Democratic watchman. (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1855-1940, October 24, 1930, Image 7

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Gos Ei RAE i ia
n———
THE END OF THE TASK.
(Continued from page 2, Col. 6.)
were bitter, rebellious; the injustice
of life's arrangements rankled deep-
whole soul
were very kind” said
“I told them
see it and they said I could have it
as long as I liked. When you are
better I will take it back.”
Lizschen looked at him wistfully.
«I will never be better, Liebchen,”
she whispered.
Braun hung the picture at the
foot of the bed where Lizschen could
see it without raising her head, and
then went to the window and sat
there looking out into the might.
. “They
Braun.
ly at that moment, his
felt outraged, fate was cruel, life
was wrong, all wrong.
the other hand, walked lightly, in a
state of mild excitement, all her
spirit elated over the picture she had
seen. It had been but a brief com- |
munion - with nature, but it had:
thrilled the hidden chords of her |
nature, chords of whose existence
she had never dreamed
Alas! the laws of |
ful nature are inexorable. For that |
brief moment of happiness Lizschen |
was to submit to swift, terrible |
punishment. Within a few steps of
the dark tenement which Lizschen | of night
called home a sudden weakness came | or twice
upon her, then a violent fit of cough- |
which racked her frail body
as though it would rend it asunder. |
When she took her hands from her |
mouth Broun saw that they were |
red. A faintness seized him, but he
must not yield to it. Without a
word he gathered - Lizschen in his
arms and carried her through the
hallway into the rear building © and
then up four flights of stairs to the
apartment where she lived. :
Then the doctor came—he was a.
young man with his own struggle |
for existence weighing upon him and
yet ever ready for such cases as s |
Where the only reward lay in the |
and
the verdict.
“It is just another attack like the | how the police had been notified and
himself. | ;
last,” he was saying to
«She will have to lie in bed for a’
day, and then she will be just as
well as before. Perhapsit may even
help her! But its nothing more
serious.
I saw them myself. It is not so
terribly serious. Not yet. Oh, it
cannot be yet—Maybe, after a long
time—but not yet—it is too soon.”
Over and over again he angued thus,
and in his heart did not believe it.
Then the doctor shook his head and
said: “It’s near the end, my friend.
A few days—perhaps a week. But
she cannot leave her bed again.”
Braun stood alone in the room,
upright, motionless, with his fists
clenched until the nails dug deep
into the skin, seeing nothing, hear-
ing nothing, feeling nothing. His
eyes were dry, his lips parched. The
old woman with whom Lizschen liv-
ed came out and motioned to him
to enter the bedroom. Lizschen was
whiter than the sheets, but her eyes
were bright, and she was smiling
and holding out her arms to him.
“You must go now, liebchen,” she
said faintly. “I will be all right to-
morrow. Kiss me good-night, and
I will dream about the beautiful pic-
ture.” He kissed her and went out
without a word. All that night he
walked. the streets. :
When the day dawned he went to
her again. She was awake and hap-
. “I dreamt about it all night,
liebchen,” she said joyfully. “Do you
think they would let me see it
again?”
He went to his work, and all that
day the roar of the machines set his
brain a-whirring and a-roaring as if
it, too, had become a machine. He
worked with feverish activity, and
when the machines stopped he found
that he had earned a dollar and five
cents. ‘Then he went to Lizschen
and gave her fifty cents, which he
told her he had found in the street.
Lizschen was much weaker, and
could only speak in a whisper. She
beckoned to him to hold his ear to
her lips, and she whispered:
“Ljebchen, if I could only see the
picture once more.”
«1 will go and ask them, darling,”
he said. ‘Perhaps they will let me
bring it to you.”
Braun went to his room and took
from his trunk a dagger that he had
brought with him from Russia. It
was a rusty, old-fashioned affair
which even the pawnbrokers had re-
peatedly refused to accept. Why he
kept it or for what purpose he now
concealed it inhis coat he could not
tell. His mind had ceased to work
coherently: his brain was now a ma-
chine, whirring and roaring like a
thousand ‘evils. Thought? Thought
had ceased. Braun was a machine
and machines do not think.
He walked to the picture gallery.
He had forgotten its exact location,
but some mysterious instinct guided
him straight to the spot. The doors
were already opened, but the night-
ly throng of spectators had hardly
begun to arrive. And now a strange
thing happened. Braun entered and
walked straight to the painting of
the woodland scene that hung near
the door. There was no attendant
to bar his progress.
of persons, gathered in front of a
canvas that hung a few feet away,
had their backs turned to him, and
stood like a screen between him and
the employees of the place. Without
a moment's hesitation, without look-
ing to right or left, walking with a
determined stride and making no
effort to conceal his purposes, and
at the same time, oblivious of the
fact that he was unobserved, Braun
approached the painting, raised it
from the hook, and, with the wire
dangling loosely from it, took the
painting under his arm and walked
out of the place. If he had been
observed, would he have brought his
dagger into use? It is impossible to
tell. He was a machine and his
brain was roaring. Save for one
picture that rose constantly before
his vision, he was blind. All that
he saw was Lizschen so white inher
bed, waiting to see the woodland
picture once more.
