CHAPTER XX. THE JUDGMENT SUNDAY

Sunday morning broke, dull and gray. The rain had ceased, but the clouds hung dark and brooding above a world which, in its windless calm, following the spent storm-throe, seemed to us to be waiting "till judgment spoke the doom of fate." We were all up early. None of us, it appeared, had slept well, and some of us not at all. The Story Girl had been among the latter, and she looked very pale and wan, with black shadows under her deep-set eyes. Peter, however, had slept soundly enough after twelve o'clock.

"When you've been stumping out elderberries all the afternoon it'll take more than the Judgment Day to keep you awake all night," he said. "But when I woke up this morning it was just awful. I'd forgot it for a moment, and then it all came back with a rush, and I was worse scared than before."

Cecily was pale but brave. For the first time in years she had not put her hair up in curlers on Saturday night. It was brushed and braided with Puritan simplicity.

"If it's the Judgment Day I don't care whether my hair is curly or not," she said.

"Well," said Aunt Janet, when we all descended to the kitchen, "this is the first time you young ones have ever all got up without being called, and that's a fact."

At breakfast our appetites were poor. How could the grown-ups eat as they did? After breakfast and the necessary chores there was the forenoon to be lived through. Peter, true to his word, got out his Bible and began to read from the first chapter in Genesis. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What day did they believe it to be?
2. What did they think happened on Judgement day?
3. What day of the week was it?
4. Was it raining?
5. Had anyone slept well?
6. What had he been doing?
7. Why was he so sleepy?
8. Was he scared about Judgement day?
9. What did Cecily do differently that day?
10. Why?
11. Was everyone starving at breakfast?
12. What did they do after breakfast?
13. Were the children often up that early?
14. Who was awake before them?
15. What book did Peter read from?
16. What part?
17. Did the Story Girl look well rested?
18. What did she look like?
19. Did she have dark circles under her eyes?
20. How was Cecily's hair styled?
Answer: 1. Judgment Day
2. spoke the doom of fate
3. Saturday
4. yes but stopped
5. no except Peter
6. slept soundly enough after twelve o'cloc
7. stumping out elderberries
8. yes
9. had not put her hair up in curlers
10. she didn't care
11. no
12. necessary chores
13. no
14. The Story Girl
15. Bible
16. first chapter in Genesis
17. no
18. very pale and wan
19. yes
20. brushed and braided

Dick often goes traveling when the summer holiday begins. But he was out of luck this summer. He went to an old temple on a high mountain by himself. On his way there it suddenly began to rain heavily and he hurried to go down the mountain. When he got to the foot of the mountain, he found the wooden bridge was under the water, so he had to spend the rainy night in a broken farmhouse. He was so hungry that he hardly fell asleep. The next morning the rain stopped and he found the bridge was damaged. He saw the river was not too deep and tried to swim across it. In the middle of the river the water nearly washed him away. Luckily , two farmers saved him, but he lost his bag. They gave him some food and dry clothes. He thanked them and went to the nearest town to call up his parents. At the end of the street, Dick found a small hotel and went in. He asked the price for a room. "A room on the first floor is twenty dollars, on the second floor, fifteen dollars and on the third, ten dollars," answered the owner. The young man had only eight dollars in all his pockets. He said thanks and was leaving. The owner asked, "Don't you like our hotel?" "Yes, it's good," said Dick, "but it's not tall enough!" What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What does Dick do in the summer?
2. Where is he visiting this summer?
3. Where was this?
4. What was the weather like?
5. Was it a light rain?
6. Who was he with?
7. What did he do when it started raining?
8. Was he able to get away?
9. What was wrong with the bridge?
10. What did he do then?
11. What did he eat?
12. When did the rain stop?
13. Was he able to leave them?
14. Why not?
15. Did he try to leave anyway?
16. How?
17. Was he successful?
18. Did he die?
19. Why not?
20. Who?
Answer: 1. travel
2. an old temple
3. a high mountain
4. raining
5. no
6. noone
7. hurried down the mountain
8. yes
9. under water
10. spent the night in a farmhouse
11. nothing
12. The next morning
13. no
14. the bridge was damaged
15. yes
16. swim across
17. no
18. no
19. someone saved him
20. two farmers

CHAPTER VI

Maraton spent three hours and a half that morning in conclave with the committee appointed for his reception, and for that three hours and a half he was profoundly bored. Every one had a good deal to say except Richard Graveling, who sat at the end of the table with folded arms and a scowl upon his face. The only other man who scarcely opened his lips during the entire time, was Maraton himself. Peter Dale, Labour Member for Newcastle, was the first to make a direct appeal. He was a stalwart, grim-looking man, with heavy grey eyebrows and grey beard. He had been a Member of Parliament for some years and was looked upon as the practical leader of his party.

"We've heard a lot of you, Mr. Maraton," he declared, "of your fine fighting methods and of your gift of speech. We'll hear more of that, I hope, at Manchester. We are, so to speak, strangers as yet, but there's one thing I will say for you, and that is that you're a good listener. You've heard all that we've got to say and you've scarcely made a remark. You won't object to my saying that we're expecting something from you in the way of initiative, not to say leadership?"

Maraton glanced down the table. There were five men seated there, and, a little apart from all of them, David Ross, who had refused to be shaken off. Excepting him only, they were well-fed and substantial looking men. Maraton had studied them carefully through half-closed eyes during all the time of their meeting, and the more he had studied them, the more disappointed he had become. There was not one of them with the eyes of a dreamer. There was not one of them who appeared capable of dealing with any subject save from his own absolutely material and practical point of view. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Who had a scowl on his face?
2. Where was he?
3. Who was Peter Dale?
4. What color was his hair?
5. What was he a member of for some years?
6. What did he say to Maraton?
7. How long was Maraton in the meeting that morning?
8. Who was the only one who didn't say much?
9. What did Maraton have a gift for?
10. And where did they hope to hear more about him?
11. What were they expecting from him?
12. What did Maraton study with half open eyes?
13. How did that make him feel?
14. Why?
15. Did he think they were capable?
16. What was the only thing he thought they were concerned with?
17. Who was grim looking?
18. Who looked down at the table?
19. How many men were sitting there?
20. Who was apart from them?
Answer:
1. Richard Graveling
2. He sat at the end of the table
3. Labour Member for Newcastle
4. His beard was grey so probably grey
5. Parliament
6. We've heard a lot of you, Mr. Maraton,
7. 3 1/2 hours
8. Richard Graveling,
9. Speech
10. at Manchester
11. Initiative and Leadership
12. The men at the table.
13. Disappointed
14. No one had the eyes of a dreamer.
15. No
16. Their own material and practical point of view.
17. Peter Dale
18. Maraton
19. 6 men
20. David Ross,