The Witness by Grace Livingston Hill Lutz (mobi reader android TXT) π
Doors Slammed, Feet Trampled, Hoarse Voices Reverberated, Heavy Bodies
Flung Themselves Along The Corridor, The Very Electrics Trembled With
The Cataclysm. One Moment All Was Quiet With A Contented
After-Dinner-Peace-Before-Study Hours; The Next It Was As If All The
Forces Of The Earth Had Broken Forth.
Paul Courtland Stepped To His Door And Threw It Back.
"Come On, Court, See The Fun!" Called The Football Half-Back, Who Was
Slopping Along With Two Dripping Fire-Buckets Of Water.
"What's Doing?"
"Swearing-Match! Going To Make Little Stevie Cuss! Better Get In On It.
Some Fight! Tennelly Sent 'Whisk' For A Whole Basket Of Superannuated
Cackle-Berries"--He Motioned Back To A Freshman Bearing A Basket Of
Ancient Eggs--"We're Going To Blindfold Steve And Put Oysters Down His
Back, And Then Finish Up With The Fire-Hose. Oh, The Seven Plagues Of
Egypt Aren't In It With What We're Going To Do; And When We Get Done If
Little Stevie Don't Let Out A String Of Good, Honest Cuss-Words Like A
Man Then I'll Eat My Hat. Little Stevie's Got Good Stuff In Him If It
Can Only Be Brought Out. We're A-Going To Bring It Out. Then We're Going
To Celebrate By Taking Him Over To The Theater And Making Him See 'The
Scarlet Woman.' It'll Be A Little Old Miracle, All Right, If He Has Any
Of His Whining Puritanical Ideas Left In Him After We Get Through With
Him. Come On! Get On The Job!"
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With A Sense Of Something Stronger Than He Was Back Of Him, He Lifted
His Own Chin And Hardened His Eyes In Answering Challenge. He Did Not
Know It, Of Course, But He Wore The Look That He Always Had When About
To Meet A Foe In A Game--A Look Of Strength And Concealed Power That
Nearly Always Made The Coming Foe Quake When He Saw It.
He Shrank From Going Back To That Red Room Again, Or From Being Alone
With Her; And When She Would Have Had Him Return To The Library He
Declined, Urging Studies And An Examination On The Morrow. She Received
His Somewhat Brusque Reply With A Hurt Look, Her Mouth Drooped
Grievedly, And Her Eyes Took On A Wide, Child-Like Look Of Distress That
Gave An Impression Of Innocence. He Went Away Wondering If, After All,
He Had Not Misjudged Her. Perhaps She Was Only An Adorable Child Who Had
No Idea Of The Effect Her Artlessness Had Upon Men. She Certainly Was
Lovely--Wonderful! And Yet The Last Glimpse He Had Of Her Had Left That
Impression Of Jeweled Horns And Scarlet, Pointed Toes. He Had To Get
Away And Think It Out Calmly Before He Went Again. Oh Yes, He Was Going
_Again_. He Had Promised Her At The Last Moment.
The Sense Of Having Escaped Something Fateful Was Passing Already. The
Coolness Of The Night And The Quiet Of The Starlight Had Calmed Him. He
Thought He Had Been A Fool Not To Have Stayed A Little Longer When She
Asked Him So Prettily; And He Must Go Soon Again.
Chapter 3 Pg 19
"I Think I'll Go To Church This Morning, Nelly. Do You Want To Go
Along?" Announced Courtland, The Next Morning.
Tennelly Looked Up Aghast From The Sporting Page Of The Morning Paper He
Was Lazily Reading.
"Go With Him, Nelly, That's A Good Boy!" Put In Bill Ward, Agreeably,
Winking His Off Eye At Tennelly. "It'll Do You Good. I'd Go With You,
Only I've Got To Get That Condition Made Up Or They'll Fire Me Off The
'Varsity, And I Only Need This One More Game To Get My Letter."
"Go To Thunder!" Growled Tennelly. "What Do You Think I Want To Go To
Church For A Morning Like This? Court, You're Crazy! Let's Go And Get
Two Saddle-Horses And Ride In The Park. It's A Peach Of A Morning For A
Ride."
