Waterbury Democrat., 1901-02-19

tempt was regarded by the vast ma jority as eowardly and murderous act, q disgrace to the name of work ingmen and a setback to the cause. There was special indignation express ed against the attempt to kill or in- jure Eric by throwing the mass of ore down the tt dder hole, for that had been done, according to the story Of the men who were overpowered at the shafts mouth. One or two of them had been unwilling witnesses to the outrage.
 The telling of this story and the ap- pearance of the Davis men had the eff feet of sobering the crowd and caus- ing it to disperse. The troops were forgotten for awhile. The new men sent over the road by the owners of he upper ranges would Dpt pass through Champion anyway until the morrow. Groups of miners began to go off in companies toward their homes. Stuart saw that the danger for the evening was passed. The Sal vation Army had marched off to it's hall, and a large crowd had gone in after it. The square was now rapidly being cleared. He felt completely eX- hausted, now that the strain was over.
 You will spend the night with me, MT. Burke?' he asked as the two walk ed out of the square over to where the horse had been left.
 t'No. Mir. Duncan. I believe l will re- main down here, now am so near my hotel quarters. Just as much under ob liga tions to you. This has been great day of experience for you. I hope you will not be the worse for it. The dan ger from the men seems over for to- night
 Yes, 1 think so. Sorry you are not going out with me. It has been q day Of experiences. 1 can't forget my in debtedness to you. We shall know each other better 1 am sure. l need to know all the good men possible these days
 I'm at your service, Mr. Duncan. Good night
 Good night" Stuart shook hands strongly and drove up the street tin gling again from the pressure of that grasp. Andrew Burke's handShake Sug geSted as much as some mems oratiOnS.
 Stuart was so tired and ready for rest when he reached home that, aftot. see ing Erie and being assured that he would get through the night with the watching of the nurse sent for by the doctor be went up to his room.
 He slept hard. but waker"u early and could not go to sleep again. He had dreamed of his experience in the mine and awoke at the point where he had heard Burke's voice. He went over the whole adventure again. and then ire sistibly was drawn in thought down to the town square and in mCn2Ory stood on the church steps a little above the kneeling figure that prayed. He found himself saying over the words of the prayer. To his surprise he could rc- member almost every sentence. Then he began to analyZe his feelings, pro- voked by the expressions of the prayer. But his mind soon refused to criticlse anything and, without any special req son for it. he began to ask if the saving of men was any more the Salvation Army's business than his own. lie be gan to dwell on the word saved" as it was used so often in the prayer Then. by logical step which he did not at tempt to argue about as he might once have done. lie was confronted with his 
 he tried to avoid answering the Ques- tun. it persisted in being put: Am 1 saved? What ia Jesus to me-
 The whole matter was foreign to his moral code. Besides. how could man in his present position, with all this la bor trouble confronting him, attend to religious questions? Nevertheless he was forced to come back to the simple question: Am l saved? What is Jesus to rle:' All through the strange de- bate now going on within him he seem el to feel that lie was being driven ir- resistibly to u point where lie must answer or decide the matter of his own personal salvation.
 He dressed and ill a growing excite ment walked the room iii the twilight. How are men converted! Was Saul of TarSus expecting to be met by the Vi sion on the road to Damascus? Was it not as sudden and astonishing 10 him as q lightning bolt out Of q cloudleSs evening? Does the Lord have any fee ble limitations ill his way of reaching 1ren's souls or in tEe time he chooses: :: Stuart tried again and again to stop the persistent question that rose re- DtutcCIN to HIS IDS, Dtl lc llO PIti pc'oE. He said, II will go down and inquire about Eric.' But le turned in his walk every time he faced his door and again paced back to the windows which opened on the front of the house. Gradually as the light of the world grew stronger outside another and an inward light grew in Stuart'S soul. He watched it grow in awe of its strange revealing power. He saw himself as a child of God. With opportunities. pow CTS, values, all of them hitherto used seltshly, and in and through all the rest he saw illum:nel radiant cross. "What was Jesus to him?' The Ques- ton grew with meaning. Why was the Jesus of history q figure to be re- spected simply? Of what value and meaning was the cross unless it be- came a personal redemption?
 The sunrise of the outer world was reckoning the pines out on the hills. In little while the sun would be lock- ing out over the ranges, and new day 1,, p,1t c