Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-06-21

louder than before 1t reused her
"There it is again!' she said in
a tense, hushed manner, her wild
eyes still fixed. "It's rolling over
the top of this building like
water!" She sobbed again. cts
wonderful. It's awful--terrible =:
She turned her head slowly and
looked up to Slise as if only half
comprehending her presence.
Simpson, surly and stupid, was 81
lent.
"The crowd! The crowd-big-
ger than the ocean-stronger than
a storm!"
Tears came into her eyes, and
she crowned.
And / am a bad woman! Oh,
I'm a bad woman!"-
She wept conculsively and beat
on the table in impotent gesture
with her thin, gloved hands.
"Ah, don't cry" Elise tried to
comfort her, removing the blue
,plumed hat. "Just rest"
"Say, Mary" Simpson pro-
tested, whats the use of all this
foolishness?"
The Leslie woman did not no.
tice him. She started from her
chair and dropped back into it
again, spreading out her hands on
the table.
THE crowd!" she marvelled.
81 never saw a real crowd before.
Oh, my God! Why didn't l see a
crowd like that when | was a girl,
a little bit of a girl9 They were
everywhere. They came from ev-
erywhere! The streets filled with
marching feet, with flying feet!"
She spread her arms wide, ex-
pressing the futility of her attempt
to describe all she had seen.
They came from everywhere"
she repeated her tone one of still,
CROPPING wonder, from all the
world, down every street, down all
the avenues! There were oceans
OF people-men young and old;
girls, laughing children-oh, the
laughing children!-and women
with babies in their arms, and
white haired women. [ talked to
one white haired woman. She told
me whisky had destroyed her hus-
band and her two boys. No won
der there was a light in her eyes!
And the bands and the banners!
The music! 1t was like a battle, a
wonderful battle.'
She stood suddenly erect, her
head to one side, listening to the
faint roar OF the distant crowd.
There are enough people out
there, she said, still standing,
speaking straight ahead toward
the window, to tear this building
down stone by stone, enough PEG
pie to build a thousand buildings,
enough people to do anything in
the world-anything in the world.
And th're singing! Did you hear
them sing? A million voices, loud
Me Nearer Oh, they sang, Draw
Me Nearer. Oh, they san, Draw
Me Nearer'!"
She shuddered and sank back in
to the chair, her voice a little
shrill. She addressed neither Elise
nor Simpson. The words, like the
sobs, were being wrung from her,
as if she Were telling her woe to
ali the world. She talked because
she had to talk, and because she
suffered. 1t frightened Elise into
stiffness.
tell you, they sang Draw Me
Nearer. They sang that when I
was converted, oh, so long ago!
And after that a boy in q white
robe standing on the east steps
the boy sang. The sunlight was
,OLl 1lAin, q ne was Dareheaded,
and he had . voice like q woman.
At was q beautiful voice. I think it
must have reached right straight
up to the throne Of God. Oh, God,
4 know il. did! He sang, Come
Unto Him. He sang, Come unto
Him, all We who mourn, for He can
hear. AL We who mourn! And all
those people, those people from
everywhere, sang ii after him.
sang il until the bands were dumb.
~ was IN earthquake. It was aw-
Efull The boy avoiceswent right
up Is The Throne, and the people !
voices went right up to the an
gels earn. know they did. 1t
lifted mo up
She PIT both her hands before
her face for moment and
smlddaned
tlifted meyFaandsb broke me,
Shew1iial6d through hertrembline
q 6sokesme Il ~ terri.
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