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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Have Done But For The War, Socialist Leadership Would Have Asserted Itself.
As In All Other Countries, The Divisions Of Opinion Created By The War
Among The Socialists Cut Across All Previous Existing Lines Of Separation
And Made It Impossible To Say That This Or That Faction Adopted A
Particular View. Just As In Germany, France, And England, Some Of The Most
Revolutionary Socialists Joined With The More Moderate Socialists In
Upholding The War, While Extremely Moderate Socialists Joined With
Socialists Of The Opposite Extreme In Opposing It. It Is Possible, However,
To Set Forth The Principal Features Of The Division With Tolerable
Accuracy:
A Majority Of The Socialist-Revolutionary Party Executive Issued An
Anti-War Manifesto. There Is No Means Of Telling How Far The Views
Expressed Represented The Attitude Of The Peasant Socialists As A Whole,
Owing To The Disorganized State Of The Party And The Difficulties Of
Assembling The Members. The Manifesto Read:
There Is No Doubt That Austrian Imperialism Is Responsible For The
War With Serbia. But Is It Not Equally Criminal On The Part Of
Serbs To Refuse Autonomy To Macedonia And To Oppress Smaller And
Weaker Nations?
It Is The Protection Of This State That Our Government Considers
Its "Sacred Duty." What Hypocrisy! Imagine The Intervention Of The
Czar On Behalf Of Poor Serbia, Whilst He Martyrizes Poland,
Finland And The Jews, And Behaves Like A Brigand Toward Persia.
Whatever May Be The Course Of Events, The Russian Workers And
Peasants Will Continue Their Heroic Fight To Obtain For Russia A
Place Among Civilized Nations.
This Manifesto Was Issued, As Reported In The Socialist Press, Prior To The
Actual Declaration Of War. It Was A Threat Of Revolution Made With A View
To Preventing The War, If Possible, And Belongs To The Same Category As The
Similar Threats Of Revolution Made By The German Socialists Before The War
To The Same End. The Mildness Of Manner Which Characterizes The Manifesto
May Be Attributed To Two Causes--Weakness Of The Movement And A Resulting
Lack Of Assurance, Together With A Lack Of Conviction Arising From The Fact
That Many Of The Leaders, While They Hated The Czar And All His Works, And
Could Not Reconcile Themselves To The Idea Of Making Any Kind Of Truce With
Their Great Enemy, Nevertheless Were Pro-Ally And Anxious For The Defeat Of
German Tfully, "Not That I Know Of." The
Suggestion Struck Him Curiously As One Who Hears For The First Time That
There Is A Possibility That He May Be Selected For Some Important
Chapter 4 Pg 30Foreign Embassy.
"Well, Then, Yer Surely A Blessed Child O' God Himself, Anyhow, And This
Is A Great Night Fer This Poor Little Room To Be Honored With A Pretty
Prayer Like That!"
Scarcely Hearing Her, He Said Good Night And Went Thoughtfully Down The
Dark Stairs, A Strange Sense Of Peace Upon Him. Curiously Enough, While
He Felt That He Had Left The Presence Up In That Little Dismal Room, It
Yet Seemed To Be Moving Beside Him, Touching His Soul, Breathing Upon
Him! He Was So Engrossed With This Thought That It Never Occurred To Him
That He Had Given The Old Woman Every Cent He Had In His Pocket. He Had
Forgotten Entirely That He Had Been Hungry. A Great World-Wonder Was
Moving Within His Spirit. He Could Not Understand Himself. He Went Back
With Awe Over The Last Few Minutes And The Strange New World Into Which
He Had Been So Suddenly Plunged.
Scarcely Noticing How He Went, He Got Himself Out Of The Intricacies Of
The Court Into A Neighborhood A Shade Less Poverty-Stricken, And Stood
Upon The Corner Of A Busy Thoroughfare In An Utterly Unfamiliar
District, Pausing To Look About Him And Discover His Whereabouts.
A Little Child With Long, Fair Hair Rushed Suddenly Out Of A Door On The
Side-Street, Eagerly Pulling A Ragged Sweater About His Small Shoulders,
And Stood Upon The Curbstone, Breathlessly Watching The Coming Trolley.
The Car Stopped, And A Young Girl In Shabby Clothes Got Out And Came
Toward Him.
"Bonnie! Bonnie! I've Got Supper All Ready!" The Child Called In A
Clear, Bird-Like Voice, And Darted From The Curb Across The Narrow
Side-Street To Meet Her.
Courtland, Standing On The Corner In Front Of The Trolley, Saw, Too
Late, The Swift-Coming Automobile Bearing Down Upon The Child, Its
Head-Lights Flaring On The Golden Hair. With A Cry The Young Man Sprang
To The Rescue, But The Child Was Already Crumpled Up Like A Lily And The
Relentless Car Speeding Onward, Its Chauffeur Darting Frightened,
Cowardly Glances Behind Him As He Plunged His Machine Forward Over The
Track, Almost In The Teeth Of The Up-Trolley. When The Trolley Was
Passed There Was No Sign Of The Car, Even If Any One Had Had Time To
Look For It. There In The Road Lay The Little, Broken Child, The Long
Hair Spilling Like Gold Over The Pavement, The Little, Still, White Face
Looking Up Like A Flower That Has Suddenly Been Torn From The Plant.
The Girl Was Beside The Child Almost Instantly, Dropping All Her
Parcels; Gathering Him Into Her Slender Arms, Calling In Frightened,
Tender Tones:
"Aleck! Darling! My Little Darling!"
