The Witness by Grace Livingston Hill Lutz (mobi reader android TXT) 📕

Zemstvos Were,  The New Zemstvos Were Charged With All The Ordinary

Functions Of Local Government. The Elections To These Bodies Served As An

Admirable Practical Education In Democracy,  Making It More Certain Than

Would Otherwise Have Been The Case That The Russian People Would Know How

To Use Their New Political Instrument So As To Secure A Constituent

Assembly Fully Representing Their Will And Their Desire.

At The Same Time Active Preparations For Holding The Election Of Members To

The Constituent Assembly Were Actually Under Way. The Socialist Parties

Were Making Special Efforts To Educate The Illiterate Voters How To Use

Their Ballots Correctly. The Provisional Government,  On Its Part,  Was

Pushing The Preparations For The Elections As Rapidly As Possible. All Over

The Country Special Courts Were Established,  In Central Places,  To Train

The Necessary Workers So That The Elections Might Be Properly Conducted.

Above All,  The Great Problem Of The Socialization Of The Land Which Had

Been Agitated For So Many Years Had Now Reached The Stage At Which Its

Solution Might Almost Have Been Said To Be Complete. The National Soviet Of

Peasants,  Together With The Socialist Revolutionary Party,  Had Formulated A

Law On The Subject Which Represented The Aspiration And The Best Thought Of

The Leaders Of The Peasants' Movement. That Law Had Been Approved In The

Council Of Ministers And Was Ready For Immediate Promulgation. Peasant

Leaders Like Chernov,  Rakitnikov,  Vikhiliaev,  And Maslov Had Put An Immense

Amount Of Work Into The Formulation Of This Law,  Which Aimed To Avoid

Anarchy,  To See To It That Instead Of An Individualistic Scramble By The

Peasants For The Land,  In Small And Unorganized Holdings,  The Problem

Should Be Scientifically Dealt W's Happy Thoughts Were In A Tumult,  But She Had Her Head

About Her Yet.

"Now,  Make Him Say It All Over From The Beginning Again,  Father,  And See

If We've Got It Right. You Speak The Words Out As He Says 'Em,  And I'll

Watch The Writing."

And So At Last The Message Was Verified And The Receiver Hung Up. They

Read The Message Over Together,  And They Looked At Each Another With

Glad Eyes.

"Now Let Us Pray,  Rachel!" Said Father,  With Solemn,  Shaken Voice Of

Joy. And The Two Lonely Old People Knelt Down By The Little Table On

Which Stood The Telephone And Gave Thanks To God For The Child He Was

About To Send To Their Empty Home.

"Now," Said Father Marshall,  When They Had Risen,  "I Guess We Better Get

A Bite To Eat. Seems Like A Long Time Since Dinner. Any Of That Cold

Chicken Left,  Mother? And A Few Doughnuts And Milk? And Say,  Mother,  We

Better Get The Chores Done Up And Get To Bed Early. I Don't Think You

Slept Much Last Night,  And We've Got To Get Up Early. There's A Whole

Lot To Do Before She Comes. We Need To Chirk Up The Rest Of The House A

Bit. Somehow We've Let Things Get Down Since Stephen Went Away."

Said Mother,  As She Landed The Platter Of Cold Chicken On The Table,

"How Soon Do You S'pose She'll Write? I'm Just Aching To Get That

Gila Had Counted On An Easy Victory That Evening. She Had Furnished For

The Occasion Her Keenest Wit,  Her Sweetest Laughter,  Her Finest

Derision,  Her Most Sparkling Sarcasm; And As She And Her Escort Joined

The Motley Throng Who Were Patiently Making Their Way Into The Packed

Doorway She Whetted Them Forth Eagerly.

Even While They Took Their Turn Among The Crowd She Began To Make Keen

Little Remarks About The Company They Were Keeping,  Drawing Her Velvet

Robes Away From Contact With The Throng.

Courtland,  Standing Head And Shoulders Above Her,  His Fine Profile

Outlined Against The Brightness Of The Lighted Doorway,  Was Looking

About With Keen Interest On The Faces Of The People,  And Wondering Why

They Had Come. Were They In Search Of The Presence? Had They,  Too,  Felt

That She,  Too,  Might See And Understand To-Night. What Friends They

Might Be--How They Might Talk These Things Over Together--If Only Gila

Would Understand!

He Wished She Had Had Better Sense Than To Array Herself In Such

Startling Garments. He Could See The Curious Glances Turned Her Way;

Glances That Showed She Was Misunderstood. He Did Not Like It,  And He

Reached Down A Protecting Hand And Took Her Arm,  Speaking To Her

Gravely,  Just To Show The Bold Fellows Behind Her That She Was Under

Capable Escort. He Did Not Hear Her Keen Sallies At The Expense Of Their

Fellow-Worshipers. He Was Annoyed And Trying By His Serious Mien To

Shelter Her.

