Storyteller.

White Ribbon, Volume 27, Issue 320, 18 February 1922, Page 14

Storyteller.

TIIK LAST WEAPON,

(Continued.)

CHAITER XVIII. “Who is he that will harm you if you be followers of that which is good? Rut, and if ye sutler for righhNHisiiess sake, hippy are ye; and Ire not afraid of their terror, neither In* troubled; hut sanctify the Lord (i(hl in your hearth; and lie ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the liope that is in you, with meekiic** and reverence. It would Ik* difficult to exaggerate Lady Power’s kindness to that shatt< red little party. Baths, fresh clothes, luxurious rooms—everything possible was done to rob them of the sense of physical suffering and discomfort. But grief remained, and jus the Captain, the Princess, and Little One sat together in the sitting-room placed at their disposal, they talked in anxious tones about Bottom Dog. He was lying upstairs, with loe on his forehead, attended by the Mother and a male nurse who was in the Castle, Power had telephoned for an ey«* specialist. He was upstairs at the moment, and the three awaited the outcome. “It ought to have hapi* ned to me!” groaned the Captain. “You take too much upon yourself, Captain!” said the I’r ncess, whimsically, to hide her feelings. “I fancy we are all under orders!” She look-cd quaintly royal in I.ady Power’s handsome tea-gown. It suited her wonderfully, for she had long cast aside her own finery, since she mobilised for Peace. “And poor Littk* One!” she added. •That ought to have happened to me-” Little One screwed up her face, om cheek of which was turning purple and red. •That would never have done. Princess,’’ she mocked. "I never did set up for being a beauty, and I shan’t be In the least offended if you prefer to look another way. The only thing I really hate is that the fist should have belonged to a woman. I wonder ” she anointed her cheek with some soothing ointment Uidy Power had provided. “Yes?” asked the Captain.

“Only—l wonder whether St. Paul felt a little bit scared when they yelled at him for two hours! I should so love to ask him.” The door opened, and the Mother came in. They started round, but no one spoke. ‘The doctor has gone,” she said. Little One leaped up and threw* her arms around her. “Dearest, don’t cry!” “No—l’m sorryT’ stammered the girl. “Only—Captain—he wants you!” The Captain started forward, and suddenly his lip quivered. “Mother, you can’t mean ” She nodded. “The doctor can do nothing.” “Not both?” cried Little One. “Both!” hnathed the girl. “Does he know?” whispered the Captain. “Yes.” When the Captain entered the bedroom. he glanced nervously at the figure whose face was swathed in bandages. “Is that you, Captain?” asked a cheerful voice. “Yes. Oh, Bottom Dog, you are blind!” and he kneeled by the bed and gripped the other’s hand. “Don’t worry. So are hundreds of better men than me —blind for their country.” "Are you in pain?” “A bit, but they tell me it will go off. They have given me something. I say, Captain, it is good of Him to have let a chap like me suffer for Him! Speak, old man!” “It’s no use —I can’t.” “Then let us have a Silence together," he answered, and the Captain, understanding what he meant, bowed his head. CHAPTER XIX. “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the chihhvn’s teeth are on edge.” The three girls crouched over the fire, talking together seriously. Two points still remained as mysteries. Who was that beautiful child? Why had Power, of all people, come to their rescue? Then there came a tap at the door, and Lady Power entered. The three jumped up, and Littk One offered her the big chair, but she refused it. and squatted down on a low seat in the chimney corner.

“Well, foolish people!” she began, mockingly. “I expect you have been amusing yourselves on trying to discover why I came to your rescue—Lady Power, of all people!” “We had,” admitted the* Princess. ‘That gown suits you, my dear!” The Princess’s Madonna-like beauty was exactly what lady Power appreciated. “Doesn’t it?” exclaimed Little One. “You know, Lady Power, we have never seen her dressed up properly before. Pilgrims don’t do that kind of thing, though th**y love it, all the same!” "I see!” mused lady Power, looking at Little One intently. “You all deserve, of courtc, imprisonment in the Castle ciungcons! Y’our object In coming to Thorough is, I understand, to turn me and mine penniless into the streets! No, don’t offer me complimentary lies! I should be sorry if either of you ( escend< d to a lie. You preach that the trade in armaments is of the devil, doYt you?” Her eyes twinkled, as she noticed their embarrassment. “Come, if you were not afraid of that mob, you are surely not afraid of one woman? Whit do you say, you poor disfigured child!” and she turned upon Little One. "Oh. w’ell, Lady Power, of course you are involved in the- evil system, and —“ "And?" “I am sorry!” "Very diplomatic! Then in your wisdom. do you consider it a crime to allow oneself to he* nvolved in a system?” “Oh, I don’t know. That Is what Is so puzzling!” ‘Tell me, child, what is the Message you would have gWen to those people if they had not been so perfectly mad?" "Do ask the others —they know better!" But Pow’er shook her head. "The other? look too wise! I want a child’s answjr.” “Oh, well, we should have told them that all men are the children of One Father, and that our Father has forbidden His children ti kill one another." "Even if these same brothers and sisters would kill otler brothers and sisters if they could?* 1 “That Is what Is so difficult," said the girl frankly, “tut because one brother does a wicked thing, it doesn’t really help for another brother to do another wicked thing. That only makes more wickedness in the world.” “But suppose a brother vere going

to (to a wicked thing to a sister, and another brother could stop him doing that wicked thing—hew then?” "That’s what I’ve thought and thought about, until I’m nearly crazy!” said the girl. “Only, Lady Tower, you are talking as if the Father were not alive! We have just to obey, as Jesus Christ obeyed. Jesus Christ was not a crank!” (To be Continued.)