CHAPTER VII.

In the bleak December two elders came from Zion, the holy city in Missouri, bringing the history of dire tribulation.

It was a cold night; the first snow was falling upon the wings of a gale.  Susannah was sitting alone quietly working out problems in algebra, in which study Smith had desired that her elder pupils should advance.  The storm beat upon the window pane, and set the bright logs of the fireplace now flaming and now smoking, the varnished wooden walls dimly reflecting light and shadow.

Halsey had been out to see the newcomers, who were staying at the prophet’s house.  It was late when she heard his tread, muffled in the drifted snow.  He hardly paused to shake it from his clothes before he came near.  She saw that he was in a mood of strong grief and excitement.

“Angel,” she spoke pityingly, “you have had a hard, hard day; you have stayed so very late at this evening’s conference.”  She held out her hand to him.  “Do not tell me to-night if you can rest before telling.”  Young as she was, her countenance, as she lifted it toward him, was motherly.  She remembered what a mere boy he was, fair and hopeful, when she had first seen him three years before, and now strong lines of purpose and endurance were written upon the face that was thin and pale, the paler, it seemed, because of the transient colour that the storm had given a moment since to the clear skin.

“I would that thou didst not need to hear, but it is not for us to turn our eyes from that which the Lord hath written for our instruction in the suffering of our brethren.”  Then he added, “The elders from Zion have told us all.  There was great joy and prosperity among them, and the more foolish boasted of their wealth to the Gentiles, saying also that the Lord had given the whole land to them for an inheritance.”

“That, indeed, was very foolish,” said Susannah.

“Nay, but it was small blame to them, for that which they said is true.  But among the Gentiles the political demagogues began to be afraid that we should rule the country by the number of our votes.  The Gentiles gathered together in the town of Independence, and three hundred of them signed a declaration demanding that every one in Zion should sell all that he possessed and leave the country within a certain time, and that none other of us should settle there.”

“But forced sale would mean that no fair value would be given for the property; it would be simple robbery,” she cried; “and they call this the land of freedom!”

“They appealed to the Governor of Missouri, but they found that the Lieutenant-Governor, a man called Boggs, was among the fiercest of the persecutors.  As for the Governor himself, he advised them to resort to the courts for damages.”

“What next?” She was impatient at a pause he made.

He knelt down upon the floor in front of her, laying a calming hand upon her shoulder.  “Susannah, there is this one great cause for our deep gratitude to heaven, that this time all our elders with one voice called upon our people to bear with patience, to cry to God to cleanse their hearts from all anger and revenge.”