The Witness by Grace Livingston Hill Lutz (best fiction novels of all time .txt) 📖

Her Word,  And Now We Can Do It!"

 

"Send Her Word!" Said Mother,  Bewildered.

 

"Why,  Surely! Haven't You Read In The Papers How They Send Messages To

Trains That Are Moving? It's Great,  Isn't It,  Mother? To Think This

Little Dinky Telephone Puts You And Me Out Here On This Farm In Touch

With All The World."

 

"Do You Mean You Can Send A Telegram To Her On Board The Train,  Seth?"

Asked Mother,  In Astonishment.

 

"Sure!" Said Father. "We've Got All The Numbers Of Everything. Just Send

To That Express Train That Left To-Night. What Was It--Express Number

Ten,  And So On,  And It'll Be Sent Along And Get To Her."

 

"Well,  I Think I'd Ask Her To Answer Then,  To Make Sure She Got It. I

Think That's A Mighty Uncertain Way To Send Messages To People Flying

Along On An Express Train. If You Don't Get Any Word From Her You'll

Never Know Whether She Got It Or Not,  And Then You Won't Know Whether To

Meet Her At Sloan's Or Maitland," Said Mother,  With A Worried Pucker On

Her Forehead.

 

"Sure!" Said Father,  Taking Down The Receiver. "I Can Do That."

 

Chapter 23 Pg 135

"It's Just Wonderful,  Seth,  How Much You Know About Little Important

Things Like That!" Sighed Mother,  When The Telegram Was Sent. "Now,  I

Think We Better Go Right To Bed,  For I've Got To Get To Baking Early In

The Morning. I Want To Have Bread And Pies And Doughnuts Fresh When She

Comes."

 

It Was While They Were Eating Breakfast That The Answer Came:

 

     Telegram Received. Will Come To Sloan's Station. Having

     Comfortable Journey.                       R.B.B.

 

"Now Isn't That Just Wonderful!" Said Mother,  Sitting Back Weakly Behind

The Coffee-Pot And Wiping Away An Excited Tear With The Corner Of Her

Apron. "To Think That Can Be Done! Now,  Wouldn't It Be Just Beautiful If

We Had Telephones To Heaven! Think,  If We Could Get Word From Stephen

To-Day,  How Happy We'd Be!"

 

"Why,  We Have!" Said Father. "Wait!" And He Reached Over To The Little

Stand By The Window And Grasped The Worn Old Bible. "Here! Listen To

This!

 

     "For This We Say Unto You By The Word Of The Lord,  That We

     Which Are Alive And Remain Unto The Coming Of The Lord Shall

     Not Prevent Them Which Are Asleep. For The Lord Himself

     Shall Descend From Heaven With A Shout,  With The Voice Of

     The Archangel,  And With The Trump Of God: And The Dead In

     Christ Shall Rise First: Then We Which Are Alive And Remain

     Shall Be Caught Up Together With Them In The Clouds,  To Meet

     The Lord In The Air: And So Shall We Ever Be With The Lord.

     Wherefore Comfort One Another With These Words.

 

"There,  Mother! Ain't That Just As Good As Any Telegram From A Moving

Train? And It's Signed With His Own Seal And Signature! It Means He's

Heard Our Sorrow About Stephen's Leaving Us,  And He Heard It Ages Before

We Felt It Ourselves,  And Wrote This Down For Us! Sent Us A Telegram

This Morning,  Just To Comfort Us! I Reckon That Meeting With Stephen And

The Lord In The Air Is Going To Knock The Spots Clean Out Of This Little

Old Meeting To-Morrow Morning Down At Sloan's Station. We Won't Need Our

Ottymobeel Any More After That. We'll Have _Wings_,  Mother! How'll You

Like To Fly?"

 

Mother Gave A Little Gasp Of Joy And Smiled At Father Like A Rainbow

Through Her Tears. "That's So,  Father! We Don't Need Telephones To

Heaven,  Do We? I Guess His Words Cover All Our Needs If We'd Only

Remember To Look For Them. Now,  Father,  I Must Get At Those Doughnuts!

Was You Going To Take The Machine And Run Down To Town And See If Those

Books Have Come Yet? They Surely Ought To Be Here By This Time. Then

Don't Forget To Fix That Fire Up In The Bedroom So It'll Be All Ready To

Light When She Gets Here. Isn't It Funny,  Father,  We Don't Know How She

Looks! Not In The Least. And If Two Girls Should Get Off The Train At

Sloan's Station We Wouldn't Know Which Was The Right One!"

 

"Well _I Should_!" Declared Father. "I'm Dead Certain There Ain't Two

Girls In The Whole Universe Could Have Written That Letter,  And If You'd

Chapter 23 Pg 136

Put Any Other One Down With Her,  And I Saw Them Side By Side,  I Could

Tell First Off Which She Was!"

 

So They Helped Each Other Through That Last Exciting Day,  Finding

Something To Do Up To The Very Last Minute The Next Morning Before It

Was Time To Start To Sloan's Station To Meet The Train.

 

Mother Would Go Along,  Of Course. She Pictured Herself Standing For

Hours Beside That Kitchen Window With Her Cheek Against The Old Hat,

Waiting,  And Wondering What Had Happened That They Hadn't Come,  And She

Couldn't See It That Way. So She Left The Dinner In Such Stages Of

Getting Ready That It Could Be Soon Brought To Completion,  And Wrapped

Herself In Her Big Gray Cloak.

