Christian fiction; City and town life -- Fiction; Clergy -- Fiction; Ozark Mountains -- Fiction
"That's his room," the other answered, pointing to the corner window.
"He'll be right handy to us both."
Denny gazed at the window with the look of a worshiper. "Oh now, isn't
that fine, isn't it grand! That's such a nice room, Doctor, it has such
a fine view of the monument."
"Yes," the Doctor interrupted, "the monument and your garden." And then
he left abruptly lest he should foolishly try to explain to the
bewildered and embarrassed Denny what he meant.
It seemed to the Doctor that nearly every one he met on the well-filled
street that morning, had a smile for him, while many stopped to pass a
word about the coming of Dan. When he reached the depot the agent hailed
him with, "Good morning, Doctor; looking for your preacher?"
"_My_ preacher!" The old physician glared at the man in the cap, and
turned his back with a few energetic remarks, while two or three loafers
joined in the laugh, and a couple of traveling men who were pacing the
platform with bored expressions on their faces, turned to stare at him
curiously. At the other end of the platform was a group of women, active
members of the Memorial Ladies' Aid who had left their posts of duty at
the bazaar, to have a first look at the new pastor. The old Elder, Nathan
Jordan, with Charity, his daughter, was just coming up.
"Good morning, good morning, Doctor," said Nathan grasping his friend's
hand as if he had not seen him for years. "Well I see we're all here."
He turned proudly about as the group of women came forward, with an air
of importance, the Doctor thought, as though the occasion required their
presence. "Reckon our boy'll be here all right," Nathan continued.
"_Our_ boy!" The Doctor caught a naughty word between his teeth--a feat
he rarely accomplished.
The ladies all looked sweetly interested. One of them putting her arm
lovingly about Charity cooed: "So nice of you to come, dear." She had
remarked to another a moment before, "that a fire wouldn't keep the girl
away from the depot that morning."
The Doctor felt distinctly the subtle, invisible presence of the Ally,
and it was well that someone just then saw the smoke from the coming
train two or three miles away, around the curve beyond the pumping
station.
The negro porter from the hotel opposite the depot, came bumping across
the rails, with the grips belonging to the two traveling men, in his
little cart; the local expressman rattled up with a trunk in his shaky
old wagon; and the sweet-faced daughter of the division track
superintendent hurried out of the red section-house with a bundle of big
envelopes in her hand. The platform was crowded with all kinds of people,
carrying a great variety of bundles, baskets and handbags, asking all
manner of questions, going to and from all sorts of places. The train
drew rapidly nearer.
The Doctor's old heart was thumping painfully. He forgot the people, he
forgot Corinth, he forgot everything but the boy who had come to him that
day on the river bank.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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