Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-04-21
The Argus Daily Short Story
The Minister'S Answer-By S. lvia Meredith
Copyrighted 1909 by Associated Literary

The little minister-little in stature
little in power. little in salary-sat be.
fore Il table in his study diligently ana
laboriously searching amid the leaves
of various volumes of reference and
occasionally scribbling few sen.
fences on paper which later on should
serve as notes for his sermon on the
following Sunday.
The Rev. James Philander Dubois
smiled fondly and proudly and CRATE,
fully willie he thought. He was an
unmarried churchman who felt it in,
cuinbent upon himself 10 become one
of the two principal performers in a
ceremony in which already he had be
come quite proficient as al agent of
fate where others We're concerned.
50 he leaned back and gazed mt the
ceiling and thought of beautiful.
brave young creature. He fingered
mentally on her radiant face. her
graceful form. and heard in his brain
the sweet thrill of her voice.
He had never thought thus of any
woman before. Until he first saw
Marguerite Van Diemen year ago he
looked on all women with an academ-
ic eye as parishioners and studied them
only to decide what branch of church
work. if any, they were best fitted for
But The year that followed his first
sight of the violet eyes of Miss Mar
Gucrite, and the brown hair that shonC
like sunny light drowned in amber
pools in q forest brook. had been n
year of awakening for him.
1t was not 4 quite complete awaken.
Ing. however. He was very thorough
ly awake-wide staring, stark awake
to the knowledge that he was so deep
~ in love with her that to lose heI
would mean Il dreary, sOrrowful life
for him. but he was not awake enough
to suppose that he had any qualities
or attributes to please so wonderful
and clever and bright a creature
| However, though the Rev. James
Philander Dubois was thus humble
ard devoid of any proper self esteem
and though he did not believe that
| she could possibly want him, he was
in love, and love sneers at logic He
expected her answer to be No" but
he was pining just the same to ask
| the question
So, like the courageous and deter
| mined little minister that he was, he
had written to her asking for the ia
vor of an interview on a matter very
important 10 him. And she had re
| piled. appointing that very evening ani
adding, You should know that have
declined an invitation to the County
club dance in order to give you this
evening, though the dance is the las
one of the season and was really
anxious to CO."
| Perhaps it was this letter rather
than the Rev. Mr.. Philander's convic
ton of the stereotyped nature of al
sermons that made. it so difficult fol
him to finish the construction of hi:
| discourse.
| Determined though he was, the ques
ton he was to ask Miss Marguerite il
| few hours was the kind that no MAJ
ever asks, without perturbation, ant
there was the last paragraph of he
/ letter. 1t showed him that she wa:
losing an evening of great enjoyment
| for, though Marguerite Van DiemcI
was a good parishioner. she lovet
dancing with an ultra worldly love.
No doubt she expected to hear som,
I immensely important news from him
Wouldn't she be indignant and angr.
when she learned that he had KEEP
her from her pleasure simply to pro
4 pose to her?
i The clock struck the hour, and tn
| minister became aware with sharl
start that It was high time to keel
| his appointment. He arose and put OF
| his overcoat.
| At that moment the doorbell rang.
| 1t is only because we are so used t
the really dramatic things of life tina
| we do not know and feel the drama
| that each moment makes.
Z The ring Of the doorbell was such