 

Father Went Faster Than He Had Ever Been Known To Go Since He Got The

Car,  And Mother Never Even Noticed. He Got A Panic Lest His Watch Might

Be Out Of The Way And The Train Arrive Before They Got There. So They

Arrived At The Station Almost An Hour Ahead Of The Train.

 

"Oh,  I'm So Glad It's A Pretty Day!" Said Mother Marshall,  Slipping Her

Gloved Hands In Her Sleeves To Keep From Shivering With Excitement.

 

Mother Marshall Sat Quite Decorously In The Automobile Till The Train

Drew Up To The Platform And People Began To Get Out. But When Bonnie

Stepped Down From The Car She Forgot All About Her Doubts As To How They

Would Know Her,  And Jumped Right Out On The Platform Without Waiting To

Be Helped. She Rushed Up To Bonnie,  Saying,  "This Is Our Bonnie,  Isn't

It?" And Folded Her Arms About The Girl,  Forgetting Entirely That She

Hadn't Meant To Use The Name Until The Girl Gave Her Permission; That

She Had No Right To Know The Name Even,  Wasn't Supposed To Have Heard Of

It,  And Was Sort Of Giving The Young Man Away As It Were.

 

But It Didn't Matter! Bonnie Was So Glad To Hear Her Own Name Called In

That Endearing Tone That She Just Put Her Face Down In Mother Marshall's

Comfortable Neck And Cried. She Couldn't Help It,  Right There While The

Train Was Still At The Station And The Other Travelers Were Peering

Curiously Out Of The Sleeper At The Beautiful Pale Girl In Black Who Was

Being Met By That Nice Old Couple With The Automobile. Somehow It Made

Them All Feel Glad,  She Had Looked So Sad And Alone All The Journey.

 

What A Ride That Was Home Again To The Farm,  With Mother Marshall

Cuddling And Crooning To Her: "Oh,  My Dear Pretty Child! To Think You've

Really Come All This Long Way To Comfort Us!" And Father Running The Old

Machine At An Unheard Of Rate Of Speed,  Slamming Along Over The Road As

If He Had Been Sent For In Great Haste,  And Reaching His Big Fur Glove

Back Now And Then To Pat The Old Buffalo Robe That Was Tucked Snugly

Over Bonnie's Lap.

 

Bonnie Herself Was Fairly Overcome And Couldn't Get Her Equilibrium At

All. She Had Thought These Must Be Wonderful People To Be Inviting A

Stranger And Doing All They Were Doing,  But Such A Reception As This She

Had Never Dreamed Of.

 

"Oh,  You Are So Good To Me!" Sobbed Bonnie,  With A Smile Through 

Chapter 23 Pg 137

Tears. "I Know I'm Acting Like A Baby,  But I Can't Seem To Help It. I've

Had Nobody So Long,  And Now To Be Treated Like This,  I Just Can't Stand

It! It Seems As If I'd Got Home!"

 

"Why,  Sure! That's What You Have!" Said Father,  In His Big,  Hearty

Voice.

 

"Put Your Head Right Down On My Shoulder And Cry If You Want To,  My

Pretty!" Said Mother Marshall,  Pulling Her Softly Over Toward Her. "You

Can't Think How Good It Is To Have You Here! Father And I Were So Afraid

You Wouldn't Come! We Thought You Mightn't Be Willing To Come So Far To

Utter Strangers!"

 

So It Went On All The Way,  All Of Them So Happy They Didn't Quite Know

What They Were Saying.

 

Then,  When They Got To The House Even Father Was So Far Gone That He

Couldn't Let Them Go Up-Stairs Alone. He Just Had To Leave The Machine

Standing By The Kitchen Door And Carry That Little Hand-Bag Up As An

Excuse To See How She Would Like The Room.

 

Bonnie,  Pulling Off Her Gloves,  Entered The Room When Mother Opened The

Door. She Looked Around Bewildered A Moment,  As If She Had Stepped From

The Middle Of Winter Into A Summer Orchard. Then She Cried Out With

Delight:

 

"Oh! How Perfectly Beautiful! You Don't Mean Me To Have This Lovely

Room? It Isn't Right! A Stranger And A Pauper!"

 

"Nothing Of The Kind!" Growled Father,  Patting Her On The Shoulder.

"Just A Daughter Come Home!"

 

Then He Beat A Hasty Retreat To The Fireplace And Touched A Match To The

Fire Already Laid,  While Mother,  Purring Like A Contented Old Pussy,

Pushed The Bewildered Girl Into The Big Flowered Chair In Front Of The

Fire And Began Unfastening Her Coat And Taking Off Her Hat,  Reverently,

Half In Awe,  For She Was Not Used To Girl's Fixings,  And They Held

Almost As Much Mystery For Her As If She Had Been A Man.

 

In The Midst Of It All Mother Remembered That Dinner Ought To Be Eaten

At Once,  And That Bonnie Must Have A Chance To Wash Her Face And

Straighten Her Hair Before Dinner.

 

So Father And Mother,  With Many A Reluctant Lingering And Last Word,  As

If They Were Not Going To See Her For A Month,  Finally Bustled Off

Together. In Just No Time At All Bonnie Was Down There,  Too,  Begging To

Be Allowed To Help,  And Declaring Herself Perfectly Able,  Although Her

White Face And The Dark Rings Under Her Tired Eyes Belied Her. Mother

Marshall Was Not Sure,  After All,  But She Ought To Have Put Bonnie To

Bed And Fed Her With Chicken Broth And Toast Instead Of Letting Her Come

Down-Stairs To Eat Stewed Chicken,  Little Fat Biscuits With Gravy,  And

The