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Show Sister Martin S CircUS PraiierBy Richard Barker Shelton "Yes. n cirrus," she rcpenred. her eye widening nnd her courage rising, as she erented buttle. "I nln't hecu to a circus not since I went with J 1 in Allen when I was a girl long before we wns innrried. 1 should sorter like to go once more." Br" MLS MARTIN laid down hi knife nnd fork. He nt ln k in hl chair, and his eye narrowed. Their linte glances seemed to go through her frail body mercilessly like slocl sli.-lfts. "You crazy?" he demanded. "Talkln o' such carryln'a-on at your age! 1 ain't never been to a cimi In my life, an' my young 'una never went, neither." "If our young 'uns' had been allowed to go to circuses an' such place once in a while we might 'n hud some of 'cm here at home with us now," she said, sadly. "I ain't been anywheres for years, nn' I'm a-goln' to that circus," she reiterated, with the pillhellc tenacity of helplessness. "Humph !" he grunlcd, pushing buck his chsir, "You better gll ready to go to Wednesday evenin' ineetln', an' let c. reuses tnke care o' themselves. ' In the happiness of her afternoon's occupation, oc-cupation, Mrs. Murtiii had unite forgotten the Wednesday evening prayer -meet ing. nnd It was with a heurt seething with rebellion that she washed the supper dlshe and put on a freeh gingham dress. A prayer-meet-Ing tonight : Her whole being revolted la a sudden fierce blaze of hatred; but urged on by some unrecogniied Instinct of habit or obedience, she got herself ready and climbed Into the wagon beside her husband. They drove down the road through th luly twilight. Cricket chirped In the gathering dusk; In the meodowa the frog piped; and far away the whlp-poor-wllia were calling musically. Heinle Martin drove atolldly, with never a word to hia wife, and not a glance in tier direction. Mrs. Martin sat stiffly upright, unmindful of everything save the tumult in her heart and her desieriile determination, which only grew the stronger In the face of her seeming seem-ing helplessness. They entered the bar little vestry of the church, where some doxen iieople. men and women, were ranged along the hard settees. The minister, scaled on the little pisiform, nodded a smiling welcome, which wa utterly lost on Mr. Muriln. "I'm goin' tomorrer I'm goln' tomor-rer!'' tomor-rer!'' she was reiientlng wildly to herself a.H they took their seats. The minister rose and opened the meeting wnh a quavering hvnin. At Its close he turned his e;e toward Ilemls Martin. "Will Brother Martin lead ua In prayer?" aald he, and the little company knelt on the uneven floor, while Martin horaly cleared hia throat, and Iben began la hi deep, rumbling voice : "W com to Thee thla evenin', O Lord, with all our manifold care a an' aorrera. We have learned In the past that Thy arm la strong, an that we can lean on Thee. We aeek Thy guidance an' Thy support. W r but children of th dust, an' our eyes are easily turned from Thee. Glv ii Thy aupport an' Thy guldln' atrength. Home of ua In partlckelar, O Lord, ar bound to th thing oa earth. Horn of ua would reek eternal aalvatlnn for thoa thing which ar not plea sin' in Thy eight." (Mrt. Martin pricked up her earn. A aurge of hot blood swept Into her face.) "Horn of ua would etray In th path of ain an' would linger in the company of the unrlghteoua. Khnw them th error of their way, O Lord. 8how them that ther la no compromise with Thee. !.et them aee that In yonder tenta of tha Philistine In Randall tomorrer there ta nothin' but wlckedneaa an' vanity a enar aet for totterln' fret. Teach them obedlenc to Thy will. Teach them to ahun auch pitfalls aet by the devil. Soften their heart which are turnln' from Thee. An' lead ua all in Thy way forevermore. Amen." THE rumbling voice died away. There waa th usual chorus of "Aniens," and then a tense alienee, during which Mra. Martin'a heart thumped ao loudly that aha feared It must betray her. "t Lord " It waa a weak, pathetic treble. Bemla Martin uncovered hia eyea . and looked at hia wife In unfeigned aurprlae. In all Ihe yenra of their married life he had never before