The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-07-03
CHAPTER MI.
THE BATTLE FOR PROHIBITION

his soul tHat ne iaQ no JOY IN the
change he had planned to make He
knew we'll enough that his call to the
ministry did not mean a ministry with
the pen. but with the voice and in the
| personal, living, hand to hand touch
with humanity.
| He knew it when he said to Dorothy
there by the ruins, 81 Will" He knew
| it as he penned the letter that even
now he supposed had started on it's
eastward journey. He knew it as he
| felt the touch of the sorrowful moth
er's hand on his arm. And no reason.
ing or self persuasion could convince
him otherwise or satisfy him that he
had made a decision that his con-
science could approve.
The doctor had a patient at the lower
end of the town near where they drove
in on the way back, and Malcolm left
| him there and started to walk home.
AS hF went up the main street past the
saloons Carver came staggering out of
one of them.
The sight of the minister seemed to
sober the man little. He muttered,
How do, Mr. Kirk" and was sham
bling on, when he suddenly stopped, as
If he had remembered something, and
ran back to Kirk, who had gone sadly
on, sick at heart at the sight of him
Something of yours Mr.. Kirk. Let
ter you gave me to keep. No trouble to
keep it. Glad to do favor" Carver
stammered, his drunken brain proud of
his apparent service to the minister.
He pulled out the letter Kirk had
given him and handed it over. NAL
com took it mechanically without a
word. Carver stared at him, and as
Kirk walked away he scratched his
head and muttered:
something wrong with the minister
evidently" He shook his head in per-
plexity and finally zigzagged into a
saloon to see if he could clear up the
mystery with fresh drink.
Malcolm thrust the letter down into
his pocket and walked on like one in a
dream He went by the postoffice with
out looking up. He met several of his
pariShionerS and answered their good
day absently. He was going over the
struggle he had experienced when his
baby died, only this was new form Of
it. Now Dorothy was the person he
was thinking of most He was in the
habit of making up his own mind
quickly. If he ever did anything that
his whole soul could not rejoice in, he
felt suspicious of it; he felt suspicious
of his whole motive now in leaving
Conrad. And Philip Barton, was that
soul laid on him to rescue? Was it
true that he must assume the salvation
of that particular individual and count
him one of the lost souls he had really
pledged himself to save? And this
letter that had come back to him, was
he to take the event as a leading of
the Spirit and interpret it all to mean
that he was not to send it, after all Z?
But Dorothy, how could he ask her to
lead the life of hardship she must lead
II they remained in this Home Mission
airy field: After he had gone over all
the ground for going or leaving he
came back to that final question. And
his mind was in a tumult.
He was within a block of the house
now and still walking on absorbed.
when some one touched his arm He
looked up and saw one of his church
members, one of the poorest men in
his congregation.
How do you do Mr.. Kirk? Wife
and l have been talking over what we
could do toward helping on the new
chufch parsonage, and we have con-
Guided to give this as our share" The
man handed TO Kirk a $40 bill. "We're
sorry 1T isn't ten times as much. Our
crops failed, you know, along with the
sickness and Jim's death last spring.
but we want to do something in memo
ry of the boy. His mother The
man choked up and did not finish the
sentence
mat was Il good sermon you gave
us, Mr.. Kirk, last Sunday. 1t did MS n
world OF good. We're praying for you
at our house. God bless your work
among u.s.
The man was gone, and Malcolm
stood there holding the money, and it
was Impossible for him to prevent his
mind from trying to guess by what
self denial, hardship, sacrifice, that $40
mad been saved 1t was little thing,
but the meeting with his poor parish
Toner profoundly moved him.
He went on slowly and had almost
reached the house when, as he turned
corner, he came face to face with the
superintendent of his Sunday school.
me superintendent was one of the
leadlng temperance workers in Conrad.
He had been specially active in the
work carried on in the country dis
tricts. Heiwas one of Malcom's best
friends, one of the comparatively few
men with whom he often counseled
and one whom he trusted entirely.
"I'ye just been to the house, Mr.
Kirk. to see you. / won't tak1vous