"I Think I'll Go To Church," Said Courtland, With His Old Voice Of Quiet
Decision. "Do You Want To Go Or Not?"
There Was Something About Courtland's Voice, And The Way Bill Ward Kept
Up Winking His Off Eye, That Subdued Tennelly.
"Sure, I'll Go," He Growled, Reluctantly.
"You Old Crab, You," Chirped Bill, Cheerfully, When Courtland Had Gone
Out. "Can't You See You've Got To Humor Him? He Needs Homeopathic
Treatment. 'Like Cures Like.' Give Him A Good Dose Of Religion And He'll
Get Good And Tired Of It. Church Won't Hurt Him Any, Just Give Him A
Good, Pious Feeling So He'll Feel Free To Do As He Pleases During The
Week. I Had A 'Phone From Gila This Morning. She Says He's Made Anoiratory Movements That This Should Be So, And Also That It Should
Result In Saturating The Minds Of All Engaged In The Movements With
Distrust And Suspicion. More Than Once The Charge Of Being A Provocateur
Was Leveled At Lenine And At Trotzky, But Without Justification,
Apparently. There Was, Indeed, One Incident Which Placed Lenine In A Bad
Light. It Belongs To A Somewhat Later Period Than We Have Been Discussing,
But It Serves Admirably To Illustrate Conditions Which Obtained Throughout
The Whole Dark Period Between The Two Great Revolutions. One Of Lenine's
Close Friends And Disciples Was Roman Malinovsky, A Fiery Speaker Of
Considerable Power, Distinguished For His Bitter Attacks Upon The Bourgeois
Progressive Parties And Upon The Mensheviki. The Tenor Of His Speeches Was
Always The Same--Only The Interest Of The Proletariat Should Be Considered;
All Bourgeois Political Parties And Groups Were Equally Reactionary, And
Any Co-Operation With Them, For Any Purpose, Was A Betrayal Of Socialist
Principle.
Malinovsky Was Trusted By The Bolsheviki. He Was Elected To The Fourth
Duma, Where He Became The Leader Of The Little Group Of Thirteen Social
Democrats. Like Other Members Of The Bolshevik Faction, He Entered The
Duma, Despite His Contempt For Parliamentary Action, Simply Because It
Afforded Him A Useful Opportunity For Agitation And Demonstrations. In The
Duma He Assailed Even A Portion Of The Social Democratic Group As Belonging
To The Bourgeoisie, Succeeding In Splitting It In Two Factions And Becoming
Chapter 3 Pg 20The Leader Of The Bolshevik Faction, Numbering Six. This Blatant Demagogue,
Whom Lenine Called "The Russian Bebel," Was Proposed For Membership In The
International Socialist Bureau, The Supreme Council Of The International
Socialist Movement, And Would Have Been Sent As A Delegate To That Body As
A Representative Of Russian Socialist Movement But For The Discovery Of The
Fact That He Was A Secret Agent Of The Czar's Government!
It Was Proved That Malinovsky Was A Provocateur In The Pay Of The Police
Department, And That Many, If Not All, Of His Speeches Had Been Prepared
For Him In The Police Department By A Former Director Named Beletzky. The
Exposure Made A Great Sensation In Russian Socialist Circles At The Time,
And The Fact That It Was Nikolai Lenine Who Had Proposed That Malinovsky Be
Chosen To Sit In The International Socialist Bureau Naturally Caused A
Great Deal Of Unfriendly Comment. It Cannot Be Denied That The Incident
Placed Lenine In An Unfavorable Light, But It Must Be Admitted That
Nothing Developed To Suggest That He Was Guilty Of Anything More Serious
Than Permitting Himself To Be Outwitted And Deceived By A Cunning
Trickster. The Incident Serves To Show, However, The Ease With Which The
Extreme Fanaticism Of The Bolsheviki Played Into The Hands Of The
Autocracy.
