The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-15
Our Daily Short Stories
SNATCHEDFROM THE BURNING
BY DABNEY MARSHALL.
1901. by Authors syndicate)

wife. There was Just enough danger in
the proposition to make it sweet. OF
course she would refuse him. but then,
after all, she might accept him. And
she did.
That night the professor did not
sleep. He paced the floor of his room
IN painful agitation. In the girls alb
sence the glamour of her beauty dis
solved in the dry light of reason. Was
ne, Edgar Gordon, to be one of those
fools who allowed their lives to be
wrecked by a wretched passion like
love! He was politically we'll con-
nected, and might hope to go far--but
II ne married? Such a thing was i'm
possible. He would not do it. Her life
as well as his would be blighted. He
owed it to Lucille to release her. But
suppose she did not want to be re-
leased. Suppose her love were strong
err than her reason? He feared that
reason was not Lucille's strong point.
What then? What would the world
say about his trif1ing with a young
girls affections? And what would her
brothers do? They are rash young
men, only too deeply learned in Messrs.
Smith & Weston's. tragic volume on the
brevity of human existence. The pros
pect of a grave in the cemetery was
even less attractive to the fastidious
professor than an ill-considered mar
riage.
For the unfortunately married there
is Dakota-but for the dead?
But whom the gods love they extri-
cate from their difficulties and deliver
ance came with the dawn.
That night Miss Dalrymple had an
nounced her engagement to the pro-
fessor to Sister 'Pennybaker. Con-
sternation at first filled that lady's
breast But this was soon swallowed
up in firm determination. She had an
nounced to the world that Miss Lucille
Dalrymple had been converted as
special answer to prayer-to the
prayer of Sister Pennybaker. Was she
to allow herself to be held up to mock
cry by the sons of Belial, who would
be sure to say her influence must be
weak indeed when it could be upset by
a professor in just about three weeks.
1t must not, and it should not be. She
argued with the girl She tried to per-
suade her. She pointed out to her the
foolishness and the sin of preferring
matrimony to the chance of becoming
a blessed martyr in China. She pointed
to herself as an example. She. too, had
been wooed, but had resisted. And
what was the reward-the presidency
of temperance society.
But the girl was firm. She even in
timated that perhaps Sister Pennybak-
er had resisted because the wooer had
not persisted. At this awful bias
phemy Sister Pennybaker threw her
self on her knees and prayed that the
eyes of the misguided girl might be
unsealed, yea, that her ears might De
unstopped.
But, Pharaohlike, Lucille hardened
her heart. She said finally she had
given the professor her word, and IL
could not be honorable or religious
to break promise. At this declara-
ton Sister Pennybaker brought the
interview to a close and kissed her
poor, strayed lamb goodnight.
Early the next morning she was
ushered into tfse professors apart
ment. She proceeded to business at
once In such great crises of life
mere conventionalities are forgotten.
She told the professor that Lucille had
informed her of the engagement. He
turned pale Would he have to marry
that girl after all? But, she contin-
ued, she had come to forbid the mar
riage. Such a marriage would be
blasphemy, sin. direct interference
with the plans of providence and her
self. Surely he did not want to be
guilty of a think like that? She de-
manded, therefore, that for the good
of them both that he Immediately re-
lease Miss Dalrymple from her engage
ment.
"But I love her!" exclaimed the pro-
fessor, passionately.
Because of your very love for her
you will save her." replied the sister,
using logic, womanlike, when it suited
her purpose.
After many protestations on his part
tve hQTE
she finally bore off the following letter:
my One, My Only My Lifelong
/, Love: ! have become convinced that
our marriage in the earth-life would
be a sacrilege. 1t would be the damna-
ton of your soul and mine. would
willingly lose my soul to gain you, but
the loss of your soul is a torture ]
could not bear
81 know, darling, that I shall wander
heart-hunsry through life; but Miss
Pennybaker (and she is a lady, am
informed, of unimpeachable veracity)
assures me on her word of honor that
J you and ! will be together through
eternity. Eternity Think of what
; that means. dearest! She says that for
every pang of our bleeding hearts here
our crowns in Heaven will CLEAN with
an additional star.
$50, dearest, for your sake l give up
the joys of time for the ecstasies of
eternity.
Yours in the Blessed To Be.
Edgar"
-Four months later Lucille sailed to
China. Six months after she was mar
ried to young missionary over there.
Three years later, according to report,
Sister Pennybaker was removed from
the board of missions by reason of GER
tain representations made by a mis-
sionary in regard to the sisters care
less handling of missionary moneys.
AS for the professor he never mar
ried, and never accorded lady lecturers
the attention that should have been
theirs from so learned and chivalric a
gentleman. But then we all have our
SHORTCOMINGS