Nebraska Newspapers

    RED CLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF
v ,"
J !
,
i
COMRADES
A PINK RIBBON.
Synopsis. Torn Bliclby, a rnnchor.
rides Into tho f.ontler town of
Ponra, looking for n Rood time
aftor n long spell of luirtl work
and loneliness on tho ranch. In
sttmd, ho rtinn Into a funoral tlmt
of Dad Calkins, n rotlred nrmy
man of whom little la known. A
Klrl, Mill In hrr toons, survives
(XlldnH. McCarthy, a saloon keep
er nnd Ponca's lending citizen, do
tides thnt the Klrl, now nlone In
tho world, should innrry. She
nnrccs to plrk out a husband from
tho scoro of men lined up In her
home. To his con-lernntlon, sho bo
Icrts Bhrlby, who hud pono nloni?
tnoroiyns a spoctntor. Ho declines
tho honor. Intllgnnnt, tho Klrl dts
nilssos the assemblage. Shelby
runs Into two of tho rojoctod null
ors. and In a flKht worsts them
both. Angored at their remarks,
he returns to tho Klrl, determined
to marry her. If nho will huvo him.
After his explanation she agrees to
marry him. Tho wedding takcH
place and tho couplo net out for
Shelby's ranch. With them is
"Kid" Marklln. whom Shelby has
hired as a helnor. On tho way tho
Klrl tells her husband her namo Is
Olga Carlyn. und also tells him
aomcthtng of ,,io peculiar circum
stances of her life.
:rO
CHAPTER VI Continued.
5
Sho mndo herself soy these words
calmly, looking lilm frankly In (lie
fnee, yet ns lie went outside, closing
the door behind him, seemingly quite
ntlsfled with her rendlnoss to nlildo
tho situation, ..she bowed her bend on
the dirty tnble, nnd her body shook
with hoIih which could no longer be
restrained. So thin wits whnt Bhc hnd
come to tlil.st She lintl kept herself
up nil dny with drenms; nnd this wns
the rcnllzntlnn. She lifted her fare
nnd looked nbout, the tenrs still mist
ing In her eyes; then she suddenly
.(inched, nnd stood up with cheeks
glowing, nnd lips firmly sot It wns
a horrible mess, to be sure, yet the
plnce ItHelf wns not so bnd; she hnd
lived In fnr worse; nnd once put In
nome degree of order nnd cleanliness
It might prove fairly romfortnblo In
deed. She surveyed the scene, ns re
venled by the yellow finme of the
lnmp, her heart bonttng faster. This
wns to be her home. She bnd come
hero ns mistress. It mnttcred not so
much whnt It wns now, but whnt she
should tnnlto of It. Her slender form
straightened with now determination.
There wns yet nnothor door, nnd she
looked out through It Into n small
lean-to, Ibo lnmp held high over her
.head. This wns evidently the kitchen,
".flOntalulng. ,ns It did, n smnfl cook
bm n sort of roughly built cloot,
-and Wnlc, the latter stneked with tin
washed dishes'.. An nrmful of split
wood p!j-4n. tho floor. Jind n half slab
tf Wcon hung to n nnll.
Olgn gnve vent to nnothor Inugh.
but this time there wns no hint of hys
teria In It. She bad. found herself.
Dressed sllll In tho long duster, sho
net down the lamp on n small table,
nnd dropping upon her knees, swiftly
kindled n lire In the stove. As (ho
wood begnn to crock lo cheerfully, she
ponrrhcri the closet for mntorlals, re
joicing to discover some dishes yet
unused, together with rcmnnnts of
food sufficient for her purpose. There
was "sugar, condensed milk, n few
knnrly potntnes, n smnll sack of flour,
ond n half can of coffee. She dumped
these out on the tnble, and begnn bum
ming n tune, ns she added the slab of
bncon to these treasures. She was too
busy by now to give nnnther thought
to the dirt nnd disorder nbout her.
Shelby was kept outside considera
bly longer thnn he bnd nntlclpated.
