Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-03-25

AUTHOR OF .THE ENCHANT
Harry Wainright. a dissolutc lieuten-i
ant in the American army at the out
break Of the war. Is planning to marry
Who has Just been drafted.
Ruth becomes acquainted with Cam,
drsfted mem leave for the training
s:ssssmeron become. a corporal.
ssS@ CHATTER W.-Continued.
Now. that he. was really alone
among all this mob OF men Of all
sorts and conditions. hea had retired
more and more into the inner sanctu-
ary,, of self and tried to think out the
meaning of life. From the chaos
that reigned ins,shis mind he present
" selected a fewsthings that he call
ed facts" from which to york; These
were God, Hereafter, Death" These
things he must reckon with. He had
been working or q wrong hypothesis
all his life. He%had been trying to
live for this world rs If it were the
end and. aim Of existence. and now
this war had come and this world
had suddenly melted into chaos. 1t
%appeated that he and thousands of
others must, probably give up their
hardly tried it, if they would set
things right again for those that
should come after. : But, even If he
had lived out his ordinary years, in
peace and success. land had all that
life could give him. it would not have
lasted long, seventy years or so, and
what were they after they were past?
it all wouldn't have been made-this
universe with the carefully thought
out details working harmoniously
one with another. 1t wouldn't have
been worth while otherwise. There
would have been no reason for "a
heart life. s.:
There were boys and ynen in the
army who thought otherwise. Who.
had accepted this life as being all.
Among these we're the ones who
when. they found they were taken in
the draft and must go to camp, had
spent their last three weeks of free
dom drunk because they wanted to
get all the fun they could out of
life that was left. to them. They
were the men who were %plunging into
all the sin theyrcould find before they
:! VSlkS away W NShN VIVA lAlCy 1SII
they had III a little time to live and
what did it matter? But John Cam
eron was not one of these. His soul
would not let him atone until he had
thought it all out. and he had come
thus far with these three facts. God.
Death, A Life Hereafter" He turned
these over in his mind for days and
then he changed their order Death.
A Life Hereafter, God.T ~
Death WAS tho Nrfn1. nerSon 1io uaS
going forth to meet one of these days
or months on the field of France or
Italy. or somewhere lover there"
He Was not to wait for,Death to come
and get him as had been the old or
der. This was WAR and he was go
ing out to challenge Death. rHe was
convinced that whether Death was a
servant of God or the Devil, in some
way it would makea difference with
his WI personal life hereafter, how
! he met Death. : He was not satisfied
: with just meeting Death bravelN,
|, with the ardori of patriotism in his
breast, as he heard so many about
Thin talk in these days. That was well
SO far. as it went. but it did not solve
1.-the mystery Of the future life no.
| make him sure how he would stand
in that other world to which Death
stood ready to escort him presently
, Death might be victor over his body
{ but ne wanted to be sure that Death
should not also kill that something
within him which he felt must live
forever. He turned it over for day:
and came to the conclusion that the
+, only one who could help him wa:
y God. God was the beginning of Il
all. If therelwas a, God He must be
available to help a soul in a time like
this. There must be a way to fin
God and get the secret of life, and sst
be ready to meet Death that Deatf
. should not conquer anything but thu
body. How could one fndN God.
:, Had anybody ever found Him? Die
Him? These were questions tina:
beat lin upo his soul day after da!
as he drilled his men and wen
: through the long. hard hours of dis
e cipliHe. or lay upon his straw tick a
night while a hundred and fifty othe
!. men about him slept.s
His mothers secret attempts at re
. iigion had been foo feeble and to-
hidden in her own breast to hay,
8 made much OF an impression upoi
i him. h had only hoped her faitl
: was. founded pom a rock. She ha,
not known. And SO her buffeted sou
8 had v given evidence to her sol
Of hidden holy refuge where h
: might flee with her in time Of need.
NOW anu tnen the VISION or a gil
blurred across his thoughts uncer
tainly, like a bright moth hoyerin)
8 in the distance. whose shadow Tel
q across his dusty path. But 1t. wa
: far away and vague, and only
glance in her eyes belonged to him
. She was not of his world.
He looked up to the yellow SIX
r through the yellow dust, and his sou
cried out to find the way to God be
fore he had to meet Death, but tn
I heavens seemed like molten brass
) Not that he was afraid Of death wit
Ia physical fear, but that his soul re
coiled from being conquered by i
and he felt convinced that there wa
Ia way to meet it with a smile of as
b surance it only he could find 1t ou'
He had read that people had met
that. way. Was 1t all their irnagina
: ftton? The mere illusion OF q fanati
cal brain Well. he would try to fin
tout God. He would put himself i
. the places, where God ought to BIZ
and when he q any indication tina
4 $1,000 -Z-- $1,000 y. --7---7v :------------
Ill.,