The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1900-06-07
CoprIoht, 1853. BY Tns Adpones Psiblt1AAn0 o.


was man enough to be entirely unshak-
en- by anonymous threats. A thou
sand a day would not have unnerved
him in the least. He would have
wrthed under the sense OF the great
sin which they revealed, but that is all
the effect they would have had.
When it came to his wife, however,
that was another question. For mo-
ment he felt like sending in his rcsig-
nation and moving out of Milton as
soon as possible. Mrs. Strong did not
oppose hi.' decision when once he had
declared his resolve. She knew Philip
must do what to him was the will OF
his Master. and with that finally she
was content.
She had overcome her nervousness
and dread now that Philips couia-
geous presence strengthened her, ana
she began to tell him that he had bet
ter hunt for the man who had appear
ed so mysteriOusly in the study.
IL haven't convinced myself yet that
there is any man. Confess, Sarah, that
you dreamed all that
Il did not" replied his wife, little
Indignantly. "Do you think | wrote
those letters and stuck that knife into
She desk mySclf?"
"Of course not But how could
man get into the study and neither you
nor the girl know it,"
II did hear n noise, and that Is what
started me up stairs. And lie may be
in the house yet. shall not rest easy
until you look into all the closets and
down cellar and everywhere"
SO Philip, TO quiet his wife, search
cd the house thoroughly, hut found
nothing. The servant and the min
ister's wife followed along at n re-
spectful distance behind Philip, one
armed with the poker and the other
with fire shovel, while he pulled opcn
closet doors with reckless disregard Of
any possible man hiding within and
pretended to look into the most unlike
ly places for him, joking all the while
to rcassure his trembling followers.
They found one of the windows In
Philips study partly open. But that
did not prove anything, although n
man might have crawled in and out
again through that window from an ell
of the parsonage, the roof OF which ran
near enough to the window so that an
active person could gain entrance that
way. The whole affair remained more
or less n mystery to Philip. However.
the letters and the knife were rea!.
He took them down town next day to
the office OF the evening paper and ask
ed the editor to publish the letters and
describe the knife. 1t was too good Il
piece of news to omit, and Milton pco-
pie were treated to n genuine sensation
when the article came out. Phillp =
object in giving the incident publicity
was to show the community what Il
murderOus element it was fostering in
the saloon power. Those threats and the
knife preached n sermon to the
thoughtful people of Milton. and citi-
zens who had never asked the question
before began to ask now, "Arc we to
endure this saloon monster much Ion
ger?"
As for Philip. he went his way the
same as ever Some of his friends and
church members even advised him to
carry n revolver and be careful about
going out alone at night. Philip laugh
ed at the idea of Il revolver and said:
IF the saloon men want to get rid or
me without the trouble of shooting me
themselves, they had better make me Il
present of silver mounted pistol.
Then would manage the shooting my
self. And as for being careful about
going out evenings what is this town
| thinking Of that ii will continue to
| license and lcgalZc an institution that
makes its honest citizens advise new
comers to stay at home for fear of as
sassination? No. | shall 90 about my
work Just as if lived in the most law
abiding community in America. And If
| am murdered by the whisky men /
want the people of Milton TO under
| stand that the citizens are as much to
blame for the murder as the saloon
men. For a community that will IL
| cpnSe SUCH II cuGSc Oueul W Dt'iI bhe
shame of the legitimate fruits of it.
The trial of the man with the hare
lip had been postponed for some legal
reason, and Philip felt relieved some
what. He dreaded the ordeal of the
court scene. And one or two visits
made at the Jail had not been helpful
to him. The man had refused each
time to see the minister, and he had
gone away feeling hungry in his SOU
for the mans redemption and realiz
ing something of the spirit of Christ
when he was compelled to cry out
"They will not come unto me that they
might have eternalsife." That always
seemed to Philip the most awful fea
ture Of the history of Christ-that the
very people he loved and yearned aftel
spit upon him and finally broke hi
heart with their hatred.
He continued his study Of the prob
lem Of the town, believing that every
place has certain peculiar local char
acteristics which every church ant
preacher ought to study. He wal
sfruck nv the aspect of the lower par