The buckskin, In splto of a sixty-mile
Journey, retnlned vlclousness enough
to kick the Inntern out of tho Kid's
band nnd smnsh It Into smithereens,
thus compelling tho two to work In
dnrkness. Mncklln, unncqualnted with
the surroundings, wns of little use.
and most of the work hnd to be done
by Shelby In person. When It wns nil
over with both men were swentlng
profusely, tired nnd nngry, tho Kid
cursing everything from the crentlon
of the world. Shelby, suddenly re
membering tho girl left nlone In the
house nil this time, lost tho last grip
on his temper.
"Shut npl" ho bnrked snvngely.
"I'vo hnd Just enough of thnt. Whnt
did you expect nn.vwn.v- n reception
committee nn' n banquet? Come on
In, now; we'll hustle up some grub.
Here, you might ns well tnto n few of
those things nlnng with you."
Hoth men londed up with pneknge
from the buckbonrd. tho Kid still
pwenrlng under his brenth. but Shelby
grimly silent. Ho wns remembering
whnt thnt Interior looked like, nnd
wondering how she wns tnklng such a
home-coming. Ilo could not but con
trast the dirt nnd disorder to which
ho hnd brought her with the Immncti
Into cleanliness of tho shnck where
she lived In I'onrn. The memory
tnndo him half afraid to go In nnd
face her eyes. lie lifted tJip latch
hesitatingly, the bundles on tho other
arm piled to his chin, nnd stepped
across the threshold. Then he stopped
suddenly, with his mouth wide open,
the Kid pushing In behind him, even
more heavily Inden. She stood In the
middle of the floor, with cheeko
fljisbed, and eyes smiling.
"You boys enn pile thnt stuff on the
tnble," she announced brightly. "I've
scraped those paper up la one comer,
By RANDALL FARRISH
so there's plenty of room. Never mind'
about bringing the rest In now; sup
per's rendy."
Shelby put bis bundles down with
out u word, his eyes quick to jtcrcelve
tho chnlrs cleared of their debris, the
floor swept, the ashes back In tho
stove. He could hardly comprehend
the miracle.
She led tho wny gnyly, leaving her
tiroom In a corner, und cnrrylng the
lamp. The lenn-to kitchen bad been
transfigured, nnd actually presented a
homelike appearance. The dirty dishes
were shoved out of sight, the floor
swept, the (Ire In tho stove blazed
cheerfully, nnd the tnhle was covered
with the esscntlnls of n truly appetiz
ing meal. She set the tamp down In
the center, fully rewarded by the ex
pression on tho faces of the two.
"Yfcu boys wash up thcro In the
sink," she commanded ; ''use thnt piece
of sacking for n towel; It wns all I
could And. Then we'll get busy."
If Shelby was to live a thousand
years he would never lose memory of
thnt menl. The grateful wnrmth of
the stove, the neatness of the table,
tile good fellowship with which she
served, all coupled with the wonder
ful surprise, left upon him nn Im
pression never nfterwnrd to be blotted
out. She talked nbout whnt she was
going (o do; about whnt he hnd pur
chased In town; nbout anything which
came Into her mind thnt she could
manufacture conversation from. He
told of their ndventurcs outs'de, nnd
mndo her Inugh henrtlly over the
struggle of getting tho Kid's pony
safely Into the corral. The Kid him-f-elf
said little, eating heartily but In
silence, only occnslonnlly lifting his
eyes from the plnte. This pretense nt
modesty did not seem like tho Kid,
nnd Shelby found himself observing'
tho fellow with some wonderment. Ills
looks were not at nil prepossessing,
now thnt he saw him moro plnlnly re
venled In the lnmpllght, nnd he wns
some yours older thnn he bad sup
posed. The fellow bad n hnrd, dlssl
pnted face, nnd his lips wero thin,
with n distinctly cruel twist to them.
Shelby hnd .Intended putting the man
In thnt Hunk "in the front room, but
now decided tho stablo was good
enough for his use.
As soon ns they were through hO
hunted up a second Inntern.
"Take the rest of that stuff off the
buckbonrd, Mncklln," he snld shortly,
"nnd stow It nwny Ir. the cellar-cnve
Just to tho right of tho bouse. I'll be
out presently, nn we'll Ox things up
for the night."
As the fjMJpw disappeared Shelby's
eyes encountered those of his wife
across the table.