Vii
While Bolsheviki And Mensheviki Wrangled And Disputed, Great Forces Were At
Work Among The Russian People. By 1910 The Terrible Pall Of Depression And
Despair Which Had Settled Upon The Nation As A Result Of The Failure Of The
First Revolution Began To Break. There Was A New Generation Of College
Students, Youthful And Optimistic Spirits Who Were Undeterred By The
Failure Of 1905-06, Confident That They Were Wiser And Certain To Succeed.
Also There Had Been An Enormous Growth Of Working-Class Organizations,
Large Numbers Of Unions And Co-Operative Societies Having Been Formed In
Spite Of The Efforts Of The Government. The Soul Of Russia Was Once More
Stirring.
The End Of 1910 And The Beginning Of 1911 Witnessed A New Series Of
Strikes, Such As Had Not Occurred Since 1905. The First Were Students'
Strikes, Inaugurated In Support Of Their Demand For The Abolition Of
Capital Punishment. These Were Quickly Followed By Important Strikes In The
Industrial Centers For Economic Ends--Better Wages And Shorter
Working-Hours. As In The Period Immediately Preceding The First Revolution,
Chapter 3 Pg 21The Industrial Unrest Soon Manifested Itself In Political Ways. Without Any
Conscious Leade The University They Met Gila Dare. Gila All In Gray
Like A Dove, Gray Suit Of Soft, Rich Cloth, Gray Furs Of The Depth And
Richness Of Smoke, Gray Suede Boots Laced High To Meet Her Brief Gray
Skirts, Silver Hat With A Single Velvet Rose On The Brim To Match The
Soft Rose-Bloom On Her Cheeks. Gila With Eyes As Wide And Innocent As A
Baby's, Cupid Mouth Curved Sweetly In A Gracious, Shy Smile, And Dainty
Little Prayer-Book Done In Gray Suede Held Devoutly In Her Little Gloved
Hand.
"Who's That?" Growled Tennelly, Admiringly, When They Had Passed A
Suitable Distance.
"Why, That's Bill Ward's Cousin, Gila Dare," Announced Courtland,
Graciously. He Was Still Basking In The Pleasure Of Her Smile, And
Thinking How Different She Looked From Last Evening In This Soft, Gray,
Silvery Effect. Yes, He Had Misjudged Her. A Girl Who Could Look Like
That Must Be Sweet And Pure And Unspoiled. It Had Been That Unfortunate
Dress Last Night That Had Reminded Him Unpleasantly Of The Scarlet Woman
And The Awful Night Of The Fire. If He Ever Got Well Enough Acquainted
He Would Ask Her Never To Wear Red Again; It Made Her Appear Sensual;
And Even She, Delicate And Sweet As She Was, Could Not Afford To Cast A
Thought Like That Into The Minds Of Her Beholders. It Was Then He Began
To Idealize Gila.
"Gila Dare!" Tennelly Straightened Up And Took Notice. So That Was The
Invincible Gila! That Little Soft-Eyed Exquisite Thing With The Hair
Like A Midnight Cloud.
"Some Looker!" He Commented, Approvingly, And Wished He Were In
Courtland's Shoes.
"She's Got In Her Work All Right," He Commented To Himself. "Old Court's
Fallen Already. Guess I'll Have To Buy A Straw Hat, It'll Be More
Edible."
Courtland Was Like His Gay Old Self When He Got Back To The Dormitory.
He Joked A Great Deal. His Eyes Were Bright And His Color Better Than It
Had Been Since He Was Sick. He Said Nothing About The Morning Service,
And By And By Bill Ward Ventured A Question: "What Kind Of A Harangue
Did You Hear This Morning?"
"Rotten!" He Answered, Promptly, And Turned Away. Somehow That Question
Recalled Him To The Uneasiness Within His Soul For Which He Had Sought
Solace In The Church Service. He Became Silent Again, And, Strolling
Away Into Stephen's Room And Closing The Door, Sat Down.
There Was Something Strange About That Room. The Presence Seemed Always
To Be There. It Hadn't Made Itself Felt In The Church At All, As He Had
Half Hoped It Would. He Had Taken Tennelly With Him Because He Wanted
Something Tangible, Friendly, Sane, From The World He Knew, To Give Him
Ballast. If The Presence Had Been In The Church, With Tennelly By His
Chapter 3 Pg 22
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