Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-07-24
NYsEssgEESlSs $50

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ing or self persuasion could convince
him otherwise or satisfy him that he
had Eade q decision that his con-
scierte could approve.
The doctor had 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 he 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 lis
head and muttered:
Something wrong with the minister
evidently" He shook his head in per-
plexity and filally 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
1t. 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 leading of
| the Spirit and interpret it all to mean
| that he was not to send it, after all
| But Dorothy, how could he ask her to
| load rho 1ifo of ba rd hin CHI, ,,,,,,+ L., q
| If 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
4 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 have been talking over what we
! could do toward helping on the new
| church parsonage, and we have con-
cluded to give this as our share" The
man handed to Kirk $40 bill. We're
| SoAiS II 1911 L teu tilleS as lIucu.. 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.
THAT was good sermon you gave
, us, Mr.. Kirk. last Sunday. 1t did us a
world of good. We're praying for you
at our house. God bless your work
! among us"
| The man was gone, and Malcolm
4 stood there holding the money, and ii
was impossible for him to prevent his
mind from trying to guess by what
| self denial, hardship, sacrifice, that SIC
! had 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
| The superintendent was one of the
| leading temperance workers in Conrad
He had been specially active in the
work carried on in the country dis
| tricts. He was one of Malcom's best
friends, one of the comparatively few
men with whom he often counseled
and one whom he trusted entirely.
I've just been to the house, Mr..
Kirk, to see you. won't take your