"And what arc you going to do?"
she nsked directly.
"Why, help you with theso things,
and then clean the shack up a bit; It
Is In worse shape than I realized."
She shook her head positively.
"Oh, no, mister mnn. This Is my
house, nnd I nm going to tnko enro of
It all alone. I have seen your stylo
of housekeeping, and I prefer my own.
You go on, nnd finish tho work out
side ; when you como bnck It will look
belter In here."
Shelby went out. Mncklln wns seem
ingly busy nt the task assigned him,
the Inntern bung to the broken branch
of n convenient tree, lighting his pnth.
Without even speaking, tho ranchman
passed by down the steep path lending
tn'wird the stream below. Ho wns
some time In completing bis task, and,
when bo flnnlly emerged once more
from the stablo, the only glenm of
light be could perceive above came
through the log chinks of the cabin.
Ilo wondered what hnd become of
Mncklln. yet gave tho matter no spe
cial thought as he tolled slowly up the
path, bis mind more deeply Interested
In the reception nwnltlng him within.
ne pnssed close enough to the buck
bonrd to assure himself that his or
ders bad been executed, nnd, believ
ing the fellow hnd probably re-entered
the house for some purpose, pnssed on
directly to the front door. No ono
wns In the mnln room, nor In tho
chnmber behind. They remnlned ex
nctlv as ho had left them. The silence
startled him, nnd ho advanced swiftly
townrd the kitchen, where tho light
still burned, visible through tho open
door. It nlso wns deserted, the dirty
dishes yet setting on tho tnhlo un
touched, Good Gndl whnt was tho
meaning of this? Whnt bntl occurred?
Tho outer door stood njnr, nnd he
sprang anxiously forward, peering In
to the blackness. There wns no sound,
nn movement; the blaze of light hnd
blinded him, nnd ha stepped outside
so us to see better. He had tnken but
one step beyond the protection of the
partially open door, when something
struck htm, nnd ho went staggering
down, as though his skull was crushed
by the mxt.gi blow.
was gray dnwn when Shelby
stirred once more, nnd, with eyes only
pnrtlally open, stared In bewilderment
nt (be palo nrch of sky. Slowly mem
ory came, buck, nnd be mnnuged to lift
one bund to his bead, his numb fin
gers touching a ghastly Bcnlp wound,
the clotted blood matting bis hair. He
hd been struck a desperate blow, and
was dnuhtlens left lying there In the
belief tlmt he wns dead, yet apparent-
1 ly the skull was not crushed, and the
OF PERIL
night nlr had congealed the blood.
With n supreme effort ho drew him
self Into a sitting posture, nnd stared
rather blankly nbout nt the objects re
vealed In tho gray dnwn.
Tho sight ns Instantly restored his
memory; the cnbln door stood wide
open, Just ns bo left It, and within the
lnmp still burned on tho tnble, In the
midst or the dirtied dishes. She hnd
not returned, then ; he hnd been lying
there alone nil night. The realization
maddened him to effort nnd, by grasp
ing nt the door for support no attained
his feet, nnd stood thcro for a mo
ment, swnylng dizzily. Exnctly whnt
bnd occurred lie could not determine;
the wholo nffnlr seemed moro like n
drenm than n reality. Ho had left her
there npparently cheerful nnd bnppy,
tho laughter In her eyes n memory to
linger with him; he hnd not been nb
sent to exceed thirty minutes, nnd not
so fnr away but what nny cry woi'M
surely hnvo renched his cars. Yet
whon he returned she hnd vanish oil
utterly, leaving everything untouched.
Whntever occurred must hnve been
brought to pnsp nlmost Immediately
upon his depnrture, before sho even
begnn tho work of cleaning up. But
how could such a thing hnppen with
out nny nlnnn? Why, the Kid was
working within ten feet of the house,
nnd must hnve henrd the slightest
Bound of a struggle. The Kid I where
was be nnywny? Whnt had become of
the fellow all this time? He wns no
where In sight when Shelby retraced
his steps up the pnth. Could It be
thnt the Kid wns the one guilty of this
deed? If so, whnt wns his object?
