Evening star., 1908-01-15
CHAPTER XIV.

He was cleaning his fathers pistol.
and it went off" the poor dazed mother
said over and over. The father said
nothing. He sat. his elbow on his knee.
his forehead resting in the palm of his
hand. Sometimes his heavy eyes glanced
UP. but he did not lift his head. He had
hardly spoken since the accident. Then
he had said to William King:
Il suppose he undertook to clean my re-
volver He always did things at queer
times. l suppose it went off. 1t had
tricky hammer. 1t went off BY acci-
dert-not IIe hadn't any reason to
He said only yesterday. when he
got back. that he couldn't stay away
from home any longer. He said he had
to come home. So. you see. there isn't
any reason to think He was clean
ing it. And it went off. The hammer
was tricky"
The. slow. bewildered words were
spoken with his eyes fixed blindly on the
floor. At the sight of his dreadful COM
posure his wife's loud weeping died into
a frightened whimper. He did not repeat
the explanation. DR.. Lavendar heard 1t
from Mrs. Wright. as she knelt beside the
poor. stony father, pattinG his hand and
mothering him.
1T was an accident. Dr. Lavendar.
Sammy took notion to clean his fathers S
pistol. And 1t went off. And oh. he had
just come back to us again. And he was
SO glad to get home. lie went to church
him. He wanted to go. I feel sure he
had begun to think of his Savior. Yes, and
he wanted to so back to the bank and write
up his ledgers; he was so happy to be
among US again. Oh, DR.. Lavendar. he
said to me. I just had to come home.
mother. to you and father And 1 kissed
him and said. Yes. my darling: home is
the best place And he kissed me. DR..
Layendar. Sammy was not one to do
that-a big boy. you know. Oh. I am so
glad he wanted to come home And now
the Lord has. taken him. Oh. Samuel.
try. try to say: Blessed be the name OF
the Lord
The senior warden stared in silence at
her plump hand. shaking and trembling
on his knee. DIR. Lavendar did not urge
any word Of resignation. He sat beside
the. stricken pair, hearing the mother 5
pitiful babble, looking at the fathers bent
gray head, saying what he could of Sam
his truthfulness, his good nature. his
kindness. Il remember once he spent a
whole afternoon making splint for
Danny.s leg. And it was good splint.
said DR.. Lavendar. Alas! how little he
could find to say of the young creature.
who was a stranger to them all.
DIR. Lavendar stayed with them until
noon. He had been summoned just as he
was sitting down to breakfast. and he
had gone instantly leaving Mary wiring
iIIS Hcl IdHuS dl the QOuDLt CiStItSS OI d
dreadful calamity and DR.. Lavendar's S
going without his breakfast When he
saw William King he asked no questions.
except:
WHO will tell his grandfather?'
But. of course, there was only one per-
Dr. Lavendar knew it. But you must
come with me. William; Benjamin is
very frai.''
Yes said William King. "only you We
got to have something to eat first
And that gave DR.. Lavendar the cha
to ask Mrs. Wright for some breakfast
which made her stop crying. poor soul
for little while.
AS Goliath pulled them slowly up the
hill. William told part of his part of the
story. He had dropped in to the Wrights'
the night before to say how do you do.
1T was nearly To- I only stayed few
minutes: then | went Off I had got as
far as the gate. and was--was fixing my
lantern. and l thought / heard shot
And | said-'Whats that?' And I stood
there. sort of holding my breath. you
know: | couldn't believe it was a shot.
And then they called. When got to the
house it was all over. 1t was instan-
taneous. Samuel told me that Sam had
been fooling with his revolver. and
Yes. said DR.. Lavendar, that's what
Eliza told me-.
Both men were silent. Then DR.. Laven-
dar said will it kill Benjamin.
uon KNOW. L dOn know, the doc
tor said. signing "Oh. DR.. Lavendar
why does the Lord hit the innocent over
the guilty's shoulder? The boy is out of
1t: but his father and mother and grand
father. and-and others, they have got to
bear it.
why. Willy. my boy" said DR.. Laven-
dar. that's where the comfort Of it is
1t means we're all one-don't you see? If
We suffer in the boys suffering or wrong
doing. it is because we and he are one in
Christ Jesus
Yes. SIR" said William. respectfully
But he did not understand
When they, reached the Top it seemed
TO take them a long time to hitch Co.
Hath. 1t was DR.. Lavendar who got him.
self together first and said, calmly,
Come. William"
ITO be continued tomorrow)