Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-11-04


lines; then he sneers and makes obi
Gus comparisons. He attacks institu
tions, ceremonies and men. tmmedi-
ately human sympathies are aroused.
They may have been dormant before;
how they defend themselves; they
wax strong and beautiful under the
sting and the spur, and so, when the
scoffer has departed, flowers spring up
In his footsteps.
Such were some of my thoughts
when suddenly Jack took hold Of my
arm and almost dragged me after him
UP dingy stairway and into the army
quarters. The hall was long and mar
row with very smoky ceiling. Mot
toes and texts of all kinds adorned the
walls. For the most part, they were
printed in many colors, upon small
cards which put me In mind of the
notices which are often hung around
the walls OF restaurant, signifying
such and such food for the body, while
these Salvation notices, Of course, de-
noted such and such food for the soul.
We took seats at the back OF the
hall and from there we had good
view of the army officers and their
proceedings.
As we looked on, / was puzzled to
understand what these Salvatiouists
were SO happy about. had never
thought or heard of prayer and laugh
ter, or at least jollity, being served up
in the same dish before, and said to
myself IL these people are all simulat-
ing happiness, they are certainly
pretty good actors aud actresses.
A long bench at the front of the
platform was occupied by two officers
the captain and her lieutenant. The
latter had a rather serious, careworn
face, but there was kindness in it, and
plenty Of music, which accounted for
the guitar, upon which she played
very tastefully at times.
AS we entered the hall the captain
was on her knees with her back to the
audience, engaged in prayer.
Very soon she arose, faced the peo-
pie and looked round the hall with q
half bashful, anxious expression on
her face. Then quickly, as il someone
had pressed button, the countenance
was bathed in smiles and then again
suddenly it was all in shadow and
quite serious, and so the color came
and went from her beautiful counte-
nance as il By the touch of some magic
wand. Perhaps she stood still in this
way for minute, and il passed
through my mind that the color came
and went as she recognized or missed
familiar faces in the crowd before her,
faces that to her meant souls in the
keeping of the army in which she was
a leader and captain.
l am very fond of analyzing faces
and of giving off-hand opinions as to
their meaning and probable history.
So i very soon became interested in
| this Madonna-faced captain standing
there on the platform with a hymn
book in her hand, the very image of
graceful yet unconscious dignity.
OF course / had heard of and seen
Madonna faces before, but that style
of beauty had never appealed to me
very much. Now, however, j recog-
nized in the countenance before me
| the Madonna lines and the Madonna
ideas, but they were clothed In flesh
| and blood and it seemed TO me that
must reconsider my decision and that
| perhaps there might be something in
| that kind of face after all.
| In fact, a dead Madonna in grey, in
| black and white, in a picture, was all
very well i'm its way, but this living
| Madonna in blue was simply a revela.
tion to my critical and cynical mind
| And then when listened to her voice
/ was bound to confess that the charm
remained. She announced hymn
read a verse, and the tone was clear
ra hot IN A
| while she commenced to talk in a
quiet, cheerful way about the army
its needs, its work and its hopes.
Her story in its simplicity and
charm went straight to the hearts OF
the audience. The beginning and the
end OF it was love and sacrifice.
Just think of it," l almost said
aloud, "here is a symphony, min
| gled harmony of sweet faces and kind
deeds borne of the slums and the gut
| ters."
/ tell you the whole scene went to
my heart, and suddenly the thought
! arose:
II wonder what Jack thinks about
it ALL"
In the earnestness of my study and
reflections / had forgotten Jacks pres
ence altogether, and my amaZement
can be imagined when upon turning
to speak to him l perceived that he
was pale as death and evidently suf
fering from a slight shock of some
kind.
Securing assistance | was conduct
ing him quietly out of the hall and had
almost reached the door when
chanced to look back towards the plat
form. There seemed to be quite com
motion among the army people, and
no wonder, for the Madonna in blue
was turning round and round on the
platform with her arms extended i'm Q
bewildered, appealing kind of way
as though she were trying to get some
! where or to get hold of some imagin
ary object just as person might be
ave while cropping in the dark.
She continued her strange behavior
| for a few seconds and then fell into
| the arms of her astonished friends.
/ As l hurried Jack from the scene
the Interpretation of the whole affair
dawned upon me. Jack had surely
| met this fair-haired girl before, and
straightway / thought of the old hag
the cave and the Indian Eye Next
morning my friend appeared to have
recovered from his queer indisposition
but when / spoke to him about the in,
cident Of the night before he had for,
gotten all about it, which, of course, ]
could not understand.
But l noticed toward the noon hour
that the Irritation from the crimson
magnet had increased TO such an ex.
tent that he nearly lost control over
himself.
A little later, with no definite object
in view, we left our hotel and took a
walk up fremont street.
We were just about to turn down
into Boylston street when Jack very