Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1910-10-27

E ton
Tho settlement voFtct listened ~
tinhtiy o. the buy.s in4ufta exrlhna.
ton thinking hard nud planning the
while
"Mabaim." be said when the Young
man had nnished = thlnk ! can help
you Got away FROM your work I've.
tween and tomorrow afternoon and
/ come 30 me. Don't let your folks know
where you are
Maksim was promptly on hand NJ
the hour frst named. aud Mt Lowell
said, Come with me"
Together they sisitgl Dan cupid"
Elmer, the marriage license clerk at
the courthouse. where Mf Lowell by
deftiy evadng certain little technical.
ties, aided the boy IN securing the
precious license. Then. cnutionlng Sc.
crccy, he snid "See Natushn rs quiet.
~ as sou can and bring her 10 the
settl@ncnt house tomorrow afternoon
at 4 o'clock"
-Four O'Clock the following afternoon
promptly brought the lovers. aud as
promptly the two were made one and
happy at the same time. Mr. Lowell
handing Maksim the certificate nc the
close Of the simple ceremony. which
his wife had witnessed, saying Now
you are married as we'll MS the prcsi.
dent of the United States or John u.
Rockefeller Say nothing 10 your peo.
pie about This marriage aud bet tho
other marriage proceed To Dee mar
ricd twice won't do amy harm, and &c
VIII satisfy your relatives. Yourselves
and the laws Of California an at the
same time. God bless your Aud Max
sim ana Namsba wont their WAYS
with the rcvoout feeling that God"
and "Nir Lowell" were synonymous
terms.
That evening there was crowded
meeting of the faithful of both sexes
and all ages. Devils were to Toe ex-
orciscd. The air was surchargcd with
suppressed excitement.
Maksim and Natasha were both in
attendance, the boy dutifully occupy.
ing seat on the mems side. and Ma
tasha sitting dcmurcly on her side
among the women.
The meeting began with the usual
chant the words Of a Bible psalm be
ing iutoncd in unison 10y the entire as
semblagc with long practiccd rhythm
and accent far more precise than mu-
sical. This chant was followed by an
other, the elders. who sat about 4
small table in a corner leading and
the rest following while rough shod
feet kept time against the uucarpetcd
floor
The air of the place soon grew foul.
Not window or door was omen. and
the stamping feet raised a suuocating
dust, to say nothing of the vocal eN-
halations of the hot, excited mass. 1t
was evident that il the devils could not
be expelled in amy other way the air
would soon become SO rotten that no
devil who had any regard for his
health would stay.
During the progress Of the service
thus far many covert glanccS had been
cast at MakSim and NataSha. Anxious
watch was kept on them for the first
sign that they We're being freed from
the Satanic spirits within them.
MakSim noted this. and when the
meeting was about half over. the
benches having been removed and the
whole company were standing, he
walked to the elders corner and whis-
pcred something in his fathers ear.
1t must have been an assent to the
church marriage, FOR instantly the old
patriarch, his face flushed. his eyes
Slistcning and his whole attitude pro-
claiming that MakSim had got the bet
ter Of his devils, threw up his great
arms and began a new chant. At the
same moment Natasha. taking her cue
no doubt from Maksim, whispered
word in her mothers ear. and katga's
triumphant shout could have been
heard three blocks away.
Every one in the room caught the
electric signal OF good news. and the
excitement began 10 boil. The condl-
tionS Were ripe and the moment had
come for wild debauCh of religious
frenzy. Devils had been driven out,
there was the eyhi'aratiun Of triumph.
and saturnalia of religious intoxica-
tion was about Ia begin
The noise became more deafcning as
the chanting continued Men cmhrac-
ed each other, Spriuving into the air
and gesticulating wildly. The Shriu
voices of women arose above the pam
demonium. Here and there under the
stress OF excitement overwrcught
nerves became unStruug, muscles be-
gan To jerk" invomntarily, and the
whole room became an insane carousal.
Old Mother Shuben collapsed, 4 young
woman overcome of the spirit" fell
prone In corner, and the limit OF
strained endurance was reached when
a stalwart member, locking aras with
Il brother behind his back, lifted said
brother and threw him bodily over his
head, stretching him full length ON the
floor and nearly breaking his neck
There was pause, The incident.
which was 50 nearly an accident, re-
called the jewelers. To their senses, the
ghost dance ceased. the doors were
opened, and the excitement Calmed
Gown. The people, exhausted, but hap
ny, hurried into the open air and wend-
ed their way home. The devils had
been chased away, Maksim and Nata-
sha were to be married 10y the elders,