man of Sorrow as lie toiled over the mountains of earth searching for lost humanity, and her own heart echoed His love and sorrow for the world. She cried out in her helplessness for something to give to these wistful people, i Somehow the prayer must have been answered, for the little con gregation hung upon Iut words, • and one old man with deep creases in his forehead and kind ly wrinkles around his eyes spoke out in meeting and said: "I like God. I like Him good. I like Him all e time wi’ mee! All c time. Ev’e where! Him live in my house 1” The tears sprang to her eyes With answering sympathy. Here in her little mission she lntd found a brother soul seeking alt er God. She had another swilt. vision then of what the kinship of the whole world meant, and how Christ could love every body. After Sunday school was out little Sarnia came stealing up to her: "Mine bruddcr die,” she said Borrow fully. "What? Tony? The pretty fat baby? Oh, I’m so sorry!” Maid Ruth putting her arm ten derly around the little girl. "Where is your mother? I must go and see her.” Down the w inding unkept road they walked, the delicately roared girl and the little Italian drudge, to the hovel where the family were housed, a lumhled down affair of ancient stone, tawdrily washed over in some season past with scaling pink whitewash. The noisy abode of the family pig'was in front of the house in the midst of a trim little garden of cabbage, lettuce, garlic, And tomatoes. Rut the dirty swarming little house usu ally so full of noise and good cheer was tidy today, and no guests hovered on the brief front Stoop sipping from a friendly bot tle, or playing the accordion. There was not an accordion heard in the community, for there had been a funeral that morning and every one was try ing to be quiet out of respect for the bereaved parents. And there in the open door way, in li is shirt sleeves. Crouched low upon the step, sat the head of the house, his swarthy face bowed upon his knees, a picture of utter despair, and just beyond the mother’s head *vas bowed upon her folded arms on the window seat, and thus they mourned in public si lence before their little world. Ruth's heart went out to the two poor ignorant creatures in their grief as she remembered the little dark child with fhe * brown curls and glorious eyes who bad resembled one of Raphael’s cherubs, and thought how empty the mother’s arms would be without him. “Oh, Sanda, ted your mother how sorry I am!” she said to the little girl, for the mother could not speak or understand English. “Tell her not to mourn so terri bly, dear. Tell her that, tb»* d»»r baby is safe, and happy with Jesus! Tell her she will go to Him some day.” Ami as the little girl interpret ed her words, suddenly Ruth knew that what she was speaking Was truth, truth she might have heard before but never recog nised or realized till now. The mother lifted her sorrow ful face all tearswollen nfftl tried 1 ft pitiful smile, nodded to say she understood, then dropped sobbing again upon the window sill. The father‘lifted a sad face, not too sober, but blear eyed and pitiful, too, in his hopelessness, nodded as if lie accepted the fact (die hud told, but i! gave him no comfort, and then went back to his own despair. Ruth ti- aed away with ach ing heart, praying: “Oh, God, they need you! Come and emu fort them. I don’t know how!” Rut somehow, on her homeward way she seemed to have met and been greeted by her Savior. It was so she received her bap tism for the work that she was to do. The next, day permission came for $>er to go to France, and she entered upon tier brief training. “Don’t you dread to have her go!” asked a neighbor of Aunt Rhoda. “Oh, yes,” sighed the good lady comfortably, “but then she is going in good company, and it isn’t as if all the best people weren’t doing it. Of course, it will be great experience for her, and f wouldn’t want to keep her out of it. She’ll meet a great many nice people over there that she might not have met if she had stayed at home. Everybody, they tell me, is at, work over there. She’ll be likely to meet the no bility. It isn’t as if we didn’t have friends there, too, who will be sure to invite her over week ends. If she gets tired she ran go to them, you know. And really, 1 was glad to have some thing come up to take her away from that miserable little coun try slum she has been so crazy about. I was dreadfully afraid she would catch something there or else they would rob us and murder us and kidnap her some day.” And that was the way things presented themselves to Aunt Rhoda! CHAPTER xfx. All day the shells had been flying thick and fast. When night settled down the fire was so continuous that one could trace the battle front by the re flection in I he sky. Cameron stood at his post un der flic stars and cried out in his soul for God. For days now death had stalked them very (dose. His comrades had fallen all about him. There seemed to be no chance for safety. And where was God? Had lie no part in all this hell on earth? Did He not care? Would He not be found? All his seeking and praying and reading of the little book seemed to have brought God no nearer. He was going out pretty soon, in the natural order of the battle if things kept on, out into theother life, wit li on, out into the other life, with had promised that if he