The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-01-13
THE RECOVERY. A Story of Kentucky
 Copyright, 1908, by JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER Entered at Stationers' Hall
 All rights reserved

1 WlIlllISIItSS, as IGlL HyS6I upTdlSoQ l by the moment and did. not wish to l delay until the inspiration was gone. 1 He led the way at once and we pass
 ed in front of the scene to the stage, where all who were seated rose to their
 feet and the Chairman of the meeting, 1 taking me by the arm. walked with me
 to the foGtlghts.
 I had a confused view of a vast audi
 ence the largest that I had ever faced, 1 men and women, rising in row on row, put all their faces were melted togeth-
 CT n one great composite blur. Tn my
 ears was the thunder of the cheering,
 rising and swelling in volume, and sending the blood leaping through ev- i cry Ve1n Then people sprang up, men waved their hats. and women their l fans and ! was forced to bow again and again. while I waited for the ap-
 plause to subside. These are the su- preme moments of a mans life when he stands before his world and the
 world approves. I heard my name
 shouted over and over, and then when 1 the applause seemed about to sink it
 would sucdenly rise into renewed and
 greater volume. I felt that I was in
 the house of my friends, and that these
 were my people.
 | The applause died at last, it's last faint echo sank away, and I raised my
 hand. Chen in the intense silence
 came froIt, point far up in the bal cony the sharp, sibilant. deadly sound of a hiss. In the painful stiffness 1t
 was fearfIlly loud, and once more the
 terrible smile of the rattlesnakes $ about to be stung? My face flushed and all eyes turned toward the bal | cony, but I raised my hand again, and i they turned back to mo.
 | The audience before me had now
 taken form and shape in my eyes. Arrayed i1 a solid mass just before the stage were the veterans in their heads shining in the sunlight, that 1 poured through the open windows. Be- yond was the great terrace of the spec tators, the bright faces and brilliant costumes of the women splashing it with glowing color. I should be dull indeed if I did not rise to such an audi ence, and, for moment, the hiss was forgotten.
 i l began to speak and from the be- shining I knew that I was doing we'll. One feels the truth in such cases, and had conla to the hall, filled with the
 sentiment and the passion, the glory and the terror of the mighty conf ct that cnce rent our nation, not the anger or hate, but the greatness of il, and I was only giving vent to them. At intervals the cheers rose for me as they had risen for Guthrie and. when I glanced at him and Warheld. I
 saw content and deep satisfaction on both their faces. Again I wish to say what friends I had in those two men, and after all that has happened I wish | to say it still.
 The speech went on. I did not feel 1 that it was I, Harry Clarke, who was speaking; L was merely the mouth piece for the thoughts. the imagery and the illustrations that had been gathering of their own accord and that insisted upon utterance. I held the audience too, I knew it, I could see the spell upon their faces, and my heart thrilled with the sense of my triumph. | l paused, a little longer than usual, and then from the balcony broke gain that hiss, sharper, more sibilant and more terrible than ever. The rattle snake was still there with his fangs and his poison. The audience burst into an angry cry of rebuke, the hiss was repeated and then a. tumult rose.
 raised my hand as a sign that I would resuHae my speech and the tumult in- creased There were cries of "Order!" Put them out!'' ''Go on!" and then sharp and loud above all the turmoil
 rose cry, hurled directly at me: 'Tell them about Charlie Johnson!''
 I knew that I turned deadly pale, and knew that for a moment there was
 dimness before me. in which the whole audience seemed to reel but then l recovered myself and into my ears came the sound of voice saying:
 Do the right thing, Charlie" and
 before my eyes as if in a vision came the rapt, prophetic face of a seer. There was q furry among the people about me on the stage. Warfield and Guthrie, their faces burning with in- dignation, were striving to quiet the crowd and to secure for me the atten-
 tion that was my due t'This is what
 we feared, Harry!'' exclaimed Warfield ir an angry half whisper.
 The noise died down a little. the po- lice were at work. and the majority of the audience were with me. I stood waiting, I had never moved. from my
 position at the center of the stage, near : the front. I was calm now, the icy feeling about my heart that had come
 at first was gone, and when the tumult
 sank vet further l raised my hand for
 the third time as the signal that I would go oE !
 New he is going to tell us all about Charlie John son. came the voice from the balcony, and it was followed by a burst of derisive laughter.
 I felt a sudden thrill of inspiration
 There was way! Who showed it to me I do noL knoW-perhaps Alicia or Elias, or. the sudden irresistible cul- imitation of circumstances, or perha ps
 all together moving forward with dead- " accuracy to 8 certain moment that had now come. Be that as it may it was like a flash of light to my blind mind, struggling in the darkness, and
 I saw the end, the end of the struggles
 the evasions. the concealments, and
 the burden that was too heavy to be
 borne.
 I felt a sudden lightness alike of
 head and heart, a deep thrilling sensa-
 tion of relief and peace, even of joy,
 All my nerves quivered with the re-
 bound, and I wondered why had not
 seen before this new. easy and right
 way which lay so plain before me- My
 mind repeated joyously and in un-
 spoken words And end of it all! Off
 with the burden! Only light and truth noW!"
 These impressions, visions and re- solves. so wide in their scope, so great in number and so fruitful of result
 were only a moment in passing 1 through my mind but I believe that the friends so near on the stage saw the change in me. Once as I glanced about I caught the eyes of Jimmy Warfield. and he was no longer excited and indignant, but sat in his chair, calm and expectant: he. too, had un- dergone change.
 faced the audience and it suddenly became quiet; no more noise. no more cries. no more interruptions, it may be | that in supreme moments an electric
 current passes between the speaker and those to whom he speaks, claiming and securing the attention of both. I felt that all