Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-03-25
I'LL I'LL III

lighted before. 1t was always the kero-
sene students lamp on the end of the
table. beside Mr.. Blagden's chair. There
was a marked absence OF the dim re-
ligious light in the room tonight,
Don't cross your legs, Mary" said
her aunt severely. How many times
have l told you p"
Yes, ma'am," gasped Mary, uncross-
ing her plump little legs in a hurry,
and sending her quaint, apologize
smile up against the frozen faces oppo-
site. The chill was transferred to her
blithe little heart.
Mr.. Presbrey wan to talk to both of
you" announced Mr.. Blagden. II am
sure you will receive what he is about
to say in good grace n humility. You
know that he. as well as your aun and
|, has the welfare of your souls at
heart. He is about to tell you of your
father, and the dreadful story of your
unhappy mother. Now, please pay
strict attention to his words. You will
find comfort II solace in the prom
ises he will hold out to YOU afterwards.
There Is a great light beyond the
Observation-Disclosures which you
must be cast before the darkness of the
night is lifted for you. He will, with
Gods blessing, direct you into paths
which lead away from the pits into
which your unfortunate parents drifted
in their wilfulness. Will you be good
enough, Mr.. Presbrey, to-er-ahem!
He broke Off the injunction-it was
hardly a request-in the middle. and
settled back with complacent conf
dence in his pastors intuition.
The worthy pastor cleared bis throat:
and began. With his uncle's first words
Eric felt a sickening, horrid lump aris-
ing in his throat. Something seemed to
tighten about his whole body, holding
him in a grip SO relentless that he
could scarcely breathe. He sat there,
staring wide eyed and helpless, at the
lean face of the man who was to say
things he knew would hurt as nothing
had ever hurt him before. Twice he
swallowed hard, but the lump was
there to stay. He heard the quick, be-
wildered catch in Mary's breathing.
Without looking. he knew that her lip
trembled. He knew they were about to
attack his father. He knew instinctively
what charge would be brought against
him-and he had loved him so dearly,
so fercely. Words struggled to his
lips.
ut was a duel" he managed to say,
in a pitiful effort to anticipate pain.
Mr.. Presbrey hesitated. He Won
dered who had given this version to
the boy.
Alas, my boy, you nave been misin-
formed-er-I should say you have
~misconstrued the words of you infor-
mant," he said uneasily. 1t suddenly
occurred to him that either Mr.. or Mrs.
Blagden, in a moment of weakness,
might have told the boy that there vas
a duel; in that event, it was necessary
for his to proceed with tact-with eau
ton.
"Who told you that, Eric?" demanded
his uncle and unit simultaneously.
1T doesn't matter" supplied Mr..
Presbrey in%dulgently, quite at ease once
more. 1T may have been hat as a
very small child he heard something to
! that effect, and his memory has re-
tanned it after a fashion. Quite likely,
er-quit natural. Very frequently 4
word spoken in the presence of the
merest babe finds Judgment in its i'm
mature brain and makes itself manifest
strangely in after years. / knew of an
instance
Don't keep the child waiting, Arthur
dear" put in his wife. He seems so
eager to heal about his father" She
meant to be kind. I've no doubt.
Therefore, Mr.. Presbrey, with the
permission Of the erring wornan's
brother, plunged into the history of
ordering his language in its simplest
form so that his small listeners might
read as they ran, so to speak. The
whole ugly business, from start to fin
ish, was laid bare for their benefit
and their future g~lorifcation. The
through to the end, sitting immovable
on the edge OF the sofa, never once
lifting their dry, half closed eyes from
the carpet at their feet. They heard
the beings they loved best of ell in the
world, albeit they had known them so
briefly, characterized as creatures OF
iniquity, their sorry misdeeds held up
to them as warning examples, very
much as the hangman of old left his
, victim swinging by the roadside sc that
all who contemplated evil doing might
see and be guided into paths of recti-
tude.
l will not attempt to follow the good
Mr.. Presbrey's preamble, nor to repeat
his sanity Interruptions of himself that
he might point out lights among the
shadows when occasions suggested
themselves. He dwelt with particular
intensity OF the devils that entered into
and warped the nature of Philip Mid
thorne, Transforming him into a com
mon murderer when he might have
been an honor n a credit to his peo-
ple-eSpeclally to those innocent, Cod
fearing connections in Corinth. AT some
length, he dwelt with the impulses that
conquered the man, and pointed out tc
Eric the signs of them already appear
ing in him. Violent temper, lack OF
self restraint, the desire to inflict bod
lily injury, ~ungovernable spells of fury
~sullenness, secretiveness-and so or
and SO on-against all of which he must
steel himself unless he was determined
to follow in the footsteps of his Inflated
father.
You do not want to be a murderer
Eric" he said at one stage, bending his
luminous blue eyes on the bent, down.
cast face of the boy. You do no
want to come to an end like his, m,
boy-do you? All, / am sure you d.
not. And yet-ah, me! I shudder tc
think of what ma come to pass if yo,
do not safeguard yourself. Come unto
Me and / will give you rest Let m
be your guide. my boy; let me lead yo,
into sweet, gentle fields, where strif'
and bitterness are not to be encoun'
tered"
Mrs. P%resbrey, carried away by thu
earnestness of her husband. cried out
"Oh, Eric, think twice-always thinl
twice!"
Think of the great, good God, VIII
- began Mr.. Presbrey, but Eric
who, all through the blighting recita
had been trying to concentrate hi
mind on the admonition: Honor tn.
father and thy mother that thy day
NAV he Ionp IN, fhc land ~ co,Ild cDufro