The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1910-06-09

I
hadftortured the soul from. She came
slowly into the room. and calmly. and
the great emptiness might have been
a great peace had one not known.
1 Under her breath her aunt cried.
"Afy nlecc. And then, as she came
nearer, this slender figure with the
empty eyes, she said:
You know me?"
Empty eyes turned to her. Empty
voice answered:
Yes; you're Aunt Marguerite
"You looked at me as though were
stranger. All, to think you brought
this suffering on YOURSELF
Empty voice said slowly. evenly:
"suffering"
she does not suffer-" declared
o'Mara. "Ier very incapacity for
pain is her disease. II only she could
feel. even TO suffer. The day that
again you see tears in her eyes she
will be saved"
Nile. de valette spoke quickly. Sc,
verely:
she ought to feel! She ought to
think"
Il do think" said the empty voice.
Il think nil the time. / keep wonder
Acknowledging wonder why Gil
bert died. That was curious
You ought not to think OF him!
You ought to shudder at the thought!
II think-and remember" the emp.
ty voice continued. Il remember that
Itaoul said It came to you all at once:
1t absorbed YOU. so that not fear nor
shame nor death could stop you. And
remember that 1t did come 70 me
| just as he said. You see how well ]
remember that. That was Just the
way 1t was then"
You ought to think OF your punish.
mentr'
+, Ought II" Empty eyes were raised.
WAS that punishment when lost
my soul: don't see how 1t can be.
furnishing is hurting. isn't 1t? How
can I be punished when nothing hurts
me?'
But 1t ought to! You must feel .t!n
| But can't. Don't you see? am
J dead. The candles are lighted for me.
don't know where my soul is. lost
1t when | died. If you do that you
can never find it again. There was the
forest. and followed him and found
! him there. And l loved him very
much. That is why died. think
all the time, you see, and have
found out that If you love any one
very much you must lose your soul
for it and die"
Mile. de valette shook her head slow
~. Tears came to her eyes.
Broken wings!" murmurcd the
priest.
Why do you cryf" the empty voice
asked. THAT'S only one of Gods ways,
isn't IT."
Gods ways" cried Mile. de valette.
Gods punishment of sim"
The priest turned upon her.
Gods way!" he cried yehementIy.
DO you think worm in the dust can
understand why man rides by? Do
you think that because we can see the
beginning Of one of Gods thoughts our
little minds can follow to the end Of
what he is thinking? Down here in the
dust We call them Gods ways, but
they are only mans mistakes. Down
the river there were men--God'S crea.
lures, brothers they should have been
killing each other And they killed
this boy There's one old man over
yonder so filed with plmntoms and
cobwebs and the ghosts OF things tha;
shouldn't have been that liz lets his
pride murder the father In him, And
The two crimes together are destroy.
In: this child You call that Gods
way" he demanded almost fcrcely
I'll tell You one Thing | know abou'
Gods way. by faith. That lie never
punished the good love. and say tu
you this was II good love, II came IL
! her just rs rose comes TO It's bush
In spring: she Ind right to It as
much rs the tree to Its blossoms, and
Hike them, II was good ! tell you there
was no fault In her that will offend
God. and IN the end he will give her
peace"
Now 1t came tc pass that Crawl4y.
the recruit of The shock hair and the
nerveeSs spine. had lied The massa
ere that lie said he had Scen had been
no massacre. The defeat had been n
victory. While The others had fought
shoulder to shoulder, he had lain iowl
by iowl with Fear deep in the forest.
And that Fear Ind hrenthed into his
ear the things TINT he had come back
to tell breathed so iiisistrntly that he
who listened had come 10 believe them
almost as 81.
Gilbert Steele came back from the
batrle. CO" t1c. b'oT :llaL $780,. ~. bin