The Singing Was Already Going On As They Entered. Just Plain Old Gospel

Songs,  Sung Just As Badly,  Though With Even More Fervor,  Than In The

Morning. Courtland Accepted The Tattered Hymn-Book And Put Gila Into The

Seat The Shabby Usher Indicated. He Was Wholly In The Spirit Of The

Gathering,  And Anxious Only To Feel The Spell Once More That Had Been

About Him In The Morning. But Gila Was So Amused With Her Surroundings

That She Could Scarcely Pay Attention To Where She Was To Sit,  And

Almost Tripped Over The End Of The Pew. She Openly Stared And Laughed At

The People Around Her,  As Though That Was What Courtland Had Brought Her

There For,  And Kept Nudging Him And Calling His Attention To Some

Grotesque Figure.

Courtland Was Singing,  Joining His Fine Tenor In With The Curious

Assembly And Enjoying It. Gila Recalled Him Each Time From A Realm Of

The Spirit,  And He Would Earnestly Give Attention To What She Said,

Bending His Ear To Listen,  Then Look Seriously At The Person Indicated,

Try To Appreciate Her Amusement With A Nod And Absent Smile,  And Go On

Singing Again! He Was So Absorbed In The Gathering That Her Talk

Scarcely Penetrated To His Real Soul.

If He Had Been Trying To Baffle Gila He Could Have Used No More

Effective Method,  For The Point Of Her Jokes Seemed Blunted. She Turned

Her Eyes At Last To Her Escort And Began To Study Him,  Astonishment And

Chagrin In Her Countenance. Gradually Both Gave Way To A Kind Of

Admiration And Curiosity. One Could Not Look At Courtland And Not

Admire. The Fine Strength In His Handsome Young Face And Figure Were

Always Noticeable Among A Company Anywhere,  And Here Among These

Foreigners And Wayfarers It Was Especially So. She Was Conscious Of A

Thrill Of Pleasure In His Presence That Was New To Her. Usually Her

Attitude Was To Make Others Thrill At Her Presence! No Man Before Had

Caught Her Fancy And Held It Like This Rare One. What Secret Lay Behind

That Grave Strength Of His That Made Him Successfully Resist Those Arts

Of Hers That Had Readily Lured Other Victims?

She Watched Him While He Bowed His Head In Prayer,  And Noted How His

Rich,  Close-Cut Hair Waved And Crept About His Temples; Noted The Curve

Of His Chin And The Curl Of His Lashes On His Cheek. More And More She

Coveted Him. And She Must Set Herself To Find And Break This Other Power

That Had Him In Its Clutches. She Perfectly Recognized The Fact That It

Power Was Broken,  And That She Might Have To Toss Him Aside After He Was

Fully Hers. But What Of That? Had She Not So Tossed Many A Hapless Soul

That Had Come Like A Moth To Singe His Wings In Her Candle-Flame,  Then

Laughed At Him Gaily As He Lay Writhing In His Pain; And Tossed After

Him,  Torn And Trampled,  His Own Ideals Of Womanhood,  Too; So That All

Other Women Might Henceforth Be Blighted In His Eyes. Ah! What Of That,

So That Unquenchable Flame In Her Soul,  That Restlessly Pursued And

Conquered And Cast Aside,  Might Be Satisfied? Was That Not What Women

Were Made For,  To Conquer Men And Toss Them Away? If They Did Not Would

Not Men Conquer Them And Toss Them Away? She Was But Fulfilling Her

Womanhood As She Had Been Taught To Look Upon It.

But There Was Something Puzzling About Courtland That Interested Her

Deeply. She Was Not Sure But It Was Half His Charm. He Really Seemed To

_Want_ To Be Good,  To _Desire_ To Resist Evil. Most Of The Other Men

She Knew Had Been All Too Ready To Fall As Lightly With As Little

Earnestness As She Into Whatever Doubtful Paths Her Dainty Feet Had

Chanced To Lead. Many Of Them Would Have Led Further Than She Would Go,

For She Had Her Own Limitations And Conventions,  Strange As It May Seem.

So Gila Sat And Meditated,  With A Strange,  Sweet Thrill In The Thought

Of A New Experience; For,  Young As She Was,  She Had Found The Pleasures

Of Her Existence Pall Upon Her Many Times.

Suddenly Her Ear Was Caught By The Sermon. The Ugly Little Man In The

Pulpit,  With The Strange Eyes That Seemed To Look Through You,  Was

Telling A Story Of A Garden,  With One Calling,  And A Pair Of Naked Souls

Guilty And In Fear Before Him. It Was As Though She Had Been One Of

Them! What Right Had He To Flaunt Such Truths Before A Congregation?

She Was Not Familiar Enough With Bible Truths To Know Where He Got The

Story. It Did Not Seem A Story. It Was Just Her Eden Where She Walked

And Ate What Fruit She Might Desire Every Day Without A Thought Of Any

Command That Might Have Been Issued. She Recognized No Commands. What

Right Had God To Command Her? The Serpent Had