The Desired Woman(Fiscle Part-3 Of 2) by Will N. Harben (e book reader pdf TXT) 📕

Spoke Soothingly And Yet Anxiously. Endearing Words Rippled From His

Lips. Presently His Arms Were Empty. Little Dick Was Gone,  And

Standing Near,  A Scowl Of Hate On His Face,  Was Old Henderson,  Who Was

Shaking Fierce Fingers At The Dreamer.

"Retribution!" He Cried. "Retribution! Now It Is Your Time--Your Time

To Suffer,  And I Am Appointed To Lay On The Lash!"

Mostyn Waked. The Moonlight Was Shining In At The Window. In The

Distance He Heard Voices. They Were Coming Nearer. Standing At A

Window,  Mostyn Saw Saunders And Tobe Barnett As They Were Parting At

The Gate.

"As Soon As Dolly Stood Up," Tobe Said,  With A Satisfied Laugh,  "I

Knew She Had It In For The Whole Dang Bunch From The Way She Looked.

An' When She Swatted 'Em Like She Did With Them Keen Points O' Hers I

Mighty Nigh Kicked The Bench In Front O' Me To Pieces. I Throwed My

Hat Agin The Ceilin' An' Yelled. She's A Corker,  Mr. Saunders."

Mostyn Could Not Hear Saunders's Reply. As He Came On To The House He

Began To Whistle Softly. Mostyn Saw Him Pause On The Grass,  Light A

Cigar,  And Begin To Smoke As He Strolled To And Fro.

"Happy Man!" Mostyn Said,  As He Went Back To His Bed. "He's Never Had

Anything To Bother Him. There Must Be A Correct Law Of Life,  And He

Seems To Understand And Obey It. He Used To Try To Get Me To Listen To

His Ideas,  But I Thought He Was A Fanatic. Lord,  Lord,  I Thought He

Was A Fool!"

The Next Morning,  Saunders Having Left Home On Some Business

Pertaining To The Building Of His New Cotton-Factory,  Mostyn Started

Out On One Of His All-Day Rambles In The Mountains. As He Was Passing

The Store Wartrace Called Out To Him Cordially.

"You Ought To Come Around About One O'clock,  Mr. Mostyn," He Said. "A

Big Crowd Will Be Here To Listen To John Leach,  The Tramp Preacher.

He's Billed For My Store,  An' He Never Fails To Be On Time."

Mostyn Passed On After Exchanging A Few Labored Platitudes With The

Storekeeper. He Shrank From The Thought Of Meeting A Crowd Even Of

Simple Mountain People. The High Open Spaces Above Silently Beckoned

To Him. Never Before Had Solitude In The Breast Of Nature Had Such

Appeal For Him. He Found Growing Interest In Plants,  Flowers,  Insects,

And Birds. He Wondered If They,  Too,  Suffered From Grief And Pain. At

Noon,  When The Day Was Warmest,  He Reclined On The Mossy Bank Of A

Clear Brook. He Took Off His Shoes And Bathed His Feet In The Cool,

Swift-Running Water,  Feeling The Chill Course Through His Veins. What

Was It That Kept Whispering Within Him That Here And Here Alone Was

The Balm For Such Wounds As His? Contrasting The Mystic Quiet Of His

Surroundings With The Snarling Jangle Of The Life He Had Led In Town,

A Faint Hope Of Eventual Peace Began To Spring Up Within Him. Once He

Raised His Hands To The Infinite Blue Above Him,  And His Thought,  If

Not His Words,  Was All But A Prayer For Mercy.

He Was Descending The Mountain Road Near Sunset. The Valley Into Which

He Was Going Was Already In Shadow. Suddenly He Heard A Mellow

Masculine Voice Singing A Hymn,  And,  Turning A Bend In The Road,  His

Body Bent Downward And Swinging His Hat In His Hand,  Was Leach,  The

Preacher.

"Well,  Well,  Well!" Leach Exclaimed,  Gladly,  When He Was Near Enough

To Recognize Him. "I Heard You Were In These Diggings,  And Was Sorry

Not To See You Out At My Meeting."

Leach Took His Hand,  Pressing His Fingers In A Tense And Sincere Clasp

While He Looked Into His Eyes Tenderly. His Strong Face Filled With

Emotion; His Big Lower Lip Actually Shook.

"You Needn't Tell Me About It,  Brother," He Said,  Huskily. "I've Heard

It All,  And I Never Was So Sorry For A Man In My Life. You Have Been

Sorely Stricken--You've Had As Much As You Can Stand Up Under And

Live. As Soon As I Heard It I Said To Myself: 'Here Is A Man That Has

To Suffer As Much As I Went Through.' Brother"--Leach Still Hung On To

His Hand--"You Can't See It As I Do Now,  And You Will Think I Am Crazy

For Saying It,  I Reckon,  But If Things Work Out Right,  You Will See

The Time That You Will Thank God For Giving You The Load That's On

You. Everything That Happens Under The Lord's Sun Is According To Law,

And Is Right--So Right That Average Human Beings Can't See It. You've

Heard Me Tell About What I Went Through In Prison,  And I Thank God For

Every Minute Of It. The Backbone Of My Pride Had To Be Broken,  And It

Took That To Do It. Are You In A Big Hurry?"