Not robbery, surely, for the plncc had
not been ransacked, or anything re
moved from his pockets. Yet surely
this wns not Indian work; It bore no
rpeomblnnce t0 n 8nvnge raid. The
questions were unanswerable ; no
mental effort gnve him nny clue, yet
his strength wns rapidly coming bnck,
nnd with It n grim, determined nnger,
which urged him Into nctlon.
First ho went through the deserted
house, room by room, seeking for the
slightest sign of guldnncc, but finding
none. Everything remnlned precisely
as ho remembered seeing It the night
before. He blew out the light, took
down one of the rifles from the wnll.
Jonded It, nnd then, feeling his old
strength returning, cautiously stepped
out througlf the front door. The buck
bonrd stood there, gaunt nnd stripped,
except for the box between the renr
wheels. Ilo peered Into this, anil
found It still half filled with bundles.
'
c
He Went Staggering Down.
MacVlin bnd not completed his job,
other evidence being furnished by the
extinguished nnd overturned lantern
on the ground Just beyond. Rut there
wns no sign visible of any struggle.
Surely she hnd not left of her own
choice. Thnt wns unthlnknblc. Sho
hnd nppenred cheerful nnd contented,
even actually Interested In the new
life; besides. If she possessed the
sllgbti fit desire to escnpe, be had of
fered her every opportunity on the
wny out, nnd she hnd refused. Surely
she would never hnve come way out
thero to make her dlsngreenble Jour
ney over ngnln nt night. Even If crnzy
enough for such nn nttempt, the effort
would never he tnnde upon foot, nnd
nil three ponies were In the corrnl ; he
had seen them while coming down.
No. thnt theorv might be dismissed nt
once, nnd secretly he wns glnd It wns
so enslly disposed of It hnd vngujly
haunted him nt llrst, causing hlni to
dread tho discovery that It might be
true.
Then whnt wns true? Who could be
guilty of such nn outrage? Indians?
White outlaws? Joe Macklln? These
three possibilities alone remnlned, Inn
the llrst two seemed quite Impossible!
rle wns used (o Indian foray, hut this
act bore no reseuibluuce to tho work
villi vKL-'v . tf
CopyteM A. C MeClmir C
of savages on the warpath. Thero hnd
been no nttempt to plunder, or de
stroy. The very fnct thnt the ponies
remnlned undisturbed convinced him
thnt this was no cfced of Indian raid
ers. Tlmt It might huvo been white out
laws was not quite so easily dis
missed. There were desperate men
hldjng out yonder In the Had Lands,
but he never hnd known of their ven
turing to attack any settler, except oc
casionally to run ofT cattle on the
range. In thto case there was no op
parent object they had taken noth
ing, neither food nor stock. Then It
must have been Macklln.
Ills sudden disnppournnce was. at
least, proof he must litiv had a hand
In It. Ilut why? To what end? Shelby
straightened up, n new flash or Intel
HgencG In his eyes. Perhaps this all
harked back to thnt enrly mvstery In
tier life. She hnd told him thnt Cal
kins hnd tnken her from place to
place, nppnrently nlwnys afraid thnt
ho was being followed. Was It pos
slble thnt he hnd been hunted down nt
lust; thnt ho recognized the approach
of the ond. nnd bnd committed suicide
on thnt nccount? And was this strange
seizure of Olgn pnrt of the plot, either
if revenge', or restitution? This ex
olnnntlon seemed more probnble thnn
any other; In u wny It nppenred to lit
tho enso, although he possessed no
more knowledge of whnt It nil mennt
thnn he did before. Only, evidently
nil thnt hnd been desired wns posses
sion of the girl, nnd that wnB deemed
of sufficient Importance to even Justify
murder. lie hnd been left for dead.
In order that sho might be borne nwny
alive.
No longer doubting but whnt this
theory nt lenst npproxlmnted the
truth, Shelby fnced the facts frankly,
and with no further hesitation. It
wus up to him to act promptly; there
was no one to whom he could turn for
help. Ills eyes darkened, nnd his Jnws
set. All right then, he would certain
l.v give the Kid n run for his monev.
