: - THROUGH-THE fe sUstimtiele).oG PROVIDED -BY THE-PEOPLE - OF-THE | - UNITED-STATES fm AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION FOR THE-USE-OF | THE- SOLDIERS INSET NERO (S THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY SV kKlew cop.@ + ° ™ (Sues mec) Ciba BOLGA. THE WIVES OF f _ THE PROPHET A NOVEI» BY * OPIE READ Author of “A KENTUCKY COLONEL,” ‘‘!'HE COLOSSUS,” “LEN GANSETT,”’ “RMMETT BONLORE,”’ ‘‘A TENNESSEE JUDGE,”’ “THE TEAR IN THE CUP,” ETC. CHICAGO: LAIRD & LEE, PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY OPIE READ (ALL RIGHTS RESERVE D.) > RG te aa cpa "Fi , gph ~~ WD CAKY TG c_| i4 D 34 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. CHAPTEHR=T Away up the Cumberland river, in Tennessee, there is a scope of country that romantic tourists, who doubtless never have been abroad, are wont to declare reminds them of Switzerland, It lies, or more correctly speaking, rolls and tumbles to the eastward from the river. The mountains are not high enough to be white at the top nor the valleys deep enough to be dismal at the bottom. In winter a hazel gauze is hung from hill-top to hill-top, and in summer a dazzling, greenish mist creeps up from the river. Very little is known of this section of country. Its principal visitors, backed by the government, care not . for scenery, loiter not in a nook because it is romantic, but pry about in foreboding places, looking for whisky _ that bears not the stamp of legitimacy. Houses are so scattered and so hidden/away that one might fancy them to be suspicious of on/. another; there appear to be no paths running from one house to another, and a stranger might wander for days at a time without 8 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. coming upon a habitation. But in the very heart of this wave-like, toss-up of country there isa settlement, old and so strange that those who sought to get at the thread of its mystery came away with a piece of tangled yarn. The mystery lay in the reason of its existence. The houses, built of stone, are marked with age, moss-grown; the walls are cracked. Naught save religion could have organized such a brotherhood; naught but the desire to worship, to practice a belief in a world to come, unob- served by this unreverential, jeering world, could have forced men and women to so complete a seclusion. The houses are low, built in a circle and are covered with flat stones. In the center stands a sort of temple, with a high arched entrance and with a porch supported by four mas- sive rock pillars. Like Rome, this village held its real name a profound secret, too holy to be pronounced by _mortallips. It was called Bolga. What thename meant, no one knew, no one could learn. Five years ago, Bolga must have held four hundred inhabitants. But condi- tions are changed now. The village is in a shallow basin, an area of land embracing a hundred acres; it is nearly square, and a hill, almost a mountain, arises from each corner. A pamphlet printed in North Carolina more than a hundred years ago, and now owned by the Tennessee Historical Society, says that in 1697 a new religious order, numbering forty souls, arrived from England, but refus- THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 9 ing to remain ina civilized community, pushed onward into the wilds. ‘They seemed to have held their religion as a divine secret, the pamphlet set forth, and could find no one in the colony who was worthy to receive it. It is now believed by the people of Tennessee, and particularly | so by Gov. Bob Taylor, who has given the subject much thought, that this strange religious sect, spoken of in the pamphlet, founded the village of Bolga. During nearly two centuries the religion of the Bol- gaites remained the mysterious secret which its founder intended that it should, and not until recently was any- one prepared by fact or supposition to hang a story from the eaves of the weather-stained, the moss-dampened pile of stone, the rude but solemn temple in the wilds of Tennessee. The people of Bolga dug their living out of the soil. Their clothes came from the hand-loom. ‘Their linen was the finest and brought the highest price in the market. There was no individual ownership of property. The vil- ‘lage was governed by four Councilmen and a Father, who was really the chief executive. This Council, with its Father, not only had charge of temporal affairs, but kept in sacred administration the creed of the community. Males and females held the same rights and at the age of seventeen were taken into the temple and made active members of the church; and here it was that they took an oath which 10 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. bound them to the religion of their fathers. It wasknown that a violation of this oath meant death, but no one ever spoke of the consequences entailed by a violation, for no one believed in so perfidious a possibility. Every three years a strange election took place. The entire village would assemble in the temple, and then after the most careful deliberation, five of the handsomest maidens were elected as Wives of the Prophet. They were decorated with flowers and clothed with the finest linen, and after a whole day of festivity, were installed in a round building, the House of the Prophet, where they lived during the three years of their wife-hood. No one was permitted to address them except in a most reverential manner—even their parents approached them with signs of deepest respect. It was believed that some day, no one dared to presume when, the Prophet would come and claim his wives, and that from the off-spring of the union would arise the true savior of mankind. Ifa girl were engaged to be married and her wedding day were approaching, she was compelled to wait until the wife-election, to see whether or not she should be selected by the council to serve as a Wife of the Prophet, and if chosen, she was then forced to wait three years before her actual marriage could take place. But to be a wife of the Prophet was so great an honor that to put off a temporal marriage was never regarded as a hardship. Many an old woman, wrinkled, THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 11 toothless, spoke with deep feeling of the time when she had been a wife of the Prophet. The Council and the Father were elected for life. Every three years, just after the wives of the Prophet had been chosen, the Council, headed by the Father, would retire to some secluded place and there in secret rehearse their creed in the presence of the Master of all Life— rebinding themselves and their people to the covenant, solemnly vowing to keep the faith. The government of Bolga was simple. Crime, drunk- enness was unknown. All differences were settled by the Council. Education was fostered, but it was of a pecu- liar sort. The school was given almost wholly to rhetoric. Mathematics, the Bolgaites said, was the invention of man, but speech was God-given. So, among these peo- ple, speech attained a peculiar force, almost an elegance. Brethren who took the linen to market, were permitted to buy any smoothly written book, provided that it had no undertone that might be damaging to their religion. Asa result the maidens were romantic and the men spoke in stilted Sentences. But they abominated newspapers, declaring that they were rude in expression, that they disturbed the mind with frightful pictures, with records of crime and with political strife. Why should there be political troubles? God had not given politics to man. He had handed down a true religion and politics had 1s THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. sought to crush it. This would argue that the Bolgaites were the people forming the new sect spoken of by the old pamphlet, and that having struggled in vain for their rights in England, had, after long persecution, come to this country, determined to guard their secret, not to experiment with salvation, but to grow children in the faith rather than to proselyte. . Strangers sometimes came to Bolga, but they were treated with cool indifference. If they were hungry they were given food and told to go their way. If they asked to remain over night they were informed that the village was full. ‘‘ What is that round house for?’’ strangers were wont to ask; and the answer was, ‘‘ To serve its own purpose.’’ ‘‘ And that heavy building over there is a church, isn’t it?’ ‘‘’That also serves its purpose,’’ some one invariably would answer. A summer day was closing. The Wives of the Prophet had been chosen, and had been escorted to the Prophet’s house, there to live in honor during three years. Flowers were strewn about the temple, and a pathway of roses led to the Prophet’s house. Five old men left the temple and, walking one behind another, solemnly strode toward a secluded vale. They were going to rehearse their creed. CHAP DER EEL In Nashville lived a young lawyer named Howard Bryce. When he was graduated from Vanderbilt Uni- versity it was said by that shrewd flatterer — public opinion — that he would reach high up amid the affairs of men and leave his mark there. Nature had been his friend. Circumstances had taken his hand and had made a motion as if to kiss it. Women tapped him with their fans, and called his attention to trivialities in which they were prettily interested. His laugh was infectious and his commonplace talk passed for wit, and his wit passed for genius. He pretended to hold himself in smart con- tempt ; he would say a bright thing and frown at it; he said that to be clever was a clown’s province. He knew that the shrewdest way to hide vanity was to exhibit it, to call attention to it, to make fun of it. It was buta question of time, of course, when he would take his place at the head of the bar. But time slipped by and the plodders were passing him. It was his fault ; he had not exerted himself. He had read romances while the plod- ders were reading law. After a while he would read law, 13 14 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. nothing but law. Where would the plodders be then? But idleness had grown upon him and he hated facts. Local opinion ceased to flatter him ; no one cared to hear his bright sayings ; his epigrams counted against him; he heard a dull man say that they were like a monkey’s trick, amusing for a moment. He found that it was a mistake to throw bright darts at a jury, that dullness was always regarded as the law. He was dis- gusted. He spoke of his trouble, but he did it in so original a way that his friends laughed at him. Unfortu- nate is the man whose sorrows are amusing. In the © sturdy and stubborn affairs of life there is no hope for the man who believes that newness of expression is an essen- tia. grace. If his originality is striking men will call him a crank ; if it is not striking they will say that he is shal- low. But intellectual surprises, if possessed by this man to the degree of a defect, were not his only blemishes. He lacked moral force, and that was doubtless the reason why his disappointments were amusing to his friends. He made no acknowledgment that might lead one to believe him spiritually awry, but every one seemed to feel that he had no respect for certain laws that should govern the social conduct of man. Indeed, he sometimes made pretenses of a moral sort; but behind one’s own words is a flimsy place to hide; they are a lattice-work and men see through them. Bryce was as passionate as an Eliza- THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 15 bethan poet. He saw the filth in old plays, and found but little of their strength and beauty. He amused him- self with trying to write an erotic book, and threw it away because he felt that he was hampered, that bound by [ i Bois, F Y/; 7, Uf, Uf, (iia ay OYE AM | aren, 7 ‘Ad Wig HH Hi Min du heh, F || ah 7 ZA = 4 f / $f fi / 1 \ TRARY — if oa ) jp e ee the opinion of a slow-going commu- nity he could but make a mockery of passion. He was possessed of a strong physical attractiveness, an outward grace which sometimes bespeaks an inward wantonness. His hair was black and fine, and his dark eyes were per- suasive. o t OS ye ee ee ee ee Mes es see i ya: hat elt be 16 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. One afternoon Bryce was sitting in his office, leaning on a green-covered table, lazily, dreamily, looking at the shelves containing his law books. His pipe had gone out, had been thrown aside, and ashes were strewn over the table. A friend entered. ‘* Howard, I see you are hard at work.”’ ‘That you, Hartley ?’’ the lawyer asked without look- ing up. ‘‘Sit down.”’ The visitor sat down; the lawyer yawned. ‘‘ Any- thing going on, Howard ?”’ Ves timer? A silence followed. ‘‘Howard did you hear about Bentley ?”’ ‘‘No; what about him ?’ ‘* Has won his case in the supreme court.”’ ‘“That so? I thought he would amount to something. He’s got just sense enough to apply what little mind nature gave him. Look here!’’ he added, sitting up, facing about and looking at his visitor, ‘‘haven’t you fellows anything to do but to come around here to tell me of the success of some plodding yap that I don’t care a snap for? I’m getting sick of it, Hartley ; in fact Iam sick of everything. Now, look here: People were gra- cious enough to predict a future for me. Why? Because I must have given them some cause. Who inspired the cause? Call it what you will— hanged if I know what THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 17 I’m trying tosay. But I’m sick of the whole business. Nature said: ‘Here you are a bee, without the pbee’s industry. Now, I’m going to put a dab of honey in front of you, but if you taste it I will clip your wings.’ ”’ ‘‘Howard, you must have run against a love disap- pointment.’’ The lawyer laughed lazily. ‘‘ Hartley, you are old enough to know that there isn’t any such thing as love, that is, aside from passion. When passion is dead, love is dead. Generosity, certain attributes of the mind, inspire friendship; but what inspires love? Beauty, voluptuousness. But you must pardon me. I forgot that you had been ordained to preach.”’ ‘“You owe me no apology, Howard ; I am more sor- rowful than resentful. I always liked you; you were such a help to me years ago. Your hearty buoyancy floated me over troublous waters — ”’ ‘* Are you going to preach now, Hartley ?”’ “T wish I might. I wish that I could say som-thing to jolt you.” “Think I need exercise, eh? Why not turn physician and prescribe horseback riding? Pardon the roughness of the way I put it, but you moral-drawing fellows make me tired. You take it into your head that you are going to reform society, and immediately you make a dead set at your friends. Don’t worry about me, I have made 18 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. up my mind that I’m never to amount to anything, and that’s all there is to it. You may think that you can feel about and find the nerve of my ambition, touch it and make me flinch, but you can’t. That nerve is dead.’’ ‘* Howard, if you are in trouble, remember that trouble is the school wherein success is taught. Trouble paints strong pictures on the mind.”’ i ‘* Ah, but the paint eats the canvas. Trouble uses no soft oil in its art. But there, old fellow, don’t worry about me.’’ He got up and with winning affection put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. ‘‘ Go to your congre- gation, tell the women, the pretty ones, always to remain pure ; tell the old men not to rent any more houses to the agents of sin. And if nature has disturbed your dreams and your waking hours with the dark eyes and exquisite forms of temptation, pray that they may be removed. One of these days when I am toothless, half-blind, and with this July blood of mine cooled into a slow, January flow, I may come around and astonish you with the statement that I am ready to become virtuous. Gods! old boy, if I were a woman, with the same temperament I now have, that scarlet creature of Babylon would be a lily in comparison with me. Frank with you? Yes.’’ ‘* Howard, I will pray for you.’’ ‘*Don’t. Carry bread to the poor.”’ ‘* In deepest faith I will ask God to remove your curse.”’ THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 19 ‘Don’t. Clothe the naked. What time’is it getting to be? I let my watch run down. Iam going out of town for a few days —I am going hunting in the mount- ains. It’s not exactly the right time of year, but I’m going. I-want to get away from here. Really, now, Hartley, I am willing to listen to anything that you may have to say, and when I come back I will cali on you, and give you a whole evening if you are that much inter- ested in me. I’m not quite so bad a fellow as I make myself appear; there may be a spark of reformation in me somewhere, and when I come back I will let you look for it to blow an honest breath upon it.’’ CHAPTER III That afternoon Bryce set out for the mountains. If he thought at all of what his friend had said, it was in the most fleeting, the idlest sort of way. He cared not what any one said, and he was beginning not to care for what any one thought. But to himself he attempted to weave no gauzy fabric of defence. He realized that with an effort made against himself, that with the subjection of self, he might fulfill the promises which his small achievements in earlier life had made. But the making of that one effort, the forcing of a resolution against so intangible an evil, was the one exertion which he could not or would not summon the nerve to make. In one respect he reminded himself of an opium eater — years of planning, but not one hour of execution. He had been strongly ambitious, and his ambition had drawn a map of the roads it was to traverse, but by by-paths, promising enchantment, while agreeing not to lead him far from the high-road, allured him away, and when he looked back he saw that the distance was great and that brambles had sprung up behind him. 20 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 21 He took passage on a small boat that ran far up the river. The weather was delightful, and the air, cothing softly down the stream, was like the breath of a purer, sweeter life. He stood at the bow, leaning against the jack-staff. The deck hands were singing a song — the rich, untaught melody of labor’s resting time. And he saw that that they, the creatures of rude strength, gazed at him and admired him for the physical quality which they themselves possessed. He turned from them, but still leaning against the jack-staff, gazed at the green hills along the shores of the winding stream. In that peaceful view lay a sobering meditation, and he took it up. He thought of Hartley, of what a modest, self-sac- rificing fellow he had ever been, studious, not bright but doggedly plodding toward success ; and that success was to be measured by the good which he might do unto © man. He thought of the look Hartley had given him at the moment when the scarlet woman of Babylon was menticned, and a sadness touched him. But was it that recollection that deepened his feeling? Was it not the more melancholy turn of the song which the deck hands were singing? He went as far as he could by boat, and then on foot strode into the wilds. ‘The boat was to return to Camp- bell’s wood-yard, the place where the river journey ended, within a week, and by that time Bryce was to be 22 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. at the landing. It was more than likely that he should be there waiting for the steamer. He had begun to fore- see that he was to get but a meager pleasure out of his self-imposed banishment, And, besides, his determina- tion to listen to Hartley drew him toward home. He would goto his church, steal in, and after services sur- prise him with his presence. Who knew but that Hartley might in some way have been inspired to save men from ruin.. But, then, up arose the stumbling-block: Who was inspired to place temptations in the way of man? Why should he be tempted ? Who was to be responsible for the evils growing out of that temptation? But what good could come from such reasoning? He would go to hear Hartley. Yes; and he would make an effort to reclaim himself. After all he had not wandered away so very far. He was still young, twenty-eight, and was not a drunkard. Why life had just begun to spread itself out in front of him. Why had people commented upon his failure when in truth he had not begun to try? One night he missed finding a house, and he lay in the woods. His bed was a dreary hollow between two frown- ing cliffs, and along toward morning, when at last he had forced himself to sleep, he was startled back to conscious- ness by the scream of a panther. ‘This was sport, no doubt, but he did not like it. He caught up his gun, and stood gazing about him. He heard the panther again, THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 2S screaming down the gulch, and he fired in the direction of the sound. And the report of his gun had not rumbled off into silence when up the ravine there was a whip-like crack and a bullet buzzed past him. tii up there!’ he cried: >‘ Look: out’; you'll hit me: % Then there came another crack and another bullet. ‘* Look out, you infernal fool! ‘The panther’s gone.”’ ‘* Don’t want the panter,’’ a voice cried. ‘What do you want ?’’ ‘“Want you, and if you move I’ll git you, too.’’ *“Want me?”’ Bas. Don't move.”’ Some one was approaching. What could all this mean? ““You stop there!’ Bryce shouted, ‘‘or I’ll shoot you. I don’t know who you are, or what you want, but you stop there.’’ The footsteps ceased. A silence followed, and then a voice, coming as if from behind something, shouted : “Head him off down thar, Tuck! Ef he comes up this way I’ve got him.”’ Bryce stepped back until he found the shelter of a rock. “Will you be so accommodating as to s=plain why you want me?’’ he shouted. ‘*Mebby you’ll know when we git you, an’ mebby you won’t.’’ 94 THE WIVES OF TH™ PROPHET. ‘* But what have I done?”’ ‘*Vou'll find out between now an’ daylight. The folks have been watchin’ you, an’ put us on yo’ track. Come “up here to spy round for the gover’mint, did you? Wa’al, we'll arn you. Tuck off Bob Edd Sevier last fall, an’’ hain’t fotch him back yit. We know you. You’re the very man. Keep a sharp lookout down thar’, Tuck, an’ we'll hold him here till the other fellers come. Oh, you’re putty brash to come back here so soon,’’ he added in a lower tone, ‘‘ but we’ll l’arn you.”’ ‘“What! Do you think I am a revenue officer ?’’ ‘* Guessed it the fust pop, dinged ef you didn’t.”’ ‘‘ Well, you were never more mistaken in your life.,’ ‘“We won’t argy about that. You mout beat mein a argyment, fur that isin yo’ line, mebby ; but you kain’t tie a rope no better than I kin. ‘Tuck !’’ he shouted, ‘‘I hear the boys comin’.”’ Now what was to be done? Here was a jury that even a plodder could not convince. ‘To stand there and wait for daylight meant to hang at sunrise. And an attempt to escape might mean death, but to be shot was better than to be hanged. He fancied that he heard the other men coming down the ravine. He heard Tuck sneeze. He remembered that in the growing darkness he had noticed that the other side of the ravine was not quite SO steep. If he could crawl across he might climb out. He THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. — 25 got down and began to crawl. It was painful work, over the sharp stones. ‘The ravine was not broad, and when he had about reached the middle of it he thought that he could see a flush in the east. Daylight meant instant death. He reached the other side. The wall was almost perpendicular. Hecrawled along the edge. There was no opening. He was getting closer to Tuck. He heard something, the sharp clank of one rock striking another. Daylight must be coming, for on the opposite side of the ravine, the west side was turning gray. ‘This told that, even at early morning the east wall was not high enough to shut off the rays of the sun. But it was so high that Bryce could not reach the top. He lay close and listened and watched. He thought that he saw something move on the other side of the ravine. In a second a significant truth was made clear. Tuck was crawling up the ravine, to be close enough to shoot him, to carry off the honors of the chase. ‘‘I could kill the scoundrel,’’ Bryce mused. ‘‘ But, I won’t; it would do me no good — mean my death, too.’’ He crawled carefully along, halted and looked after Tuck. He had disappeared. Thinking that it was now safe enough to walk, Bryce arose and, bend- ing over, cautiously felt his way along. Daylight was surely coming. He could see the tree tops, high up against a whitening mist on the west side of the ravine. Now he walked rapidly ; now he could run. He sawa 26 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. break in the wall, but it was on the opposite side. No mat- ter, he would cross. He did so and soon he was in a gulch that like a great slide-way came down from the mountain. He knew that they would follow him and he continued to press forward as fast as he could, and by the time the sun was fairly ablaze he had reached the mount- ain top. His aim now was to reach the river as soon as possible, and he sheered off in what he took to be that direction. Hesawa cabin, but he gave it a broad go by. Later, he came within sight of a rude fence, and he ran from it. ‘Thus all day he struggled onward. ‘Toward evening he entered another ravine. He had traveled a long distance, but whether or not he had been followed he had no means of knowing. ‘The bluffs on each side of the ravine were rugged and high, but he noticed that they could be climbed. ‘The sun had gone behind a rag- ged rock-line. Bryce was picking his way along, looking for a place wherein to sleep. Hecame to a sort of cave, and stood hesitating whether it would be better to go into the wolf-den or to sleep under the stars. Suddenly his blood seemed to freeze. Down the ravine he saw five men slowly walking one behind another. No choice was now left him, and he sprang into the mouth of the cave. Inside he found a large chamber with uneven walls. The cave came to an abrupt end. He felt about, found a shelving rock, climbed upon it and lay down. His only THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 27 hope was that the men might not come into the place, for ieee it would require but a short \ search to discover his hiding- _. place. Eagerly, hopefully, Tam Pi xX _~\3s~ and then despondently, he AON eae t WS OS eras { listened. They were. fo WN Raid coming into the cave. _ Intheycame, walk- ‘I \ ing slowly, he . a \X\\’ \ \ \ WS \\ WW Roe could tell from i id 3 LS We AG) NR their tread. ; » _ni(! . ~S\ val WSS Neen The foot- wis Ayer —~" ys Ss iN \ aay) e steps SS : Rr ora eee 4 ; ceased. There was something strange ahout it all. Should he risk a peep at them? No; he was afraid to 28 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. move. What were they doing now? Gods! they were ~ praying; but what a prayer. They began to rehearse a strange creed, and to implore that the promises made to their fathers might be fulfilled. Year after year, genera- tion after generation, the will of the Master had been obeyed. ‘They had kept the tenets of their faith a holy secret from the curious and vulgar world. They reminded the giver of their religion that they had just elected five of their handsomest maidens, according to the creed handed down to them, to serve during three years as the Wives of the Prophet—that they had chosen Mary, Rachel, Alma, Silvia, and Judith. They knew that these maidens should surely find favor in the eyes of the Prophet, should he come during the next three years; but that no matter when he should come he would find that the chosen people of his Father, the Lord, were ready to receive him. ‘‘ We know not, O Lord,’’ the prayer went on, ‘‘ when it shall be Thy pleasure and Thy will to send the Prophet unto us — it may be this day, or it may be a hundred years hence, for time is naught to Thee — but we do with patience bide Thy time. Nor do we know, O Lord, by what sign we are to recog- nize Thy special servant, but we know that he will bring some unmistakable token. O Lord, we have renewed the covenant of our faith, given to our fathers, and we beg of Thee to prosper us, not indeed with many THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 29 numbers, but with contentment, and with minds pure in Thy sight.” Bryce heard them slowly filing out. The entrance to the place darkened, then lightened again. ‘They were gone. CHAPTER-LY. Bryce reached home on a Saturday, but he went not on Sunday to hear his friend preach. The sprouting of that small seed of reformation had promised much, had been a sort of comfort to the lawyer, but now the seed was but a dry shell and the sprout was dead. In the young man’s mind throbbed a thought, thrilling, wildly deliri- ous, and in that thought were the names Mary, Rachel, Alma, Silvia, Judith, whirling round and round. He had often heard of that strange religious community, and he remembered having heard his father say that the hand- somest woman he had ever seen was in that village. The men and the women of that community had ever been looked upon as religious cranks of the most harmless sort; they had striven to stir up no commotion, but what a commotion they had unconsciously stirred in the breast of one human being! And those men knew not what signs the Prophet might bring. Was ingenuity, was advent- urous passion ever so strongly tempted? Several days had passed. Bryce was in his office, not lazily leaning on the table, not dreamily gazing, but 30 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 34) almost fiercely walking up and down the apartment. The door was slowly opened and Hartley stood there. ‘‘May I come in, Howard?” “Of course, old fellow. How are you, any way? Sit down.”’ He sat down. The lawyer continued to walk up and down the room. ‘‘Howard, you stole home so quietly that scarcely any one knew that you had returned.’’ “Oh, I didn’t blow a trumpet when I got back. Neither did I go to a nunnery.”’ “Well, what sort of a time had you, where did you go, and why did you go in the first place?” _ The lawyer smiled. ‘‘I went up the river, had a very good time—went because I thought that to get out of town for a few days would help me fy ‘“T’o make an effort,’’ the preacher broke in. “Well, yes, you may put it that way.”’ ‘‘But I don’t want to put it that way unless it’s the truth.’’ ‘Well, then, let us call it the truth.’ ‘‘T am glad to hear you say that. And now you are ready to make the effort. Howard, you have been franker with me than you ever have with any one else, so now let us get at the secret of—what shall we call it?”’ ‘“‘Apply your own term, my boy. ‘The priesthood should supply its devotees with choice figures of speech.”’ S2 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘‘Howard, you come back with the same disposition to bandy words. I am deeply interested in you, not so much as a preacher but as a friend. I see that you are wasting yourself, day by day; I feel that you are putting your fine abilities under your feet. I once thought that it was. a great misfortune that your parents had not lived to see you ripen and grow strong in usefulness to the state and to society. I have not thought that of late, and yet I don’t exactly know why. You seem to be possessed of a strange intellectual shiftlessness; there have been a number of times when the putting forth of half your strength would have set you high above the plodders, as you are wont to term your less gifted acquaintances, but with a perverseness that I can not fathom, you have re- fused to exercise that strength. You said that upon your return you would give mea hearing, but first I want to hear from you. You have made certain broken-linked confessions to me, have given or sought to give me glimpses of your condition of mind. Now tell me the whole truth. What is the trouble with you?’’ Bryce sat down, carelessly drew another chair toward him, placed his feet upon it, remained silent for a few moments and then said: ‘‘Hartley, since you have taken so serious a view of my case, let me say that I don’t know that there is anything so vitally wrong with me. You - may say that I am not asuccess as a lawyer. I may THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 30 grant you this and at the same time remind you that to be a successful lawyer is not of itself an achievement high up among the virtues. But let all this go. Tell me about yourself. What have you done? Have you brought any one to believe in your religion, and are you prepared to swear that your religion is the right one? All reli- gions, you must know, in that they carry a degree of sacri- fice, have to a more or less extent the appearance of purity. -But what one man may hold as pure, another man may condemn as wanton. But there is no religion so absurd, so open and palpable a mockery of true reason, as not to have among its followers men and women of acknowledged ability. Carrying out the faith of a certain religion, the most sacred laws of this land may be violated. Now, suppose I take up a religion of my own? Suppose I say that as Nature has given to man certain physical pleasures, it is his duty to seek those pleasures, to practice them as a creed? Hecan turn to nature and say, ‘I have obeyed your instincts, I have not buried your promptings, I have lived as you directed.’ Suppose I should say that nature. is voluptuous and that lama voluptuary. You can not deny that certain forms of lawful worship, the shouting at a mourners’ bench, is a feasting upon emo- tion, a sort of mental voluptuousness.”’ ‘‘Howard, I am further than ever from an understand- ing of you. You not only muddy the water and obscure 3 34 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. yourself, but obscure me. So now I hardly know what I wanted to say.’’ ‘Don’t say anything to disturb either of us. By the way, your marriage is not far off.”’ ‘‘Next month.’’ “And I am listed for best man, I believe.’’ ‘You know you are.”’ ‘But I don’t think that I can be there.”’ ‘“‘What! Why, you have promised.”’ ‘Yes, but I’ve got to leave town for—well, I don’t know how long. I am going to Europe on business. It’s a case of must.’’ ‘In that event I suppose I shall have to excuse you.”’ ‘Yes, it is a case of must. Get Bentley. -He’s all right, you know, since he won his case in the supreme court.”’ “Don’t taunt me with that, Howard. I merely men- tioned his success the other day for the reason that I thought you were interested in him.” “Oh, Iam. He was always so delightfully stupid. You’ve got a regular situation—I mean a regular appoint- ment—now, haven’t you?” ‘Ves, and the people appear to be much pleased with me. My hard study is nowcounting forsomething. One of these days I expect to have the largest church in the state.” a) er THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. *‘Oh, ambitious, eh?” “Yes, for the larger my field, the larger my opportu- nities todo good. And my wife will bea great help to me.” ‘“There’s preacher for you, Hartley. A preacher’s wife is always supposed to be a help to him. “As for his being a help to her, why that is another question. His selfishness is regarded as a devotion to his calling. If there’s a sacrifice to be made, his wife must make it. It’s the cock saying to the hen, ‘help me scratch up this worm and then you may watch me eat it.’ But here, now, don’t look at me that way,” he added, getting up and placing his hand on the preacher’s shoulder. ‘You know that when I begin to talk I never know when to stop and never do stop until Ihave gonetoo far. You know that I believe you to be wholly unselfish; you know that you are the one man in whose honesty I havea firm faith. I must go out now, Hartley. I don’t know exactly when I shall start for Europe, but I’ll make ita point tosee you between now and then.” Down the street the lawyer walked alone. He recalled every word of the prayer in ‘the cave. He would have forgotten a prayer at church. Time and time again he asked himself, ‘‘Was ever human passion so strongly tempted?” Why had that religion remained a secret during so many years and then to be revealed to him? Was it providential that he had gone to the mountains, 36 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. gone really without a cause, to be chased by illicit dis- tillers and then to hear that prayer! ‘‘Gods!” he said, ‘suppose I should go there as the Prophet.” He turned into a restaurant, and while sitting there, tasting nothing that he ate, he noticed a bright India ink star on the back of the waiter’s hand. ‘‘Who did that?” he asked. ‘‘Old fellow that lives down on the river. Used to be a sailor.” ‘‘At what particular place by the river does he live?’ “In a shanty down at the foot of Broad Street.” Bryce went to the old sailor’s shanty. The old man wasthere. ‘‘Do you make much of a living by pick- ing pictures?” the lawyer asked. ‘‘Not much of a living, sir, but it’s the best I can do.” ‘‘Can you pick faces, handsome ones?” ‘‘As putty as you can find in a book, sir.” ‘Well, I want five.” “You are joking, sir.” ‘“‘T don’t joke at the expense of a poor man’s living. I want five pictures, heads of handsome girls, three on the right arm and two on the left. And I want a name placed above each one. Can you do that?” “T can make the puttyest job you ever seen, sir.”’ ‘When can you begin?” ‘‘Now, but you know, sir, that it will take some time,” THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET’. 37 ‘Which means that it will cost something, eh?” “Well, you know, sir, that it’s art, and art’s high sometimes.” ‘All right,” said the lawyer, taking off his coat. ‘‘Do me a good piece of work, say nothing about it, and I’ll pay you more than it’s worth.” CHAPTER V. The sun had just slanted into the afternoon. The men of Bolga were at work in the fields lying about the vil- lage ; the women were weaving flax. In the air quaint — old songs were floating, songs that might have been heard in Cromwell’s camp. The weaving was done in one long room. Children were playing about the door. A woman came in with a bucket of water. ‘* Sisters,’’ she said, ‘‘look out at that strange man standing in front of the temple.’’ ‘‘Strangers are more common now than they were when I wasa girl.’? an old woman spokeup. ‘‘ I remem- ber that during a whole term when I was a Wife of the Prophet not an alien soul was seen here.’’ ‘* But look, sisters,’’ said the first woman, ‘‘see how strangely this man acts. He stands there waving his arms and they are bare. I will go to the field and tell the Father.”’ | The Father was hoeing corn not faraway. The woman ran to him. ‘‘ What is it daughter ?’’ he asked. 38 re -there, Father, with THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 39 ‘‘ Father, the strangest of strange men stands in front of the Temple.”’ ‘Well, but is there any harm in him? Are we not here to protect you? Go your way, daugh- ter. He is some idler .. A \\ x K f “ig Norta es a i ae WO \\ MS SS XN come to gaze at us.’’ ‘‘ But he stands his arms bare, making strange motions.’ Pebewill Po back with you.”’ When they reached the plaza, in the cen- ter of which the Tem- ple stood, they saw #: that all the women== a A i A \ \\ \\ \N Yi AY and girls had quitted Saat . Ht their work and that = some of the most ad- Nae venturous of the chil- dren had drawn near unto the stranger. The woman who ac- companied the Father fell back, but the old man walked 40 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. boldly toward the man who had caused this unwonted stir. 7 ‘May I inquire,’’ the old man asked, approaching, why you have come hither and why you act so strangely? If you are in distress, tell me your trouble, and if I can relieve you, consistently with what I eS to be right, I will do so and send you on your way.’ ‘‘T am inno trouble, reverend sir,’’ the a Ginas: replied, ceasing to make his motions. ‘‘I have been drawn to this place. Day and night have I wandered, not know- ing which direction to take, but feeling that I was guided. And now, reverend sir, I should like to ask you why I am here? ’’ ’ ‘You speak strangely,’’ said the old man, halting. ‘Do you not know what induced you to come this way ?”’ ‘* Not wholly, reverend sir. But it came upon me that I was wanted here—came upon me in a most mysterious way. Iwas far distant from here when suddenly there came a Clap of thunder and a flash of lightning. I fell senseless, and when I came to, I felt that somewhere I had a sacred duty to perform. And I looked at my arms, for they were stinging, and there I found these pictures and these names, which must have been drawn by the lightning. Come and see for yourself.’’ . The Father was now trembling at every joint. He tottered forward, caught sight of the pictures and the HE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 41 names, and lifting his hands, he shouted: ‘‘ Ring the temple bell !’’ ‘‘ But, Father!’’ cried awoman who stood near, ‘‘ the bell has never been rung, is never to be rung until the Prophet is come.’’ ‘‘Ring, daughter!’’ he shouted, bowing his head. “Ring that the brethren may hear. The Prophet is come!”’ The woman ran into the temple. The Father and the stranger stood with heads bowed. Loud and clear pealed forth the bell. And then from the fields the men came running. A chant, a strange hallelujah came from the awe-stricken group of women. ‘The children in fright clung to their mothers. The Father lifted his hands and in a loud voice summoned his people into the temple. There were whisperings and shrinking back, there were exclamations of astonishment. ‘Chosen people of the Most High!’’ the Father shouted, ‘‘ be not afraid, for this day have you seen the fulfillment of the promise made to our fathers. Daugh- ter,’’ he called, addressing the woman who had come to him in the field, ‘‘ command the Wives of the Prophet to make ready for the ceremony, for their lord is come.”’ Bryce, wretch that he felt himself to be, caught the spirit of this excitement. He looked sharply about him, and saw that the women were comely—some of them at least— and that the men were strong. He was 42 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. not there to guide, but to submit, to take the part assigned him. But why did not the five girls come? One of the Councilmen, carrying a dark robe on his arm, came to him after conferring with the Father, and said: ‘‘In the room over there is a place to bathe. When you have done that, put on this robe.” He entered the room, and the door was closed. The bath-tub was of stone, and he sat on the edge, when he had taken off his clothes, and mused over the strangeness of his situation. ‘The brethren and sisters were singing a hymn. Hartley’s sad face came up, but he brushed it aside. The enormity of his crime fell damp and cold upon him, and he strove to defend himself. Why had the revelation been made to him? ‘That was his defence, and, lame though it was, yet it satisfied him. He bathed and put on the robe. Why were they keeping him there so long? A tap atthe door. He stepped out into the Temple, and a chant arose. What a transforma- tion met his view. ‘The floor was carpeted with roses. He looked toward the main entrance and caught his breath. There came, walking one behind another, five girls, dressed in white, beflowered, beautiful. It was his time to act, and he advanced to meet them, slowly walking with hands uplifted. The girls joined hands and encircled him. Some of them wore lilies, others roses in their hair. ‘They stood with heads bowed. “fh as8ed “AUOUWI919D SUL THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 43 He saw their blushes; he caught sight of thrilling eyes. The chant was hushed. ‘The Father approached. Bryce looked up. He was standing in front of an altar. Now the Father spoke. His deep words trembled from his lips. Bryce could not remember what he said ; he caught but the meaning of a word here and there. The ceremony was simple and was soon over. ‘There he stood, among his wives, shaking hands with the men and women who shyly came forward to greet him. He was glad that they looked upon him simply as a man. After all the real Prophet was to come — to come from among his offspring. Now the ranks were broken ; there was no further cere- mony. The mothers and the fathers of the Wives wept over their daughters, but in their tears there was no sadness. Bryce stood talking to the men. How sincere, how devout they were. How far back into the past he had been thrust he knew not. How strange a gathering ; how marvelous a belief to exist at the electro-glaring end of the nineteenth century. How ruling is a faith; how it blinds reason, blots out incredulity. . ‘*VYou must instruct me,’’ Bryce said to the Father. ‘* All that you need to know you shall know in time. You, like the rest of us, are simply an instrument. You -are indeed to be one of us, obeying our laws as we obey them. The only privileges which you possess are those conferred by your marriage. We do not 44 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. practice polygamy; that is forbidden except to the Prophet: ‘“Vou call me the Prophet, Father, and it may be well, but before coming here I had no thought of being a prophet. But those pictures, and a peculiar influence that came upon me, taught me that I was destined for something. I am not as yet fully acquainted with our creed, but you will find me a faithful servant.’’ ‘You know enough, my brother. Ah! how we have waited ; and how our fathers and grandfathers waited. But you have come at last; and now shall arise the Savior of man, not to be despised, but at the proper time to be proclaimed a king. Then we shall march away in triumph to declare the glory of the one Great Father, to view the offer of true salvation unto man.’’ Now they were making preparations for the feast, and a simple feast it was to be. Strong, clear-cut features showed that gluttony was not a part of this religion, and vigor proved that neither was undue self-denial of food a feature of it. Tables, swiftly but not jarringly made of trusses and long boards—tables reminding one of old pictures of the Last Supper — were placed by light-footed men, spread by graceful women, and rose-strewn by girls. Chairs, stools and benches were brought. Bryce noticed that there was one table smaller and more profusely dec- rated than the rest. He was standing near this table THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 45 when the Father said to him: ‘‘Sit you there at the right.’? And then he added: ‘‘ Come, Councilmen and Wives, sit here with the guest which the Lord has sent unto us.”’ When they were all seated, and when the Father had pronounced a short but impressive blessing, Bryce re- marked: ‘‘ Father, a flash from the clouds threw to me the names of my wives, but as yet I am unacquainted with the personality of those names.” “True, brother. ‘T'o your right sits Alma, to her right is Mary. Over here is Rachel; there near Councilman Trent is Judith, and to my left is Silvia.” Bryce bowed to each one and muttered something. Was he in Fairy Land? Could all this be real? From the society which he had known could there have been gath- ered such grace of form? Eyes that had never been dimmed by a moment of dissipation, complexion fresh from the pure air of the mountains, lips that shared the secret of the red-bud tree—purity’s unconscious sacrifice. The soft color of the earliest glow of sun-rise met his view as his eyes followed the nod of the Father as he called the | names, and though the Father and the Councilmen could see naught save devotion to duty, this young man from the world thought that he caught a glimpse of a sweet mischief. He could not stare, but how drinking, how eager was his swift look from one to another. He noticed 46 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. Alma’s neck, the silk-like hair looped up from it and pinned with a rose-bud. Hesaw the proud look of a woman at another table and he knew that she was Alma’s mother, knew that this woman’s pride in life had been to see her daughter a Wife of the Prophet. ‘‘Did you ever expect that I should come?’’ he asked in alow tone, and Alma answered: ‘‘ We were taught to pray for your coming.”’ ‘‘T hope you are not disappointed in me.”’ ‘The Lord would not send us a disappointment.’’ She gave him a full view of her eyes as she said this; and the word that shot through his brain was—‘“ glorious,’’ ‘“ No, he would not have sent a disappointment, for you were ready to accept His choice, but suppose I had come a wrinkled old man, would you have been as pleased with me?’’ He asked this in a whisper, and in a whisper she answered, ‘‘ No.’’ Emotion clogged his mind, and but little of what fol- lowed remained in his memory. Lamps were brought and he knew that evening was come. A chant arose and swelling into great volume, floated to the mountains and then softened, etherialized, seemed to float back into the temple. The Father and the Councilmen gathered about the altar, and the Father, standing in the midst of them, preached a sermon. A strong wind must have come, for one of the heavy doors slammed; and the blaze of a lamp THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 47 leaped up and died in the darkness. ‘The preaching was done. The Father and the Councilmen approached Bryce who was still sitting at the table with his wives. ‘‘ Brother,’’ said the Father, ‘‘I know not what your name has been, but now it is Joseph.”’ Bryce bowed and thus replied: ‘‘ Your willis mine.’’ But he could not help but think of the inappropriate per- versity of the name. He would have been the last man to leave a garment in the hands of a voluptuous tempter. ‘* Brother,” said the Father, ‘‘ we will now conduct you and your wives to your home, the house prepared for you by our fathers. Come.”’ Another song arose, and now in the dim light he saw one eager, hard and disappointed face. A young man approached and was gazing at Alma. But that face was soon forgotten When they entered the Prophet’s home, Bryce found himself in a large circular room, lighted by a single lamp, swung from the ceiling. The floor was of stone; the walls were white. He noticed five closed doors about the circle, and one door to the right standing ajar. To this latter room he was conducted. It was meagerly furnished with two chairs and a table, but no bed. Sit you here,” “said. the Father. . °° We return to the temple to pray for guidance. Remain until I come.” 48 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. Bryce heard the opening and the closing of the other doors. What anuptual night! He was tremulous. And he wondered how it all was to be arranged, but would ask no question. There was no lamp in this room, and save for the dim glimmer of lightning on the narrow window panes, light- ning that came from the far west, the room was in black- est darkness. There was a low rumble of thunder as though a mountain gorge were growling. Bryce got up; he could sit no longer. He thought ofa sister who had blessed him with her dying breath. ‘‘God Almighty! can she see me now?” he almost cried. Cold perspiration broke out upon him. ‘‘ You are a fool,” he said to himself There was a tap at the door. His blood leaped. ‘Come in.’’? ‘The Father was in front of him. The old man whispered one word and then stood, pointing. tip lis a " Geli A) ES GP i/{1// i i a | AY Z a Wf Wl Vt Uae a= eS = = Ss = 7 i = 2S Ss == = Ss ——— ze * 5 = —S= SSS a = => PSS tre 5 WN i ts, ee CHAT THRE. Morning dawned with dewy freshness. The night had been wild, but all that was now left of that wildness was the louder gurgle of the streams that poured down from the higher mountains far away. With the first over- pouring of light from the sun, a mocking-bird flew to the roof of the Prophet’s house and trilled his thankfulness for a day so lavish in its splendor; and a cat-bird, less majestic in range, but almost as melodious, sang his praise in a syringa bush. The white spirea was in bloom, holding up its bridal wreath, and the rich scent of the calacanthus was mingled with the sunshine. The village was early astir, and a long horn that hung on the wall of the weavers’ room was taken down and blown with a throbbing blast. Breakfast was ready. ‘There were several dining-rooms, and families, as nearly as was convenient, were expected to eat together. The cooking was done in one large kitchen. The Prophet’s dining- room was but a short distance from his dwelling. A long table was spread there, and any one was privileged to eat with him. ‘The other Wives, together with the Father and Councilman Trent, were seated at the table when 50 oa Tie Se THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 51 Bryce and Alma entered the room. ‘There was a flutter: among the giris and a low mysterious whispering, which the Father reproved by a glance, and.Alma, knowing that she was looked upon with curious concern, blushed under their attention. ‘“Brother Joseph,” said the Father, ‘‘ here are places for you and our daughter. We have waited for you.’’ “‘IT hope that you have not waited beyond a time of easy paitetce,”’ Bryce replied. “Oh, no; we have just sat down. See how beautiful the morning is,” the Father added, waving his hand toward the door. ‘‘ We can read a promise in its light and stillness. But at one time during the night we were threatened by a destructive storm. It was the lesson of life — the greatest good sometimes follows the appearance Orevil:’2 ‘‘Father,” said Bryce, ‘‘ You must tell me what I am expected to do; how I am'to deport myself.” “You will pick that knowledge mainly from observa- tion. But of course Iam willing to instruct you. We might say that you are the only convert that we have ever gathered from the world, and you were sent to us. Some time you must tell us how your early life was spent, but we shall have time enough for it all. To the vulgar, ours is a strange religion —all religions have at one time been strange to the vulgar— but the time is not far distant = “ie as ae = os ety 52 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. when the vulgar mind shall be purified. ‘To-day you will take an oath, and then you shall know what your imper- ative duties are. ‘There are many things, however, that we can discuss openly, that 1s among ourselves, but amidst strangers you must keep absolute silence with regard to our creed. You must be careful in your read- ing ; not that worldly books are so harmful to one whose mind is rightly set, but that it would be time thrown away. But good books are at all times to be commended. True rhetoric is the voice of God; therefore, strive to speak as becomes a godly man, the chosen seed, the pro- pagator of one who is to offer salvation unto man. And these precious daughters you are to treat as though they were flowers from a holy garden, and they are to look upon you as their master. They are to love you and to obey you; and you must remember that it is the nature of woman to be petted. The little worries of a pretty head are to be soothed.” ‘Father, you spoke of my sharing your labors. What labor am I to perform, and when am I to begin?” ‘“‘OQur men work in the field, and by turns teach our school. But work in the field is more of a needed exercise than a labor. We do not believe in wearing out the body merely to gather wealth ; our wants are but few and are easily supplied. Nearly everything we need is grown here. We raise sheep, and our clothes are woven THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 53 here. Weaving is hard work, but no woman is forced to weave more than one day a week.’’ ‘Would that the whole world were so well governed,” Bryce replied. ‘‘But tell me, do the laws of the state interfere With you ?” ‘‘As far as the law knows us,’’ said the old man, ‘“we are the children of meekest obedience. The con- stable never comes hither, and by courtesy we are excused from jury duty.” ‘“That courtesy is apparent,’ Bryce replied. ‘‘ A jury selected from among you would be too intelligent, too justice-loving. One clod on a jury—and they must always have a clod — would muddle eleven Isaac New- tons.” ‘‘Joseph, you speak as one who knows.”’’ ‘Why not, Father? I was gathered from the world.”’ Bryce now had an opportunity to study not only the faces of his wives, but to place an estimate upon the Father and upon Councilman Trent. The belle who has left the ball-room late at night does not look so well at the breakfast table, but these girls were as fresh as the flowers that grew near the door. Their beauty winced not even in the sun-light. The type was nearly uniform, the grace of health, the perfection of skin, of teeth, of eyes. But of course he could see certain differences. Mary was a blonde, and Judith’s hair was intensely black, but the 54 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. smooth oval of the face was the same. He wondered if they were all alike as to character; whether they pos- sessed a hidden individuality that at some time might show itself. ‘‘ All women are the same,’’ he mused, ‘‘and yet how widely different.’’ The Father was exceedingly tall, proudly straight and with character marked on every feature. His nose was large and thin; his hair had never been cut, and his beard was long and grizzled, His eyes were dark, with a be- nevolent warmth in them, and yet they were sharp and questioning. He looked like the ruler of rude men, stub- born if needs be, but just and sincere. ‘Trent was shorter, fleshier and without question, lazier. ‘* After breakfast,” said the Father, ‘‘ you may go to the warehouse and select a suit of clothes to fit you, and. then you would better walk about and make yourself ac- quainted with your surroundings. You are not to cut your hair or to shave again. Asa rule we are not antiquated, but we insist that no man shall shave. We care naught for the world, as the world now is, but you must have ob- served that our speech is not materially different from the speech of other men. ‘There is a reason for this, for when the time for us to leave this village shall come, we do not wish to go back into the world as strangers in speech. And that is one of the reasons why we encourage the reading of good books. But do not -give me credit for ate a i i a ec ea ars weal pes wre pf ‘ sl . THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 55 this.” Bryce had looked admiringly at him. ‘‘It was practiced by-our grandfathers.” ‘“Am I permitted to smoke?” ‘*Ves, pipes; but naught else. That which the Lord in his graciousness has inspired to grow out of our soil, We permit our people to use.” ‘While I was of the world,’”’ said Bryce, ‘‘I was fond of coffee. Would the drinking of it now be in opposition to your rule?” ‘“Decidedly. Coffee does not grow out of our soil.” ‘* But is it not consistent to drink whisky? Corn grows out of our soil.” ‘“And a bludgeon grows out of our soil, but shall we sieze it and with it crush a brother’s skull?” Hereupon Councilman Trent gave a triumphant grunt, but the Father, averse to an applause that might mean the embarrassment of their new brother, cast upon the Council- man a look of mild reproof. _ A few moments of silence followed. ‘‘ Father,” Bryce asked, ‘‘when shall I appear at the temple to take the oath?” ‘* At the setting of the sun.” Immediately after breakfast Bryce was shown to the warehouse, where he selected a suit of clothes, a long coat, knee breeches, thick cotton stockings and buckles made of horn. His hat was ofrye-straw and his shirt was made 56 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. of the strongest and plainest linen. And he felt rather proud of his shapely legs when again he stepped out in full view of his wives, and he saw by their smiles and their nods that his new dress had awakened a fresh ad- miration. The men were now gone tothe field, and Bryce heard the bump, bump of the looms in the weaving rooin. He looked about him, at the clean stone houses, the turf- grown, path-streaked plaza, the temple with its heavy brow, the great old English elms that many years ago had been set out in picturesque contempt of regularity— at the four high, wooded-and graceful hills that arose from the corners of the broad field. How wise had been the selection of this basin, for although in the mountains it was sheltered from the cold winds. ‘The fruit was rarely killed in the spring, and during the hottest weather of mid-summer the grass remained green. But for a moment this beauty, this harmony, this gracious smile of nature, smote him with a keen remorse. Would that he could have come hither as a real brother, as a sincere and vir- tuous man. He heard light foot-steps and turning saw Judith approaching with the charm of a timid draw-back in her manner. Remorse was gone. 9 ‘“T am going with you,’’ she said. ‘‘ Are you, sweet creature ?”’ A. blush was her reply. ‘‘ Where are we to go?’ he asked. Ne De Cy ee in ee es Oe} bus ret SS oe eae AP oe > > es ‘ ae a SW ee ey oar ? . ~ a . e" . h ~. Pets Sen Pa oes ult < : ~ THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 57 ‘Whither you may direct. I can show you the woods and the flowers. But the creek is muddy and we can’t see the fish.”’ “But I know that anything you show me will be beau- tiful.’’ She looked up at him and there was mischief in her eyes. ‘‘ Was flattery inspired, or does it come from the world ?”’ she asked. “Truth may come from the world, sweet one, and yet have been inspired. Let us walk over there,’’ he added, pointing toward the west hill. ‘‘ Will you take my arm ?”’ LS ‘‘T am to show you and you are not to show me,’’ she laughed. ‘They had walked some distance, side by side, when she said: ‘‘I can beat you running.’’ ‘What!’ he spoke up in surprise. ‘‘ That would be undignified ; wouldn’t it ?”’ | ‘No; not if you run gracefully. Ican run faster than nearly any of the boys in the village ; and I was almost sorry when I had to stop playing fox.”’ ‘* But why did you stop ?”’ ‘Because I became a Wife of the Prophet.’’ ‘‘Oh! And you have one cause for regret ?”” ‘*TIt is hardly a regret.’’ 3 “* How old are you, Judith ?”’ ‘*T shall be nineteen next month.”’ ‘‘You have never been away from home, have you?”’ i 58 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘‘Qh, yes; I have been over to the rivera number of times, and once when I was very small I went away over to Knoxville.”’ ‘“Why did you go so far as that ?”’ ‘‘T went with the men who took the linen to market. Oh, and it was the longest journey in the world, I thought. Have you ever been there ?”’ ‘* Yes, and in hundreds of other places.’’ ‘* Yonder is the creek,’’ she said. They were now skirting the base of the west hill. The ground was gently rolling. Summer had just begun to fulfill the gorgeous promises of spring. ‘The fire-bush, under the flutter of a bird, threw down a lip-like bloom, and a lubberly owl, frightened out of his morning nap, sent down a pearl-like shower from the white-laced top of a wild plum tree. A wily old quail, pretending to be desperately wounded, fluttered in the path until her young ones had hidden themselves in the grass; anda gaunt rabbit, with his thin ears spectral in the sun’s strong light, sought safety on the knoll where the man- drakes grew. ‘* Here is the creek, and it is not so muddy as I thought it would be,” said the girl ; and without giving him time to reply she ran on ahead and seated herself on a rock at the brink of the stream. He followed, laughing, and plucking a flower he handed it to her as he seated him- GE Se san ee sons hn a 2h NE eae rv Py i ar THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 59 self on the rock close beside her. The stream, swift from the higher lands, had shrunken from its flood-line, and by the slightest tarnish of its sheen held but a reminder of last night’s storm. From far below, where the water poured upon a hollow rock, came a musical, echoing roar, changing in tone with the stir of the gentle wind, now almost hushed, now loud and resounding. They were under the shade of a beech tree, just above a point where two long lines of sycamores ended. In front of them were the rolling woods, through which they had passed ; and back of them, far away, was a wild jolt of country, a great bluff and a tumble of rocks.?’ ‘What sort of books have you read?” he asked. “Books that you might laugh at,” she answered. ‘“Some of them have been very dull, with long words without music in them, but some of them have been sweet with the perfume of flowers. ‘* Were any of them stories of love ?” ‘No!’ she answered, looking at him in surprise. ‘‘Love, we think, is too sacred to be put into a book.” Her hands, holding the flower, were clasped in her lap. He put his hand upon them, and she caught her breath with sudden quickness. ‘‘Did you ever read of sailors cast away at sea, of people thrown upon strange islands?” He was thinking now of the India ink pictures on his arms. ~Aet -. 60 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘‘We have no such books,” she answered. He noticed a young man walking a short distance below on the opposite shore, and he thought that he remembered having taken a closer look at his face, and he asked: “‘ Who is that?” ‘‘ Benjamin, the son of Councilman Blake. I will tell you something if you’ll promise not to say anything about it.’’ ‘*T-promise. * , ‘Well, he is Rachel’s brother, and was engaged to marry Alma.” ‘‘’Then he must hate me. I remember how hard he looked at me yesterday evening.” ‘Hate you? Howcan he hate you? Was it not the will of the Lord that you should be taken from the world and placed among us; and was it not ordained that you were to be the husband of the Wives? He can’t hate you.” ‘‘ When were he and Alma to be married ?” ‘*’They were to have been married last fall, but Alma’s mother begged her, and then the council commanded her to wait, until after the new election of the Wives. I won- der if he is coming over here? No; he has turned off into the woods.’’ ‘‘T am sorry for him. He took it greatly to heart, didn’t he ?” THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 61 **He said nothing. How could he?” **But Alma — did she appear to grieve over it? ) “You ought to know,” she answered, turning her face from him. “ But I don’t know. Was she grieved ?” ‘““Who among us would decline to be a Wife of the Prophet?’ she simply remarked. ** But that is not answering my question.’’ “I don’t think,” she said, ‘‘ that Alma loved him very much. Would it relieve youif I were to say that I know she did not?”’ “Well, yes, as I am far from desiring to bring trouble to the breast of any one.”’ ‘“Would you beso much concerned about me?’’ she asked, looking him full in the eyes. ‘*T could say more, but I shall say only yes. Judith, you must know that you are a beautiful creature.’’ ‘“You must not.talk to me that way.. You were sent to us, but you are simply a man, selected from among a world of men, and although I am a Wife of the Prophet, yet I am strongly human. I am no doll; I am a woman.”’ ‘‘Judith, suppose that I were to tell you that I love you deeper than I love any of the others.”’ ‘‘Oh, if you could tell me that and tell the truth, it would make my heart blaze—but what am I saying? We must not talk this way. But Ido want to be loved by 62 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. you, for to me you are beautiful and your words are as music.” She looked at him, and this man who had made himself a master of innocent hearts, a thief in virtue’s home, blushed under her gaze. But he put his arms about her and pressed her head to his _//Haagig' | bosom. She made no | effort to restrain him.” | Was he not her hus- band? Had not the religion of her fathers ~.\ sanctified their mar- riage? He looked down at her ringletted black hair,at her beau- tiful neck so soft and white—her head bent slowly further back- ward, she put up her arms—their lips met, warm and throbbing. LZ FBFSEE: ZZ ss = = a THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 63 A shrill whistle startledthem. Benjamin had come out of the woods, and was standing on the opposite shore a short distance down the stream. ‘‘Heis keeping watch of us,” said Bryce. ‘‘I shall ask the Father if this fellow z ‘No, you must not,” she quickly broke in. ‘‘ We must pay no attention to him. Oh, look where the sun is. It is nearly dinner time and we must go back to the village.” As they were walking back to the village he asked: ” ‘* Were your people ‘‘Our people,” she interrupted, correcting him. ‘“Well, then,” he went on, ‘‘were our people never afraid that a false prophet might come?” “Why, no. How could a false prophet come? How was he to know anything about our religion?” Could she have read his thoughts at that moment, she would have seen these words: ‘‘ How blinder than a bat in the sun-light is human faith. How much proof, and how much argument are required in a court of law, and yet in spiritual things how thin a pretext can pass -as a God-sent truth.”’ ‘‘Tf you care to walk so far,’ she said, ‘‘ we will go over to the Witch Hole after dinner. But it is nearly five miles from home.” ‘‘ What sort of a place is it?” 64 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘*Tt is a broad and deep hole away down the creek, within sight of the place where the creek empties into the river. And I don’t suppose that there’s any place in the river that is half so deep. I heard the Father say that his grandfather took a large rock and Jet it down more than a hundred and fifty feet with a rope and found no bottom. And you must not say anything about this, but a long time ago, one of the brothers went crazy and drowned himself there. No, not exactly there, but just above there. Probably he thought the water there was too deep for him. Please don’t tell Alma or any of the others what we have talked about.’ ‘‘Not a word. . What you have said to me is sacred,’’ When they entered the dining room, they found the other Wives, Councilman Blake and his son Benjamin already seated at the table. The Councilman was a hearty, bluff old fellow, with a resonant voice; he made broad gestures when he talked, and was fond of talking. Bryce had seen young Benjamin’s hard and eager gaze, had seen him idly skulk along the creek, and had fancied that he must at all times be a clown with a sullen brow. But he now found that his estimate was wrong, that the young man was of strong and attractive mold, with eyes that could appear frank as well as eager, and with a countenance that bespoke determination. THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 65 ‘We hope,’’ said the Councilman, ‘‘that you hada pleasant time, and that you are pleased with your sur- roundings. But it will no doubt take you some time to become accustomed to your changed condition. It is true that I know but little of the world, but I can well imagine what it is to be taken from a busier life and set down here in this never broken quiet.’’ ““Oh, I should think that he would be delighted,”’ Benjamin spoke up. ‘‘ We have often heard of people who became so tired of the world that in order to get out of it they killed themselves; but I cannot fancy that one would like to leave this place.”’ “Benjamin is right,’’ Bryce replied. ‘‘I never knew what peace was until this holy religion was made known tore,” “‘I am glad to hear you thus express yourself,’’ the Councilman rejoined. ‘‘Indeed, everything connected with your coming has been most befitting. You came without pretense, as one who desired to be taught. With us, you must know, prophet does not mean one who is inspired, but one directed. You have a mission, and that mission does not depart from a human agency ; you were not expected to foretell events but to wait for events. You have had one privilege, aside from your marriage, which has not been granted to anyone else: you have been permitted to discuss, and to hear discussed, our 5 66 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. faith, without having taken the oath of creed, but that oath was implied. You must have indeed felt strange when those images and those names were flashed upon your arms. They could have come from no place but the clouds. Not far from here, many years ago, I have heard, a man was struck by lightning while standing under a tree, and when they were dressing him for burial they found upon his breast a picture of the tree drawn. by the lightning. This was a marvel at the time; but how much greater marvel to one, who does not understand, are the pictures and the names drawn upon your flesh. But to the chosen few it is simple — the fulfillment of a promise. When you came, to restrain undue curiosity among the women and children was impossible ; but you have doubtless noticed that since then there has been no embarrassing attention bestowed upon you.”’ ‘* Brother,’? said Bryce, “‘I have never seen such modesty, such refinement, such taste.’’ ‘‘It was the grace of courteous restraint,’’ Benjamin remarked. ‘‘Undue enthusiasm is a human weakness. Nature’s work, with God standing back of it, is orderly, except when nature destroys, and then there is fury.” Bryce looked at him and wondered what must be pass- ing through his mind, what hidden fire had shot forth this blaze. Had their simple school taught him thus to express himself? Could he think thus swiftly and yet THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 67 put faith in so unreasonable a creed ? But reason halts at the threshold of creed. Even within hearing of the wild roar of trade, men, who would have reasoned with a Plato, view in ecstacy the trickster’s slate-scratching, and hear with emotion the senseless rapping under a table. * ‘“ After dinner,’’ said Judith, ‘‘we are going over to Witch Hole.’ Alma looked up and her dark eyes grew darker. ‘“Why go so far?’ she asked. ‘‘Is there no seclusion nearer the village?” ‘“‘We were not looking for seclusion, but for places of interest,’’ Judith replied. ““We!’* Alma repeated, and she spoke with such stress that the Councilman looked at her. And now Benjamin could not hide a frown. ‘“ Tt is most too far to walk unless one sets out earlier,’’ said the Councilman. ‘‘ Brother Joseph may not be used to such exertion. Our daughters, Brother,’’ he added, ‘‘are strong. The lacings, and the unnatural artifices with which some women distort themselves, are unknown here. In the town, whither we go to sell our linen, I have seen women girdled and squeezed almost to breathlessness, and shod in a most cramped and painful way — the appli- ances of Satan made to shorten life and restrict useful- ness. Brother, the circular room of the Prophet’s house 68 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. has been fitted up for a place to sit in during the warm hours of the day and evening. And there we may often tneet and hold profitable converse.’’ “Then let such of us as may desire meet there this 9) afternoon,’’ said Bryce. who fancied that he saw a storm- cloud gathering. Alma gave him a grateful look, and Benjamin frowned again. Judith lifted not her eyes ; her face was scarlet. SHARP TE ROViT: After dinner, Bryce lighted a pipe, and going out to an elm tree, lay down on the soft sward. He dozed off to sleep and he dreamed of his office in the city. He looked at his book shelves and there were great volumes labeled Treachery, Infamy, Falsehood, Cowardice, Villainy. He looked out through the door, and walking past were the friends who had flattered him, but now they reviled him. Among them was a graceful girl and she alone halted in front of the door; and there she stood with her hands covering her face. He wondered who she could be. Her raiment was white, gauzy as a mist and it flowed in waves about her, although the atmosphere seemed dead. ‘The mockers continued to pass but they jostled her not; in- deed, their countenances when they turned them upon her, showed a deep and passionate sorrow. Suddenly she removed her hands from her face. His sister! He sroaned aloud, and some one touched him. He awoke with a start. Judith sat beside him. “Oh, you frightened me,’’ she said. ‘You must have had an awful dream. Your face was horror stricken and you groaned so loud.’’ 69 _ l pam, eee he ae ee * vm 70 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET ‘Yes,’ he said, sitting up, ‘‘I dreamed that you had fallen into the Witch Hole and that I had jumped in after you, but that you had gone down and I could not find you.”’ “You must not dream such things. There is company in our house and I have come after you.”’ In the center of the circular room were placed chairs, and rugs made of coon skins, and there was a sort of divan made of twisted hickory saplings and covered with a bright purple cloth, colored*with dye stuffs gathered in the woods. ‘The Father was sitting on this divan and when Bryce entered he moved over and said: ‘‘Brother ~ : f Joseph, sit you here-beside me.”’ Bryce obeyed. There were present the five Wives, sev- eral Councilmen and two women who had just come from the weaving room. How clean every one looked, and how attractively the women were dressed, how graceful they were in their easy gowns. And while white prevailed, yet any one among the women was permitted to dress in colors. ‘The colors, too, were tasteful and harmonious. Alma now wore a scarlet cap, while Rachel wore a robe purpled with the juice of the elderberry. The Father, noticing that Bryce looked from one to another, remarked: ‘‘You see that we are not cramped by a dull uniformity, Colors come from our soil and they belong to us. We simply.insist that becoming modesty THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 71 shall govern everything. * Cleanliness is one of our laws. There is a public bath just beyond the Temple, and everyone, upon coming from work, is expected to bathe. Brother, where were you born?’’~ And without hesitating a moment, Bryce answered: ‘‘In Devonshire, England.’’ “Tt is well’”’ said the father. ‘‘And were you in that country when you first were influenced to turn your steps in this direction?’ ’ “‘T felt a strange yearning to come to America, but not until some time after I reached here did the influence fall strong upon me. I was in the State of Missouri, gradu- ally making my way hitherward when the lightning ’ threw the pictures upon me. After that I was strongly urged, almost impelled in this direction.’’ — “In earlier life what calling had you thought to follow?’ ’ ‘At an early age I fancied that I had been called upon to preach, but when I sought to make a selection I found that I knew not what form of religion to embrace.’’ “But you know now.”’ “Ves, for all things, I might say, have been made clear, 3 “Yea, and you are to preach—we all preach. Regular services are held in the Temple every Sabbath, a day which to the world means Saturday. Silvia, my dear,°can you not sing for us?”’ ‘‘T am hoarse to-day, Father,”’ the girl answered. ~I bo THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘“‘Brother,’’ said the Father smiling, ‘‘by right of blood she thinks that she has a privilege to quibble with me. She is the daughter of my body as well as the daughter of my creed; she is my only child. She was ambitious of course, to become a Wife of the Prophet, but I strove to discourage her, fearing that my advocacy might have the appearance of a worldly partiality, but the voice of the Council elected her. She is young and has much to learn, and I therefore beg of you to be patient with her.”’ ‘‘She is sweet, pure and modest,’’ Bryce replied, bow- ing, ‘‘and the Divine Master could not give to a woman three graces more becoming.”’ How easy and how free was this company. ‘The girls talked among themselves and their talk was of the trivial thing that concern the young, yet the Father sat there a religious ruler, an autocrat of a creed and turned not the cold eye of discouragement upon their mirth. And in this how different he was from the average human who feels that he holds in sacred keeping the keys and the seals of spiritual affairs. Bryce hinted at this and the old man remarked: ‘‘A severe countenance is not a com- munication from God, while laughter might bespeak His holy presence. If God is always frowning, why have we flowers and streams that flash and sing in the sun- light? Man must guard against trivial things, it is true; but good humor is not trivial—it is the voice of health.” THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 73 Bryce looked at him and wondered what must have been the line of his tolerant ancestry. Through many a gentle generation must his blood have been filtered; and how strange it was that a man so resourceful in the field of homely reason should not turn upon his own faith and wither it. And yet he knew men who lived in a city, who read under the electric light, who heard the phonc- graph sing—college bred men, who were just as blind in their acceptance of acreed. He thought of the absurdi- ties of the early christians, who are saints now, how they scourged* themselves; of the learned professors at early Oxford who urged the belief that the world could last but a few years longer. So, after all, in the light of the world’s universal inconsistency, all creeds were consistent. The afternoon wore on pleasantly and when the shadow of the west hill had fallen upon the sward where the children were playing, when a blast from the horn that hung on the wall of the weavers’ room had echoed back from the far-off mountain where the rocks lay in a tumble, the Father arose and said: ‘‘ Joseph, with you I shall go to supper, and then with me you will go to the temple, there to receive the oath.”’ The meal was deliberate with talk and with a song from Silvia who had repented her earlier refusal; and when they came out, darkness had fallen upon the land. The four Councilmen were outside, waiting for Joseph and 74. THE WIVES Of THE PROPHET. the Father. The air was still. Out of some great and forever dark gorge of the mountains a silence seemed to have come, brooding its way to the village and there to settle, even to deaden the evening chirrup of nature. None save the candidate, the Father and the Council- men was to be present at the ceremony. ‘The Father took Bryce by the right hand, Councilman Trent took him by the left, and thus, slowly walking, they conducted him to the temple. ‘There was no idle gathering to gaze at them; the plaza was deserted; the people were in their houses, praying. ‘There was but a single light in the*village, a small lamp carried by Councilman Blake. ‘They entered not under the portico, but went through a small door which Bryce had not before noticed. He was conducted into a room, small and hung in black. Councilman Blake placed the lamp upon an altar, and then every one sank upon his knees, all save Councilman Trent who had dis- appeared. Suddenly Bryce was startled by the tolling of the great bell. In the days of his wildness, John Bun- yan might have rung that bell, and gazing at it in the hour of his sin-cursed dispair, he might have trembled lest it should fall upon him. For a long time not a word was spoken, but the bell continued, slowly tolling. ‘* Arise !’’? the Father commanded. ‘‘ Bring the robes.”’ Black robes were brought, and one of them was placed upon each man, including the candidate. ‘‘ Kneel !” the THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 75 Father commanded. And when they had-obeyed, the old man continued: ‘‘ Joseph, the bell which Council- ~ man ‘Trent is tolling, was never before tolled in this vil- lage. Itisacere- mony which our fathers held in ae . = : keeping for you. WSS ZA Mark it well. be Place your right ~ hand r and upon you heart, and your left hand upon my heart.’ Bryce obeyed. ‘‘ Now, repeat after me: ‘Obeying the will of 76 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. the Omnipotent God of the universe, I have come to this spot to perform the duties embodied in the holy creed given fresh from heaven into the hands of my fathers.’’ He waited for Bryce to repeat the words, and then con- tinued: ‘‘I donot come with any especial mark of holi- ness upon me, therefore I am not privileged to break the customs of the people whom God has chosen for his own. I am an instrument to be directed, and must obey the laws. I must hold the creed as a sacred secret, until the proper time shall come to make it known, when the son of my body, inspired from heaven, and directly from the Omuipotent God, shall step forth as the Savior of man- kind. And my own salvation shall depend upon Him as though I were the humblest among God’s people, and I shall meet with no more reward than if I were not by physical ties related to Him; for when the time is come all natural ties shall be broken, and naught but the divine tie shall remain. And if, prompted by rebellious flesh, I should seek to disobey the commands, which are so clearly defined unto me, I hope to receive forgiveness as other 59/9 transgressors are forgiven. Bryce repeated the last word and waited, but the Father had ceased to speak. But he continued to kneel, with Bryce’s left hand pressed hard against his heart. The bell had ceased to toll, and Councilman Trent had entered the room and was kneel- ing near the Father. The old man gently put Bryce’s THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘EL hand from him, looked up, and said: ‘‘I told you, Joseph, that you had but little to learn from this oath, and indeed it is not an oath as our people know that cere- mony.” Another minute of silence fell upon the group, and then the Father said: ‘‘ Kneeling thus, away from the sight of man and within the sight of God, let us pray for the early fulfillment of the hopes that lie so close to our hearts, that lay so close tothe hearts of our grand- fathers and our fathers. I know that under the rule of nature I shall not in the flesh see the ripening of those hopes, but my spirit shall be with the brethren on that great day, singing praises unto the Most High God. Let us pray.” Deep and rich was his voice in prayer, and in the energy of his faith, vibrant and thrilling were his words. With bowed head he remained kneeling for a few moments after his utterances had died in a whispered ‘‘ Amen,” and he seemed to be breathing a prayer which was too sacred for human ears to hear ; and Bryce, in his explor- ing fancy, wondered if he were imploring the giver of his religion to grant divine motherhood unto Silvia, his own daughter. ‘* Councilman Trent,” said the old man, arising ; ‘‘ take your lamp, and lead us forth.” Slowly they filed out, and when Bryce felt upon his cheek the cool breath of the night he looked up and saw 78 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. lights glimmering here and there: they had sprung up when the bell ceased to toll. They went to the house of the Prophet, where a company was gathered. Judith met them at the door, and now it was she who was to sit felt gs es ae ot. Str with Bryce on the settee made of hickory saplings. . Among the company were several elderly women, and how smooth and tranquil their lives seemed tobe. House- hold cares, and the strain of maternity had not fretted the light out of their eyes. One woman told of a time when she had been a wife of the Prophet. The ruler of the American people, President Poik, had passed through the village while going to the mountains to hunt. She remembered it well, for the very next year an epidemic broke out in the village, and a large number of the chosen people had died. ‘The Father, laughing and winking at Bryce, asked her if she thought that the passing through of the president had caused the epidemic, whereupon she pretended to be greatly perplexed at him; but she was full of laughter, and she said that the Father was never so happy as when he found an opportunity to twist her meaning to suit his oWn mischievous ends. Councilman Trent told of a bear that he had killed, and it was the last one that had been seen in that neighborhood. It wasa cold ‘morning, away back in the thirties, the time of the big snow. He was coming along near the Witch Hole when he heard his dog howl, and looking about he saw a THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 79 bear crushing him. He had no gun, but he had a long knife, and with it he killed the bear. And the Father was now called upon to verify the story, as he had doubt- less been called upon a hundred times before. Young Benjamin, who had just come in, said that there were animals that were far more dangerous than bears; that they did not go about crushing the bones of dogs, but crushed the hearts of men. ‘* Benjamin,’’ said the Father, ‘‘ your reading and your meditation must have been more extensive than mine. What sort of animals are they?”’ ) ‘“‘T do not know their names,’’ the young man answered. 3 “Then, my son, do not assert so intimate an acquaint- ance with them.”’ The elderly women laughed and some of the girls clapped their hands, and Benjamin sat there, looking down. ‘‘TLet us have a song,’’ said the Father. ‘‘ Alma, sing us that ballad of the strong man who buckled on his armor and fought for the suffering and the weak.”’ “T would, Father, but I have forgotten some of the words.”’ ‘*But you have the words in a book. Where is it.’’ ‘‘In my room, I think. I will go and see.”’ She went to her room, and for the first time Bryce by Pa ar FAP ae sae a t 9s Ee aie. 80 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. noticed that it was numbered ‘‘three.’’ ‘‘It isn’t in here, ’’she said, stepping out. ‘‘T had it yesterday,’’ Judith spoke up. ‘‘ Look in my room.’’ Bryce saw her go into room ‘‘four.’’ Judith sat beside him. He looked at her, and their eyes met. The song- book was brought and the old ballad was sung. ‘The Father said that bed-time had come and the company rose to go. ‘‘ With your permission,’’ Bryce remarked, speaking to the old man, ‘‘I will walk home with you.”’ ‘“Thank you,’’ the Father replied, taking his arm; and together they walked away. When Bryce returned the circular room was deserted. The door had been left open, and the hanging lamp was slowly swinging. He stood there for a moment, meditating. His mind went back over the day just ended; again he heard the echoing roar of the creek, and again he saw Judith, flushed and beautiful, as she sat beside him on the rock, CHAPTER VIII. Bryce was meditatively walking about the circular room at early morning waiting for Judith to get ready for breakfast, when Silvia came out of room number “‘five.” Just then Judith came and together the three walked across the plaza to the room where breakfast was ready to be served. Councilman Boyle, the father of Alma, sat at the head of the table. He was tall, spare and of severe countenance; he had no compromises to make, looked upon a trifling foible as the promise of a monstrous sin, a Puritan in his faith and of his creed a doctrinaire. He asked a blessing as though he were making a demand and snapped his ‘‘ Amen” as though he had popped it off with a whip. He praised God not so much for the heaven He had promised as for the hell He had insured. ‘Brother Joseph,’’ he said, looking hard at Bryce, ‘‘you and our two daughters are lagging this morning. The dew is almost off. Dry grass should not find a man in bed.’ ‘““ Not unless he has slept in the hay,” Bryce replied, attempting to turn it off with a pleasantry. But the 6 81 82 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. Councilman wanted no pleasantries. He gave Bryce a brow-knit look and rejoined: ‘‘Let us not prattle a re- sentment in palliation of a duty neglected.’’ The girls bowed in submission to this rebuke, and Bryce bowed too, but he could have laughed atthis stilted bigot. Into most remote corners does the world send its representatives of fanaticism. The Pharisee lives on the mountain and in the dell; he sits in the counting house and stands in the pulpit. And his influence uncon- sciously works in harness with the influence of the gener- ous wanton—one gives to virtue a hard and crabbed aspect, the other bedecks vice with a rose. They were eating in silence when their Father appeared at the door. How pronounced was the contrast between him and Councilman Boyle, the contrast that lies between broad strength and narrow weakness. ‘Brother Joseph, what are you going to do iodage | the Father asked. ‘‘ Father, my hands are ready for any work that is ready for them,’’ Bryce answered. Councilman Boyle nodded in approval of this, but the Father replied: ‘“The work is not pressing and can wait. As I told you yesterday, it is better that you should become acquainted with your sur- roundings. Silvia will show you about; she is strong, albeit she is slight, and will set you asharp pace.” ‘In one quarter of the meadow where the ground is THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 83 ‘ dryest the hay is ready to be cut, Councilman Boyle remarked. ‘“Then let you and I whet our scythes and get at it,” the Father replied. “It is well,” said the Councilman, bowing, but Bryce knew that it was not well with him, that he looked upon this honeymoon idleness as he would have regarded all idleness, a sin to be repressed. At Bryce’s right hand Silvia sat, and leaning closer to him, she said in low words: ‘‘Yesterday you spoke of going to the Witch Hole. Let us goto-day.” Hereupon Judith looked up. ‘It was too far yesterday, we were told.” And Silvia, smiling, thus replied: ‘‘ You were told so because the day was half spent. Joseph, I will carry our dinner in a basket.’’ She was a willful little creature. Bryce asked if Witch Hole were a good place to fish, and the Father answered that Councilman Trent could tell him of great fish that had been caught there. But he cared not to hear a fish story, and above all not caring again to hear the story of the bear, the very last one seen in that neighborhood, he sought no advice from Council- man Trent. ‘They were told that the best way to go was to follow the creek: that the distance was greater, but that the ground was not so rough. While Bryce was arranging his tackle, a thick canerod and a strong flax line, Silvia prepared the luncheon and placed it in a wil- ear n= me me . ee eae 84. THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. low basket. Bryce asked her to let him carry it, but she drew back and said: ‘‘ You must not rob me of all the pleasure of going. Councilman Boyle will tell you that where there is no work there is no enjoyment. No; you carry the pole, and you will find it heavy enough by the time we get there.”’ nse They passed along’ the path which Bryce and Judith had trod the day before. The polygamist was not now troubled even with a fleeting self-reproach, and the bloom, the grass, the view, that was rolled out with a tangle here and there, smote his sense of the beautiful, the romantic.. They came within hearing of the hollow roar of the creek, and it was not so loud as it had been yester- day ; they came within sight of the rock whereon Bryce and Judith had sat. ‘They passed near the rock, and he saw lying there the dried flower that the girl had held in its freshness the day before, but it seemed a long time ago. Here it was that Benjamin had skulked along the shore, and here was where the water poured upon the hollowrock. ‘The tall man looked down at his grace- ful little companion. She wore a loose-fitting gown, woven of lamb’s wool and fine cotton, dyed a bright blue with some sort of berries, and girdled at the waist with a white cord. He stepped from a high rock, and turned to help her down, but she leaped past him with a laugh. THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 85 “You are a fawn,”’ he said, catching up with her. ‘““You must have been used to a strange sort of women,’ she replied. ‘‘ Surely not accus- tomed to gazelies,’’ he rejoined ag‘ Ouchi<4 pace as this could not be kept by any woman that I knew in the world. There manmay cultivate strength, but T women, many of them OTE at least, strive to look delicate. They think that to be strong is to berude. But they are getting away from thatidea. They ought to come up here and take a few lessons of you.”’ The other route to the Witch Hole might have been less smooth, but this was rough enough. In places there was a descent so sudden that they had to climb down ; the creek swirled 86 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. to the right and to the left and then tumbled in a roaring | fall. Wild was the scene, pathless ; but in that wildness, amid those giant rocks, leaning far over and threatening to tumble from the bluff high above and choke the stream with their monstrous bulk, what a pulpit there was in which to stand and shout in admiration of nature’s tragic mood. ‘They stood upon a dangerous ledge, and with a sense of peril, that sweetened the enchantment of the scene below, looked far down the stream. ‘This man forgot his villainy. He was no longer the most infamous of all thieves, cankered with lust in the home of the innocent, but of the sublime a soulful worshipper. His head was uncovered —it was a revival of the good that was within him, that he had put under his feet. In his breast an excitement fluttered, and to the girl who stood beside him he was grand and noble. She spoke to him, and back to him flew the impulses that had driven him, throbbed him to the old sailor’s retreat, to the portico of the temple, there to stand with pictures on his arms. ‘“When we have climbed one more steep place we can see the Witch Hole,’’ she said. ‘‘You look sad. Are you sorry you came?”’ ‘“Sorry! Why, little sweetheart, Iam charmed. Are the bluffs high at the Witch Hole?” ‘On one side, but the ground slopes on this side and we can sit on the grass.’’ The Witch Hole. Page 87. THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 87 The creek, fed by noisy rills, was now almost a river, and the country on the opposite shore was as wild as the wake of a hurricane. In one place the gray spur of a great mountain had been cut off with square precision, like a winter’s straw stack, trimmed by an economic farmer; and further down a deep gorge appeared to slope back from the stream, as though it would urge the water to quit its age-worn course. But along the shore where Bryce and Silvia strolled, the éarth dipped down in pleas- ant dells. Now they stood on a grassy slope, and in front of them was the Witch Hole. How well did this dark, brooding pool beseem its name. The water was so blue that it was almost black. The river, not far away, had checked the swift current of the creek, slowly was drink- ing it, and on the pool a hawk’s feather sailed round and round. Dismal were the surroundings; the opposite shore was not a shore, but a wall scarred with red, the smear of an ancient soil, and high at the top a lone scraggy tree stood, with it roots sucking the seams of the rock. With many a dainty touch the girl spread the luncheon under a post-oak tree. The place was so steep that Bryce told her that she would better eat with one hand and hold to him with the other to keep from falling, and then he asked: ‘‘The name of this place is appropriate enough, but how did they happen to call it Witch Hole ?”’ 88 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘Because a witch used to live here a long time ago,”’ she answered. ‘'And they say that instead of being a hag she was a beautiful girl, And when she saw a man coming she would jump into the pool and pretend to be drowning. Men who had never heard of her would jump in to get her out and she would drag them under and drown them and then raise up out of the water and laugh about it.’’ ‘‘T dare say she carried on a great industry,” Bryce re- plied. ‘‘And she was wise in having herself appointed a beautiful girl instead of a hag. For all purposes of de- struction a handsome girl is always more effective than an old woman. And it is not necessary for the girl to be a witch ; to be bewitching is quite enough.” ‘“ Joseph, I don’t know what you are talking about.” ‘*No? Well, it’s better that you don’t. Let me ask you: Did any of the people of Bolga ever go wrong?”’ ‘“Yes, but you must never mention it in the village. A long time ago, before I was born, a girl ran away with aman and married him. They did not hear of her for a long time, but one cold day she came back bringing her child with her. She said that her husband had beaten her and had then deserted her. It was whispered about that Councilman Boyle wanted to put her to death and that my father wouldn’t lethim. And I believe he would have done it, too, for he is very strict. She got on her THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 89 knees, I have heard, and begged and told them that al- though she had married in the world, yet she had never told anything about our religion.’’ **Ts she still living ?”’ **'No, she died when the mountain fever came, five years ago.”’ ‘‘What became of her child ?”’ ‘* She is Mary, your wife.’’ ‘* What!” Bryce exclaimed. ‘*Yes, and she didn’t think that she was going to be elected, but she had no trouble whatever. Oh, Council- man Boyle might have opposed her until he saw that Alma, his daughter, was sure to be elected. Mary doesn’t know about her mother’s running away—that is, I don’t think she does, for I don’t think that any one would be mean enough to tell her. Isn’t she modest? And she was one of the brightest girls in the school. Oh, did you see that fish jump up !”’ *“Yes, I did,” Bryce answered, reaching for his rod. ‘Hah, what a focl I am,’’ he said. ‘‘I have come off without any bait. But I’ve got a fly hook and I’ll catch a minnow. ‘The first thing, though, is to get a grass- hopper.” ‘“Oh, let me get one,” she cried, and by the time he had made ready with his fly-hook, she was there with the grasshopper. He caught a minnow, a steelback, and it pee eee a 90 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. was rather large but he decided to try it. He threw far out into the pool and stood there expectantly waiting. He dangled the minnow about on the surface of the water, he walked up and down the bank, at times almost slip- ping into the water, and finally he decided to set his rod and wait. Silvia was sitting under the post-oak tree with her lap full of flowers. He sat down beside her. She looked up at him and her face was bright with happiness. She suffered him to put his arm about her, to kiss her. ‘“ Would it make you happier to know that I love you more than all-the others ?’’ he asked. ‘That. would not be right,’ she answered. ‘‘ You must love us all just the same.’’ ‘* But that would be quite impossible.’’ ‘*Oh, not impossible when it was intended to be that way.’’ ‘*But who says that it was intended to be that way? If it is a part of our religion it has not been made known to me?” . ‘*Hasn’t it? Well then you may love me just a little bit more than you do the others.’’ He gave her a quick, playful hug, pretending to use great strength; it was more the act of fondling a child than the passionate im- pulse of a lover. ‘* You are the sweetest little creature I ever saw,’ he said, io ot THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 91 ‘“And how long am I to remain sweet; until I get mad at something ?’’ “Do you ever lose your temper? Or do you throw it away out of mere mischief ?’’ **T don’t know whether I lose it or throw it, but I know that it gets away sometimes. A little thing sometimes makes me awful mad.” | ‘“Where did you pick up the school girl use of that word awful? You giveit the light meaning that the city woman attaches to it.”’ ““DolI? ‘Then I can go back to the village and put on airs, can’t I? Won’t that be nice? But wouldn’t Coun- cilman Boyle givemearaking? Iwill tell you something else if you won’t say anything about it. I don’t know why I talk to you this way. I am not afraid of you a bit. I thought all men were rough, simply because they are strong, but they arenot. Butletmesee. What was I going to tell you? Oh, yes. Why, not long ago while one of the girls was walking along the creek where some men must have been fishing, she found a paper covered book and she read it and a whole lot of us read it, al- though we knew that we ought to have shown it to some Councilman first, but if you would ask the girls about it now they might tell you they hadn’t read it, for it did raise a muss. Councilman Boyle found it out and he de- clared that not one of us should ever be a Wife of the 92 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. Prophet, but then he had to come down, for some one told him that Alma had read it, too.’’ ‘‘ What was the book about ?”’ ‘‘Oh, it told of a whole lot of people, of girls that wore the prettiest dresses that your ever did hear of and of men that talked sweet to them. Oh, look there.’’ Bryce sprang toward the fishing-rod, and in his head- long eagerness came near tumbling into the water. He caught up the rod and gave a quick puli, and then the heavy pole was bent until the tip end touched the water. ‘‘ He’s a whale!’’ Bryce shouted. He kept the line taut, taking care lest the rod might break. Fora time there was a hard, throbbing pull, and then the line became slack. Was he off? No; there he went, round and round, coming toward the surface. Suddenly, high out of the water he leaped, with mouth wide open. ‘* Biggest bass I ever saw !’’ Bryce cried. Down he went, twenty, thirty feet, to the end of the line, and there he sulked. But it would not do to let him rest, and Bryce gave him a hard pull. Off he shot and in his fury threatened to break the rod, and reaching the limit of his tether, strove to snap the line. Was there ever so determined a fighter? A sudden slack and again he jumped clear of the stream. Down he came with a splash, and off he darted to the end of the line. ‘“He’s gone !’’ the girl cried. ~— i va THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 93 eNO esde 7 istit, «Bryce replied: “but. it willbe a wonder if I get him out. Wish to the Lord I hada reel.’’ ‘* But, Joseph, you must not talk like that even if you do want one. We shouldn’t call on the Lord to aid us to catch a fish.”’ **T can’t help it; I call on Him to help me catch this one. I do believe it’s the biggest bass in the world. Now look at him !’’ He was cutting scollops here and there. He shot down thirty feet. Bryce could feel him weaving, to get the purchase of his broad side against the water. Now he couldn’t be moved. Harder and harder, as hard as he dared, Bryce pulled. Up he came with another jump, but this time not so high. And now Bryce slowly played him toward the shore. Closer, within a few feet of the shore, on the gravel where the water was shallow, his green side caught a ray from the sun. But a flounce, and again he was thirty feet below the surface of the pool. It all had to be gone over again. Now he was but a dead weight ; he was tired out, almost drowned. Bryce slipped the rod back under his arm, and was taking in the line. | The fish was on the gravel, with but a yard of line between him and his conqueror. Bryce was afraid to lift him clear of the water, and he reached down to slip a finger through his gills. He touched him. A flutter, a flounce, and he was gone. The hook lay on the gravel. 94 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. Bryce stooa for a moment as though he were unable fully to realize the mishap. He took out his handkerchief, mopped his face, and without saying a word, walked up the slope. The girl spoke to him, but he a: could not trust himself to speak. With mee a sick feeling he looked back at the ey? pool. ‘(Get another minnow,’ said the girl, ‘‘and he may bite again.”’ ‘He'll do nothing of the sort. He’s ten miles from here,”’ ) ‘‘But, Joseph ; you are not angry at me about it, are you?” THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 95 ‘No, little girl,’’ he answered, trying to smile. ‘‘ But I would have given almost anything to get that fish. Biggest bass I ever saw. Well, get your basket, and let us go home.”’ ‘What! won’t you fish some more ?’’ ‘* Never as long as I live.’’ ‘Oh, you musn’t say that. I am so sorry you lost him. Maybe there’s another one just as big.”’ ‘‘There’s not another one in the world that’s just as big. Get your basket, and let’s go.” CHAPTER IX. Homeward they went, back through the dells and over the sharp cliffs—the girl bright, looking for happiness, the man inclined toward a moody silence. ‘‘And did the losing of that fish really mean so much to you?’’ she asked. | ‘‘Tt meant everything and will continue to mean that much until I get over the disappointment. Of course, looking at it from the point of real value, the fish amounted to nothing, but the loss is sentimental and to me it is worse than losing a case in court.”’ ‘‘Losing a what ?’’ she asked. ‘‘ A case in court, a mere figure of speech, used in the world. I wanted to hold that fish over Councilman Trent and make him squat.” ‘‘Oh, but you can tell him how large it was.’’ ‘‘ Little girl, you are too innocent even to live in Bolga. He might smile and nod his head and declare that he be- lieved me, but in his heart he would feel that I was a liar. When one saint goes to another and says, ‘brother I saw a ghost,’ the other saint may say, ‘it is well ;’ but when one saint tells another about a bass, the other saint feels 96 oa a ‘ , 2 Ae ee a Pet THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 97 the cold chill of suspicion creeping up his back. But there,’’ he added, ‘‘ we won’t say anything more about it.’ He took her hand and led her along as though she were but a child. They founda young bird fluttering on the ground, and he climbed nearly to the top of a tall tree and put the fledgling back into the nest from which it had fallen. ‘You are gentle and brave,’’ she said when he reached the ground. ‘‘’The angels smile when we are kind to a bird.” ‘““A pretty sentiment spoken by a pretty mouth,’’ he replied, brushing the bark off his coat. ‘‘ And the birds —TI suppose they frown when we are cruel to angels.”’ ‘*Joseph, you can say such funny things. How can we be cruel to angels? JI want to remind you of some- thing before we get to the village.’’ ‘Can't you remind me of it now?’’ ‘*Ves, I could, but there is plenty of time. You will laugh at me when I do remind you of it. Won’t you?’”’ ‘*T think not.”’ ‘Ves you will, Joseph. You are laughing now.’’ ‘Well, but I will hush laughing when you remind me of the something.”’ “Oh, you are bidding for me to remind you now. Well, I will, and it is this: You remember what you said when we first sat down under that tree by the pool.”’ 7 98 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘About holding to me to keep from falling ? ” ‘“Oh, no. Isit possible that you forget a thing so soon? Don't you know that you said something about loving me more than you would the others, and that I said it would not be right ?”’ ‘Ves, I remember that.’’ ‘‘Well, I don’t think it would be wrong. Now just look at you, laughing fit to kill yourself.’’ He put one arm about her, lifted her from the ground and kissed her. Just after they had passed the rock where Bryce and Judith had sat, just before turning a leafy bend that would place them within sight of the village, they were startled by a loud yell and the rapid firing of guns not far away. Bryce ran at the top of his speed, but Silvia kept well up with him. They saw Councilman Boyle running with a gun in his hand; they recognized the Father, calm and dignified in this tumult. When Bryce drew near he saw several men whose dress proved them to be strangers, and when he came to the edge of the crowd that had _gathered, he asked a brother to tell him the cause of the commotion. ‘‘T scarcely know,’’ the brother answered. ‘‘ The first we knew a strange man came running out of the woods with other men shooting at him. He ran into the weav- ing-room, and the pursuers want to go in after him, but THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 99 the Father is striving to protect him until he can find out why they want him.”’ The Father stood with his back against the door of the weaving-room, and near him Councilman Boyle stood with his gun. ‘‘Joseph, you are back just in time,’’ said the Father. “Stand you here beside me, and let us find out why this riot has been brought upon us.’’ A few yards away stood the four men who had done the shooting. They were rough and loud in their demand that the door should at once be opened. “This man has been forced to take a refuge here,’’ said the Father. ‘‘ Why do you seek him ?’’ ‘“Wa’al, I don’t reckon you’ve got very much to do with that,’ the leader of the men answered. ‘‘It’s enough for you to know that we want him.” ‘‘Tt is not enough for me to know that,’’ the Father replied. ‘‘If you are officers of the law, and if this man has violated the law, then it will be enough, and the man shall be surrendered unto you ; but we must know these things. Who are you?’’ ‘*T’m Tuck Benson, that’s whoI am ; and I live about thirty mile from here.”’ ‘The distance of the place of your abode makes no difference,’’ said the Father. ‘‘ The question is: are you an officer of the law?” 100 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘“No, but I’m a man that attends to my own business ; and this here feller come a foolin’ round my business an’ a tryin’ to get me into trouble, an’ me an’ the boys here want him, an’ we are goin’ to git him. To tell you the whole truth he’s up here fur the gover’ment, an’ is atter us, so to speak. He says that we ain’t got no right to raise co'n an’ make whisky, an’ we say we have. We fit fur the gover’ment durin’ of the war, an’ now the gover’ ment wants to turn on us, an’ we say help yo’se’f. That’s all thar’ is to it. ‘This here feller come up some time ago, an’ tuck my cousin Bob Ed Seviers off sum- mers, an’ he ain’t got back yit. He come back atter us, this here feller did, several weeks ago, an’ we come mighty nigh gittin’ him, but he got out of a place whar’ we had him hemmed up, but I don’t ‘low that he will git out of this here place whar’ we’ve got him hemmed up.”’ And these were the men, this was the Tuck who had striven to kill Bryce at early morning when he had been aroused by what he thought was a panther, but what indeed was worse. ‘‘Hather,’’ said Bryce, ‘‘let me say a word to thar fel- low.”’ ? Proceed; J osepiae - ‘And you are Tuck Benson, are you?’’ Bryce asked. “That’s what they call me, an’ that’s what I don’t deny.” | THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 101 ** And you think that it is your right to kill men who seek to enforce the law.”’ ‘*T think it’s my right to kill men that try to enforce’ me. ‘In other words ycu are a murderer in order to do an unlawful business, Now the best thing you can do is to go on away fromhere. If you don’t you'll get hurt.’’ Who ll hurt me?” ‘‘T will.’’ Bryce reached over and took Councilman - Boyle’s gun. ‘‘Now look here, boys,’’ said Tuck Benson, lets argy this matter a little. You may stand here and protect this here feller, but he’s got to come out some time and when he do, I’ve got him. He brought three fellers with him, and whur air they? Hedon’t know, but we do.’’ “‘Joseph,’’ said the Father, ‘‘ this matter stands in need of compromise. We cannot give perpetual protection to this officer; we cannot make him one of us. Mr. Tuck Benson, you ought to know that you cannot subdue the entire government.’’ “That’s true enough, but we can pop over men putty fast that come after us.’’ 7 _ “Mr. Tuck Benson,’’ said the Father, paying no atten- tion to the fellow’s last remark, ‘‘in this matter it is not our intention to take sides against you, for the fancied grievances of the world concern us but little; and at the 102 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. same time we cannot take sides against the government, for that would not be right. Now suppose this man will agree to go away and never to come back here again. Will that satisfy you?” ‘‘But if he do agree to that he will come jest the same,’’ Tuck Benson answered. ‘‘ An’ besides ef he don’t come he will send somebody else. No, old man, we’ve got him penned up now, an’ I reckon we better use him.” ‘‘But you cannot use him while he is in our house, and we cannot drag him out. Let me tell you and tell you quietly, that if you shoot him here, not one of you shall leave this place alive.”’ ‘‘Oid man, I ain’t got no call to doubt what you say,” Tuck replied. ‘‘ Well, now I tell you,” he added after a moment of thought, ‘‘if he’ll swear not to bother us or send any others to bother us for three months we’ll let him off.” ‘‘ Are you saying this merely to get a chance to shoot him when he is outside of the village, or do you mean it in good faith?” the Father asked. ‘*T mean it in good faith.” ‘*But why do you stipulate three months ?” ‘* Because we can git away from here by that time, and git fixed somewhar’ else. They have made it too hot for us here,” ? = ee THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 249 a dead man in there?’’ some one asked, riding along by the side of the wagon. *“No,’’ a voice answered. ‘‘ We are taking a horse thief back to the mountains.’’ ‘“Good, and I hope you will treat him all right when you get him there. Country’s getting pretty thick with them lately. Manin my neighborhood had a fine horse stolen night before last, and I shouldn’t wonder but this is the very chap. Suppose you drive by with me.” “We know that this is not the man. He fled straight from the mountains, and we followed so close that he had no time to turn aside to steal another horse.” ‘“ What have you got that stick in his mouth for ?”’ “To keep him from blaspheming the name of the dora.” **You ought to stop right here and hang him. How far have you got to go?’’ ‘* A very long distance. So you turn off here? Good morning. ”’ Bryce, raising up, saw two men on a seat in front of him, and just behind them in the bottom of the wagon a boy was asleep on the straw. On Bryce’s breast lay something that was not a part of the blanket — it was the waistcoat- that had hung in his closet. He strove to sit up, but, stiffened and numb, it was some time before he succeeded. ‘The country was growing wilder, 250 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. and it was evident that they were taking the loneliest way. One of the men looked around. ‘‘ Ha! our patient is sitting up. But we must warn him not to exert himself. Mister — we don’t know your other name—TI will take that thing out of your mouth, for it is not our instruc- tions nor our desire to visit petty punishments upon you, but I must warn you that if you cry out or talk to any one whom we may chance to meet, that I shall be com- pelled to cut your throat.” Bryce nodded and the man came back and took away the gag. ‘‘I will keep you company,” he said. ‘‘ Turn to the right there, Brother Furgerson. Mister, it has been a long time since you left us, two years or more.” ‘“Mr. Hallett, I remember you, and I must beg of you not to twit me. ‘To torture a fellow creature is not the province of a godly man.’’ ‘‘ Mister, that is true, nor shall I attempt it. We were not instructed by the Council to torture you. You will notice that we have cut our hair. And I wish to tell you that it was a dispensation of the Council. It was our religious duty not to attract attention. Ah, I have looked jong and wearily for you. When you first left us we knew not which way to turn. It was remembered that you had said that you were from Devonshire, England. We were simple, and I was sent thither. Yes, we sold THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 251 all our linen to get money enough for the journey. I trod on many an acre of that country, and returned weary and discouraged. Then we sent men to different towns in this state. One of them heard you make a great speech. He was almost certain that you were the man, but we were instructed to be absolute in our knowledge of you, to see those pictures on your arms. ‘The time was long but it came. Our little son went to your office to serve you. But you are a wise man; you know it all.”’ ‘“Ves, and I know another thing, Mr. Hallett ; I know that my disappearance will cause a great sensation.” ‘“Yes, it did cause one, something more than two years ago.” ‘* And it will result in the breaking up of your com- munity, Mr. Hallett.” ‘“Mister, you area lawyer. Did you ever know a man to be punished for killing the destroyer of his home? A daughter is ruined ; the law that is not written justifies the vengeance of the father. You cannot threaten us into mercy, and I advise you to employ some other force.” The man on the wagon seat did not look round. The boy was still asleep. ‘‘I am willing to be tried by the written law,’’ Bryce replied. ‘‘ Mister, it is kind of you to be so pliant, but we are asking no concession.”’ ‘Will you please untie my hands?” 252 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘‘Mercy might yield, but justice says no, and justice should be stronger than mercy.’’ ‘*T don’t suppose that I have a right to ask for any- thing.” ‘‘ No, you should not even ask God to forgive you. That would be a mockery, and to mock God is to run toward eternal punishment.’’ ‘* Of all the beings that ever lived, I am the most mis- erable,” Bryce groaned. ‘‘I am the most inhuman of all wretches ; I am beyond forgiveness.”’ ‘“ That is for the Council to determine.” This gave Bryce ahope. It was for the Council to determine, and had he not seen that Council ecstatic under the influence of his words? He would plead with them, tell them that the devil had tempted him out of hatred of the chosen people, that he had fallen and that he implored them not indeed to spare his life, but to inter- cede for his soul. ‘This would prove to them that he still believed in their faith, and scorning to plead simply for his life would stimulate a respect for him. He lay down again and strove to picture the newspaper head lines an- nouncing his mysterious disappearance. Reporters would interview Hartley and sentimentalities would be gushed over Miss Neil. Detectives would be sent out, but would they think of going to Bolga? And suppose they did; might it not be toolate? ‘The chosen people would dare - THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 2a to kill him, for enraged fanaticism looks upon blood as a sweet cordial; but could they resist his pleading? ‘They could not. Again he sat up and looked about him. No fences, no houses within sight. *““How far are we from the city, Mr. Hallett?” he asked. ““Our company lengthens or shortens a distance,’’ he answered. ‘‘T thought that you were not going to twit me.” ‘Pardon me. I don’t know how far we are.”’ ‘“ How long will it take us to reach Bolga?”’ ‘“We should be there by the end of the fourth day.’’ ‘*So long as that?’ ‘“Your impatience to reach the village is peculiar.”’ ‘“‘And a desire to remain here, tied hand and foot, would be more peculiar. Tell me about Benjamin.” He looked away as he said this; he was afraid to hear. ‘‘Benjamin,” said Hallett, ‘‘is well, and he often speaks of you.”’ ‘* No doubt. But was he badly hurt?’’ ““Ves, and we thought that he should die. His coun- tenance is much changed.’’ ‘‘It has grown graver, I suppose.” ‘«'There is a scar on his forehead,’”’ Hallett replied. ‘¢ What time that night did they find him?’’ “They found him not at night, but at morning.” 954 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET, ‘‘Wasn’t the alarm given that night?” ‘We knew nothing until morning.” ‘‘Didn’t Alma go to her father’s house?” ‘‘She went to the house of the Prophet, to her own room, to weep there. The other wives heard her and sought to comfort her, but she begged of them to go away, and they left her alone, but she came out and started toward the woods, and they stopped her and thinking that she had been bereft of her reason, they worked with her until morning. Then some one told the Councilman Boyle, and when he came she told him 4ll about you.’’ | ‘‘Mr. Hallett, I wish I had died that night.” ‘* Mister, I wish you had died ere you were born.” ‘“Let me tell you, Mr. Hallett, that the devil tempted me ‘To do what? ‘To come among us or to go away?” ‘To go away. He was afraid of the Saviour of man- kind.” Hallett touched Bryce’s neck and then touched the handle of a knife. ‘‘I cannot control your thoughts,”’ said he, ‘‘ but there are words that you must not utter.” ‘‘ Pardon me if I have wounded you.’’ ‘Vou have not wounded me; you offend God, and if I do not cut your throat when you next offend Him, I shall offend Him also. Turn to the left, Brother Furgerson, THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 255 and let us stop at the creek where we may get water for breakfast.” The boy awoke, but without looking at Bryce, climbed upon the seat with the man and rode on in silence. ‘‘Ts that your son?” Bryce asked. ‘‘No, the son of Councilman Blake.”’ ‘* And I used to teach him at school. I ought to have known him.” ‘«'We made him look older with the sap stewed out of roots. You taught him well; he is a smart boy.”’ The road was rough and they bumped along in silence. Snow had ceased to fall; the air was warmer and seemed to be coming up the river, but the clouds were still dark. They halted at the creek, a wild looking place, and Fur- gerson got out to water the horses. *‘T will untie your hands and let you eat breakfast,” Hallett said to Bryce. , ‘*JT thank you.” When his hands had been untied Bryce asked if he might stand up, and Hallett granted him that privilege. Within a few hours what a change had come upon the world, Bryce thought, as he stood there, looking at the hills far away. But he refused to brood over his condi- tion ; he needed his strength for defense. ‘“We are ready to go, and you have eaten nothing,” Hallett remarked. ‘‘Hold out your hands; I must tie you.” 256 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘T pledge you my word and honor as a gentleman that I will not try to escape.”’ ‘‘Asa what? A gentleman? But I suppose you are a gentleman as the world knows one. Hold out your hands. Now you are more of a gentleman,’’ he added, when he had tied the rope. ‘‘ Yes, quite a harmless gentleman.” ‘“Mr. Hallett, you are sarcastic enough for a United States judge.” ‘“But too much so for a gentleman, I fear. Let me see what time it is by your watch. Thank you. Brother Furgerson, we are going to have rain.” ‘“Yes, I think so,’’ Furgerson replied; ‘‘ but if we push onward we may sleep in a house to-night.” ‘‘ Will you also let me sleep in the house?’ Bryce asked. » ‘‘Oh, yes,’’ Hallett answered. ‘‘ There is one house on the road wherein we may stop for the night, but only ane, s ‘*'Why only one ?’’ ‘“ Because we may stop there, and the man of the place will say nothing of having entertained us. You may want to know why. And I can tell you that the man has led an adventurous life ; that he is aware of our knowledge of it, and would not run the risk of having the law reach back after him.” THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 257 Far ahead the sky was bordered with a blacker rim, and by noon they were ina sifting rain. Continuously Bryce strove to fight off the sharpest sense of his trouble, but in ceaseless vibration it came back to strike him. Over our gravest misfortunes we do not brood with words, but with pictures ; and Bryce saw the excitement that his disappearance would cause, the anxiety of Hartley, the distress of Miss Neil; but these were merely the dimmest of etchings, the drawings of an idle moment in comparison with one scene—the end of it all. If it were to be deter- mined that he should die, what form of death would they prescribe? He saw himself hanging from the tree at the well, saw himself thrown headlong from the cliff whereon he and Silvia had stood, pictured himself ina flame at a stake in front of the Temple, on the spot where The Age of Reason had been burned. But with a constant batting of his inner eye, he strove to blur these scenes. He would hoard his fancies as though they were the fibres of a vital force, for when the time of his trial should come, those mind essences must vivify his sorrow and his humility, must move those grave old men to pity. Still wilder the country grew and in this there was to Bryce a sort of hopelessness ; it destroyed the possibility of rescue. But there had been no such possibility, for several days must pass before his disappearance should i 258 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. begin to excite alarm. No, there was no hope save in the power of his own words. a They passed an abandoned coal mine. Once there had been a bloody fight at this place—between the miners, and th e mine owners who is { NT ae Rae «ef~~ had attempted to ik ru (“introduce convict labor, and now froma tree flap- ere ped the tattered remains of a sheriff hanged in ef- figy. To Bryce’s mind this was a scare-crow and he brooded over it. ‘“Let us stop here and eat our dinner,” said Hallett. “‘Can’t we goon just a little SSS —s Lave) G + ay oy @) Lan y ~v we) | 4 QO (@) 0 ep Aa a?) os — ‘‘ Mister, I am pleased to see Za z = Za = See ahs & Se Se SS he Cy eA. | * Cee Re Eten * AG es eee ao, \ a rae = you anxious to be nearer the Ge village.” ‘‘It isnot that. I want to get away from that infernal thing hanging there.”’ ‘‘ Brother Furgerson, there is no water further on. Let us stop here. Mister, I will untie your hands.”’ When Furgerson announced that the horses were tle ks ay - THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 259 done eating, Hallett commanded: ‘‘Give me your , hands.’’ ““Can’t you leave the rope off just a little longer?” Bryce pleaded. ‘‘ Man, you don’t know what an outrage you are committing in using methis way. ‘The people of this state look upon me as their next governor.” ‘* Ah, and if elected you will have an opportunity to pardon your own crimes. Few men have been so fort- unate. Hold out your hands.” ‘“’That cord is cutting my ankles in two.”’ ‘* But still,” Hallett replied, ‘‘it is not so sharp as the cord that has cut hearts in two.”’ ‘Mr. Hallett, the noblest quality of man is mercy.” ‘* Mister, the most godly quality of man is justices: ‘*You so aptly set forth the principles of your creed that it is a wonder you had not been selected as a mem- ber of the Council.’’ ‘This would be a compliment were it not meant in contempt. Among my people I talk but little, I think ; but with you I need not think, I can talk.’’ ‘‘T wonder, Mr. Hallett, that I had not become better acquainted with you.’’ ‘‘ And I grieve, Mister, that we were all forced into so intimate an acquaintance with you.”’ Bryce was silent, brooding over the flapping effigy. Evening was coming on; they passed a buzzard roost. 260 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. ‘‘’Those birds, ”’’ said Hallett, ‘‘ will eat a dead dog, but they are fonder of the carcass of a man.” “Ves,” Bryce replied, ‘“‘for I suppose they have a | creed.”’ Hallett opened his coat, showed the handle of his knife; and they drove on in silence. Night came ; they saw a light, heard the barking of dogs. ‘‘ We are going to stop at that house,’’ said Hallett, ‘‘and we are going to per- mit you to sit by the fire, but if you contradict anything I say I must cut your throat.’’ ‘But can you say anything that is not true?’ ‘‘ Mister, religion is for the ultimate good of all men, and a lie told for religion finds its way to heaven asa truth. Brother Furgerson, stop the wagon here, and the Mister and I will get out. You and our son put up the horses, and then come to the house.’’ A man stood in a doorway, scolding his dogs. ‘* Got back, have you?” he said when the light fell upon Hal- lett. ‘‘Long time in comin’, but I reckon you are all right. Step in. Got a good fire for you, but, Nan,’ he added, speaking to a lank woman, ‘‘reckon you better fetch a little more wood. Sorter have to drag your friend along. What's the trouble with him? Got him tied, eh? Well, set him down here.”’ Bryce was acquainted with the host — Mr. Tuck Ben- son. ‘‘ What has he been doin’ ?” Benson asked. THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 261 “Stealing horses,” Hallett replied. ‘That so? Well, then, what’s the use in takin’ him any furder ; why not hang him right here? I’ve gota good rope back thar’ under the bed, and as the weather is a little bad we can hang him in here from one of these here beams. What do you say ?” “No, Pll take him on. Don’t you remember him? He stood guard over you one day.” “Yes, sir, he’s the man. Say, let me slip that rope around him, will you? I wouldn’t trust him three feet, and if he gits away from you he’ll go right straight and tell the gover’ment that I used to make whisky. It don’t make no difference to him even if I have give up whisky an’ come away off down here; a hoss thief will do anything. If you don’t want to hang him stand him out thar an’ let me take a crack at him with my fuzee. No? Wall, now be shore that you take good kere o’ him. Don’t want no gover’ment fellers a comin’ on me at this late day. Put the wood on the fire, Nan. Look thar! we’ve got a hoss thief.”’ The woman dropped the wood and _ started back. ‘“That’s all right, Nan; he's tied. Stir about now an’ git us all a bite to eat. Two mo’ fellers to come.” Furgerson and the boy came in, and Bryce, speaking to the youngster said: ‘‘I owe you about three dollars. When I told you to come around to-morrow so that I 262 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. might pay you, I did not think that the day following was Sunday. I have money in my pocket. Get it out.” The boy paid no attention to him, did not look at him. The woman stepped in between Bryce and the boy, raked out a bed of coals, threw on slices of bacon and then busied herself with arranging the table. ‘*Come, all hands,’’ said Benson when his wife with along fork began to take up the bacon. ‘‘Jest fall to now an’ devour what’s set before you. I don’t mean you,” he added, nodding at Bryce. ‘‘ No hoss thief kin sit down at my table with me. Nan, give him something on a tin plate. Ontie his hands, Cap’n. If he tries to git away I’ll kill him befo’ he gits to the do’.” After supper Mr. Benson sought to entertain his guests. He had slipped through many a dangerous place, and sev- eral times the revenue men hadcaptured him. Once they were about to hang him to a tree, and for the only time in his life he got down to what he termed solid praying. ‘‘ An’ I tell him that it was the prar that saved him,”’ said the woman. ‘“That mout be,’’ Benson replied, ‘‘ but I rather think it was Alf an’ them other fellers that come a crawlin’ down the creek. But atter all, if it is intended fur a man to be hung he’s goin’ that way, an’ that’s all thar’ is to it. I’m putty much of a Hard Shell Baptist. Whut’s yo’ belief, Cap’n?” he asked, nodding at Hallett. THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 263 ‘“T believe in God,” Hallett answered. “Yes, that’s nachul, but in whut sort of a dose do you swollow yo’ religion? Do you believe in baptisin’ by sousin’ or by jest sorter dabbin’ water on a feller?’’ ‘‘T know nothing of baptising, for such trickery appeals not tome. Well, make your arrangements for the night, for we are tired and desire to liedown. You have but one bed, I notice.” ‘*One bed in this room an’ one in the little shed room a jinin’. You fellers may have this room. The do’ twixt this an’ the shed room is fastened by a heavy bar on yon side, an’ one of you kin lay down in front of this here do’ that goes out, to keep the hoss thief frum gittin’ away.” ‘*Mister,’’ said Hallett to Bryce, ‘‘you may sleep in the bed. I will lie down by the door, Brother Furgerson will lie under the window and our son will sleep in front of the fire.” ‘‘T thank you, sir,” said Bryce, ‘‘but will you untie me so that I may sleep?” ‘“Mister, we may tie a man’s hands and feet but we cannot bind him so fast that he may not slip into slumber. You need remove nothing. Lie down on the bed.’ Bryce stretched himself upon the feather bed, and although his wrists and ankles pained him, swelling and throbbing, he soon fell asleep. It must have been mid- night when the pain awoke him. The fire was low, the 264 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. room was almost dark. He raised up and looked about the room. The men and the boy were asleep. His hands were not tied behind him, and he turned over on his breast and with his teeth began to tug at the knot. He thought of cabinet tricksters who could untie them- selves in a moment and he wished that he had taken a lesson of them. He heard one of the men turn over and he lay still, listening. All was silent and again he began to gnaw the rope. An hour must have passed—but his hands were free. And now, after rubbing his wrists, he began cautiously to work at the rope that bound his ankles. But the knot wasso hard that he could do noth- ing. So, after all, he must give up. He straightened himself out with a groan. Suddenly he thrust his fingers into his waistcoat pocket and took out a small knife. It was a mere toy but it was big enough. He cut the rope and for a few moments he lay there, rubbing his swollen ankles. Now what? To get out through the window or the door was impossible. Perhaps he could make his way through the roof. He knew that nails were sometimes so scarce in the back woods that clap-boards were often heid in place by poles laid along the roof. He stood on the bed and could easily reach a cross-beam. He climbed upon it, he shoved hard against the roof. The boards yielded. He worked until he got his hand through, and after that it took but a short time to make - y. = Riess . . ; = st THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 265 an opening large enough to admit his body. He got his head and his arms through the opening. One foot was off the beam. Something touched his leg. He hung there, motionless. His heart had almost ceased to beat. ‘Mister, has the devil tempted you again?” It was Hallett. ‘‘ Come back or I'll stab you. Easy now; put your foot on the beam. That’sit. Now you are all right. Brother Furgerson, give me that other rope.” CHAPTER 2036 The journey was resumed at early morning. A dark mist lay low to the earth, the air was cold, motionless; and when the team was stopped midway a hill to blow, Bryce looked up at a dead tree and wished that it might fall upon him. Not again did he ask them to untie his hands, for he felt that he had thrust himself beyond the province of a privilege. How earnestly Benson had begged for permission to kill him, when he saw the hole that had been made in his roof, and how gravely had the woman demanded the right to scald him when she found that by exposing her best bed to the weather he had abused her hospitality. Hallett sat beside Bryce. ‘‘When I am brought to trial,’’ said the prisoner, ‘‘I suppose you will tell the Council that I tried to get away.” ‘‘T shall tell them nothing ; they know enough. It was but natural that you should try to get away.”’ ‘‘T am glad, Mr. Hallett, that you look at it in so humane a light.’’ ‘You may express it that way if you choose, but you might simply have reminded me that I excused the dog for running from the broom handle.’’ 266 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 267 ‘*Mr. Hallett, did you ever think that the cruelest creature in this life is man ?”’ ‘* Yes, and it has been proved to me that his victim is woman.”’ ‘That may be true, but man’s cruelty to woman is not exercised alone for the sake of cruelty ; he has another motive and cruelty may be the result.’”’ ‘“ Mister, a gentleman might put it that way to excuse himself, but God has another estimate. Let them pull ahead now, Brother Furgerson. Mister, it may not be a cheering opinion, but I will tell you that at the present rate of travel we may reach the village by to-morrow night.” ‘Mr. Hallett, almost any prospect is better than this certainty. I would rather die than to remain much longer tied like a calf hauled to market. I don’t see how I could get away if you were to untie my feet.” ‘“And I don’t see, Mister, how you can get away if I keep them tied.’’ Bryce mused that by this time there must be spreading an anxiety concerning his disappearance. No, not. yet, for among his friends it was known that he was wont to close his office, should he take the notion, and go away, no one knew whither ; therefore, it was useless to look backward for help—he must look forward. In his mind he framed a speech, and he startled himself with its power. 268 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. It was not possible that those men, so simple, so imagi- native, could resist him. He would catch Boyle’s fury and pass it back to him, mellowed with pity: he would take up the Father’s sorrow and turn it into a forgiveness. Over and over he repeated his argument and it grew stronger in expression and deeper in its appeal for sympathy. That night they slept in the woods; they had traveled all day in a cloud, and their campfire wrought monstrous shapes in the mist. At early morning they were astir— onward through a valley and up the side of a mountain. Over and over Bryce continued to repeat his speech, until now he csuld hear the words as though someone were shouting them. Once he was so moved that he cried out, ‘“ Good.” ‘‘ Mister, can it be that you are taiking to yourself?” Hallett asked. Bryce started, stammered in embarrassment and an- swered: ‘‘ Yes, it must be so.” ‘*But you cried ‘Good.’ Could that have been addressed to yourself?” ‘The word might not have applied to myself.”’ “Tt surely did not.” ‘“Mr. Hallett, your torture of me will soon be at an end. I am ready to meet the Council. ‘Those just men know how weak it is to sin and how strong it is to forgive.” THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 269 Hallett slowly turned and looked at him. ‘‘’That is the nearest to a sensible remark that I have heard you make, but like many a sensible saying, it carries a flaw. To for- ceive the weakness of a sin is sometimes a strength; but sometimes forgiveness is of itself a weakness, almost a sin.” ‘‘Mr. Hallett, to permit me to hope is as little as you can do.”’ | ‘* Perhaps it is less.”’ Bryce looked at the stern face of the Bolgaite and replied: ‘‘I have never known a hangman that would render his victim utterly hopeless.” “Ah! perhaps your acquaintance with a hangman has not been so intimate as it may become.”’ ‘*T don’t care to talk to you.” ‘‘Mister, the domain of silence is free. There no claims are marked off; a privilege awaits every comer.”’ ‘*Very good, Mr. Hallett, but I have ceased to be sur- prised at anything a Bolga man might say. You could not astonish me so much with a speech as you might by repeating the multiplication table.’’ They made good time, skirting the sides of the mount- ains, bearing to the right and to the left, like a vessel tacking, and late in the afternoon they came to the base of a long slope, slanting from the east. Here they halted, and Hallett untied Bryce’s feet. ‘‘ You and our son and 270 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. I will walk up a nearer way,’’ he said. ‘‘ Brother Fur- gerson will drive round.”’ | Bryce could scarcely walk at first, but to permit him to try, though it was painful, was a great favor to him, and he said: ‘‘ Mr. Haliett, this is a piece of kindness, and I thank you for it.’’ The Bolgaite smiled grimly but replied not. Hour after hour they walked, silent; and Bryce, looking back, saw that the clouds had parted far below, saw the dim sun going down. ‘‘For a time we will rest here,” said Hallett, pointing toa rock. Bryce advanced a few steps, looked about him, over the brow of the rock, and quickly caught his breath. Hewas on the summit of the west mountain, and below him lay the village. On this rock he had sat with Alma, looking at the sinking sun, and at Benjamin standing in the door of the schoolhouse. A weary age had passed since then; an age of night disturbed by dreams. He stood leaning against the cold rock ; he saw the house of the Prophet, saw a woman at the well. But he must not brood over what had passed ; he must nerve himself to meet that which was to come. And back to him came his speech, his argument for life, and through his mind it swept like a wind. : ‘‘ Mister, what think you of the view? I am speaking to you, Mister.” He touched Bryce’s arm. THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. QUA ‘‘FHxcuse me ; I did not hear you.” “‘Tt-1is well that you are so thoughtful. What think you of the view ?’’ ‘A scene spread out by the hand of peace,’’ Bryce auswered. ome —s— The Bolgaite, pulling his beard, looked hard at Mice if you could’ =e surprise me,’’ he said, ‘‘I should wonder that you could say that. Once it was spread out by the hand of peace, and it may be again in the years to come. Mister, my relationship with you he ae Rike m4 a /~ TG Miata ae “THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET, 2 * ’ craig will soon come as an end. We will remain dark, and then go down into the village. oa in the dark, and i in the dark you ‘shall return a ae Furgerson will reach there first, and the Council wi -—-- ready to receive you. Here at this rock we cease poet to. each other. AES pet. x CHAPTER XXI. Through the darkness Bryce was led, down into the village. Nowhere was there a light, the houses were closed and no evening lullaby was heard. Through the prisoner’s mind his speech was sweeping, strong, like a rush of water, and though like a dog he was led, with a rope about his neck, he walked with a confident tread. Under the brow of the Temple a lone man stood, waiting, and when Hallet and his prisoner drew near, a voice said: “Follow me.’’? They followed him to the bath room, where a dim light was burning. The man whom they had followed was Councilman Blake. ‘‘ Untie his hands,” the Councilman commanded, and as Hallett began to untie the rope the Councilman continued: ‘‘ Mister, we shall leave you here alone. And when you have washed yourself, put on this robe. Soon I shall come and conduct you into the presence of the Father and the brethren.” The water was cold and made him shudder, but it was soothing to his swollen legs and arms, and when he had tempered his body to its chill, he stretched himself in the stone basin and lay there, listening. Heheard the faint 18 273 274. THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. cry of a child, and he splashed the water in scrambling to his feet, and he stood on the edge of the basin and by tiptoeing gazed through the small window. He could» discern the house of the Prophet. Again he heard the child cry, and he saw a light flash in one of the rooms; in Alma’s room he thought. He stood there with his chin resting on the cold ledge of the window, gazing at the light, and a new, a strange sympathy was in his heart, but through his mind his speech was sweeping. There came a knock at the door, and a voice cried: ‘‘ Are you ready?” He answered that he would be ina moment, and he climbed down and put on the robe, a robe blacker than the darkness through which Hallett had led him, with a rope about his neck, like a dog. ‘‘I am ready,’’ he cried, and the Councilman opened the door. And there stood Hallett with his ropes. ‘‘ Bind him,’ said the Councilman. This time his hands were tied behind him, and a rope was also bound about his ankles, but with a slack so that he could walk. Now it was the Councilman instead of Hallett who put the rope about his neck, and holding one end, he said: ‘‘ Come with me. Brother Hallett,’ he added, ‘‘ good night.” The prisoner was led into the black room of the temple. For a moment after entering he could see nothing save a small lamp dimly burning on the altar, but gradually arose the forms of four men, the Father and the The prisoner was led into the blackroom of the temple. Page 274. THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. 2D Councilmen, arrayed in black. Councilman Blake dropped the rope, took up a black robe and wrapped him- self in it. Nota word had been spoken, and motionless they stood, black statues in the dim light. When was that silence to be broken, the prisoner wondered, and how could they break it without a rude shock to that deep solemnity? But his speech! It was gone, it had swept out of his mind, and he stood there, helpless, his knees smiting together, dumb, .cold with the dew of despair upon his brow. And still not a word was uttered. He gazed with a curious eagerness from one to another, but the glance of no eye met his own. ‘“ Merciful God !” he cried, and upon the floor he fell, sobbing. ‘‘TIf you are a man instead of a creature that crawls, get up,’ a voice commanded, and he knew that the Father had spoken to him. He got up, and now he looked not from one to another, to catch the expression of an eye, but gazed at the floor, the blackness under his feet ‘* Mister,” said the Father, ‘‘ look at me.’’ Bryce slowly lifted his eyes until they rested upon the worn and grief-stricken face of that old man. ‘‘ Mister, since you left us we have learned many things about the world and its heartless treacheries. To look for you our brethren went abroad into the fields of sin, and we know now what means you employed to impose upon us. And 276 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. now you are brought to judgment for a crime blacker than the spirit of hell. It is but natural that you should seek to defend yourself, and we shall give you an oppor- tunity to do this, to influence a setting aside of the judg- ment that already has been passed upon you, but first I request you to tell us how you discovered the secret of our creed.” Bryce briefly told them that while lying upon a rock in a cave he had heard them renew the covenant of their faith. The old man shook his head. ‘‘ It was com- manded,”’ said he, ‘‘ that we should go into a place not made by hands, and in that place we were beset with a devil.- But God knows best.” For a few moments he was silent, but not motionless, with his arms folded; he was turning helplessly about from one to another. “ Oh, you have almost swept-from me the faith that has kept my soul alive!’ he cried: ‘‘ You found a pure religion, and into it you poured a deadly poison. How could you have done so cruel a thing? It seems beyond the reach ~ of human meanness. = Publishers 263 and 265 Wabash Avenue, Chicago 5 Adv LL > bis os * <-2 emer 2 ais alla The Century Cook Book By JENNIE A. HANSEY, Expert Cook and Caterer ... AND... Family Medical Adviser By an Eminent Physician 368 PAGES. 30! ILLUSTRATIONS It contains more genuine, carefully selected, tried and tested recipes than any other work of corre- sponding size. It can be readily understood by anyone; even a child who can read. No foreign or ambiguous terms are used; no mysterious formulas or bewildering phrases. Simplicity and consistency have been aimed at and attained in the compilation of the recipes. It is thoroughly illustrated, the engravings num- bering over 300, ably assisting the printed instruc- tions by characteristic portrayal. Itis systematically classified—treating not only of the labor of the kitchen but of all other departments of household duties as well. The dining-room, the laundry, the sick chamber, each having ample space allowed them. It embraces a thorough, comprehensive medical department, conscienti- ously compiled by an eminent physician of long and varied experience, whose practical knowledge will prove of incalculable service in the family for the treatment of simple ills and unforseen accidents that may occur at any time. A Book for the Family os ee A Household Treasure It furnishes recipes for preparing and cooking anything. Soups, Fish, Poultry, Game, Meats, Entrees and Removes, Salads, Relishes, Vegetables and Fancy Dishes, Pies, Puddings, Cakes, Ices, Candies, and other delicacies. It tells how to make Washing Fluids, Blueing, Soaps, and many household necessities. It supplies formulas for Liniments, Ointments and medical pre- parations, as well as reliable recipes for Face Powders, Perfumes and Toilet Requisites. A feature of importance will be found in a number of blank pages in the back part of the volume providing a handy means for adding any new recipe obtained by reading or imparted by a chance visitor. AN ATTRACTIVE BOOK. RETAIL PRICE, 25 CENTS LAIRD & LEE ~ = 2 Publishers 263 and 265 Wabash Avenue, Chicago f Thisbeck contains 300 mvalratenama red NM Sees (gy fee CENTURY ~ ¥ hy) ~ GOK Book Adv N Br igt eo Ste Pace A OS nea ay er eRe ee Tay ayo Se sol cn a Bae ds eS el “A MARKED INNOVATION — THE PASTIMB SERIES | The most popular collection of Standard Novels now before oan 3 the public has had recently added the complete works of WI. H. THOMES These thrilling stories of travel and adventure have never been sold for less than 50 cents in paper covers. When first published = in cloth they so!ld for $2.00 per volume. Now offered complete — unabridged, unchanged, at 25 cents. as READ THE TITLES A GOLD HUNTER’S ADVENTURES IN AUSTRALIA. A WHALEMAN’S ADVENTURES ON SEA AND LAND. THE BUSHRANGERS; A Yankee’s Adventures During a Second is Trip to Australia. A SLAVER’S ADVENTURES ON SEA AND LAND. RUNNING THE BLOCKADE. :