The Washington times., 1918-06-09
Continued from Preceding Psse)


seeing that you always swOre that there
was nothing in the world that is not cap
able of perfectly natural and logical
explanation"
'Of which all these things may be cap
able, Basin, if we only held the key"
Very well, Buckley, but how do you
explain what the Lady WA did? l may
tell you now what she commanded me to
conceal at the time, namely that she had
practically become a Christian; so much
so, that by her own wish, ! baptized her
on the very morning of her sacrifice"
Doubtless it was this that changed
her heart so much that she became will
ing, of course without my knowledge, to
leave everything she cared for" here he
looked hard at me. 'and lay down her
life to save the world, half Of which she
believed about to be drowned by ORC.
Now, considering her history and up-bring-
ing, l call this a spiritual marvel much
greater than any you named, and one you
can't explain, Buckley
mo. cannot explain, or at any rate, l
will not try" he answered, also staring
hard at me. Whatever she believed, or
did not believe, and whatever would or
would not have happened, she was a great
and wonderful woman whose memory /
shall always revere and worship"
And I am sure from the expression of
Bickley's face and from the tones of his
voice that he was never more sincere than
at that moment when he revealed to US
the depths of his regard for the Lady WA.
Even Basin was impressed and for a
moment was unable to proceed. Recover
ing himself presently, he began the argu-
ment anew.
tin, perhaps you will now see my point
and that is that what you talk of as mere
vain words may also be helpful to mankind,
more so, indeed, than your surgical in
struments and pills"
you couldn't convert Orc anyway" ex-
claimed Buckley, with evident irritation
No, Buckley, but then / have always
understood that the devil is beyond con-
version because he is beyond repentance.
You see think that If that old scoundre1
he was a bit Of him, and if am right,
am not ashamed to have failed in his case"
Even Orc was not utterly bad, Bastin,"
broke in. rejecting on certain traits Of
mercy that he had shown, or that
dreamed him to have shown in the course
of our mysterious midnight Journeys to
various parts Of the earth.
81 am very glad to hear it, Arbuthnot,
since while there is a spark left, the whole
fire may burn up again, and believe that
to the divine mercy there are no limits,
though Orc will have a long road to travel
before he finds it. And now have some
thing to say. It has troubled me very much
that I was obliged to leave those Orc
fenans wandering in a kind of religious
twilight"
You couldn't help that" said Buckley,
seeing that if you had stopped by now
you would have been wandering in reIig-
ious light"
STILL" protested Basin, feelingly, Il
am not sure that I ought to have stopped.
/ seem to have deserted a field that was
open to me. However, it can't be helped.
since it is certain that we could never
find that island again, even if Orc had
not sunk it beneath the sea, as he is quite
capable of doing to cover his tracks, so to
speak. So mean to do my best in another
daId nv wav Of atOOemeDt
"You are not going to become a mission
ary?" / said.
''No. but with the consent of the Bishop,
who l think believes that my locum got
on better in the parish than I did, as no
doubt is the case, I, too, have volunteered
for the front and have been accepted as
a chaplain to the One Hundred and First
Division"
'Why that's mine" said Buckley.
'Ts II? I am very glad, since now we
shall be able to pursue our pleasant talks
together at odd moments and to do our
best to open each others minds"
You fellows are more fortunate than
I am" I remarked. Il also volunteered,
but they wouldn't take me, even as a
Tommy, though deliberately understated
my age They told me, or at least a spec
ialist, whom / saw, did afterward, that
the blow got on the head from that sor-
cerer's boy"
81 know know" broke in Buckley. al
most roughly. "Of course things might 20