The Witness, Grace Livingston Hill Lutz [the little red hen ebook .TXT] 📗

Never

Forgot That Night's Experience--The Prayer,  And The Walk Home Again

Through The Fog. The Old Woman Died At Dawning.

 

Courtland Spent Much Time Thinking About Gila These Days. His Whole Soul

Was Wrapped Up In The Desire That She Might Understand. He Was Longing

For Her; Idealizing Her; Thinking Of Her In Her Innocent Beauty,  Her

Charming Ways; Wondering How She Would Meet Him The Next Time,  What He

Should Say To Her; Living Upon Her Brief,  Alluring Notes That Came To

Him From Time To Time Like Fitful Rose Petals Blown From A Garden Where

He Longed To Be; But Yet In A Way It Was A Relief To Have Her Gone Until

He Could Settle The Great Perplexity That Was In His Mind Concerning

Her.

 

Gila Prolonged Her Absence By A Trip South With Her Father,  And So It

Was Several Weeks Before Courtland Saw Her Again.

 

There Seemed To Be A Settled Sadness Over His Soul When He Prayed About

Her,  And When At Last She Returned And Summoned Him To Her He Was No

Nearer A Solution Of His Difficulty Than When He Had Last Left Her.

 

The Hour Before He Went To Her He Spent In Stephen's Room,  Turning Over

The Leaves Of Stephen's Bible. When He Rose At Last To Go He Turned

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Again To This Verse Which Had Caught His Eye Among The Marked Verses

That Were Always So Interesting To Him Because They Seemed To Have Been

Landmarks In Stephen's Life:

 

     My Presence Shall Go With Thee,  And I Will Give Thee Rest.

 

It Almost Startled Him,  So Well Did It Seem To Suit His Need. He Read On

A Few Verses:

 

     And He Said Unto Him,  If Thy Presence Go Not With Me,  Carry

     Us Not Up Hence. For Wherein Shall It Be Known That I And My

     People Have Found Grace In Thy Sight? Is It Not In That Thou

     Goest With Us? So Shall We Be Separated,  I And My People,

     From All The People That Are Upon The Face Of The Earth.

 

Wonderful Words Those,  Implying A Close Relationship That Shut Out To A

Certain Extent All Others Who Were Not One With That Presence. He Wished

He Knew What It All Meant! And In That Moment Was Born Within Him A

Desire To Understand The Bible And Know How Believing Scholars Explained

Everything.

 

But As He Went From The Room And On His Way,  He Felt That To Some Extent

He Had A Solution Of His Trouble. He Was To Be Under The Personal

Conduct Of The Presence Of God Wherever He Went,  Whatever He Did! This

Was To Make Life Less Complex,  And In Some Mysterious Way The Power Of

The Christ With Him Was To Be Made Manifest To Others. Surely He Might

Trust This In The Case Of Gila,  And Feel Sure That He Would Be Guided

Aright; That She Would Come To See For Herself How There Was With Him

Always This Guiding Power. Surely She Would Come To Know It And Love It

Also.

 

Gila Met Him With Fluttering Delight,  Poutingly Reproaching Him For Not

Writing Oftener,  Calling Him To Order For Looking Solemn,  Adoringly

Pretty Herself In A Little Frilly Pink Frock That Gave Her The Look Of

A Pale Anemone,  Wind-Blown And Sweet And Wild.

 

She Talked A Good Deal About The "Dandy Times" She Had Had And The

"Perfectly Peachy" Men And Girls She Had Met; Flattered Him By Saying

She Had Seen None Handsomer Or More Distinguished Than He Was. She

Accepted As A Matter Of Course The Lover-Like Attitude He Adopted,  Let

Him Tell Her Of His Love As Long As He Was Not Too Solemn About It,

Teased And Played With Him,  Charmed Him With Every Art She Knew,  Dancing

From One Mood To Another Like A Sprite,  Winding Her Gossamer Chains

About Him More And More,  Until,  When He Went From Her Again,  He Was

Fairly Intoxicated With Her Beauty.

 

He Had Lulled His Anxiety With The Thought That He Must Wait And Be

Patient Until Gila Saw. But More And More Was It Growing Hard To

Approach Her About The Things That Were Of Most Moment To Him. Sometimes

When He Was Wearily Trying To Find A Way Back From The Froth Of Her

Conversation To The Real Things He Hoped She Would Enjoy With Him Some

Day,  She Would Call Him An Old Crab,  And Summon To Her Side Other

Willing Youths To Stimulate His Jealousy; Youths Of Sometimes Unsavory

Reputation Whose Presence Gave Him Deep Anxiety For Her. Then He Would

Chapter 24 Pg 150

Tell Himself He Must Be More Patient,  That She Was Young And Must Learn

To Understand Little By Little.

 

Gila Developed A Great Interest In Courtland's Future,  His Plans For A

Career,  Of Which She Chattered To Him Much And Often,  Suggesting Ways In

Which Her Father Might Perhaps Help Him Into A Position Of Prominence

And Power In The Political World. But Courtland,  With A Shadow Of

Trouble In His Eyes,  Always Put Her Off. He Admitted That He Had Thought

Of Politics,  But Was Not Ready Yet To Say What He Would Do.

 

So Spring Came On,  With Its Final Examinations,  And Commencement Drawing

Nearer Every Day.

