The San Francisco call., 1906-07-01
TIE SAGEBRUSF1 |
PARSON


Did you say Come in? I wasn't
sure" Enmeiine began plaintively,
then plunged at once into the middle
of her tale "Oh. Katharine. l don't
know what you'll say, | have such
dreadful piece of news for you. some
thing perfectly awful has happened!'
Katharine sprang TO her feet, re-
calling her forebodings. What has
she cried. rs any one hurt
-dead?" one never knew what might
happen in Eureka
worse than thatw returned Miss
Emmeline solemnly. She seated herself
in a straight backed chair, herself as
straight and unconforming. "Katha-
rine. YOU know l never did believe in
that man as you did,
You mean Mr.. Vaughan" said
Katharine She resumed her seat at
the piano. Here were more preposter-
Gus stories. evidently. Has Mr. Haver-
ford been here? No? Mr.. Winslow,
perhaps? Who has been SO kind as to
bring you the latest gossip about Mr.
Vaughan?"
You won't speak like that when l
tell you what Mrs Wellman said. Yes
it was Mrs. Wellman herself who told
me- She got it from the Morgans, who
heard it direct from Mrs. Barker, and
she. heard il FROM
Never mind whom she heard it
rom" interrupted Katharine impa-
iently What did she hear?"
She heard" said Miss Emmeline,
lragging her words out with irritating
Elaboration, that a woman and child
lave come out to him from where he
ived in. England" she paused,
Every particle of color had left the
bright face before. her. Only the eyes,
,lack with intensity of emotion, trans
ixed her where she sat. "A woman
And a child?" repeated Katharine.
Yes, woman and child. First
she said she wasn't his wife and then
she said she was. Anyway, he's been
10 see her. at the McClintock boarding
house; was there for hours, this very
morning"
This very morning." repeated Kath-
arine This very morning, when she
had dreamed herself into his arms,
And the child, every one says. is the
image of him. The woman is quite
sood-looking, d blonde" finished Aunt
Gmmeline. ITO think that I've let that
man hold my hand and go to sleep the
way he did!'
Katharine laughed, wild, hysterical
laugh, then drew long, sobbing
breath.
"EmmeIine," she said sternly, did
Mrs. Wellman feel sure-that this
Sure? Do you suppose Mrs. Well
man. of all women in the world, would
come over here. all upset as she was,
If the story wasn't true? You know
how the Wellmans have felt about him
She was wild!-Don't look like that
Katharine. should think you'd be glad
you'd found him out. Don't look like
that.'
How do / Iook?'' asked Katharine.
"Oh, L can't tell you-as If you had
lost everything" Miss Emmeline
stretched out her small, jeweled hands
in protest.
Il have" said Katharine, speaking as
If to some one far away, out of sight;
lost everything, all faith in God and
man | have said of him. He makes
me believe in the Immaculate Concep-
ton He is what Christ would have
been with human father. His is the
realization of the sins of the world
which he cannot take away, the burden
of the sorrow of the world with which
ne is afflicted and which he cannot re-
movei He bears in his body the marks
of human suffering. He is one of those
on whom the stigmata are to be found
They are in his face, his manner, the
intonations of his voice"
Here Miss Emmeline who had broker
in, every now and then upon the impas-
stoned words with little cries of ex-
U
beg of you. don't blaspheme"
"Is it blasphemy to tell the TRUTH
inquired Katharine, still speaking ir
that far-away. dreaming voice. Tn
only saying it because l must say it tc
some one. And you won't tell; you
won't even take it in"
"Of course l won't tell" said Mis-.
| Emmeline with energy. 81 wouldn't fol
the world have any one know that you
ever said such things! How you ever
thought them is more than l can com
prehend. But you always did have sucf
an ina gination"
Katharine turned away with an i'm
patient gesture. Would you mind very
much, Emmeline,' she said with an eff
! fort. IF 1 asked you to go to bed now
/ and leave me alone?"
why, no." said her sister amiably
There come Arthur and Mabel anc
Ned"
She hurried out into the hall. Katha
! rine could hear her exclaim and ques
! tion, could hear Arthur'S low reply
Emmeline had asked him If he knew
] He had answered yes. They all wen
into the room opposite for consulta
/ ton. They were asking Emmeline how
She Katharine, took it" They woult
wonder what to say to her or if the,
! should ignore the topic altogether. Sh,
would have to meet them in the morn
/ ing, knowing that they knew, and the,
would know that she knew. And ther
was so much more behind which the!
! did not know, but of which she woul,
| be conscious; her blind faith, her un
qualified surrender her agony of humil
! iation.
Why did he not tell her, if the woman
was his wife? Was she his wife?
Why did he-he-what had he done
Sha had taken the initiative. from tn
time he brought Elsie home. From be
ginning 10 end it had been her doing
hers alone. He had even evaded her
/ She had followed invited. encouraged
overwhelmed him. She would hav
made him a king in the dazzled eyes o
! Eureka; instead he was to be-scorne
here, sneered at there-she saw it al
plainly. Hts name would become
byword. a jest, in the saloons an
dancehalls and dens not that his ex
perience was a new thing to them, bu
! because of the high stand he had taker
He could not meet 1t, he must not
There was no tact, no resource tha
could combat such a condition. III
could not--not now--outwit, overcom
his enemies; charm, convince hi
friends. He must go away.
Would he? 1t was not like him. l
was more like him to stay in tn
changed Eureka. a coarse, cruel Eu
relsa, a place he had not known til