Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1917-10-18

Of apple blossom which she had thrust
into the bosom Of her gown. and placed
II reverently ut the head OF the little
mound. For a moment her eyes
dropped and her lips mOved-she her
self scarcely knew whether 1t was Ia
prayer. Then she turned and came
slowly back TO her companion.
Something had gone. too. from his
charm. She saw In him now nothing
but the coming dourness Of his broth
er. Her heart was still heavy. She
shivered a little. It was he ut last
who spoke.
xviii you tell me, please, what Is the
matter with you, and why you placed
that sprig Of apple blossom where you
did?"
His tone woke her from her lethargy.
She was n little surprised at its
poignant, almost challenging note.
Certainly" she replied. II placed
1t there as a wOman's protest against
the injustice Of that isolation"
II deny that 1t Is unjust"
She turned around and waved her
hand toward the little gray building.
"The Savior to whom your church is
dedicated thought otherwise" she re-
minded him. "Do you play ut being
lords paramount here over the souls
and bodies of your serfs?"
"You Judge without knowledge of the
facts" he assured her calmly.
Louise's footsteps slackened.
"You men," she sighed, ARE all
alike! You Judge only by what hap
pens. You never look inside. That is
why your justice is so different from
n woman's. / do not wish to argue
with you; but what I so passionately
object to is the sweeping judgment you
make-the sheep on n side and the
goats on the other. That Is how man
judges: God looks further. Every case
Is different. The law by which one
should be judged may be poor justice
for another"
She glanced at him almost appeal.
ingly, but there vas no sign Of yield
ing In his face.
Laws" he reminded her. "are made
for the benefit of the whole human
race. Sometimes m individual may
suffer for the benefit Of others. That
is inevitable"
"And so let the subject pass" she
concluded; "but 1t saddens me to think
that mi Of the great sorrows of the
world should be there like a monument
to spoil the wonder OF this morning.
Now I am going to ask you a question.
Are You the John Strangewey who has
recently had a fortune left to him?"
He nodded.
"YOu read about 1t in the newspa-
pers, I suppose" he said. part Of the
story isn't true. 1t was stated that I
had never seen my Australian uncle,
but MS a matter Of fact, he has been
over here three or four times. 1t was
he who paid for my education at Har-
row and Oxford"
"What did your brother say to that?"
"He opposed It," John confessed,
"and he hated my uncle. He detests
the thought Of any one Of us going out
Of sight Of Jul own hills. My uncle
had the wander fever"
"And you" she asked suddenly.
81 have none Of it." he asserted.
A very faint smile played about her
lips.
perhaps not before" she muir.
INJURED; shut nowT"
do you mean because I have in.
herited the money? Why should I 60
out like a Don Quixote and search for
vague adyentures?"
Because you are a man !" she an
swered swiftly. "You have q brain and
a soul too big for your life here. You
eat and drink, and physically you flour.
ish, but part Of you sleeps because 1t
Is shut away from the world Of real
things. Don't you sometimes feel 1t
In your very heart that life, as we were
meant to live 1t. can only be lived
among your fellow men"
He looked over his shoulder, at the
little cluster Of farm buildings and cot.
tages. and the gray stone church.
ut seems to me-" he declared simply,
"that the man who tries to live more
than n life fails In both. There is
a little cycle Of life here. among our
thirty or forty souls, which r~eyolves
around my brother and myself. A
passer-by may glance upward from the
road ut u little hamlet, and wonder
what can ever happen in such an out.
of-the-way corner. I think the answer
Is just what I have told you. Love and
marriage, birth and death happen.
These things make life"
Her curiosity now had become
merged in an immense interest. She
laid her fingers lightly upon his arm.
"you speak for your people," she
said. 'That Il well. But you your.
SELF"
II am one Of them" he answered.
"a necessary part Of them"
"How you deceive yourselft The
time will come, before very long, wher
you will come out into the world and
the sooner the better, I think. Mr.. Johr
S~trangewey, or you will grow like your
brother here among your granite hills
He moved a little uneasily. All thu
time she was watching him. 1t seemed
to her that she could read the thoughts
which were stirring In his brain.
"You would like to say, wouldn't
you," she went on, "that this IL a use
ful and mn upright lief So II may be
. but II Is not wide enough or erea,
enough. Some div you will SooI .