Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1903-03-12
five year league, for all this stirred in

Craig the hero, and he was ready for
all sorts of heroic nonsense, as called
it. We talked of everything but the
one thing, and about that we said not
word till, bending low to poke my
fire and to hide my face, plunged:
You will see her, of course?"
He made no pretense of not under
standing, but answered.:
"Of course"
''There's really no sense in her stay
ing over there l suggested
"And yet she is a wise woman" he
said, as if carefully considering the
question.
Heaps Of landlords never see their
tenants, and they are none the worse"
"The landlords?'
"No, the tenants
"Probably, having such landlords"
"And, as for the old lady, there muEt
be some one in the connection to whom
1t would be a godsend to care for her,"
"Now, Connor," he said quietly,
don't. We have gone over all there
Don't turn it all up again"
Then played the heather and ragged,
as Graeme would have said, till Craig
smiled little YEARLY and said:
You exhaust yourself, old chap.
Have pipe-do." And after pause
he added in his own way: "What
would you have? The path lies straight
from my feet Should 1 quit it? 1
could not SO disappoint you-and all
of them"
And 1 knew he was thinking Of
Graeme and the lads in the mountains
he had taught to be true men. 1t did
not help MY rage, but 1t checked my
speech, so l smoked in silence till he
was moved to say:
''And after all, you know, old chap,
there are great compensations for all
losses, but for the loss Of good con-
science toward God what can make
up?"
But, all the same, L hoped for some
better result from his visit to Britain.
1t seemed to me that something must
turn up to change such an unbearabIe
situation.
The year passed, however, and when
l looked into Craig's face again knew
that nothing had been changed and
that he had come back to take up
again his life alone, more resolutely
hopeful than ever.
But the year had left its mark upon
him too. He was a broader and deep
er man. He had been living and think.
ing with men of larger ideas and rich
y .. ~.
i'll sympathy with life to remain I'M
touched by his surroundings. He was
more tolerant of opinions other than
his own. but more unrelenting in his
fidelity to conscience and more impa-
tient Of half heartedness and self in
diligence. He was full of reverence
for the great scholars and the great
leaders of men he had come to know.
Great, noble fellows they are and
extraordinarily modest" he sad-''that
| is, the really great are modest. There
are plenty of the other sort, neither
| great nor modest. And the books to
| be read! / am quite hopeless about
my reading. 1t gave me Il queer sensa-
ton to shake hands with man who
| him make commonplace remarks, to
witness a faltering in Acknowledgements
expects these men to know everything
and to experience respectful kindness
at his hands,
~Wnat Or the younger men?D | asked.
bright keen, generous FELLOWSHIP
| things theoretical omniscient, but in
things practical quite helpless. They
| toss about great ideas as the miners
| Jumps Of coal. They can call them by
| their book names easily enough, but l
| often wonder whether they could put
them into English. Some of them
| coveted for the mountains, men with
| clear heads and big hearts and built
| after Sandy McNaughton's model. 1t
| does seem d sinful waste of Gods good
| human stuff to see these fellows potter
| away their lives among theories, living
and dead. and end up by producing a
book. They are all either making or
going 10 make a book. \ good thing
we haven't to read them. But here
and there among them is some quiet
chap who will make a book that men
will tumble over each other to read"
| Then we paused and looked at each
| other.
| ''Well?" l said.
He understood me.
Eyes" he answered slowly. "doing
great Work. Every one worships her
| just as we do, and she is making them
all do something worth While. as she
used to make us"
He spoke cheerfully and readily, as it
he We're repeating lesson well learn
ed, but he could not humbug me.
felt the heartache in the cheerful tone.
Tell me about her." | said for
knew that if he would talk it would dc
him good, and talk he did, often forget
ting me, till, as ! listened, l found my,
self looking again into the futhomless
eyes and hearing again the heart
searching voice. | saw her go in and
out of the little red tiled cottages and
| down the narrow back lanes of the vii
lage; | heard her voice in q sweet, low
| song bV the bod of n 6viDr child on