He brought it straight to her
room. She was too weak to move,
too worn out to express any emotin,
but her eyes looked unutterable
gratitude when she saw the paint-
ing.
“Did they let you have it?” she
whispered.
Lizschen, on |
| de
before. |, 0
this same beauti- |
approbation of his own conscience— | eried,
Braun hung upon his face for ee ee and we're respons. |
She has had many of them.’
A small group P
Lizschen was happy beyond all
bounds. Her eyes drank in every
detail of the wonderful scene until
her whole being became filled with
the delightful spirit that pervaded
and animated the ting. A mas.
ter's hand had imbued that deepen-
ing blue sky with the sadness of
twilight, the soft, sweet pathos of
and Lizschen’s heart
responsive to every shade and
shadow. In the waning light every
outline was softened; here tran-
quility reigned supreme, and Lizs-
hen felt soothed. Yet in the dis-
tance, across the valley, the gloom
had begun to gather. Once
Lizschen tried to penetrate
this gloom, but the effort to see
what the darkmess was hiding tired
her eyes. .
The newspapers the next day
were full of the amazing story of
the stolen painting. They told how
the attendants of the gallery had
discovered the break in the line of
paintings and had immediately no-
tified the manager of the place, who
at once asked the number of the
picture. '
«It's number thirty-eight,” they
told him. He seized a catalogue,
turned to No. 38, and turned pale. !
“It's Corot’s Spring Twilight!” he!
“It cost the owner three
parting day,
The newspapers went on to tell |
how the best detectives had been
set to work to trace the stolen!
painting, how all the thieves’ dens !
in New York had been ransacked |
and all the thieves questioned and
cross-questioned, all the pawnshops |
searched—and it all had resulted in|
nothing. But such excitement rare. |
ly leaks into the Ghetto, and Braun, |
at his machine, heard nothing of it, |
knew nothing of it, knew nothing |
of anything in the world save that !
the machines were roaring away in
his brain and that Lizschen was!
dying. As soon as his work was |
. done he went to her. She smiled
at him, but was too weak to speak. |
He seated himself beside the bed |
and took her hand in his. All day |
long she had been -ooking at the |
picture; alll day long she had been |
wandering along the road that ran |
over the hill, and aow night had |
come and she was weary. But her |
eyes were glad, and wnen she turn-
ed them upon Braun he saw in
them love unutterable dnd happiness |
beyond all description. His eyes |
were dry; he held her hand and |
stroked it mechanically; he knew:
not what to say. Then she fell]
asleep and he sat there hour after |
hour, heedless of the flight of time. |
Suddenly Lizschen sat upright, her |
eyes wide open and staring.
«I hear them,” she cried. ‘“Ihear
them plainly. “Don’t you, liebchen ?
The sheep are coming! They're com-
ing over the hill! Watch, liebchen; |
watch, precious!”
With all the force that remained |
in her she clutched his hand and |
pointed to the painting at the foot |
of the bed. Then she swayed from
side to side, and he caught her in
| his arms.
i “Lizschen!” he cried. “Lizschen!”
But her head fell upon his arm and
lay motionless.
The doctor came and saw at a
glance that the patient was beyond
his ministering. “It is over, my
friend,” he said to Braun. At the
sound of a voice, Braun started,
looked around him quite bewildered,
and then drew a long breath which
seemed to lift him out of the stupor
into which he had rallen. “Yse, it is
over,” he said, and, according to
the custom of the orthodox, he
tore a rent in his coat at the neck
to the extent of a hand's breadth.
Then he took the painting under his
‘m and left the house.
It was now nearly two o'clock in
wanted to
MILE-A-MINUTE-MARTY
GES 7
*n
ME CATCH THAT / . CoP
SQ PEEDER
C . TRIE 15 TH
VICK, MARTY -HELP |TLIQ 3
Co., Bellefonte, Pa
SO \T'S You, MARTY // FIRST
You TELL ME To Go YO
DECKE
AND GET A GOOD FAST
CAR, THEN You BRING
A COP TO PINCH
+ Decker Chevrolet
TI
Ford Coupe
Ford Coupe
1924
1927
Chevrolet Sedan
Ford Roadster Steel
1924
1926
1927
1928
1925
Studebaker Sedan
Essex Sedan
Essex Coupe
Oldsmobile Sedan
Overland Touring ......
