The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-03

ings with those which made up the environ
ment of his own father and mother down
across the State and that of his own early
life in the Embarras bottoms. full Of trees
and brush He said something of this to
her one day as they were driving to Keo-
kuk along the road by the bank of the
| river.
1--WE often wondered how much of this
| environment of ours is found in my relg
ion," she replied. 1.-The irresistibility of the
| river might account for the Calvinism with
| which our whole family is saturated. Its
sublimity and beauty might account for the
tenacity with which we hold our belief
based upon a feeling Of certainty of having
| the truth. With all this I find / have a
liberality Of view which seems queer in
| connection with the strength of my ideas
on theological matters. and which comes.
perhaps. from the broad purview of things
| I get from the Heights"
| Even that does not count for the great
breadth of view you showed when you
turned down q preacher for me-" he VEN
| tured.
| II never thought 1t was necessary to be
vapid in order to be conscientious" she re-
| piled, land do not claim great breadth of
| view because / do not think ii necessary
| to marry a minister in order to do good in
the world. I'd rather go out with a man
| of force, a knight with a strong right arm
and skill in using the broadsword and ra-
pier, than with a priest, when 1t became
necessary to fight for the right
| This pleased Shacklett immensely, al
| though the words suggested to him a train
| of thought quite different from what Miss
Stoddard meant as the underlying principle
| But he did not give II a great deal Of
| thought tnat day. Some months afterward
| Mary Stoddard went into the matter to the
| bottom, but 1t was over a decade later be-
| fore she saw 1t illumined thoroughly. They
| talked about other things, but this mystery
Of what she saw In him kept uppermost in
| Shackletts mind all the afternoon. He
could not entirely accept, In his cool, calcu-
| lating moments, that such a girl could
| really love man like him well as she
could minister, for instance, and he had
a constant, subconscious fear that she
should cease to find him attractive.
He returned to this idea after they
| reached the home of her friend In Keokuk
| 1t kept in touch with whatever happened
| When their hostess left the parlor he
thought Of Mary Stoddard walking away
| from him and his life. When she returned
he thought of the close connections she
had left in the living rooms of the house,
and of Mary Stoddard leaving him In the
same way. When the two girls left him
alone in the large, cool, darkened parlor he
sat looking through the narrow Sits in
the window shutter. 1t was 2 o'clock on
an August afternoon. The picture seen
through the window looked as IL 1t were
made from poorly developed negative.
The high lights were white splotches and
the shadows had dim details. The house
across the street was closed so thoroughly
that Ii seemed deserted, and it's walls shone
FURNISHED by the sun. except where the
shadow OF tree struck them, and there
the art work in boards could hardly be dis
tinguished. Half way over there was
brilliant spot that dazzed the eyes and
looked like a sun that had fallen in the
street, but II was only an old newspaper.
The lawns had not the familiar green note
in the color scale of other hours but sim
ply showed their place in the scale of light
and shade. The light did not come from
far above, but II seemed TO permeate every
thing except under the trees, and there IL
was dim because II was concentrated to
surcharge the open.
A man on a wheel rode into the picture
and did not seem material and forceful: he
was only another point of reflection, and
the handle bars and spokes made one draw
a deeper breath for more air. He disap-
peared in an instant, If he had been
volatile. delivery wagon from a store
slid in like the magic-lantern picture of the
country schoolhouse. and the big umbrella
over the seat was the only part of 1t no.
ticed. Like painting elephant a big ice
wagon slowly numbered along with a drab
body under a white rejecting top, and the
man on the rear step suggested the ele-
plants tail. Fantastic fancies came, for
the whole picture was a phantasy of the
paresis from light and heat.
He went to look down the street and the
same sharp contrast of brillancy was
there. A man in a black coat was walking
with man in light blue negligee shirt
and lifting his hat as he came to a shaded
sidewalk. When they turned the corner
the street was deserted not dog was in
sight One could seldom look down that
street without seeing dogs. but now they
were somewhere with elongated tongues
and rapid rhythm in their heaving sides.
Two pretty girls came along the sidewalk
and passed. They were only vivacious and
their diaphanous white waists were per-
fectly transparent over round arms. per-
feet shoulders, plump necks and pink backs
in way that made everything else In the
street disappear. The girls are what keeps
hot afternoon from fading into vapor,
and shacklett had this thought as a fore
runner 10 the other one. that IL was quite
! possible that the one girl In the world for