River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1915-11-04
CHAPTER XVII.
The Public Is Aroused.

Clad In her filmy cream lace gown,
Gail walked slowly into her boudoir,
and closed the door, and sank upon
her diVan. She did not stop tonight to
let down her hair and change to her
dainty negligee, nor to punctiliously
Btraighten the room, nor to turn on
Ehe beautiful green light; instead, with
All the electric bulbs blazing, she sat
with her chin in her hand, and, with
her body perfectly in repose, tried to
study the whirl Of her mind.
She was shaken. she knew that,
shaken and stirred as she had never
been before. Something in the depths
OF her had leaped up into life, and
cried out in agony, and would not stop
crying until it was satisfied
I need you to walk hand in hand
with me about the greatest work in
the world" That was 1t; the greatest
work in the world! And what was
that work? To live and teach ritual
Ga place Of religion; to turn worship
into social observance; to use help
less belief as ladder of ambition;
20 reduce faith to words, and hope to
> recitation, and charity to an obliga-
zion; to make pomp and ceremony a
substitute for conscience, and to inter
pose a secretary between the human
heart and God!
For just an instant Calls eyelids
aroppe !, her long brown lashes curved
Rpon her cheeks, while beneath them
her eyes glinted, and smile touched
The corners Of her lips; then she was
serious again. No, she had decided
wisely.
There was knock on the door, and
Gail smiled again as she said:
Come in"
Mrs. Helen Davies entered, tall and
stately in her boudoir frills and
FufFles. She sat down in front OF Gail
and prepared to enact the role of con-
scientious mother.
Doctor Boyd proposed to you to-
night," she charged, with affectionate
authority
Yes, Aunt Helen" and Gail began
10 pull pins out of her hair.
A worried expression crossed the
brow of Aunt Helen
Did you accept him?" and she fair
h quivered with anxiety.
mo, Aunt Helen" Quite calmly,
piling more hairpins and still more
into the little tray by her side, and
shaking down her ripping waves of
hair
Aunt Helen sighed deep sigh of
relief. and smiled her approval.
Gail, dear. you have shown a de-
gree of carefulness which l am de-
lighted to find in you If you handle
all your affairs SO sensibly, you have
. brilliant future before you"
Il must be an awful worry to Won
Aunt Helen" observed Gail, and walk
ing over, she slipped her arm around
Mrs Davies neck and kissed her and
looked around for her chocolate box.
Calls maid came in, and Mrs. Da.
vies babe her sisters niece good
night most cordially, and retired with
q great load off her mind; and half
an hour later the lights in Calls
pretty little suite went out.
If she lay long hours looking out at
the pale stars; if, in the midst of her
calm logic, she suddenly buried her
face in her pillows and sobbed silent
ly; if, toward morning, she awoke
with a little cry to find her face and
her hands hot. all these things were
but normal and natural. 1t is enough
to know that she came to her break
fast bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked and
smiling with the pleasant greetings of
the day, and picked up the papers
casually, and lit upon the newest SEN
sation of the free and entirely IN
curbed metropolitan press!
The free and entirely uncurbed met
ropolitan press had found Vedder
court and had made it the sudden
focus of the public eye. Those few
who were privileged to know init
mately the workings of that adroit
master of the public welfare, Tim Cor
man, could have recognized clearly
his fine hand in the blaze of notoriety
which obscure Vedder court had sud
denly received. After having en-
dured the contamination and conta-
GIN az the Market Square church ten