The San Francisco call., 1906-07-01
CHAPTER XXI.
A Call From the Superintendent of
MissiOns.


A Call From the Superintendent of
Missions.
1t was pitiful to see the little church
go down The first Sunday the Morgans
stayed away; the next, Mrs. Wellman
and Tom and Maud. After that, most
of the women dropped out. Shed kept
on. SO did 10 and Tim NooRan and the
other miners. So did Dick. Jack came
more regularly than ever. Barker
manifested a sudden zeal which was
evidently designed to atone for the alb
sence of his daughter Louise from the
organ. There was no one else who
could play, so the preacher became
again the organist, as during the first
Sundays after his arrival.
He appeared not to notice the dwind
ling of his congregation. His cheer
fulness and patience were indefatg-
able. He continued to preach with
fervor, to pray as if speaking to One
who heard him; and he sang with
melancholy sweetness which brought
moisture to the eyes of more than one
of the rough men present
AS luck would have il, even these
pitifully few adherents lessened. Shed
obliged to go away on business.
This was early in November The
tenth of November the superintendent
of missions was due on his annual visi-
tation.
He had left Eureka till almost the
end of the tour, promising there to
comfort himself for the disappoint-
ments and discouragements encoun-
tered elsewhere. He had been kept in
formed by Frank Henley, until within
the past six weeks, the subjects
which Vaughan was too modest to men
ton; had been told of the dare of
the debate. of other victories achieved
by Vaughan. He stopped at Galena on
his way, but Frank confessed he had
lieard nothing from Clement for over
a month.
Il haven't even had Sentinel from
him." said Frank. I'D promised Mary
to go over If / didn't hear soon. Tell
him so. Tell him I'll be over some time
next week
I'll do So said the superintendent
and rode off into the gay autumnal
landscape 1t seemed to open and close
upon him. Over him brooued dull
sky Around him the outlines of the
mountains were dissolved into soggy
masses. without form or strength.
From an indistlnguishable hiding place
in their dark sides emerged a band of
coyotes that followed him at a respect
full distance, but near enough to give
him an uncomfortable sense of being
watched and shadowed.
The gray Of the sagebrush was
: RTayeI Iildn It's WOHt. Iue ram Udu
made the roads heavy. Where he
crossed the alkali flats every footprint
of his horse filed with the ooze of the
hideous, yellow alkali water.
John Harman was not in frame of
mind to resist the somber influences of
the day and the scene. Wherever he
had been he had found affairs in a more
than usually depressing condition. One
preacher drank, another was lazy.
Most of his missioners were men of
conscience; but they were not men of
ability. The shrewdness, the snap, the
endurance seemed to be all enlisted on
the other side.
Would that there were more like him
4 Some of the younger men must be sent
down to Eureka TO see how Vaughan
did his work. Eureka could be handed
! over to one of these neophytes and
| Vaughan could be sent to start another
! mission. There should be one at Elko.
He would talk the matter over with
Vaughan and see what he thought
1t was afternoon when he drove up
Richmond Hill and halted at the Well
mans, where he always stayed. Tom
and Maud ran out to meet him; their
mother followed slowly.
She was a tall, angular woman OF
/ New England ancestry. She'd who was
/ born in the Middle West, declared that
| was ALL Inat d1leQ ner. w men SEe mad
| ScrupleS and convictions, or. he said,
bore down. he would exclaim There
you go, Sarah, Plymouth Rock. I'd
have it cut outr' But she was a good
woman, and upon that very foundation
stone of her character which was some
times a stone of stumbling TO her easy
going husband he leaned perpetually
| The only time of weakening he had
| ever known in her was when she had
learned, during his absence. of the ad-
vent of the woman and child from Eng
| land. and in her perplexity and worry
| had flung herself and her condolences
upon Miss Sinclair.
TT warn't a bit like her." he mused
"She must have been pretty well up
set"
Her demeanor today, when she met
the superintendent, showed that she
was not yet mistress of herself He
noticed it, being in thu habit of no.
ticing the mental condition of those
he had to deal with, but attributed it tc
anxiety over the burden of entertaining
him during Wellmans absence. This
was. indeed, the subject of her first
comment.
1T does SEEM" she said earnestly
''as if Shed was always out of towr
when folks come He says he'll be back
tonight. You'll stay over night?' Re-
assured on this score, her mind re-
Verted- TO the Otnee topic, never raj
from her consciousness: Hes always
away when things happen. That's the
way it was when the trouble came"
j "Trouble?" repeated Harman, looking
puzzled.
i ''Oh, dear, hain't you heard" sighed
Mrs. Wellman. Have / got to be the
one to tell you? Warn't there nobody
to tell you but me?"
Il came directly here" said Harman
i Il thought / wouldn't go to the church
until later l wrote Vaughan to thai
effect. j hadn't heard from him, di-
rectly or indirectly for some weeks
but he knew / was travelling about
does the trouble concern him?" For q
Epained look had stolen over Mrs. Well.
mans face at the mention of Vaughan,
name.
/ Sarah Wellman choked and swallowed
before she answered, Yes. IL does"
j rs he ill?' Hurt?" Hasn't he paic
his bills? Has he been getting into bac
| habits?"