A day full of light--warm and brilliant. The sun flooding the wide
fields of timothy and clover and fresh young grain with glory; falling
with a soft radiance upon the comfortable mansion of the master of
Hollywood Farm, with its spacious barns and long stretches of stabling,
and throwing loving glances among the leaves of its deep belt of
woodland where the river sparkled and soft rugs of moss spread their
rich luxuriance over an aesthetic carpet of resinous pine needles.
Near the limits of Hollywood the forest made a sudden curve to the
right, and the river, turned from its course, rushed, laughing and
eager, over a ridge of rocks which tossed it in the air in sheets of
silver spray.
Standing there, leaning upon a gun, a boy of about seventeen looked long
at a squirrel whose mangled body was staining the emerald beauty of the
moss with crimson. His face was earnest and troubled, while the
expression of sorrowful contempt which swept over it, made him seem
older than he was. It was a strong face, with deep-set, thoughtful eyes
which lit up wondrously when he was interested or pleased. His mouth was
sensitive but his chin was firm and his brown hair fell in soft waves
over a broad, full brow. People always took it for granted that John
Randolph would be as good as his word. They never reasoned about it.
They simply expected it of him.
He began to speak, and his voice fell clear and distinct through the
silence.
"And you call this sport?" There was no answer save the soft gurgle of
the river as it splashed merrily over the stones.
"You are a brute, John Randolph!" And the wind sighed a plaintive echo
among the trees.
He was silent while the words which he had read six weeks before and
which had been ringing a ceaseless refrain in his heart ever since,
obtruded themselves upon his memory.
"It is the privilege of everyone to become an exact copy of Jesus
Christ."
"Well, John Randolph, can you picture to yourself Jesus Christ shooting
a squirrel for sport?" He tossed aside the weapon he had been leaning
upon with a gesture of disgust, and, folding his arms, looked up at the
cloud-flecked sky.
"Are you there, Jesus Christ?" he asked wistfully. "Are you looking
down on this poor old world, and what do you think of it all? Men made
in God's image finding their highest enjoyment in slaughtering his
creatures. Game Preserves where they can do it in luxurious leisure; fox
hunts with their pack of hunters and hounds in full cry after one poor
defenceless fox, and battle-fields where they tear each other limb from
limb with Gatling gun and shells; and yet we call ourselves honorable
gentlemen, and talk of the delights of the chase and the glories of war!
Pshaw! what a mockery it is."
Stooping suddenly he laid the squirrel upon his open palm and gently
stroked the long, silky fur. He lifted the tiny paws with their perfect
equipment for service and looked remorsefully at the eyes whose light
was dimmed, and the mouth which had forever ceased its merry chatter. A
great tenderness sprang up in his heart toward all living things and,
lifting his right hand to heaven, he exclaimed, "Poor little squirrel, I
cannot give you back your happy life, but, I will never take another!"
Then he knelt, and scooping out a grave, laid the little creature to
rest at the foot of a tree in whose trunk the remnant of its winter
store of nuts was carefully garnered. When at length he turned to
leave the spot the tiny grave was marked by a pine slab, on which was
pencilled,
"Here lies the germ of a resolve.
July 17th, 18--"
He walked slowly along the fragrant wood-path, looking thoughtfully at
the shadows as they played hide and seek upon the moss, while through
the trees he caught glimpses of the sparkling river which sang as it
rolled along.
When he reached the border of the woodland he stood still and his eyes
swept over the landscape. Hollywood was the finest stock farm in the
country. After his father's death he had come, a little lad, to live
with Mr. Hawthorne, and every year which had elapsed since then made it
grow more dear. He loved its rolling meadows, its breezy pastures and
its fragrant orchards. Its beautifully kept grounds and outbuildings
appealed to his innate sense of the fitness of things, while its air of
abundant comfort made it difficult to realize that the world was full of
hunger and woe. He loved the green road where the wild roses blushed and
the honeysuckle drooped its fragrant petals, but most of all he loved
the graceful horses and sleek cows which just now were grazing in the
fields on either side; and the shy creatures, with the subtle instinct
by which all animals test the quality of human friendship, took him into
their confidence and came gladly at his call and did his bidding.
When he reached the end of the road he stopped again, and, leaning
against the fence adjoining the broad gate which led to the house, gave
a low whistle. A thoroughbred Jersey, feeding some distance away, lifted
her head and listened. Again he whistled, and with soft, slow tread the
cow came towards him and rubbed her nose against his arm. He took her
head between his hands, her clover-laden breath fanning his cheeks, and
looked at the dark muzzle and the large eyes, almost human in their
tenderness.
"Well, Primrose, old lady, you're as dainty as your namesake, and as
sweet. Ah, Sylph, you beauty!" he continued, as a calf like a young fawn
approached the gate, "you can't rest away from your mammy, can you?
Primrose, have you any aspirations, or are you content simply to eat and
drink? You have a good time of it now, but what if you were kicked and
cuffed and starved? You are sensitive, for I saw you shrink and shiver
when Bill Wright,--the scoundrel!--dared to strike you. He'll never do
it again, Prim! Have you the taste of an epicure for the juicy grass
blades and the clover when it is young,--do you love to hear the birds
sing and the brook murmur, and do you enjoy living under the trees and
watching the clouds chase the sunbeams as you chew your cud? Do you
wonder why the cold winter comes and you have to be shut up in a stall
with a different kind of fodder? Do you ever wonder who gave you life
and what you are meant to do with it? How I wish you could talk, old
lady!"
He vaulted over the gate, and whistling to a fine collie who came
bounding to meet him, walked slowly on towards the stables.
"Hulloa, John!" and a boy about two years his junior threw himself off a
horse reeking with foam. "Rub Sultan down a bit like a good fellow.
