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Copyright, 1908, by David CO. Cook Publishing Company.
J PUBLISHED
| WEEKLY.
“Vou. VIL. No. 10.
DAVID C. COOK PUBLISHING CO., Excin, ILLINorIs, AND 36 WasutNeTon St., CHICAGO.
March 7, 1908.
: ARTIJA DUSTIN walked steadily
M along the river road that led away
from the village. Her lips were
~ firmly closed. Her gaze was fixed upon
the ground, but her thoughts were not so
intent that she did not notice the group
down by the rowboats.
“Vello, Grace! Where are you going?”
she cried.’ Grace-turned. Ter hand was
upon her brother’s shoulder. Grace Lang-
don was dependent upon others for sight,
but when away from the water she was
not timid—that is, on roads she knew.
» “We are going to Uncle John’s,” she
‘said. “Where are you bound for?” Grace
had left her. brother and was walking
slowly back, toward Martha, guided by the
. «-latter’s, yoice, As the two came together,
- Martha said:
~ “You.know, Grace, I’m on the commit-
tee for the piano, We can’t seem to -get
the last hundred.’
‘ie. “T know,” said Grace; “and our Young
. People’s Society does need it so.”
‘ “Yes,” “Well, what
s,” answered Martha.
-I am going to do this morning is to see old
Silas: Rockwood and ask him for a
- “That’s . delightful, smiled
e Grace, “JT hope you will be successful
and get a good large contribution.”
“Oh, it is all very nice to talk that
»- way, Grace, but it would be very different
if you were the one to ask him for the
_ .."money.. Ile is ric! Tle
pr’. could pay for the piano without feeling it
yo tat all; but they say he doesn’t believe
‘much in the doings of the young people
in the church. I’m more likely to get a
sermon or a scolding than a contribution.”
“Don’t be discouraged, Martha,” said
encouragingly; ‘there must. be
way to reach his heart and_ his
pocketbook. If you are patient you'll find
7 ‘ey don’t know. I am afraid I. shall
- make a failure; but there is nothing to
d.”
Grace
waited,
The girls parted,
“where the rowboat Martha
and
went resolutely along the road until she
had‘ left the village. far behind her, and
rich farms
She . looked
E owas approaching one of the
that bordered on, the river.
i over the fence and sdw. a. man working
tod at a little distance in. the field, hoeing
fo ~ potatoes. She hesitated a little, for she
saw at once that the man was Silas Rock-
wood. He was working as industriously
-.:as if a young man. He wore an old bat-
<* tered felt- hat, and looked like anything
~ but.a rich man. Ile was indeed not an
Y encouraging - object, but Martha,’ with -as
much courage as she could call up, made
her way across the field.
’ “Mr, Rockwood,” she
~ There was no response.
“Mr. Rockwood,” repeated Martha, a
little more distinetly.
The old man turned slowly, leaned heav-
ily on the handle of his hoe, and, as it
seemed to Martha, glared at her with his
» keen black eyes.
“Was -you wanting something,
woman?” he asked.
-Martha hesitated. It seemed to her she
-eould not possibly tell her errand.
Mr.—Mr. Rockwood,” she began, hesi-
said pleasantly.
young
=== === Th
Work of The
By J. MERVIN HULL
ae Girl
tatingly,
People’s Society—”
“T am.a member of our Young
“No doubt on’t,” interrupted the old
man; “you look like it, plain enough.”
Martha's face flushed crimson, and with
her temper her courage returned.
“Mr. Rockwood,” she began, incisively,
“our Young People’s Society is endeavor-
ing to raise money to purchase a new
piano for the Sunday-school room. We
have worked hard, but, do our best, we
have not yet the full amount. I have
come to you to ask if you would contrib-
ute something toward the fund.”
he old man lifted his head.
“Not one single red cent! In‘the first
place, I don’t take much stock in your
Young People’s Society, anyway. It looks
to me mostly like a lot of frivolity and
foolishness. Altogether too much. rig-
marole, And in the next place, I don’t
know certain as I believe in having a
piano in the house of God. Tinkle, tinkle,
tank; tinkle tinkle, tank, instead of prais-
ing the Lord with heart and voice, as we
used to do when I was young. No, young
yoman, you needn’t ask ‘ine’
‘or no money for a piano. It
“What suecess did'you have with your
endeavor the other day?’ asked Grace.
“Just the success you might expect
from such a bungler as I am.’ He was
crabbed, and I lost my patience and said
some. things which I ought not to have
sa
“e W ell, perhaps he will like the flow-
ers,” said Grac
“Sha’n’t I co with you?” asked Mar-
tha.-
“Oh
» no; this path is straight to Silas
Rockwood‘s home.”
When Grace asked if she might take the
flowers into Mr. Rockwood's: room, his
wife Seemed to hesitate. Nevertheless she
led the way to the room where her hus-
band sat propped up in the bed with his
broken arm securely bound up, trying to
pass the time away.
