Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1914-07-19
everything VIA be rfShted," re-
peated her brother.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Broad Line.

| t'S SsS~S essssSs
miss Wentworth, what does sHilda
in The Master Builder mean to your"
asked Grant Oswald during the first
lull of quiet they met after leaving
the theater. Their cab had been held
up in a Broadway blockade and the
street became suddenly still. "She
means something. 1bsen, first, last
and all the time. deals in parallels Six
people whom l know, intelligent
people, have six different interpreta'
lions of 'Hilda.' l am curious to
know what she stands for to you"
| Dorcas turned her candid gray eyes
to his.
II see only one thing-conscience
| She appears when the Master Build
err by one cruel, unjust, selfish action,
| Is bound to go down to the depths.
Nothing can save him but his con-
science. 'Hilda is his conscience, of
course"
THAT is my Interpretation exactly.
1t Is a wonderful play!"
1T is wonderful play" She point
ed to a crowd on the sidewalk. What
is that string of mem" she asked.
Their cab had been moving step by
step for half block. Again it came
to a standstill
"It's the bread line. Had you never
seen it before?"
mo. Who are the menu"
God knows!" answered the Eng
lishman, with thrill of compassion
in his voice. They are a lot of half
frozen, starving, human wreckage,
who have been waiting there for an
hour to get loaf of bread"
Dorcas lowered the carriage WIN
dow and gazed out. Oswald watched
her. The girls face mirrored her feel
ings 30 keenly he could feel what was
passing in her mind. Her lips quiv-
cred and tears hung on her lashes.
She could not trust herself to speak.
i shall never forget how that pitiful
line appealed to me the first time I
saw It," the man continued, although
had known the poor of London since
boyhood. This homeless, famished,
orderly column, growing and growing
as one man after another comes creep
ing from his burrow to hold place,
was too much for me. stood watch
ing 1t from that corner" he pointed
across the street, might after night. i
used to try to help. In few cases 1
did manage to put man on his feet.
The task was generally hopeless, ex-
cept that could satisfy the hunger
of the moment. During hard winters
in New York l have seen the line
grow till there were hundreds in it,
Sometimes it goes down Tenth street
and around the corner"
Dorcas turned to look at him. Tears
stood in her eyes and her lips quiz
cred.
Il understand" he went on. you
are wondering why we, we'll clothed,
fed and sheltered from the wind, are
here, and they are-there. l do not
know. 1t is a problem as old as the
world itself. All we can do is to help
Individually, man to man."
Dorcas' gaze went back to the bread
line. Oswald sat in thoughtful silence.
Don't think me sacrilegious, Mr..
Oswald" she confessed, but when
see such misery 1t makes me wonder
If the Eternal himself has con-
science" She sat watching the line
Of patient. pallid men. Stragglers
'crept up to join it. from every direc-
ton. Il simply cannot imagine God
who-Mr. Oswald" She grasped his
arm with a half-stifled scream and laid
her trembling hand upon his.
What Is it?" asked her companion.
rising. What frightened you, Miss
Wentworth ?" He stared past her out
into the street. The block of vehicles
had begun to move. They were again
driving slowly down Broadway.
Nothing" she answered quickly,
nothing but a chance resemblance
thought I-saw some one whom
once knew. It must have been a mis-
take"
The Englishman glanced at her curl
ously. She began to chat about the
play and other things. She was try
ing to forget whatever had startled
her. She said "Good-by" at the door
of her home. Oswald realized that
she was eager to have him go. AS he
drove away he tried to recall anything
which could have happened. A wom-
an of her poise would not be disturbed
by trifle.