Show I 1 s ra service a joseph mccord CHAPTER I 1 I 1 one chattering brazen clash old white always set about its sabbath morning summons with a discord until the hempen bell rope writhing through various floor openings furnished impetus needed for the stately cadence of mellow boom ings that followed today there appeared to be an unusual outpouring of locust hills faithful bent upon worshiping within the austere i walls valls of old white church before the bell finished its reminder a growing stream of arrivals was converging on the front of the edifice singly and in groups they made their way up the treads serving the two entrance doors the atmosphere held a noticeable air of expectancy it was reflected in the vigilance of ushers prowling along the carpeted aisles and darting harried glances into the black walnut pews ushering at old white was a function demanding nice perception cep tion particularly if there chanced to be a liberal sprinkling of strangers as on this october afternoon conspicuous among their number was a personable young man who arrived early and appropriated a choice seat on the center aisle where he remained apparently in insensible to the polite censure of the ushers regard the youths lis roving blue eyes their whites showing rather oddly against the dee deep p tan of his face scanned the growing congregation with unflagging interest the alertness of the eyes was in decided contrast to the well knit f figure relaxed comfortably in the pew corner to the loose fitting gray tweeds and carelessly knotted scarf of blue silk and to the wavy hair a warm chestnut brown only once did the young man stir from his languid pose that was when a trio of elderly women all in black silk hesitated reprovingly at the entrance to the pew then he scrambled feet in apologetic haste and stepped into the aisle 1 I hope im not intruding was his low voiced suggestion two of the newcomers passed him without a word or glance but the third lingered for a swift appraisal pra isal something she encountered in the frank smile brought a touch of color to her faded cheek you are welcome im sure the he murmured politely hurrying after her companions A last muffled stroke from the old bell overhead died with a I 1 lingering in note quiet strains stealing from the bronzed pipes of the organ org an sunlight filtering through the stained glass of narrow windows dropping multicolored multi colored mosaics here and there on the heads of waiting worshipers one vagrant shaft dallied with the crimson hat worn by a s small mall I 1 woman who sat directly in front of the blue eyed stranger the small woman straightened her thin shoulders in an annoyed fashion the gesture however was not directed at the prying sunshine another woman exceedingly stout was displaying an intention of sharing the pew with the red hat its wearer looked up as she offered a subdued but audible good morning hannah you can sit in here with me the new arrival worked past the relentless knees of her hostess and sank bank heavily to the wine colored cushions there was an unobstructed view of the rostrum along the center aisle and the woman under the red hat had no intention of relinquishing linquish ing her advantage an amused glint in the eyes of the young man indicated his appreciation of the little maneuver swaying slightly in the direction of the stout hannah the smaller woman remarked in a whisper that carried clearly so you thought come out ard and see our new preacher hannah admitted the charge with a nod that added interestingly to her assortment of chins dont worry came her neighbors assurance plenty of your members tagged along his names farwell it ab b biec e hannah parried the thrust yes doctor jonathan farwell this direct bid for information exercised its placating effect my brother tom was on the commit tee you know he says well like him he heard him preach twice he comes from out west some place in iowa I o wa abbie favored that states second syllable with an impressive accent Is his wife here abbie he any widower mrs farwells farrells Far wells been dead for quite some time I 1 heard hes never married so far any children one boy he must be grown up dales his first name sounds too fancy for a man I 1 dont know where he is not in the ministers pew anyway had abbie brown carried her investigations 7 farther a pair of twinkling blue eyes directly behind her would have furnished the desired information instead she gave hannah a quick nudge with her elbow there lie he comes like the dropping of a stone in a placid pool the opening of a door at the right of the altar sent an attentive flutter rippling over the congregation A tall black figure made its appearance jonathan farwell the new minister of old white church in a single instant he was made the target for a host of inquisitive eyes these saw above the pulpit a white rugged face its pallor heightened by coppery red hair brushed straight off the lofty forehead penetrating black eyes seemingly ious to the sea of staring faces below and fixed steadily upon a clock hanging against the rear gallery panels A generous mouth flanked by deeply etched lines running to the nostrils there was a distinct cleft in the center of the square chin while observers were still engrossed with first estimates they were caught and held by the sound of a voice announcing the opening hymn A vibrant voice very nearly harsh in its penetrating quality As the familiar strains of the hymn sounded from the organ loft the In minister inister turned abruptly and seated himself in the center one of three tall chairs that stood with their backs stiffly to the choir his chin dropped against his breast strands of the red hair falling forward and covering the long white fingers that shaded his eyes he might have been engaged in prayer or meditation nor did he stir when the congregation rose to its feet to join in the summons to praise the younger farwell had reached locust hill late saturday making a hurried cross country trip in order to be present when his father appeared for the first time in his new pulpit recently graduated from a midwest mid west university dale had spent the summer in camp assisting with the direction of a geological survey the field work finished he returned to school for several weeks of compiling reports and arranging specimens for the departments museum doctor farwells farrells Far wells household goods were delivered by a moving van but a short time before dale put in his own appearance and both men wo worked aked until a late hour settling the parsonage for a housekeeping program of sorts soon after their first breakfast to gether dale appeared in his fathers study ready for church service im going early he announced 1 I want to size up the crowd before you give them their big in moment 0 despite his pride and an impetuous faith in his father dale had approached the day with some misgivings the preceding pastor had served old white for something over forty years that sort of thing sounded very much like the east was dales rather patronizing decision doctor bailey must have been pretty tolerant and easygoing easy going to last so long young farwell was P R i AIN A I 1 IN t kt 1 I 1 I 1 f jt I 1 wa lie he might have been engaged in prayer aware that his parent had the nama name of being different disguised by a seemingly cold personality the clergyman from the the west possessed a dynamic forcefulness ful ness to an unswerving directness of address and a scorn of mincing words he added the readiness to declare himself upon popular issues whenever he deemed such a course appropriate unrighteousness in every form drew the withering fire of his denunciation dales brief sight of their new home town convinced him that the place was reserved set in n its ways it was more than possible that these people would resent a progressive minister even if the causes he championed were just jonathan farwells farrells Far wells coming to locust hill was the result of a coincidence it began with an invitation to deliver the baccalaureate sermon at the university where his son was receiving a degree after the services doctor farwell found himself accosted by a tall smooth shaven man with keen eyes peering through silver rimmed glasses set astride his thin nose and tethered to a black ribbon the eyes thinning hair and immaculate clothing combined to produce a cool grayness 1 I am cassius brady of locust hill new jersey the newcomer announced crisply and this is my daughter lenora he indicated a slender dark eyed girl standing at his side 1 I was greatly impressed by your sermon doctor farwell very much so in short he added bluntly it set me wondering if you would consider a call from our church this is a trifle sudden mr brady farwell returned with a slight smile 1 I suppose it is I 1 dropped oil here yesterday on an my way fro from m the coast to meet my daughter and take her home I 1 am glad I 1 did now I 1 want very much to have a talk with boti you this brief encounter was followed by an invitation to dinner at bradys hotel and a meeting between dale farwell and lenora brady if the lawyer was impressed by the minister the batters lat son was attracted to the lawyers daughter to a degree that rendered him almost incoherent during their introduction he scarcely removed his tyes from her face when he found himself sitting opposite her at dinner she was the prettiest girl he had seen in a long time not exactly pretty either something better than that he particularly liked the way those bronze curls framed her piquant face that vivacious turn of the head when she was interested most of all it was her eyes that held him they were different from any dale remembered seeing the iris appeared to be a red brown flecked with dark spots TO BE CONTINUED |