Story of Chester Lawrence

Story of Chester Lawrence

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Title: Story of Chester Lawrence
Author: Nephi Anderson
Release Date: October 15, 2004 [EBook #13756]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Story of Chester Lawrence
Being the Completed Account of One who Played an Important Part in
"Piney Ridge Cottage"
By NEPHI ANDERSON Author of "Added Upon," "The Castle

Builder," "Piney Ridge Cottage," etc.
THE DESERET NEWS Salt Like City, Utah 1913

Books by Nephi Anderson.
ADDED UPON, Fifth and Enlarged Edition. A story illustrating
"Mormon" teachings regarding the past, the present, and the future
states of existence.
THE CASTLE BUILDER. The scenes and characters are from Norway,
the Land of the Midnight Sun.
MARCUS KING, MORMON, is the story of a convert to
"Mormonism" who came to Utah in early pioneer days.
PINEY RIDGE COTTAGE, the love story of a "Mormon" country girl.
A YOUNG FOLKS' HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. The story of the
"Mormon" Church is told in simple, interesting chapters.
_All bound in beautiful cloth, with gold titles_, Price, 75 cents each.
DESERET NEWS BOOK STORE, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Story of Chester Lawrence.
CHAPTER I.
It was raining when the ship was ready to sail; yet on the pier a large
crowd of people stood under dripping umbrellas, waving and shouting
farewells to their friends on board. The departing passengers, most of
them protected by an upper deck, pressed four deep against the rail, and
waved and shouted in return.
The belated passenger, struggling with heavy hand baggage, scrambled

up the gang-plank. The last visitors were hustled ashore; amid noise
and bustle, the plank was drawn away, and the ship was clear. A tremor
ran through the vessel as the propeller began to move, and soon there
was a strip of water between the pier and the ship. Then a tiny tug-boat
came alongside, fastened itself to the steamer, and with calm assurance,
guided its big brother safely into the harbor and down the bay. The
people on shore merged into one dark object; the greetings became
indistinct; the great city itself, back of the pier, melted into a gray mass
as seen through the rain.
Chester Lawrence stood on the deck of the departing vessel and
watched the interesting scene. He stood as one apart from the crowd,
having no portion with either those on board or those left behind. He
was a spectator only. Not a soul in that mass of humanity on the pier,
not one in the big city, knew Chester Lawrence or had a thought for
him. No one cared whether his voyage would be pleasant or otherwise.
There were no tears for him, or fears that he would not return in safety.
Of the hundreds of waving handkerchiefs, none was meant for him; but
as a last show of good-fellowship and as a farewell greeting to his
native land, Chester waved once with the rest.
The rain continued as the ship dropped down the bay and came safely
into the open sea. Some of the passengers then hurried below, while
others lingered on deck to see as long as possible the fast-receding land.
Chester took his time. He had seen that his grips had been safely
stowed away in his state room, so he had no worries, as others seemed
to have, regarding his belongings. The ship hands (sailors they cannot
now be called) were busy clearing the deck and getting things into their
proper places. The vessel pointed fairly into the vast eastern sea. The
land became a dark, fast-thinning line on the western horizon, and then
even that was swallowed up in the mist of rain.
"Well, good-by, old home, good-by thou goodly Land of Joseph,"
spoke Chester, half aloud, as he stood for one intense moment facing
the west, then turned to go down into his room. The rain must at last
have reached him for his eyes were so blurred that he bumped rather
abruptly into an elderly man who was standing at his elbow.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," said Chester.
"It was nothing, sir. I, too, was just bidding farewell to the Land of
Joseph, and I fear my sight was also rather dim."
Chester paused and looked at the man who had heard and repeated his
remark. No one but a Latter-day Saint would call America