The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1883-12-14

his study" ard he gave q nervous lit
tie laugh at his own fears, then glanced
up at the great clock. 1t pointed to
1850. s4he sexton ought to be com
ing back soon,n he thought. Yielding
to sudden impulse he hurried again to
the closet and opened the door. How
easy it would be to tie the plate up and
then escape through a window? Going
to one of the back easements he looked
out. Only 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 smooth-swept from snow
mo danger of being traced after once
getting out. Going back to the closet
he looked long and earnestly at the
massive plate. " It would get me out
of this cursed country and help me to
new start in some better place." he
thought. " God knows that, bad as
I've been, I've never come TO this as
yet; but then, how would any one be-
lieye mellow would hep No use of
my trying to get out of the shadow in
my life; might as well make the best
of it and enjoy what | can. Hank! l
heard that noise again.
Shutting the door, he turned the key
in the lock and noiselessly creeping
along the passage he paused before the
door of the study. 1t stood ajar, and he
looked in. Kneeling before a chais., was
the figure of an old man, holding in his
hand crumpled yellow letter and
look of n 10 ri brorun hoiy nv, xub;oL .+bo
tear-drops were yet glistening. The
Man in the Shadow breathed quick and
hard Suddenly the letter fell to the
floor unnoticed by its holder The Man
in the Shadow picked it up and looked
at it. ITO Rev. Arthur Drayton,'' he
read, and then staggering back into the
hall he sank d0Tn on chair and eager
~ tore the shaes open. Just ten years
before, the date-the name at the end
and the handwriting his own! His
thoughts went back to another Christ
mas Eve. He tried to recall it, but
there was only a confused recollection
OF boyish scrape and his meeting with
his father in the old church. Stern,
hard words on his fathers side, and
first 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,
as he thought, forever from his fathers
house. But what could all this mean?
His father living in the city. He had
not been mistaken then, after all, in his
recognition of the old man under tho
lamp-post. But why-what did it mean,
what he had seen within? Could there
be such a love as this after that bitter
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 old
letter. A name-it was 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 that swung the great bell begin 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
"The amost curious thing
ever came across, Molly" said Sex
ton Davidson, as he recounted the
events of the night to his wife the next
morning. ''Just to think that the
young man that I 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 son at ali!
| couldn't help thinking. though, when
| was talking with him last night, that
he looked and acted like 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 back in the safe
because the lock was out of order. So
| just clapped it into that closet of mine,
where l keep most everything, until I |
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
and locked it and put the KEY in nv
pocket. Well, would you believe it,
when | got back to the church | found
the key in the lock and the-rector's son
gone! couldn't bear at first to open
the door, was 50. took down. Some
how I managed to 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 it
wasn't some rascal around Just wait
ing for such q chance, instead of our
rector's son! It'll 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 T. World.
Malaria in Italy.