Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-12-21

his study" and he gave n nervous lit.
tie laugh at His own fears, then glanced
up at the great clock. 1t pointed to
1880. 1.-The sexton ought to be COM
ing back sOon," he thought Yielding
to q sudden impulse he hurried again to
the closet and opened the door. How
easy II would be to tie the plate up and
then escape through Window Going
10 one of the back easements he looked
out. Only a jump of two or three feet
into little paved courtyard below.
Then narrow alley that ran back be-
tween two great black buildings lead
ing to deserted street beyond. Both
yard and path sflooth-swept from snow
no danger of being traced after once
getting out. Going back to the c'oset
he looked long and earnestly at the
massive plate. - 1t would get ME out
of this cursed country and help me TO a
new start in some better place." he
/ thought. God knows that, bad as
| I've been. I've never come 10 this as
yet; but then. how would any one be-
lieve mellow would he? No use OF
my trying to get out of the shadow in
my life; l might rs well make the best
l vi III duu WIFI Il Il
heard that noise again"
Shutting the door, he turned the key
in the lock and no:selessly creeping
along the passage he paused before the
door of the study. 1t stood ajar, and he
looked in. Kneeling before chair was
the figure of an old man, holding i'm his
hand a crumpled yellow letter and a
lock of dark-brOwn hair. on which the
tear-drops were yet glistening. The
Man in the Shadow breathed quick and
hard. Suddenly the letter fell TO the
fOor unnOticcd by its holder. The Man
in the Shadow picked il up and looked
ut IL. ITO Rev. Arthur Drayton." he
read, and then staggering back into the
hall he sank down on chair and eager
" tore the sheet open. just ten years
before, the datn-the name at the end
and the handwriting his ownl His
thoughts went back TO another Christ
mas Eve. He tried To recall IL, but
there was only confused recollection
of boyish scrape and his meeting with
his father in the old church. Stern,
hard words on his fathers side, and
Irst submission and then defiance on
his part-and then the separation.
Here was the letter he had sent him,
written that night in the heat of his an.
ger and wounded pride-that fatal let
ter, in which he had barred himself out,
rs he thought, forever from his father
house. But what could all this meanp
His father living in the city. He had
not been mistaken then, after all, i'm his
recognition of the old man under the
lamp-poSt. But why-what did il mean.
what he had seen within? Could there
be such love rs this after that bite
parting, that hooking. insulting letter.
these long years of arrangement and
neglect-still waiting for him, an out
cast, wanderer and Che shivered as he
glanced behind him) almost thief?
Out from the half-opened door came
the low tones of prayer. and bowling his
head he listened intently, with the tear.
drops falling all unnoticed on the Odd
letter. A name-itwas his own-caught
his ear, and as he heard it from his
fathers lips he arose and stepped to the
door of the study. He stopped, with
his hand on the knob, as he saw the
ropes tEat swung the great bell be rim to
tighten, pulled by some unseen hand,
then opening the door he stepped into
the room as the first sweet chimes rang
out upon the still midnight air.
1.-THE most curious thing
ever came across, Molly" said Sex
ton Davidson, as he recounted the
events of the night to his wife the neat
morning. "Just to think that the
young man that l took in and
saved from freezing to death at our
own church door should turn out TO be
the rector's own son, when nobody
knew that the rector had a son at alii
l couldn help thinking. though, when
was talking with him last night. that
he looked and acted like a gentleman
otherwise L wouldn't have offered to
take him home with me. But the
strangeSt thing is about the key of the
closet that held the communion service.
You see it had been used the other day
and couldn't put it hack in the safe
because the lock was out of order. So
i just clapped it into that closet of mine.
where L keep most everything, until
could take it down to the bank. When
| had to come home last night was
just about going off and leaving that
strange young man there in the church
with that closet unlocked. / went back
Hhu iOShCu IL anu put the KEY IN nv
pocket. Well, would YOU believe il.
when | got back to the church | found
the key in the lock and the-rector's SON
gone! i couldn't bear at first To omen
the door, was 40 took down. Some
how L managed Ia get up strength
enough to look in and there was the
plate all right! was so thankful that
forgot all about the young fellow and
ran to the ropes to let the bells tell how
glad / was. 1t was Just Christmas
morning"
You're mortal careless, Jim. about
leaving such things around. You've
locked the door and left the KEY stick
ing in it of course. It's mercy that il
wasn't some rascal around lust wait
ing for such chance, instead of our
rector's son. Itll teach you lesson.
hope, but you ought to be starting off
to open up the church. What's the
sermon to be about?''
Tisn't regular Christmas sermon
this time, wife, for some reason. The
text is To be this, the rector has sent
me word: Out of darkness into his
marvellous light. IN J.. World.