There must bo some trail left; such n
deed ns this could never bo accom
plished without leaving some mnrk
behind. Whether they traveled on
foot, or horseback, the pnrly must
surely leave some trace of pnssnge.
nnd Shelby, who hnd been the best
trailer. In bis regiment, felt confident
of being nble to run the outfit down.
With this once settled In bis mind,
nnd his plan of pursuit outlined, .Shel
by threw off his depression, nr.d be
came cool nnd resolute. Flint he
senrched over every foot of ground
within a quarter or a mile or the
house, seeking to discover just how
Macklln had operated, ond. whether
or not, he was nlone. The result wns
only partially successful. The hard
packed earth revealed little of value.
Down below the cnbln on the sloping
side of the bill, ho found the mnrk of
n htgh-beelcd hoot such ns the Kid
wore, nnd. n foot or so beyond, the
plain Impression of a moicasln. A
hundred yards to the north the Im
prints were again visible, tnnklng It
clear to his mind that the fugitives
were then making for the lower ford.
The girl wns evidently being carried,
nnd two men must have been engaged
on the Job, one of them possibly an In
dian. He passed straight on to the
ford to verify this thc-y, and here
the mud exhibited clearly tho move
ments of both the fellows, while close
at the writer's edge he came upon a
narrow pink ribbon, whlcji the girl
had evidently hurriedly dropped In
guidance.
It wns clearly mnnlfest now the di
rection In which they had disappeared,
but Shelby remained unsatisfied. Ilo
could not believe thnt they would nt
tempt to escape thus on foot with
their burden. If Macklln bnd one as
sistant, It wns highly probable there
would be others nlso engaged In the
affair. The opposite shore was de
serted, and he crossed over, wading to
bis thighs In tho swift water, with
rifle flung forward, nnd eyes Intently
scnrchlng the further bnnk. The trail
was plain nt this point; ho could
entity trace the steps of both men
pnsslng up n nnrrow gully Into the
first lino of bluffs, nnd there. In n lit
tle open glnde. be found where horses
hnd been tethered nnd tramped the
turf. They hnd evidently been held
for some time; hnd entered from tho
north down n slight couleo. nnd de
parted westward nlong a shelving
bnnk. Thero were flvo nnlmnls. all
mounted, to Judge from the deep Im
press of hoofs, nnd he followed Ibelr
pnssnge ns fnr ns, the crot of the
bluff. They were well beyond view, of
course by this time, across that much,
broken country, but be satisfied him
self thnt they were bending straight
for the Ibid Lands.
Shelby knew now something of whnt
he must contend with. The act of ah
ductlon, and attempted murder, was
no su.lden temptation assailing Mack
lln. but undoubtedly part of a well-nr-gn'.tlzed
plot. Whatever their object,
flvo men were concerned In the out
rage, their Intention probably the
making of the girl n prisoner. In
Shelby's Judgment sho wns probably
In no Immediate danger. If the fel
lows hnd Intended Inking her life, she
would never hnve thus been spnred
and carried away, npparently unin
jured. Their purpose evidently re
quires thnt she b kept olle, on1
helpless In their l.nids.
ITo wns coot now; grimly rb'ier
mined, but Intent on preparing wun
self for a long and nnngorous qiust.
Ho wns to bo ono man pitted against
fire, and every Instinct of long ex
perience on the plains, wnrucd him
against being rash. He recrosscd tho
stream, built n fire In the stove, und,
nfter washing the b-oi.d from his
bend, nto henrtlly; fhen pneked a
lenthor hnvcrsnek with food, nnd wns
rendy. He took this time In which to
plan out his course, nnd then went for
wnrd unhesitatingly, filling his pockets
with rifle cartridges, nnd Hinging the
haversack over lila shoulder, before
starting for tho corral. He decided
upon the buckskin as being the better
animal for bis purpose a vicious
brute, harder to handle, but tireless,
and able to exist where either of tho
others would starve. It leqnlred n
good half-hour to rope nnd saddle the
beast, but be had plenty of time. Once
on the trail he could enslly outride the
parly he was follow Ing. and he had no
desire to apju-oacb them closely until
well nfter dark.