would believe, and if he would seek with all his heart he would sure ly find Him. _ Once in a Y. M. C. A. hut on a Sunday night a great tenor came to entertain them, and sang al most the very words that the stranger hack in the states had written in his little hook: “If with all your hearts ye truly seek Him ye shall ever surely find him. Thus saitli vour God!” And ever since that song had rung its wonderful melody down deep in his heart he lmd been seeking, seeking in all the ways he knew, with a longing that would not lie satisfied. And yet he seemed to have found noth ing. So now as ho walked silently beneath the stars, looking up, his soul was crying out with- the longing of despair to find a Sa vior, the Christ of his soul. Amid all the shudderiugs of the battle rent. earth, the concussions of the bursting shells, could even Cod hear a soul’s low erv? Suddenly out in the darkness in front of him there flickered a tiny light, only a speck of a glint it was, the spark of a cigaret, hut it was where it had no busi ness to be, and it was Cameron’s business to see that it was not there. They had been given strict orders that there must be no lights and no sounds to give away their position. Even though his thoughts were with the stars in his search for God, his senses were keen and’ on the alert, lie sprang instantly and silently, appearing before the de linquent like a miracle. ‘ Halt!” he said under his breath, “Can that cigaret!” “I guess you don't know who I am!” swaggered a voice thick and unnatural that yet had a fa miliar sound. “It makes no difference who vou are, you can’t smoke on this post while I’m on duty. Those <ye my orders!” and with a quick motion lit' caught the cig aret from the loose lips and ex tinguished it, grinding it into the ground with his heel. “I'll have you—e-e-co-mar shalled for this!” stuttered the angry officer, stepping hack un steadily and raising his fist. In disgust Cameron turned his ba< k ami walked away. IIow had Wainwright managed to bring liquor with him to the front 1 Something powerful and condensed, no doubt, to steady his nerves in battle. Wainwright had ever been noted for bis cow ardice. I Lis; breath was heavy with it. How could a man want to meet death in such a way? lie turned to look again, and Wainwright was walking un steadily away across the line whero they had been forbidden to go, out into the open where the shells were flying. Cameron watched him for an instant with mingled feelings. To think he called himself a man, and dared to boast of marrying such a wom an as Ruth Macdonald. Well, what if he did go into danger and get killed! The world was better off without him! Cam eron’s heart was burning hot within him. 11 is enemy was at last within his power. No one but himself had seen Wainwright move off in that direction where was certain death wi(,J n a few minutes. It was no part of his duty to stop him. lie was not supposed to know he had been drinking. me wnisne or a sneii went ricocheting through tile air and Cameron dropped as he had been taught to do, but lifted his eyes in time to sec Wainwright throw up his arms, drop on the edg'1 of the hill, and disappear. The shell plowed its way in a furrow a few, feet away and Cameron rose to his feet. Sharply, dis tinctly, in a brief lull of the din about him he heard his name called. It sounded from down the hill, a ery of distress, but it did not sound like Wainwright’s voice: “Cameron! Come! Help!” lie obeyed instantly, although, strange to say, he hud n« thought of its being Wainwright. He crept cautiously out to the edge of the hill and looked over. The blare of the heavens made ob jects below quite visible He could see Wainwright huddled as he had fallen. While he looked the injured man lifted his head, struggled to crawl feebly, but fell back again. lie felt a sense of relief that at last his enemy was where he could do no more harm. Then, through the dim darkness he saw a figure coming toward the prostrate form, and stooping over to touch him. It showed white against, the dark ness and it paid nb heed to the shell that suddenly whistled overhead. It half lifted the head of the fallen officer, and then straightened up and looked to ward Cameron; and again, al though there was no sound audi ble now in the din that the bat tle was making, he felt himself called. A strange thrill of awe pos sessed him. Was tlwvt the Christ out there whom he had been seeking? And v/lpit did he ex pect of him ? To come out there to his emomyf To the man who had been in many ways the curse of his young life? Suddenly as he still hesitated a verse from bis Testament which had often come to his notice re turned clearly to his irpnd : “If thou bringest thy gift to the altar, and tiiej’e remember est that thy brother hath ought against tlioe. leave there thy gift before tin1 altar. First befrecon eiled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy ^$ift.” Was this, then, \ynat was ro quired of him? Hi*d Ids hate toward Wainwright tan'll what had hindered him from finding Clod? There was no time now to argue that this man was not his ; brother. The may would be killed certainly if he lay there many minutes. The opportunity would pass as quickly as it had come. The Christ he sought was out there expecting him to coma, and he must lost no ftome in going to Him. How