There'll be the worst kind of a row if the governor sees him in this
pickle."
John Randolph looked indignantly at the handsome horse, as he stood with
drooping head and wide distended nostrils, while the white foam dripped
over his delicate legs.
"Serve you right if there were!" and his voice was full of scorn.
"You're about as fit to handle horseflesh as an Esquimaux."
"Oh, pish! You're a regular old grandmother, John. There's nothing to
make such a row about." And Reginald Hawthorne turned upon his heel.
John threw off coat and vest, and, rolling up his sleeves, led the
exhausted horse to the currying ground. Reginald followed slowly, his
hands in his pockets.
"How did you get him into such a mess?" he asked shortly.
"I don't know, I didn't do anything to him," and Reginald kicked the
gravel discontentedly. "I believe he's getting lazy."
"Sultan lazy!" and John laughed incredulously. "That's a good joke! Why,
he is the freest horse on the place!"
"Well, I don't know how else to explain it. He's been on the go pretty
steadily, but what's a horse good for? Thursday afternoon we had our
cross-country run and the ground was horribly stiff. I thought he had
sprained his off foreleg for he limped a good deal on the home stretch,
but he seemed to limber up all right the last few miles. I was sorry not
to let him rest yesterday; would have put him in better trim I suppose
for to-day's twenty mile pull,--but Cartwright and Peterson wanted to
make up a tandem, and when they asked for Sultan I didn't like to
refuse. They are heavy swells, and you know father wants me to get in
with that lot. But that shouldn't have hurt him. They only went as far
as Brighton. What's fifteen miles to a horse!"
"Fifteen miles means thirty to a horse when he has to travel back the
same road," said John drily; "and your heavy swells take the toll out of
horseflesh quicker than a London cabby."
"Why, John, what has come to you? You're the last fellow in the world to
want me to be churlish."
"That's true, Rege,--but I don't want them to cripple you as they have
poor Sultan. What kind of fellows are they?"
"Oh, not a bad sort," said Reginald carelessly. "Lots of the needful,
you know, and free with it. Not very fond of the grind, but always up to
date when there are any good times going. What do you suppose put Sultan
in such a lather, John? I was so afraid father would catch me that I
came across the fields, and it was just as much as he could do to take
the last fence. I made sure he was going to tumble."
"Well for you he didn't," and John smoothed the delicate limbs with his
firm hand, "these knees are too pretty for a scar. Go into the vet room,
Rege, and bring me out a roll of bandage."
"Hulloa! That will give me away to the governor with a vengeance! What
are you going to bandage him for?"
"He is badly strained, and if I don't his legs will be all puffed by the
morning. It will be lucky if it is nothing worse. He looks to me as if
he was in for a touch of distemper, but I'll give him a powder and
perhaps we can stave it off."
Reginald brought the bandage and then stood moodily striking at a beetle
with his riding whip. He was turning away when a hand with a grip of
steel was laid on his shoulder and he was forced back to where the
beetle lay, a shapeless mass of quivering agony, while a low stern voice
exclaimed,--
"Finish your work! Even the cannibals do that."
Reginald wrenched himself free. "Pshaw!" he said contemptuously, "it's
only a beetle." But he did as he was told.
Then he stood silently watching as with swift skilfulness John swathed
the horse's limbs in flannel. "I guess Sultan misses you, John. Over at
the college livery their fingers are all thumbs."
"Poor Sultan!" was all John's answer, as he led the horse into a large
paddock thickly strewn with fresh straw.
A night full of stars--silent and sweet. John Randolph leaned on the
broad gate which opened into the green road where he had lingered in the
afternoon. The thoughts which surged through his brain made sleep
impossible, and so, lighting his bull's-eye, he had gone to the stables
to see how Sultan was faring, and then wandered on under the mystery of
the stars.
The night was warm. A breeze heavy with perfume lifted the hair from his
brow. He heard the low breathing of the cattle as they dozed in the
fields on either side, and the soft whirr of downy plumage as the great
owl which had built its nest among the eaves of the new barn flew past
him. Suddenly a warm nose was thrust against his shoulder and, with the
assurance of a spoilt beauty, the cow laid her head upon his arm. He
lifted his other hand and stroked it gently.
"Hah, Primrose! Are you awake, old lady? What are your views of life
now, Prim? Do the shadows make it seem more weird and grand, or does
midnight lose its awesomeness when one is upon four legs?"
He looked away to where the stars were throbbing with tender light,
crimson and green and gold, and the words of the book which he had been
studying every leisure moment for the past six weeks swept across his
mental vision.
"'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in
darkness, but shall have the light of life.'
"'The light of life,'" he repeated slowly. "Why, to most people life
seems all darkness! What is 'the light of life'?"
Still other words came stealing to his memory. 'I am the way, the truth,
and the life, no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.' 'Except ye
turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the
kingdom of heaven.' 'This is life eternal, that they should know thee
the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus.'
A great light flooded John Randolph's soul.
"'I' and 'me,'" he whispered. "Why, it is a personality. It is Jesus
himself! He is the way to the kingdom, the truth of the kingdom and the
life of it. The kingdom of heaven, not far away in space, but set up
here and now in the hearts of men who live the life hid with Christ in
God. I see it all! Jesus Christ is the light of the life which God gives
us through his Son."
He stretched his hands up towards the glistening sky.
"Jesus Christ," he cried eagerly, "come into my life and make it light.
I take thee for my Master, my Friend. I give myself away to thee. I will
follow wherever thou dost lead. Jesus Christ, help me to grow like
thee!"
The hush of a great peace fell upon his soul, while through the
listening night an angel stooped and traced upon his brow the kingly
motto, 'Ich Dien.'