They Call Me Carpenter: A Tale of the Second ComingSinclair, Upton
General
They Call Me Carpenter: A Tale of the Second Coming
Sinclair, Upton
Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Fiction; Jesus Christ -- Fiction
The first person out was Carpenter. He took one glance at the form
under the car, and saw there was no hope there; then he ran to the
child in the gutter and caught it into his arms. The poor people who
rushed to the scene found him sitting on the curb, gazing into the
pitiful, quivering little face, and whispering grief-stricken words.
There was a street-lamp near, so he could see the face of the child,
and the crowd could see him.
There came a woman, apparently the mother of the dead child. She saw
the form under the car, and gave a horrified scream, and fell into a
faint. There came a man, the father, no doubt, and other relatives;
there was a clamoring, frantic throng, swarming about the car and
about the victims. I went to Carpenter, and asked, “Is it dead?” He
answered, “It will live, I think.” Then, seeing that the crowd was
likely to stifle the little one, he rose. “Where does this child
live?” he asked, and some one pointed out the house, and he carried
his burden into it. I followed him, and it was fortunate that I did
so, because of the part I was able to play.
I saw him lay the child upon a couch, and put his hands upon its
forehead, and close his eyes, apparently in prayer. Then, noting the
clamor outside growing louder, I went to the door and looked out,
and found the Stebbins family in a frightful predicament. The mob
had dragged Bertie and the chauffeur outside the car, and were
yelling menaces and imprecations into their faces; poor Bertie was
shouting back, that it wasn't his fault, how could _he_ help it? But
they thought he might have helped coming into their quarter with his
big rich car; why couldn't he stay in his own part of the city, and
kill the children of the rich? A man hit him a blow in the face and
knocked him over; his mother shrieked, and leaped out to help him,
and half a dozen women flung themselves at her, and as many men at
the chauffeur. There was a pile of bricks lying handy, and no doubt
also knives in the pockets of these foreign men; I believe the
little party would have been torn to pieces, had it not occurred to
me to run into the house and summon Carpenter.
Why did I do it? I think because I had seen how the crowd gave way
before him with the child in his arms. Anyhow, I knew that I could
do nothing alone, and before I could find a policeman it might be
many times too late. I told Carpenter what was happening, and he
rose, and ran out to the street.
It was like magic, of course. To these poor foreigners, Catholics
most of them, he did not suggest a moving picture actor on location;
he suggested something serious and miraculous. He called to the
crowd, stretching out his arms, and they gave way before him, and he
walked into them, and when he got to the struggling group he held
his arms over them, and that was all there was to it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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