known her to lift her voice In public prayer. Her upturned face, with the closed ejea, waa ararlet. He saw that her clasped handa. resting on the settee befor her, trembled violently. "O Lord, some of ua come to Thy thron seldom. Perhape it'a because w ain't worthy, an' perhatai it'a because we don't want to ba pesterln. Rut this evenin' we come before Thee to show that our hearta ain't so full of wickednes aa some of Thy aervanta would have Thee think. Thou know-eat, O Iird, we ain't wicked Just because be-cause - tblrat for little Innercent amusement amuse-ment that' been denied ua for forty yeara. Thou knowest there ain't no wlckedneaa In aeeln' a" ah caught her breath "a circus." aha finally cried, defiantly. Hh waa aware, without uncovering her eyea, that every head In tb room waa lifted, aad that every eye la th room waa atarlng at her In wonder. Hh wa aware that ber husband bad a'nlcbad bar ana, bat ta pushed bla band away fra bar and weal on wildly I "Tbey'r all Thin, 0 Lord, every exit tar . In th rage an' every aua aa' woavaa act. Thou madeat them all an' Thou dote all thing well. Ther can't be no barm In goln' to see Thy handiwork. But tar'a soma folka say If wlckd t want to go. O Lord, read their hearta aright. Be through their aha ma aa' learn that It ala't th clrrua that' wicked la their eye, but " th apendln' of a half-a-dollar to git la." Her role had risen to hysterical pitch. , The twara dreamed dowa her wrinkled taca, "Tbey'r been bard aa' bank an' do, O Lord. Tbey'r driven their owa chlldrea from their door. Touch their hearta wltb Thy lor an' Thy underatandln'. Tbey aay Thy ana la mighty. Bhow Thy atrength to them. Melt their heart of atone. Make them aee It ain't no aln to apend fty cent ',, for a clrrua oac In forty year. If Thu doet tblt, O I-ord, we will believe In Thy ' might an' that Thou ar a lovln' (lid. aa' Thy servant will sound Thy pralaea for i evermore. Amen." '. THERE aa dead ellenc In th room, aav for Mra. Martin'a hysterical sob. Every one roue and Mared at Bemla Mania and ' -hia wife. The man'a face wa a apo- ' plectlc red. He trembled aa from aa acuta attack of ague. The minister haatlly atarted a hymn, and under cover of th muale Bemla Martin led hia overwrought wife from th veatry. The die waa cast, and ah waa prepared to take the consequence, ghe knew Juat how ahe would anawer th atormy outburst of hia wrth. Silently he unhitched tb nor; silently he placed her In th wagoa llently they drove homeward under tb July atara which burned aoftly In the baty aky. Her ahouldrra atlll roaa and fell con. rulslrely and her cheeka wer atlll wet. She felt an arm ateal clumsily about her In the first rarest aha had knowa In year. "There, mother, then ! I wouldn't take on ao. You hav had it considerable bant, ' . that' fact," aaid Martin huskily. "Good morning. Brother Martin," aald "' the clergyman. "I Just ran over to suggeat that, In light of Ulster Martin'a ar nther . ' peculiar prayer la at night. I'm Inclined t think that perhaps It might prove one of thoa mysterious worklnga of Providence If you ahould let her go to Randall today. Bb -might go over with aom of thoa folka wa alwaya go, you know" Bemia dnw hlmaelf up. "She Is goln' to th Circus with a," a) ' .' "-. said defiantly. ' , - MRS. MARTIN elood before the high board fence covered with the lurid lithographs lith-ographs which the bill-posters had plastered up soms two weeka before. The July aun poured down from a cloudless sky, and every paaalng wagon sent cloud of choking dust floating about her from the road ; but ahe gave no heed to either discomfort. Indeed, o en grossed was ahe that the ancient umbrella ah had brought to shield her from the tun was tilted carelessly over her ahoulder until th acorrhlng rays beat directly di-rectly on her aparse gray hair. Hh even forgot th dragging weight of the basket of egga aha carried to "trade" at the aton. It wa all then, Juat aa It used to be, only. perhp. a trifle more ornate the blonde-haired lady in tha pink tight and abbreviated aklrta, poising daintily on on to oa th back of superb white horae; the acrobats, swinging frarleaely