Box & Wire Wheels..
Chevrolet Roadster a
DECKER
, 1927 Chevrolet 11% Ton Truck 1929 Chevrolet Coach ......... $ 425.00
, Open express ............. $ 150.00 1929 Chevrolet Coupe . $ 425.00
$ 35.00 1926 Stewart Truck Cattle 1929 Ford Coupe XE a
.$ 75.00 rack .... vabrenebirintuninsed 150.00 1929... Ford Roadster ............ $ 325.00
1928 Chevrolet Truck all new 1930 Ford Coupe. 2000 mile..$ 475.00
.$ 65.00 ITO ..itoarionresrersonnuss $ 275.00
.$ 35.00 1925 Mazyell Sedan $ 150.0
.$ 50.00 192 ash Sedan ........ $ 275. i
$ 150.00 1928 Chevrolet Sedan $ 350.00 All the above used cars are In
.$ 250.00 1927 Buick Sedan master spected—Reducoed good Tires and
.$ 100.00 SIX. .ieemsriarseeseid $ 475.00 mechanieal overhauled.
CHE
OLET CO.
Phone 405...... BELLEFONTE, PA.
the morning and the streets were
deserted. A light rain had begun to
fall, and Braun took off his coat to
wrap it around his burden. He
walked like one in a dream, seeing
nothing, hearing nothing save a dull
monotonous roar which seemed to
come from all directions and to cen-
ter in his brain.
The doors of the gallery were
closed and all was dark. Braun
looked in vain for a bell, and after
several ineffectual taps on the door
began to pound lustily with his fist
and heel. Several night stragglers
stopped in the rain, and presently a
small group had gathered. Ques-
tions were put to Braun, but he did
not hear them. He kicked and
ounded on the door, and the noise
resounded through the streets as if
it would arouse the dead. Presently
the group heard the rattling of bolts
and the creaking of a rusty lock,
and all became quiet. The door
| swung open, and a frightened watch-
man appeared.
«What's the matter?
fire?” he asked.
Is there a
of the men.
A policeman made his way through
the group amd
from Braun
out uttering a word
out the painting, and at the
amazement and delight.
“It’s the stolen Corot!”
claimed.
“Where did you get it?
he ex.
reward?”
shoulder.
“Not so fast, young man.
have to give some account of how
you got this,” he said.
Braun
the policeman became suspicious. “I
guess you'd better come to the sta-
tion house,” he said, and without
looked inquiringly |
to the watchman. With- |
Braun held |
sight | of surprise, no shock.
of it the watchman uttered a cry of
| case of
Braun's lips moved, but no sound |
came from them, and he turned on |
his heel and began to walk off, when ,
the policeman laid a hand on his |
| she had found in the cup.
You'll |
looked at him stupidly, and |Yes.
near Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and offered
what then was a high h
though he was looking for a larger shipment.
Remembering several
quality calves for sale,
by telephone and closed an advantageous deal
The whole transaction was
completed in less than an hour.
with the broker.
LIVESTOCK dealer
telephoned a farmer
price for five calves, al-
neighbors who had good
the farmer bought nine
| The Modern Farm Home
Has « TELEPHONE
more ado walked off with his prison-
er. Braun made no resistance,
no surprise, offered no explanation.
At the station house they asked him
many questions, but Braun only
looked vacantly at the questioner
and had nothing to say. They lock-
ed him in a cell over night, a
gloomy cell that opened on a dimly
lighted corridor, and there Braun
sat until the day dawned, never
moving, never speaking. Once, dur-
ing the night, the watchman on duty
lin this corridor thought he heard a
“Lizschen! Lizsch-'
voice whispering,
en!” but it must have been the rain
that now was pouring in torrents.
«There the wicked cease from
troubling; and there the weary be at
rest.
«There the prisoners rest togeth-
er; they hear not the voice of the
oppressor.
“The small and the great are
there; and the servant is free from
his master.”
It is written in Israel that the
rabbi must give his services at the
death-bed of even the lowliest. The
coffin rested on two stools in the
room in which she died; beside it
the rabbi, clad in somber garments,
reading in a listless, mechanical
fashion from the Hebrew text of
the Book of Job, interpolating here
and there some time-worn, common-
place phrase of praise, of . exhorta.
tation, of consolation. He had not
known her; this was merely part of
his daily work.
The sweat-shop had been closed
for an hour; for one hour the ma-
chines stood silent and deserted; the
toilers were gathered around the
coffin, listening to the rabbi. They
were pale and gaunt, but not from
grief. The machines had done that.
