A Voice in the Wilderness

ry busy Margaret managed to forget the minister, who seemed to obtrude himself at every p

e. Bud helped carry them up-stairs, while Cap ran wildly back and forth, giving sharp barks, and the minister stood by the front door and gave ineffectual and unpractical advice to the man who had brought them. Margaret hear

ed that service for her, and thanked him with a finality that forbade him to linger. She half hoped he heard the vicious little click with which she locked the

e room instantly assume a homelike air. Then out of the box came other things. Framed pictures of home scenes, college friends and places, pennants, and flags from football, baseball, and basket-ball games she had attended; photographs; a few prints of rare paintings simply framed; a roll of rose-bordered white scrim like h

lf-sticks, a hockey-stick, a tennis-racket, and a big basket-ball in the corner; and his whole look of surprise was so ridiculous that she had to laugh. He lo

h my friends when you have time," she said. "I wonder if you could ma

er; she had asked him-Bud! Just a boy! He looked around the room with anti

ng, smiling and panting a hearty approval, as he looked about at the strangeness for all

and he was growing most impatient over the delay. He suggested that perhaps she would like his escort to see something of her surroundings that afternoon; but she smilingly told him that she would be very busy all the afternoon

of water as if she were his partner. Mr. Tanner beamed to see his son in high favor, but Mrs. Tanner looked a little tr

with green burlap left over from college days, like her other supplies, and then the two arranged the books. Bud was delighted over the prospect of reading some of the b

l squeezed in at last except a pile of school-books that were saved out to take to the school-house. Margaret set a tiny vase on the top of one part of the packing-case and a small

ng around the room. "Gee! You wou

er home. She had written a brief letter, of course, the night be

ettled at last in my room, and now I can't

I came, or at least I sha'n't be when I get started in school. One of the scholars is Mrs. Tanner's son, and I like him. He's crude, of course, but he has a brain, and he's been helping me this afternoon. We made a bookcase for my books, and it looks fine. I

cident of the desert altogether, for she knew by experience that her mother would suffer terrors all during her absence if she once h

me that he happened along, for he was most kind and gentlemanly and helpful. Tell Jane not to worry lest I'll fall in love with him; he doesn't live

spond with the funny little tuft of hair on her husband's protruding chin. Her head is set on her neck like a clothes-pin, only she is squattier than a clothes-pin. She always wears her sleeves rolled up (at least so far she has) and she always bustles arou

h they must have been married a good while. He calls her "Ma," and seems restless unless she's in the room. When she goes out to the kitchen to get some more soup or hash or bring in the pie

ark eyes and a great shock of dark hair. He and I are friends already. And so is the dog. The dog is a peach! Excuse me, mother, but I just must use a little of

ry nice having him. He's perfectly devoted already. He's a great, big, fluffy fellow with keen, intelligent eyes,

ave a lot of salt and pepper and butter to make it go down at all. Now I've told you the worst, and I'll try to describe him and see what you think I'd better do about it. Oh, he isn't the regular minister here, or missionary-I guess they call him. He's located quite a distance off, and only comes once a month to preach here, and, anyhow, he's gone East now to take his wife to a hospital for an operation, and won't be back for a couple of months, perhaps, and this man isn't even taking his place. He's just here for his health or for fun or something, I guess. He says he had a large suburban church near New York, and had a nervous breakdown; but I've been wondering if he didn't make a mistake, and it wasn't the church had the nervous breakdown instead. He isn't very big nor very little; he's just insignificant. His hair is like wet straw, and his eyes like a fish's. His hand feels like a dead toad when you ha

ow that there is a Presbyterian minister in the hous

t I didn't expect that. Everything is very plain, but Mrs. Tanner manages to m

t garments as a queen. To-night, when sunset came, it grew filmy as if a gauze of many colors had dropped upon it and melted into it, and glowed and melted until it turned to slate blue under the wide, starred blue of the wonderful night sky, and all the dark about was velvet. Last

ery sleepy, and my wicked little kerosene-lamp is smoking. I guess you would

will go to sleep thinking of you. Don't worry about the minister. I'm very

ing litt

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