Once firm In tho saddle, however,
rifle under the flap, with haversack
strapped on the opposite side, und
blnnket-roll behind, ho gave the plung
ing, bucking demon between bis legs
.,;. ''.V;
. r I
He Followed Their Passage.
little mercy. The nuin wns In no mood
for plav of any sort, nnd set himself
(o conquering the brute In tho quick
est possible way. It was a rough, bard
struggle, but the human won, and. un
der the merciless sting of the quirt,
tho maddened but subdued animal,
nostrils distended, nnd eyes vicious as
ever, yielded final obedience to tho
rein.
CHAPTER VII.
An Hour Behind.
There was no marked trail, lint tho
Instincts of n plainsman kept Shelby's
course directly to the northwest. The
bronco, now thoroughly amed, and
obedient to the slightest pressure of
the rider's leg. kept a tireless gait,
picking out unaided the easiest paths.
From the general direction of the trull
left by the raiders be had decided
they were beading for a certain por
tion of the Had I-amK nnd, If this
theory was correct, he ought easily to
cut across their tracks again late In
the afternoon. Sitting upright in the.
deep saddle, with the straight buck
of the cavalryman, bis ejes watchful,
his lips grimly set. be roilo steadily on
hour after hour, thinking, planning,
beginning now to realize the depth of
his own Interest In this effort nt res
cue. He bad hardly comprehended be
fore that this girl was really tils wife
thnt her life bad become his to
guard. The affair between them bad
occurred so swiftly, so unexpectedly,
be bad not before nwnkciicd to lis
true meaning. I'ut now If N-eame verv
real, and he wns positively surprised
to learn the strength of hold she al
ready hnd upon him.
Ills mind would linger over n thou
sand little womanly peculiarities
which somehow had un:,ons'Ioiisly Im
pressed him the soft glow In her
eyes, the wlstfulness of her smile; tho
slight dimple In her chin; the pulsing
of blood In her cheeks; the round firm
ness of the white neck; the peculiar
gracefulness of her walk ; the name
less attractiveness of pob'e. all came
back now In odd fascination, lie was
not aware before that he hnd even
noticed these things, but now their
memory dominated him, caused h's
pulses to quicken. He had known lit
tle of women since boyhood, nnd never
before had he encountered on term
of Intimacy this type of n woman. Sho
bnd been a revelation to him even In
his '.illndness, but nnv. under the spell
of memory, she hnd suddenly chnnged
to an Inspiration. His wife, Olga
Cnrlyn. his wife I He anld the words
over, ns though he recalled a dream,
tho sound of the wono .'nuslng the
stnrtled buckskin to enst bnck an evil
eyo nt his unconscious rider.
"What's the idea of tealln'
the girl?"
(TO Uli CONTINUED.)
Before asking a favor of n mnn n
wise woman gives him a good d'uner
with a little tluttery on thn xliio.
IMPROVED UiarOlrl IMTEINATIONAL
MJNitWSlW,
Lesson
(By riEV. I II. FIT55WATEU, D. D.,
Tonchor of L'ngllsh Dlulo In the Moody
DIM- Institute of Chlcnco.)
(O. 1920. WpMrrn N'pwipmier ttnlon )
LESSON FOR JANUARY 2
THE CHILD AND THE KINGDOM.
LKSSON TKXT-Matt 1S:1-H
OOUJKN TKXT-Whosoever therofore
Bhall humble hlinnulf ns this llttlo child,
the sarno shall bo grciitnst In the king
dom of heaven. Matt. 18:1
IIKFI5UBNCR MATEIUAL-Mark 9:33;
Luke 9:3'j-tg; 17:1-2.
I'lUMAKY TOPlC-OoiTs Care for Little
Children.
JUNIOR TOIMO-Cod's Caro for Us.
1NTBHMKDIATIJ AND SKNIOU TOPIC
-Responsibility tor Iho YouiiKor and
Weaker.
YOUNC1 PKOPLI! AND ADULT TOPIC
-Our Responsibility for Childhood.
I. The Greatest in tho Kingdom of
Heaven (vv. 1-1).