 

Through It All Courtland Found Much Time To Be With Gila; Often In

Company,  Or Flashing Through A Crowded Thoroughfare By Her Side;

Following Her Fancy; Excusing Her Follies; Laying Her Mistakes And

Indiscretions To Her Youth And Innocence; Always Trying To Lead Up To

His Great Desire,  That She Might See His Christ.

 

Tennelly Watched The Whole Performance Anxiously. He Wanted Courtland To

Be Drawn Out Of What He Considered His "Morbid" State,  But Not At The

Price Of His Peace Of Mind. He Was Very Sure That Courtland Ought Not To

Marry Gila. He Was Equally Sure That She Meant Nothing Serious In Her

Present Relation To Courtland. He Felt Himself Responsible In A Way

Because He Had Agreed In The Plot With His Uncle To Start Her On This

Campaign. But If Courtland Should Come Out Of It With A Broken Heart,

What Then?

 

It Was Just A Week Before Commencement That The Crisis Came.

 

Gila Had Summoned Courtland To Her.

 

Gila,  In Her Most Imperial Mood,  Wearing A Bewildering Imported Frock

Whose Simple Intricacies And Daring Contrasts Were Well Calculated To

Upbear A Determined Spirit In A Supreme Combat,  Awaited His Coming

Impatiently. She Knew That He Had That Day Received Another Offer From

Ramsey Thomas,  Tempting In The Extreme,  And Baited With Alluring

Possibilities That Certainly Were Dazzling To Her If They Were Not To

Her Lover. She Meant To Make Him Tell Her Of The Offer,  And She Meant To

Make Him Accept It That Very Afternoon And Clinch The Contract By

Telephoning The Acceptance To The Telegraph-Office Before He Left Her

Home.

 

Courtland Was Tired. He Had Been Through A Hard Week Of Examinations,

He Had Been On Several Committees,  And Had A Number Of Important Class

Meetings,  And The Like. There Had Been Functions Galore To Attend,  And

Late Hours That Were Unavoidable. He Had Come To Her Hoping For A Rest

And The Joy Of Her Society. Just To Watch Her Dainty Grace As She Moved

About A Room,  Handling The Tea Things And Giving Him A Delicate Sandwich

Or A Crisp Cake,  Filled Him With Joy And Soothed His Troubled Spirit; It

Was So Like His Ideal Of What A Woman Should Be.

 

But Gila Was Not Handing Out Tea That Afternoon. She Had Other Fish To

Fry,  And She Went At Her Business With A Determination That Very Soon

Chapter 24 Pg 151

Showed Him There Was No Rest To Be Had There.

 

Very Prettily,  But Quite Efficiently,  She Bored Him For Information

About His Plans. Had He No Plans Whatever About What He Was Going To Do

As Soon As He Had Finished College? Of Course She Knew He Had Money Of

His Own (He Had Never Told Her How Much,  And There Hadn't Really Been

Any Way Of Asking A Man Like Courtland When He Didn't Choose To Tell A

Thing Like That),  But Nowadays That Was Nothing. Even Rich Men All Did

_Something_. One Wasn't Anything Unless One Was In Something Big! Hadn't

He Ever Had Any Offers At All? It Was Queer,  Such A Brilliant Man As He

Was. She Knew Lots Of Young Fellows Who Had No End Of Chances To Get

Into Big Things As Soon As They Were Done With Their Education. Didn't

His Father Know Of Something,  Or Have Something In Mind For Him? Hadn't

He Ever Been Approached?

 

Goaded At Last By Her Delicate But Determined Insinuations,  Courtland

Told Her. Yes,  He Had Had Offers; One In Particular That Was A Fine

Thing From A Worldly Point Of View,  But He Didn't Intend To Take It. It

Did Not Fit With His Ideal Of Life. There Were Things About It That

Were Not Square. He Wasn't Quite Sure How His His Own Plans Were Going

To Work Out Yet. He Must Have A Talk With His Father First. Possibly He

Would Study Awhile Longer Somewhere.

 

Gila Frowned. She Had No Idea Of Letting Him Do That. She Wanted Him To

Get Into Something Big Right Away,  So That She Might Begin Her Career.

So That Was What Had Been Standing In His Way! Study! How Stupid! No,

Indeed! She Wanted No Scholar For A Husband,  Who Would Bore Her With

Horrid Old Dull Books And Lectures And Never Want To Go Anywhere With

Her! She Must Switch Him Away From This Idea At Once! She Returned To

The Rejected Business Proposition With Zeal And Avidity. What Was It?

What Did It Involve? What Were Its Future Possibilities? Great! What On

Earth Could He Find In That To Object To? How Ridiculous! How Long Ago

Had That Been Offered To Him? Was It Too Late To Accept? What? He Had

Had The Offer Repeated Even More Flatteringly That Very Day? Where Was

The Letter? Would He Let Her See It?

 

She Bent Over Uncle Ramsey's Brusque Sentences With A Hidden Smile Of

Triumph And Pretended To Be Surprised.

 

"How Perfectly Wonderful! All That Responsibility And All Those Chances

To Get To The Top! Even A Hint Of Washington!"

 

She Dimpled And Opened Her Great Eyes Imploringly At Him. She Pictured

Herself In Glowing Terms Going With Him And Holding Court Among The

Great Of The Land! She Wheedled And Coaxed And All But Commanded,