Indiana University - Arbutus Yearbook (Bloomington, IN)

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IMS i It ' s a dismal sort of dump! Dingley said wearily. You have no appreciation for the artistic, Benton an- swered, shifting his artist ' s kit from one arm to the other. Perhaps not, Dingley said. But we ' ve come all the way up here, and I suppose we might as well go into the cathe- dral and sec what it ' s like. They approached the entrance. Unchallenged, they passed under the wide portal and through a lofty vestibule into the dim interior. Far off, before the altar probably, tall wa. candles were burning. The atmosphere was close and op- pressive. As their eyes became accustomed to the dim light the in- terior gradually took more definite form. Faded old pictures of the saints hung along the walls. Before numerous shrines smoky lamps were burning. The two young men surveyed it all in silence. ' l o the artist there were tones and colors. To Dingley, the setting for a romance. A whining voice interiupted their reflections. Senor! Senor! Benton turned. The Sacristan, a stunted, crippled native, stood before them iiolding a candle in his hand. Senor! said the Sacristan, for a piece of gold I will show you our treasure — the picture of the Christ. The picture — Benton began. Oh, Senor! Such a picture! Great, large, magnificent! Benton turned to Dingley. What about it? he asked. This must be the picture of which we heard. Shall we see it? Of course! Dingley laughed. Benton held out a piece of gold to the Sacristan. Show us your picture, he said. The Sacristan hobbled along ahead of them, leading the way out into the entrance hall. From there they entered a dark corridor where the Sacristan ' s candle threw eerie shadows L.

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Johnny took his degree and went home and cultivated onions. He proved to be an A-number-one onion raiser. He raised the most beautiful, the most delicious young onions in the county. People came fnr miles to buy his onions. Tiie thing that surprised him most was tiiat wiiat little intellect lie had acquired came in handy in tiic onion business. You do not have to be a higii brow just because you iia ' e read a lot. Johnny was not satisfied with ordinary onions. He sciiemed around to find a way to raise onions de luxe. It was only last week that Johnny had his wizard god- mamma over to an onion banquet. He liad told her tiiat he was going to spring something new in the onion line, and slie was fearfully impatient, altiiough siie was a wizard, until tiic banquet bell was rung, ' i at do you tiiink Johnny served? Odorless young onions, that is what. Young onions without an odor, raised in his own garden. Odorless onions, Johnnv Jenkweltner, inventor. Mrs. God-mamma was tickled almost to death, and Johnny was glad that he had chosen onions as his life job. They say that he is working now on onions with vari- ous flavors, like a soda fountain. By next season, he will be able to furnish you with strawberry onions or pineapple onions, and, maybe, banana onions. F Jm E X D CORPUS c. H R I s r I Y M A A At last! said Benton with genuine relief. TItc expression was called forth by the final attainment of the cathedral square after a half-hour ' s pull up tiie long hill from the quay. The South American sun beat down pitilessly, and Benton and Dingley had felt their flesh cooking beneath the khaki. L DIAJ

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lEC ODiiai on the rough stone walls. At the end of tiiis corridor was a huge bolted door. After much clanking of iron tiie door opened. The room within was dark. The caiuilc sent a feeble gleam to the opposite wall, dii which Bentdn made uLit dimly the outlines of a large picture. The Sacristan called and a door on the left opened, admit- ting two natives. Under the Sacristan ' s directions they threw open the window shutters, admitting the daylight. The picture flashed out as if by magic. It was a huge can- vas on which the Christ was represented as being taken down from the cross to be prepared by the women for burial. The most noticeable thing about the picture was the body of the Christ: it stood out with peculiar distinctness ; it seemed almost luminous. Wonderful! Benton cried. The work of some great master. With the eagerness of the artist he examined the painting more closely. In it were subtleties of color such as he had seldom seen before. AA ' ith a magnifying glass he went over certain parts carefully, noting the wonderful technique. Unconsciously he laid his right hand on the body of the Christ. At the same moment a qtiick, angry voice sounded behind him: Beware! It is death, stranger! One of the natives had spoken. Benton started back. The Sacristan ga e a borrihed cry. An old priest came hurrying in. Tumult arose. Cries, curses, imprecations sounded from all directions. From nowhere and everywhere men seemed to come — angry men gesticulating wildly. Benton gazed about him in horror. Dinglev stood surveying the scene with a puzzled look. The tumult increased. Benton, cowering, frightened, aghast, was the center of a wild crowd, each one of whom pointed at him an accusing finger, crving: Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi ! He has dared ' touch the ' bodv of Christ! J