1. The disciples' question (v. 1).
The promise given to Peter In connec
tion with the announcement of his pur
pose to build the church, und the pay
ing of tribute with the money In tho
llah's mouth, provoked Jealousy on tho
pnrt of the other disciples. The trans
figuration scene revealed the divine
Mirson und the program of the king
dom. Seeing thut the kingdom wus to
come to renllzntlon. despite the trag
edy of the cross, (bo disciples (bought
It best to hnve settled the plnce of
rank In the kingdom. Their behuvlor
betrayed their sad state of heart. In
stead of entering Into sympathy with
Jesus In the dark hour of hi passion,
they were supremely concerned with
tho dignities to bo conferred upon
themselves.
2. Jesus' unswer (w. 2-4). He taught
them concretely by placing a l.ttlo
child In their midst. (1) Condition of
entrance Into kingdom (v. 3). Ho
showed them that the great question
which concerned them Is as to wheth
er they are really In the kingdom.
Their behavior revealed the fnct
thnt they needed conversion before
they could enter Into the kingdom.
Hefore they could even see, much less
enter Into the kingdom, they must be
born from nbove (John 8:;i. 5). En
trance Into the kingdom Is Infinitely
more Important than rank therein.
(2) Whosoever possesses childlike hu
mility Is the greatest ( 4). The
child Is dependent, lowiy, and modest.
Those wlio have been birn again con
verted, hnvo these characteristics. The
principle which de;onnlues rank In the
kingdom Is lowliness of heart. In the
kingdom we rise by sinning. The wny
Is down. The more one realizes his
own tinworthlne.ss, thj moro worthy
be Is of the divine fnvor und trust.
II. The Lord's Identification With
His Believing Ones (vv. 5-1)).
1. Receiving the believer In Christ's
nnmo Is receiving Christ (v. 5).
Through conversion wo become God's
children, and bo completely Is our Ufa
Interwoven with His that Ho regards
treatment or us as treatment of Him
self. Those who welcome Into fellow
ship the lowly believer welcome Christ
If this wero fully realized It would
sanctify our relationsh'p with believ
ers lit Christ. Reception of believers
Includes all forms of sympathy nnd
nld. To do this In Christ's mime is to
open our hearts to recoho Him.
2. The awful erll of causing a be
liever to stumble (vv. OK). To stum
ble means to give occnaKi for a moral
fall. The particular reference was to
the carnality and seUli.tincss which
was expiesslng Itself In their conten
tion for pre-eminence. Such spirit
nnd behavior would stifle the tender
life of n bube In Christ. Their be
havior was not only self-injury, but a
mumbling block to others. Every
Christian should solemnly Inquire us
to whether his life would belli or hin
der bis fellow-believers. Am I helping
someone to a higher lewd, or am I
pulling him down to a loAer? To so
sin against Christ's own a to meet a
sure and uwful fate. His doom will
bo worse than drowning In the sea
with n millstone around his- neck; It
will be eternal lire (v. 8;.
III. Believers Are Especially Cared
For by tho Heavenly Father (vv. 10-14).
1. They are under angelic guardian
ship (v. 10). So preclo.is Is tho be
lluver In God's sight thnt angelic mes
sengers have access to the very throno
of God, even beholding his face. So
high Is the honor bestowed upon be
lievers thnt tho highest angels are sent
to gunrd thorn,
2. The Son came especially to snvt
such from their lost condition (vv,
11-14). The Heavenly Father does not
will thnt nny ono of these should per
ish. They nro tho objects or the Fa
ther's seeking love. 'Iho salvation of
tho bumble believer Iihs been secured
by tho Incarnation nno, the sacrifice of
the Good Shepherd. Since God sets
tweh value upon even (ne lowest be
liever, wo should be most careful In
our manner of life before them und In
our treatment of them.
Worship and Culture.
Worship and culture, of necessity,
go band In hand. Thcro can ne no
such thing as true culture apart trom
the religion of our dear Lord and
Savior. Jesus Christ. Tho fundament
al principles of true culture are en
shrined forever In Uie Sermon on the
Mount, tho ten beatitudes of the Lord
Jesus, Society, apart from the Kotin-tuln-head
uf Gruec, can display to tho
world nothing better than u refine
ment which Is, ut best, a veneor.
Uev. Henry Lo nudes Drew.
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