The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-02-05
the cabin in the,bushes from her chair

no one was any the wiser, Tor he endu-
red in silence, growing perhaps a trifie
more gaunt and yellow as the summer
wore away.
The hours spent in his miserable
hovel which were not given to sleep
were, for the most part, passed in pray
er. Kneeling upright on the floor, his
body sometimes swaying i'm ecstasy,
oftener rigid with his strong effort at
self control, his voice would rise in sup
plicatory cadence until it reached
commanding frenzy, in which he be-
sought, implored, demanded of the AL
mighty to help and save him from the
temptation of the devil, and the weak
ness of his own heart; ending at last,
when spent and weary with the force
of his passionate outburst, with sob
bing iteration of "Lord, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy"
a warm sunny day in October, the
sun beating down hotly on the stretch
of white road, no hint of approaching
winter, save in the steady autumn
breeze which came with a sharp, cut
ting sound through the half dead
grasses, like sigh straight from the
heart of Nature, grieving, perhaps,
over her fading loveIiness. Down the
sunny road walked woman, a wom-
an in experience of suffering, though
scarcely more than child in years.
Her face would have been babyish,
had it not been for her hollow cheeks
and lack of color; her eyes were large
and childlike, her mouth delicately
moulded, her chin weak but pretty.
She wore slat sunbonnet pushed
back as far as possible upon her head,
in spite of the heat of the sun; her
limp calico gown had caught, and still
dragged after her long blackberry
brier, but she walked on utterly oblivi-
Gus of her appendage. She sighed
with weary satisfaction when bend
in the road brought her within the
shade of the cypress trees, and when,
after a few minutes, she reached the
long plank bridge leading over
Fourche, she for the first time showed
an interest in her surroundings.
She paused in the middle of the
bridge, and looked eagerly out over the
dark waters, first up then down; nor
did her eyes relinquish their search
until they encountered the shanty on
the bank, partly concealed by the un-
dergrowth. Hurrying forward, with
look half expectant, half fearful, she
reached the end of the bridge and kept
the road, until she discovered the now
well-worn path leading to Elijah's hut.
Into this she turned. With hesitat-
ing step, she went down this narrow
way, and pausing at its end to push
aside glowing sumach-that burning
bush, whose fiame-like punches winter
would soon snuff out-she found her.
self close beside the house. Inside,
mans harsh voice rose and fell on the
| still air: ''Oh, Lord God, just Creator,
spare Thy faithful servant; in Thy
wrath and displeasure, give me not
over to the buffeting of Satan, lest be
utterly lost and east into the fiery pit.
Take away from me the face of this
woman who is ever before me, trying
to drag me to perdition and the barter
| of my sonl. Smite the evil one that
torments me, Lord God. | have ever
been "A faithful servant to Thee from
my youth up. | have preached Thy
word and regarded Thy laws. Thou
didst say, IF thine eye offend thee,
pluck it out, and did | more-I tore
out my heart, and yet the evil one
comes to me in the shape of this wom-
an and tries to draw me back, to make
me forgive and cover her crime and
sell my soul to he with her. Lord
God, take this temptation away. Let
me not slip into the fiery pit, else will
| believe there is no God"
The voice which had been climbing
higher and higher, more frenzied and
more impassioned with each appeal,
finally broke into pitiful sob, and the
woman heard the hysterical murmur,
"Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mer-
ey." She stepped softly to the open
door, facing which the man knelt up
right and rigid in the middle Of the
room. AS he saw the figure i'm the
doorway, his face took on a ghastly
pallor, and once more his supplication
sounded on the still air.
''There she is now, Lord; | see her
palmer than ever. 1t is Satan himself
taking the form of woman to drag
me into everlasting damnation. God
have mercy upon me. / know Thou
art God of wrath and punishment,
but what have | done TO be so tor
mentedg'
"Elijah, Elijah ~ exclaimed the wO-
man, and holding out her hands, she
advanced step within the little room.
"Begone, fiend; thou shalt not have
mew exclaimed the man, springing to
his feet and retreating step.
"Elijah, Elijah" exclaimed the wo-
man, with weak little quiver of the
childish chin, "I amt no fiend; don't
you know me? It's Luella; It's your
wife,
For some minutes he regarded her in
tently, trying to satisfy himself that
this was Il reality, and not mere vivid
impression of the face which had haunt
ed his vision for so many weary months.
Finally his tense form relaxed slowly,
and he asked in an unnatural voice,
"Whar did you come from?'
al come from home, whar ben stop
PIN ever sence you sent me thar; but |
won't 90 back; 'Lijah, can't stay thar
no longer. The folks is allus peekin'
, an pryin' ter fin out why you dun lef'
me. They low it must er ben some
) thin mighty bad ter made yer go off
J like that; and mann an dad amt much
, better. Lemme stay here with you,
, 'Lige. / won't never do nOthin' ter
spite yer agin. If I'd sensed how you
| was goin' to take on bout that, / never
r i'm this worl' would er done it; but il
/ didn't seem so bad ter me. / couldn't
: help lovin' pretty clos an gay colors,
and it was just as natural fer me tel
) ter want 'em as it was fer the pinks