“Silas, here is one of the: girls from. the
Young People’s Society—
The old man painfully turned ms, head
and scowled. “Didn't I. tell - he
grumbled, “ that T , wouldn’t give 3 “ingle
cent for no piano.” -
Grace moved gently in the direction of
the voice and held out her hands filled with
flowers toward the old man.
“Oh, Mr. Rockwood,” she said pleas-
antly, “I didn’t come to ask you for any-
thing for the piano. It was another one of
our , Young People’s Society who spoke . to
you, thy at day.”
sent me here with these flowers as an ex: /
pression of: their sympathy.”
he old man looked at her intently for
a moment. 1. Sympathy!” he
mused; then turning to Grace he sai
“ "Tain’t nothin’; be all right in a ‘tow.
weeks; no need of making any fuss about
it.” But while he spoke his gaze lingered
upon the flowers which Grace held in her’
hand.
“Let me arrange them for you,
Rockwood,” said Grace pleasantly.
Mrs. Rockwood..came. with a’vase that —~
she guided Grace to as she Placed | it on
the stand.
“ Careful! careful! ” cried the old man
as Grace laid her slender fingers around
the vase. “That vase used to belong to
my mother. I. wouldn’t have it broke, not
for more’n they wanted for their piano.”
Grace busied herself swiftly with the
arranging of the flowers, then said sweetly,
“ Good-by,. Mr. Rockwood.” But -as she
left the room, had she had the gift of sight,
she would have seen that Silas Rockwood’s
gaze. was fixed upon the flowers and that
his face was. softer than its habitual ex-
pression,
More than once Grace Langdon visited
Mr. Rockwood with gifts of flowers, and
always did she leave a kinder spirit in the
heart of the one visited.
Two or three. weeks ‘passed away.
Martha .and Grace met each. other
« * occasionally, but when Mar-,
tha asked Grace how she
Mr,
will be a great deal better for
you all if you would take less
pains with the outside show,
and take more pains with the
inside spirit; I tell you, young
people was different in my
days from what they be now.”
Martha’s hot temper flamed.
She stood before the old man
straight as an Indian girl, her
dark eyes flashing, her ‘lips
trembling.
am thankful that the
young. people. of to-day~ are
different from the young peo-
ple of your generation!” she
cried. Th she’ turned
quickly and sped out of. the
field; but her anger did not
Jast until she reached — the
road, and she went stumbling
along toward the village with
the bitter tears of regret
blinding her eyes.
When she thought over the
scene afterwards, she felt
that she had not. only acted
unwisely but wrongly. Oh,
how she wished for courage
to go to Mr, Rockwood and
tell him so!,
Several days later, as she
was passing along the path
near Mr. Rockwood’s, she met
Grace making her way care-
fully along, her hands
filled with flowers. She smiled
pleasantly as Martha spoke
to her, asking where she was
going with the flowers.
“JT am going to take them
up to your friend, Mr. Silas
Rockwood,” laughed Grace.
“What do you mean, Grace?”
“TIayen’t you heard? -The old man
fell down a stairway in his barn while
e was taking care of his. cattle the other
day, and broke his arm, -You know I am
on the flower committee, so I am taking
him these pinks and roses from the Young
eople’s Society.
Martha flushed. .- (°:\.
WHERE THE -ROWBOAT | WAITED,
The old. man bent his head and looked
intently at her cover the top of his spec-
cles.»
hu Oh, I see; you are . Langdon’s blind
girl” ~
“Yos,” said Grace sweetly, then added:
“We heard last night,’at the meeting of
our Young People’s Society, that you. had
fallen and broken your arm. The Society
was progressing in making™
friends with Silas Rock-. _
wood, Grace only — smiled
-pleasantly and would make
no definite answer. One
Friday morning the two
girls .were together at the -
post . office. The weekly —
Riverdale Tribune was, in
the letter-box. Martha took
it and scanned the local col-~ *
umn with surprise;. she
read:
A Carp.
I hereby. wish to express
my thanks publicly to the
Young People’s, Society for
the flowers they brought me
and for all the kindness they
showed to me while I was_
laid up with my arm broke.
© Smnas Rockwoop.
“What do you think of
this, Grace?” she said.. Then
she read the card aloud
for Grace’s benefit, and >
aske
aye
“ Grace Langdon, ‘how aia’
you do
one ee tiod Grace,
“that's too long a° story.
But_ it isn’t ended yet. I
have a message-for you. Mr.
s Rockwood. wants. to
Do you think you can go
to him to-day?”
‘ “Tl go this minute,” an-
7 : swered: Martha ~ decidedly;
- one she set on with a rapid
p the
She found Mr. Rockwood Newly walking?»
to and fro in his front yard, with his arm ~
in a sling, and his striped blue coat thrown
over his shoulders. He greeted Martha
with a pleasant smile as she. approached
hi
m.
“ Are you the girl that was gettin’ money
for, the new piano?” he asked. “
“Yes, sir,” answered Martha, “and be-_