from dlxsy tnpesee; th clowna with their heada (tuck through paper hoopa; the troupea of performing per-forming doga, the Jugglera, the contortionists, contor-tionists, ths animate, th calliope, th gaudy fioata; In short, tha circua aa It I pictured In th porter of the advance agents. Mr. Martin stood drinking It all In. To ber It opened up another world. It gave her a taete of that dlatant, almost forgotten youth, befon llf had become narrow, and mean, and hard. It quickened her pule and brought a spot of color Into either tallow cheek. Bh looked at every picture; she read every word, and from the announcement announce-ment In foot-blgh lettera above the lithographs litho-graphs ah learned that the "greatest ehow en earth, a gorgeous combination of three-ringed three-ringed rlrcua, hippodrome and menagerie" would give two performances In Randall, Thijreday, July 10. Tomorrow waa Thursday, July 10, the reflated, re-flated, with a algh. She could almost hear the Intoxicating circus mualr, and smell the rlrcua smells aa ahe plodded down the dutty rond. "I ahould sorter Ilk to go one more," she told herself, with a little reminiscent thrill at the thought of It. At the ston ahe did her "trading;" exchanged ex-changed the egga for tea and mustard, and s few yarda of calico to make new aprone. But her mind, usually so keen at these times, teemed far away. She did not dicker for an extra half-yard of the calico, nor did ahe Insist that a few nutmegs be thrown In for good measure. With her parcela In the egg-hatket egg-hatket and the ancient umbrella held over ber head, aha made her way down the road to atop once more before the alluring poaten. Thla second perusal of their rharma seemed to Inspire ber with a reckless de- termination; for, when she once more turned away, her llpa were aet In a atralght line, and her worn, old face had something of eager anticipation In It. "I'm a-goln' to that rlrrue," ahe muttered to hemelf. And every little while, along the homeward way, at If to prop her courage, ahe repeated, "I am a-goln'." Jutt how ahe would manage It, by what adroit stratagem ahe could circumvent the objertlona her huaband would be sure to raiae, ahe had not aa yet fully decided. She only knew that somehow, by aome means, she waa going to the circua. Delightful trrmora of anticipation had already taken possession of her. She had not been to pleaaantly excited alnc ahe wa a girl. Bha realized, with a thrill of thankfulneee, that the rest of the day waa hen to dream away without Interruption. Her bunbend and the hired man were fencing a recently purchased pasture soma milee from the house, and would not be home until evening. When ahe reached home, she went to the attic, and from a cedar cheat ah brought out blta of lace and ribbon that had long lain In lavender. With these odda and enda of finery the managed to make the old black cashmere. In which she had long elnce lost all Interest, fairly presentable. She smiled grimly when her somber Sunday bonnet flaunted a brave array of bright ribbon. THE ehadowa were lengthening eastward when her work vcas done. She put the aupper on the table and. tenderly laying the transformed dreae and Sunday bonnet In a bureau drawer, aat down to await her huaband hua-band arrival. )he had not long to wait. Just before sundown a wagon rattled into the yard, and a moment later Bemla Martin shuffled Into the kitchen. He waa a big. atoop-ahouldered atoop-ahouldered man, clean-shaven and heavy of frame. Hia mouth had that hard, unyielding unyield-ing expression which years of struggle with a none too fertile toil are prone to give, and hit deep-aet gray eyea were cold and flinty. "Supper ready?'' he asked superfluously, at the same time drawing a cbalr to tba table. Hia, wife aat down opposite hlin, and poured the tea from the earthen pot.. Then ahe aat back In her chair, watching' him narrowly, and eating but 'little. Her flngera worked nervously beneath the table; the spots of color burned In her cheeks. "Thej'a a circua at Randall, tomorrer," she aald at length. Martin grunted explosively between moutufula: "Circus, bey?" be aaid corn-fully. |