"No," Mostyn Faltered. "I Have Plenty Of Time."

"Well,  If You Don't Mind,  Let's Sit Here On The Rocks," Leach

Suggested. "I Want To See The Sun Set. I Never Miss A Sunset On A

Mountain If I Can Help It. That's Why I Walked Up Here. A Fellow Asked

Me To Spend The Night With Him On His Farm In The Valley,  But I

Refused. The Longer I Live The More I Want To Get Away From Houses,

Tables,  Beds,  And Chairs. They Are Just Babies' Rag Dolls And Playing-

Blocks. I'll Rake Up A Pile Of Pine-Needles At The Highest Point I Can

Reach On This Mountain To-Night And Lie With My Eyes On The Stars-Pin-

Hole Windows To God's Glory. Sometimes I Can't Sleep--I Get So Full Of

Worship. I Was Reading The Other Day That It Would Take A Fast Train

Forty Million Years To Get To The Nearest Fixed Star. Isn't That

Awful? And Think Of It,  When You Got There,  A Billion Times More Would

Lie Beyond--So Much More That You Wouldn't Even Then Have Touched The

Fringe Of The Wonderful Scheme. It Is Too Big For The Mind Of Man To

Grasp,  And So Is The Other,  The Realm Of Spirit,  Which Is,  After All,

The Main Thing--In Fact,  The _Only_ Thing."

They Sat In Silence For Several Minutes. The Sun Was Now A Great

Bleeding Ball Of Crimson. Leach's Big Hands Were Locked Over His Knee.

Now And Then His Lips Moved As If In Prayer. He Smiled; He Laughed; He

Chuckled. The Sun Sank Lower And Finally Went Out Of Sight. The Sky

Along The Horizon Was An Ocean Of Pink And Purple,  With Shores Of

Shimmering Opal.

"Forgive Me,  Brother." Leach Turned His Soft Glance On His Companion.

"You Don't Want To Talk,  I Reckon,  But The Lord Has Given Me The Power

To Sort O' Feel Human Trouble. I Can See It In Your Face And Feel It

Ooze Out Of Your Body Like A Sad,  Murky Stream. I Don't Want To Part

With You To-Night Without Helping You If I Can. I Wouldn't Talk This

Way If I Hadn't Helped Hundreds. I Never Have Failed Where They Would

Open Their Hearts Plumb Wide. All I'd Want To Know Would Be What

Particular Thing Was Standing In Your Way. Something Must Be In The

Way. You May Think It Strange,  But I Can Almost Feel It Hanging Over

You,  Like A Thing That Ought To Be Jerked Off."

Mostyn Was Tempted To Reply,  But He Said Nothing. Half An Hour Passed.

It Was Growing Cool,  Damp,  And Darker. He Rose To Go. The Preacher

Stood Up With Him,  And Grasped His Hand.

"I May Never See You Again,  Brother," He Said,  "And I'm Sorry,  For I

Feel Drawn Powerful Close To You Somehow. I'd Like Nothing Better Than

To Have You Along With Me. I'm Going To Leave This Part Of The Country

Pretty Soon. I Want To See More Of God's Beautiful World. I've Always

Wanted To Go To California,  And I'm Going To Do It Now."

"That Will Be Fine," Mostyn Remarked. "I Am Going Somewhere Soon

Myself. I Don't Know Where,  But Somewhere."

"You'd Better Come Along With Me," The Preacher Said,  Eagerly. "We

Could Pull Together All Right. I'd Do My Best To Make You Happy. I'd

Hammer At You Till You Saw The Truth That Has Lifted Me Out O' The

Mire. God Loves You,  Brother--He Really Does,  And You Will Find It Out

Some Day. The Worst Sin In The World Is Simply Not Knowing God's

Goodness. It Is As Plentiful As Rain And Air. What Do You Say?

Couldn't We Go Together?"

Mostyn Was Fairly Thrilled By The Idea. It Was A Strange Suggestion,

And Appealed To Him Strongly. There Was A Soothing Quality About The

Man That Attracted Him Beyond Anything Else. "When Do You Leave?" He

Asked.

"In A Couple Of Weeks. I Wish You Would Go--By Jacks,  I Do! I Know

When I Like A Man,  And I Like You. I Don't Want To Part From You Like

This. What Do You Say?"

"I'll Think Over It," Mostyn Promised. "Shall You Be In Atlanta Again

This Summer?"

"I'll Leave From There," Leach