They had rent their garments aT
the neck, to the extent of a hand's
preadth, but not from grief. Itwas
the law. A figure that they had be-
come accustomed to see bending
~ver one of the machines had finish-
ed her last garment. Dry-eyed, in
a sort of mild wonder, they had
come to the funepal services. And
some were still breathing heavily
from the morning’s work. Afterall,
it was pleasant to sit quiet for one
hour.
Some one whispered the name of
Braun, and they looked around.
Braun was not there.
«He will not come,” whispered one
“It is in the news.
paper. He was sent to prison for
three years. Stole something. A
picture, I think. I am not sure.”
Those who heard slowly shook
their heads. There was no feeling
And what
He had been
was there to say?
| one of them. He had drunk out of
| the same cup with them.
Then turing to Braun. |
Who had.
it? Who had it? Do you claim the
They
knew the taste. What mattered the
one particular dreg that he found ?
They had no curiosity. In the
Nitza, it was her baby who
was dying because she could not
buy it che proper food. Nitza had
told them. And so when Nitza had
cut her throat they all knew who
Braun
hadn't told—but what mattered it?
Probably something more bitter than
eall, And three years in prison?
To be sure. He had stolen
something.
“Wherefore is light given to him
that is in misery,” droned the rabbi,
felt |
| “and life unto the bitter in soul:
«Which long for death, but it
cometh not; and dig for it more
than for hidden treasures.
It seems proper, in view of the sudden death
of Mr. C. E. Robb, who for the past twenty-five
years has devoted himself wholly to the interests of
this institution, to make public acknowledgment of
his services ; to testify to his ability, to his absolute
integrity, and to his strong sense of duty. Fre-
quently, during the past few years, when it was ap-
parent that he needed a prolonged rest, he could not
be persuaded to relax his work, but continued it in
the face of growing weakness. His accuracy and
methodical habits were reflected in his work, and in
his death the Bank has lost a valued assistant
Cras. M. McCurpy, President.
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK
BELLEFONTE, PA.
«Which rejoice exceedingly, and
are glad, when they can find the
grave?”
And the rabbi, faithful in the
performance of his duty, went ou to
expound and explain. But this
hearers could not tarry much long-
er. The hour was nearing its end
and the machines would soon have
to start again.
It is an old story in the Ghetto,
one that lovers tell to their sweet-
hearts who always cry when they
hear it. The machines stili roar
and whir as if a legion of wild
spizits were shrieking within them,
and many a tear is stitched into the
garments, but you never see them,
madame—no, gaze as intently upon
your jacket as you will, the tear
has left no stain. There is an old
man at the corner machine, gray-
haired and worn, but he works
briskly. He is the first to arrive
each morning and the last to leave
each night, and all his soul is in his
work. His machine is an old one
and roars louder than the rest, but
he does not hear it. Day and night,
sleeping and waking, there are a
‘ hundred thousand machines roar-
| ing away in his brain. What cares
he for one more or one less—By
| Bramo Lessing, in McClure’s Maga-
| zine.
WILL PAY BOUNTY
FOR GOSHAWK BODIES
The $5 bounty paid by the Game
Commission for the body of each
goshawk will again become effective
on November 1 and continue until
May 1. Last year bounties were
paid on seventy-six goshawks.
In reminding hunters of the boun-
ty officers of the Commission again
called attention to the characteristics
of the goshawk and urged that
harmless hawks be spared.
Goshawks are about two feet in
length, have long tails and short
‘wings. They are all gray in color,
do not soar, but fly swiftly as close
to the ground as conditions permit.
Commission officers estimate that
a goshawk which takes up quarters
in a region where pheasants are
plentiful, will kill at least one bird
each day. ;
WOLF PACK FORECASTS
A LONG, COLD WINTER.
Button up your overcoat!
There's a long severe winter. ahead,
fur on the famous McCleery wolf
pack, of fierce Lobo and Arctic
wolves indicates.
The fur at present is an almost
infallible prognostication, according
to Dr. E. H. McCleery. This year
their shaggy bodies are covered with
a fur of unusual weight and coarse-
ness and gives indications that deep
snows will cover the present dried-
up grass this coming. winter.
— Timely talks on farm and gar-
‘den topics are given at noon Mon-
day, Wednesday, and Friday from
WPSC, the Pennsylvania State Col-
lege radio station. The . station
operates on a frequency of 1230
kilocycles.
Men and Young Men
Now is Your Opportunity—Unheard of Savings
on Suits and Overcoats.....
$22.50 $25.00 $27.50
—Values up to $45.00. All Sizes—All Models—
All Hand-Tailored. It's the most unusual
showing of High Class Clothes—at prices that
actually Save You From Ten to Fifteen Dollars
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