The Child Was Too Heavy For Her To Lift, And She Tottered As She Tried
To Rise, Lifting A Frightened Face To Courtland.
"Let Me Take Him," Said The Young Man, Stooping And Gathering Him Gently
From Her. "Now Show Me Where!"
Chapter 5 Pg 31
Into The Narrow Brick House From Which He Had Run Forth So Joyously But
A Few Short Minutes Before, They Carried Him, Up Two Flights Of Steep
Stairs To A Tiny Room At The Back Of The Hall.
The Gas Was Burning Brightly At One Side, And Something That Sent Forth
A Savory Odor Was Bubbling On A Little Two-Burner Gas-Stove. Courtland
Was Hungry, And It Struck His Nostrils Pleasantly As The Door Swung
Open, Revealing A Tiny Table Covered With A White Cloth, Set For Two.
There Was A Window Curtained With White, And A Red Geranium On The Sill.
The Girl Entered Ahead Of Him, Sweeping Back A Bright Chintz Curtain
That Divided The Tiny Room, And Drew Forth A Child's Cot Bed. Courtland
Gently Laid Down The Little Inert Figure. The Girl Was On Her Knees
Beside The Child At Once, A Bottle In Her Hand. She Was Dropping A Few
Drops In A Teaspoon And Forcing Them Between The Child's Lips.
"Will You Please Get A Doctor, Quick," She Said, In A Strained, Quiet
Voice. "No, I Don't Know Who; I've Only Been Here Two Weeks. We're
Strangers! Bring Somebody! Anybody! Quick!"
Courtland Was Back In A Minute With A Weary, Seedy-Looking Doctor Who
Just Fitted The Street. All The Way He Was Seeing The Beautiful Agony Of
The Girl's Face. It Was As If Her Suffering Had Been His Own. Somehow He
Could Not Bear To Think What Might Be Coming. The Little Form Had Lain
So Limply In His Arms!
The Girl Had Undressed The Child And Put Him Between The Sheets. He Was
More Like A Broken Lily Than Ever. The Long Dark Lashes Lay Still Upon
The Cheeks.
Courtland Stood Back In The Doorway, Looking At The Small Table Set For
Two, And Pushed To The Wall Now To Make Room For The Cot. There Was Just
Barely Room To Walk Around Between The Things. He Could Almost Hear The
Echo Of That Happy, Childish Voice Calling Down In The Street: "Bonnie!
Bonnie! I've Got Supper All Ready!"
He Wondered If The Girl Had Heard. And There Was The Supper! Two
Blue-And-White Bowls Set Daintily On Two Blue-And-White Plates,
Chapter 5 Pg 32Obviously For The Something-Hot That Was Cooking Over The Flame, Two
Bits Of Bread-And-Butter Plates To Match; Two Glasses Of Milk; A Plate
Of Bread, Another Of Butter; And By Way Of Dessert An Apple Cut In Half,
The Core Dug Out And The Hollow Filled With Sugar. He Took In The
Details Tenderly, As If They Had Been A Word-Picture By Wells Or Shaw In
His Contemporary-Prose Class At College. They Seemed To Burn Themselves
Into His Memory.
"Go Over To My House And Ask My Wife To Give You My Battery!" Commanded
The Doctor In A Low Growl.
Courtland Was Off Again, Glad Of Something To Do. He Carried The Memory
Of The Doctor's Grizzled Face Lying On The Little Bared Breast Of The
Child, Listening For The Heart-Beats, And The Beautiful Girl's Anguish
As She Stood Above Them. He Pushed Aside The Curious Throng That Had
Gathered Around The Door And Were Looking Up The Stairs, Whispering
Dolefully And Shaking Heads:
"An' He Was So Purty, And So Cheery, Bless His Heart!" Wailed One Woman.
"He Always Had His Bit Of A Word An' A Smile!"
"Aw! Them Ottymobbeels!" He Heard Another Murmur. "Ridin' Along In
Their Glory! They'll Be A Day O' Reckonin' Fer Them Rich Folks What
Rides In 'Em! They'll Hev To Walk! They May Even Have To Lie Abed An'
Hev Their Wages Get Behind!"
The Whole Weight Of The Sorrow Of The World Seemed Suddenly Pressing
Upon Courtland's Heart. How Had He Been Thus Unexpectedly Taken Out Of
The Pleasant Monotony Of The University And Whirled Into This Vortex Of
Anguish! Why Had It Been? Was It Just Happen That He Should Have Been
The One To Have Gone To The Old Woman And Made Her Toast, And Then Been
Called Upon To Pray, Instead Of Tennelly Or Bill Ward Or Any Of The
Other Fellows? And After That Was It Again Just Coincidence That He
Should Have Happened To Stand At That Corner At That Particular Moment
And Been One To Participate In This Later Tragedy? Oh, The Beautiful
Face Of The Suffering Girl! Fear And Sorrow And Suffering And Death
Everywhere! Wittemore Hurrying To His Dying Mother! The Old Woman Lying
On Her Bed Of Pain! But There Had Been Glory In That Dark Old Room When
He Left It, The Glory Of A Presence! Ah! Where Was The Presence Now? How
Could _He_ Bear All This? The Christ! And Could He Not Change It If He
Would--Make The World A Happy Place Instead Of This Dark And Dreadful
Thing That It Was? For The First Time The Horror Of War Surged Over His
Soul In Its Blackness. Men Dying In The Trenches! Women Weeping At Home
For Them! Others Suffering And Bleeding To Death Out In The Open, The
Cold Or The Storm!
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