gladly would he have faced death to go to Hira! But Wainwright! That was different! Could it he this that was required of him? Then hack in his soul thgre echoed the words: “If with all vonr heart ye truly seek.’’ 8k)why he crept forward over the brow of the bill, and into the light, going to ward that white figure above the huddled dark one; creeping pain fully, with bullets ripping up the earth about him. lit was going to the Christ, with all his heart - yes, all his heart! Even if it ! meant putting by hi* enmity for I ever! . Somewhere on the wav he un * ! derstood. When he reached the fallen ! man ther* was no white figure I there, but he wa.s net surprised nor disappointed. The Christ, was not there because he had entered into his heurt. lie had ' found Him at last. Back at the base hospital they told Wainwright one day how Cameron had crawled with him foil his back, out from under the i searchlights amid th* shells, and into safety. ft was the only thing that saved hb life, for if he had lain long with the wound he had got, there would have been no chance for him. Wain wright, when he heard it, lay thoughtful for a long time, a puzzled, half-sullen ■ look on his face. He saw that everybody considered Cameron a hero. There was no getting away from |that. the rest of his life. One could not in decency be an enemy of a man who had saved one's life. Cameron had won out in a final round. It would not be good policy not to recognize it. It would be entirely too un popular. He must make friends with him. It would be better to patronize him than to be patron ized by him. Perhaps also, down in the depths of his fat selfish heart there was a little bit of ’ gratitude mixed with it all. For he did love life, and he was a mortal coward. Ho lie sent for Cameron one day, and Cameron came, lie did not want to come. He dreaded the interview worse than anything he had ever had to face before. But he came. He came with the same spirit he had gone out into the shell-fire after Wainwright. Because he felt that the Christ asked it of him. He stood stern and grave at the foot of the little hospital cot and listened while Wainwright pompously thanked him, and told him graciously that now that he had saved his life he was going to put aside all the old quarrels ami be his friend. Cameron smiled sadly. There was no bit terness in his smile. Perhaps just the least fringe of amuse ment, but no hardness. lie even took the bandaged hand that was offered as a token that peace had come between them who had so long been at war. All the time were ringing in his heart the words: “With all your heart! With all your heart!” He had the Christ, what else mattered? Homehow Wainwright felt that he had not quite made the im-j pression on this strong man that1 lie had hoped, and in an impulse to be more than gracious he reached his good hand under his pillow and brought forth an en velope. When Corporal Cameron saw the writing on that envelope he went white under the tan of the battlefield, but he stood still and showed no other sign: “When I get bat*k home I’m going to be married” said the complacent voice, “and my wife and I will want you to come and take dinner with us some day. I guess you know who the girl is. Hhe lives in Bryne Haven up on tiie hill. Her name is Ruth Macdonald. I’ve just had a let ter from her. I’ll have to write her how you saved my life. Hhe’ll want to thank you, too.” How could Cameron possibly know that that envelope ad dressed in Ruth Macdonald’s precious handwriting contained nothing but the briefest word of thanks few an elaborate souvenir that Wainwright had sent her from France? “ What’s the matter with Cam mie?” iiis comrades asked one another when he came back to his company. “He looks as though ho had lost his last friend. Did' he care so much for that Wain wright guy that he saved? I’m sure ’I don’t see what he sees in him. I wouldn’t hav-e taken the trouble to go out after him, would you?” Cameron’s influence had been felt quietly among his company. In his presence the men refrained from certain styles of conversa tion, when he sat apart and read his Testament, they hushed their boist+rous talk, and lately some had come to read with him. He was generally conceded to uc the bravest man in their com pany, and when a fellow had to die suddenly he liked Cameron to hold him in his arms. So far Cameron had not had a scratch, and the men had come to think he had a charmed life. More than he knew he was be loved of them all. More than they knew their respect for him wax deepening into a kind of awe. They felt he had a power with him that they understood not. He was still the silent cor poral. Ho talked not at all ol‘ his new-found experience, vet it | shone in his face in a mysterious (To Be Continued Next Week) Old Tradition. - From the lx>s Angeles Times. The late Mrs. George Gould hated di ] voree. At a Lakewood dinner party a ' young divorcee was admiring Mrs. t Gould's splendid j( wels. •‘Oh. that's your wedding ring, Isn't ,lt ?" she said. "How o'd fashioned it looks. Tn the past they made them so much wider than they do now.” "In the past, you see." said Mrs. Gould, “they expected them to last a lifetime." 1 RECEIVED GREAT BENEFITS p f. D11 - M A FROM THE USE OF § ha IB U ll H Mr. J. O. Sestet), R. F. D. 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