The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1901-08-08
Storn~Swept
BY F. H. Lancaster.
Copy wright, 1901, by Authors syndicate.)


THE quarrel had been bitter. No
passionate outburst to be
ashamed of-or to be forgiven. They
had come to an understanding. When
his pleasant afternoon jaunt was
ended they would return to town to
go their separate ways, and, yes, TO
avoid each other for awhile, until they
grew accustomed to the dead feeling
about the heart. In the meantime
while their wheels glided on smooth
" side by side, each found cause for
congratulation that the revelation
had come in time But il affected them
differently, as was natural, since one
was a man and the other a woman.
To the man the afternoon stretched
into interminable perspective. To the
woman came the determination that
this perspective should be shortened.
"These roads seem to be getting
steadily WORSE" she remarked, with
careful civility. "Shall we turn
back?"
GAS you like" he answered, mood
ily. for he was a man, and playing a
TO the woman.
They turned. only to realize that
while one storm had burst another
had been brewing. Huge masses Of
bme-black clouds, shot athwart con-
tinuously by Lightning flashes, tow
cred above the treeto1s IN erie moar
crept through the pines-a herald OF
the wild northwest wind that would
thresh the forest with its fail, strik-
ing down crest and branch-even lay
ing an occasional monarch low.
They both knew the danger. hu'
while the girl bent with disdainful in
difference over her handle bars the
man looked around for shelter. He
had dim consciousness of having
passed a wayside building when tn
quarrel was on, and turn in the roaC
now revealed il to nina little church
log-bult and straw-strewn. HI
wheeled closer to his companion, and
shouted against the rising wind, bu;
she shook her head.
81 say we must" he reiterated.
4 moment later he was standing
with his hand on the handle bar, ant
they were facing each other in the
midday gloom. Her eyes, ablaze with
unstinted scorn, could read in his
only logged determination as re-
lentless as the grip of his strong right
hand.
The whole congregation was sing
ing, Their high-pitched, nasal voices
soaring through the forest roar
formed a tumult fearfully and won
derfuly made. The rain, having driver
in all the men and boys from their
whiting and horse swapping, the
small building was crowded, but Cor
don secured a seat near the door and
motioned the girl into il, Yesterday.
or even an hour ago he would have
longed to share it with her. Now he
smiled to observe that by a skillful
arrangement of her skirts she had
made that impossible. A rather ur-
necessary maneuver, ii seemed TO him,
when it was all he could do to force
himself to stand there beside her with
his hand on the back of the bench.
The united roar of nasal hymn and
thundergust having spent its force,
the voice Of the preacher arose
against the raindrops on the roof
Gordon turned toward the man me
chanically. He was tall, stoop-shoul-
dered. sunburnt. Evidently quite a
home behind the pl5wshares, and yet
his place in the pulpit seemed TO suit
aim well. There was a manly rever-
nee in mein and gesture, and al
though there were Lis about the
FPS that spoke of mr"h smiling and
twinkle 1urkad in his shrewd, kind
iy eyes, there were other lines on
that weather-beaten face, deep cut
and sad-a sign that time cannot set
save with the stamp of pain.
In a strong, SLOW voice he read his
text: BLESSED be the peacemakers."
re closed the Bible and laid it
aside, then he turned TO his congrega-
ton.
"Brethren," he began, in an easy
conversational tone. "brethren. what
Is this here peace that the Good Book
teels about, and who alls is the peace
makers it calls blessed? Is it them
that jaws agin their neighbours cattle
when hits their own pesky fences
that's to blame? What's the reason
there amt no peace in this here set
Element? You alls is law-abiding citi-
zens; there amt no cattle driv of
nor sheep stole. Even the hogs amt
medded with. Brethren, let me tell
you that story agin about the
shucks."
The attention of the congregation
took on an added interest. Surely
never did ancient Greek delight more
in the "Euripedean thing" than does
the south Mississippi cracker in this
story OF the shucks. Vario.sly APP