The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1920-06-24

y proddgol sum in those wretched
pranrioux times that followed on
the heels of that great war, when
cid boundaries disappeared and new
states either sprang into existence
tsr we're ~resuscitated after decades
OF suppression. He wished to be free
eobscure, unmolested, and within
u month he must have been graft
fled, having been accepted as a
part Of the village. like the village
forge, the shabby little priest, or
the town pump, because none might
suspect that within his uncommuni-
scative mind were concealed the
aanethods by which so many of the
=otd-Hew Oh new-oid states had been
financed; but not SO with Ivan. He
commanded an uncanny interest.
He couldn't avoid it. First, because
'af his enormous size. strength and
agility; second. because of his
strange n of ignoring all
mounds and speaking only to those
rwho faced him in the light. 1t took
Gonger to accustom the villagers to
Ihis giant, stalking ever at the fish
srman's elbow. silent, taciturn, alert
Eith the absorbed alertness of a
wild animal watchful to the four
ways OF the wind. Installation is
Moo OK, T. tn attract tho ntfnntinn
of the unimaginative, and without
INSTALLATION they have small in
terest; hence on a certain night in
Steinweg no one had e. the
slightest curiosity in either the
widow. Mr.. Kent, or Ivan, because
1t stormed; stormed as it can in
those mountains. with sweeping rain
thunder that is punctual and close
comrade of lightning stabs; an er-
katic capricious pair out on a ramp
age, like a pair of drunken rioters,
one Of whom is b%oisterous. swagger-
ing, shouting, and harmless, the
<sther swapping, deadly, intent, and
saut to kill. The villagers were inside
Sand under cover on that turbulent
might of late spring. So were Kent,
1dnancial agent on a holiday, and
Evan, tactotum. always at work.
Kent, the master. lounged in the
Soom that he had converted into a
den. and luxuriously stuck his feet,
Sarpetslippered, toward the fire
place wherein surged a blaze that
robbed the spring dampness of a
winter chin. He wondered if, despite
BIS sense Of freedom and independ-
Once. he could endure such a place
IN real winter, and yawned. casually
thanking God. IN the meantime,
Chat Rhodes had decided to extend
his vacation indefinitely. Kent
liked him for that decision. Lazily
he swung round in his chair to see
what Ivan was doing; but the light,
q sharp white flame from the stu
dents lamp on the oaken desk by his
eide, bothered him, and he held his
Tine head sidewise to escape its
Gays. 1t a~ccentuated the indiyid-
aaiify af his A.nere ;s-:s L lump
mess OF his high brow, the whim-
zeal lines at the of his
aghrewd eyes. the ruggedness OF his
yelshaped nose, the half-humorous
half stern crevices bordering his
liberal mouth.
In the corner OF the room, whose
surifortn and blackened wa~inscoting
Kent had. with his own hands, desc
Grated by building a makeshift
bookrAss. ivan kne1t. His huge
shoulders wcre bent forward and
As shoek head was stretched, turtle
wise. as he sought, patiently and
1zboriousiy, aionge the well packed
aheirea. for q book that the
widow had replaced In her custom
Mry hi.-or-uiiss fashion. His face,
s1onr and strong, was set like a
sznask OF perseverance, and n
hinge finger probed methodically
along the line OF titles. His lips
moved, duInbly. as he read. A ter
sx1fying, terrific shock of combined
thunder and lightning did not dis
skurb him; but Kent started and
stared at the diamond-shaped panes
chat became iridescent with fresh
xivuiets OF rain. An interior doc
WAS jerked open and the widow
appeared, holding her worK.gnarled
haIlia upward. and rolling her eyca
with fright.
hope it struck the Catholic
ehnrch!' she exclaimed. "Tm a
Lutheran"
She paused to look backward
rye her shoulder. as ii afraid that
Che thunderbolt had legs and might
- chasing her; and then. suddsnly
discovering that she was safe. made
0x1ulffYaaesxA oraaraaia.-a
II Isn't often that we have such
weather herAs ~ isn't! The sides of
- houee are waterfalls: the street
1rixet: tho garden 4 lake. I was
a1kzid the pig would drown. I hrouot