Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1910-10-21
CHAPTER vIII.-(Continued.)

over the stones in its bed, as Tom re-
marked, gratefully. But the heaviest
of the bufrets came whom the barrier
hills were passed and the surrey horses
made no motion to turn In ut the gate
of the old oak hingled house beyond
the iron-works.
Hold on!" said Tom. Doesn't the
driver know where we livef"
That's the sup'rintendent's of1ce and
lab'ratory now, son. 1t was getting 10
be tolerably noisy down here fer your
nanny, 30 nigh to the plant And We
allowed to s'prise o We've Deen
buildin' US q new house up on the
knoll Just this side o. Major Dabney's"
1t was the cruelest Of the change
the one hardest to bear; and 1t drove
the boy back into the dumb r%eticence
which was a part OF his birthrisht. Had
they left him nothing by which to re-
member the old days-days which were
already beginning to a on tho
glamour Of unutterable happiness past!
Tom saw well-kept lawns, park-like
groves and pretentious country Villas
where he had once trailed Nance Jane
through the dark woods" and his
father told him the names and circum-
stance Of the owners as they drove up
the pike. There was lockwood. the
summer home of the Stanleys. and The
Dell, owned. and inhabited at intervals.
by Mr.. Young Dickson, of the South
Tredegar potteries. Farther along
there was Paramount, whose owner was
a wealthy cotton-seed buyer; Rock
Hill, which Tom remembered as the
ancient roosting ground Of the migra-
tory winter crows; and Farnsworth
Park, ruralizing the name OF Its build
err. On the most commanding OF the
hillsides was a pile of rough-cut Ten
nessee marble with turrets and many
gables, rejoicing in the classic name Of
Warwick Lodge. This, Tom was told.
was the country home of Mr.. Farley
himself, and the house alone had cost
@ fortune.
At the turn in the pike where you
lost sight finally of the ron-works,
there was a new church, a miniature in
native stone of good old Stephen
Hawker's church of Morwenstow. Tom
gasped at the sight Of 1t, n scowied
when he saw the gilded cross on the
tower.
"Catholic!" he said. And right here
in our valley!"
mo" said the father; ITS Episcopal
ian. Colonel Farley Is n o. the YES
tries, or whatever you call 'em, Of st
Michael's yonder in town. / reckon he
wanted to get his own kind O. people
round him out here, so he built this
church, and they run 1t as a sort of O
side show to the big church. Youl
nanny always looks the other way
when we come by"
Tom looked the other way, too
watching a~nxiously for the first sigh
OF the new home. They reached it IL
good time, by a graveled driveway
leading up from the white pike between
rows of forest trees; and there was &
second negro waiting to take the team
when they alighted at the verands
steps.
The new house was a two-storiet
brick, ornate and ~palpably assertive
with no suggestion of the homely com
fort of the old. Yet, when his mothe
had wept over him in the wide hall
and there was time to go about, takinl
1t all in like a cat exploring a strang
garnet, it was not so bad.
But there were compensations, an
Tom discovered one of them on tn
first Wednesday evening after his ut
rival. The new home was within cas-
walking distance of Little Zoar, and h
went with his mother to the prayer
meeting.
The upper end Of the pike was un
changed, and the little, weather-beate
church stood In its growing of pile!
the same yesterday, to-day and 70
ever. Better still, the congregation, tn
small Wednesday-nig gathering q
least, held the familiar faces of tn
country folk. The minister was
young missionary, zealously earnes
and lacking as yet the quality Of hard
ness and do"trinal precision which ha
been the boys daily bread and meat {
the s~ectarian school. What wonde
then, that when when the call for test
mony was made, the old pounding an
heart-hammering set in, and dut
duty, duty, wrote itself in flaming LEI
ters on the dingy walls?
Tom set his teeth and swallows
hard, and let a dozen Of the others ri.
and speak and sit again. He could fe
the beating of his mothers heart, Ar
he knew she was praying silently II
him, praying that he would not der
his Master. For her sake, then -
but not yet; there was still time enout
after the next hymn-after the ne
testimony-when the minister shou
give another invitation. He was chail
ed to the bench and could not rise; h
tongue clave to the roof of his mou
and his lips were like dry leaves. T.
silences grew longer; all, or nearly a
had spoken. He was sitting.
"Whosoever therefore shall COME
me before men, him will I confess al
before my Father which is In heave
But whatsoever shall deny me befo
men, him will I also deny before q
Father which Is in heaven" It wal I
solemn voice Of the young minister, q
Tom staggered to his feet with