The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1870-02-18

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ing his own name, and directing to
"Mrs. ID. T. Thorpe" at some small
town in Pennsylvania.
A few days later, while the fever was
still on the increase, the Doctor remark
ed, taking mp his hat to go:
"I'm afraid the young mans mother
will not get here, after all she writes a
dreadfuliy wo-begone sort of letter.
pulling out his account book II
thought had brought it along with
me: must have left it in the Office !;
however, it doesn't signify; IL short,
she says she hasn't any money to travel
on"
Hannah and Matilda exchanged
glances. "fDon't you think this is a
rainy day?" asked Hannah. Matilda
nodded.
'We've two hundred dollars in the
bank, Doctor. It's got to come out
sooner or later; it couldn't come in q
better cause. How much wonld it be
necessary to send %
Il suppose thirty dollars would an
swer her purpose"
1--WE win send it to-day" said Han
nah.
SBut you can't take it out without q
sortnight's notice" objected DIR. Elder
berry.
f:Dear mel" they both sighed, and
looked at each other in dismay. Mon
ey in the bank, and no power to touch
it under fourteen days! Why, they
might starve in that time.
"Ill advance you the money" said
DR.. Elderberry, catching their enthusi-
asm. "I'll go right off and mail the let
ter with q post-ofice order.n
f'Thank you, thank you'll" they cried
in chorus ga friend in need is a friend
indeed. You shall be repaid as far a.
money can do ik, when the fortnight is
over I'll get our old neighbor, Mr..
Burns, to carry the notice to the fBul-
wark' this blessed day."
"Pll carry it myself" persisted the
Doctor. 'pm going by the door; and
so he took another look at his patient,
and went about his business.
They took turns, these feeble women,
to watch night after night at David's
bedside, no matter what pain and wear
mess assailed them; they carried the
prescriptions to the druggists, whatey-
er the weather, with their own hands,
and had them made up under their eyes,
jealous of possible mistakes.
81 think he was sent to us, said Han
nah. eff he should leave us now, it
would be like tearing the heart from
the living body"
aft had been his mother" affirmed
Matilda, 81 would have begged my way
rather than delay an instant" 1t did
not occur to Hannah to answer that she
had begged her way, in fact. And
then they spoke softly of David's vir-
tues, of his goodness how like son
he had been to them, shedding tears
between the words-never SO happy as
when they were saying or doing some
thing for him!
allow handsome he is I" said Matilda,
once, while bathing the unconscious
head "does he ever remind you of any
one?"
eyes," answered Hannah, turning
away her face. DIR. Elderberry dropped
in next day to say, among other things,
that Mrs. Thorpe was on her way, and
would probably reach town by night
fall of the following day the fever had
not yet turned; it was running high /;
but he hoped that, with navid's con-
stitution, there would be strength left
to build on. Matilda put the neglected
rooms to rights, and did Gerry little ba-
king, by way of preparation for their
expected guest; she rubbed the old fire.
dogs in the keep-ing-room, polished the
furniture with sweet-oil and hartshorn /;
filed pair of China vases, bought at
long-ago fair, with paper f1owers-a
very convenient arrangement, as the
vases refused to hold water, and the It's
sue roses could live without it; so she
sighed over the cracked porcelain, a
remnant of ancient luxury, and looked
nervously out of the window at eveT.y
peal of sleighbells. But dusk drew
down, and no one had knocked at the
door.
Hannah had left David's side for the
first time that day, and had gone down
to drink hasty cup of tea, to keep her
awake during the long vigil to come,
when the door softly opened, and there
was a rustic of garments in the entry,
and the creaking OF, boots as DIR. Elder
berry stepped into the room. Hannah
sat there before the meagre blaze sip
ping her tea, and thinking, with tears
in her hungry eyes, of her old grief and
her new; the freight pranked along
the ceiling, and mimicked itself in the
darkening windowpane, and flashed in
the scant display of glass on the old
buffet, and encircled the brooding wo-
man in q sort of tender halo; she was
so abstracted that she had not heard DIR.
Elderberry enter-did not know of his
neighborhood till he touched her gently,
saying:
$50 you are taking little rest?
That's right. Here is some one who
will thank you for your trouble"
Whose business was it to thank her for
doing her own pleasure? "Here is
DaVid's motherp
Hannah's heart gave great tumultu-
GUS throb as she staggered to her feet to
receive her guest-this strange woman
who had more right to David than she
had, whom she loved best-his motheri
1t was the came kind of pain, only diff
ferent in degree, as that which had rent
her soul once before but she smother
ed it now as something unrighteous,
and held out her hand in welcome,
"Yo on haye had a cold journey, Mrs.
Thorpe" she said; "come and warm
yourself before going up to see David"
A little shudder run through David's
mother; it may have been the draught
from the door that affected her, but she
did not change her position, nor move
forward into the circle of light about
the hearth; she paused an instant, too,
before replying, playing nervously with
the ribbon on her cape. ''Thank you,"
she said, then, still standing where
Hannah's welcome had arrested her,
''Dr. Elderberry never told mel"
The hand in which Hannah held the
match she had just struck made an in
voluntary lunge downward, and only,
escaped extinguishing the jagged point
of blue flame struggling for life there /;
then she lifted it above her head and let
the little ray illuminate the face before
her. "DelilahI Delilaht" she cried,
and the flame was quenched, and they
confronted each other in darkness.
DR.. Elderberry had slipped up stairs
to his patient.
"Shall go away 2" asked Mrs. Thorpe,
still standing and hesitating.
"And leave David? Do you think I
have sent all this distance for YOU
Pennsylvania seemed to Miss Hannah
almost as remote as the Mountains of
the Moon-''in order to send you back
again ?"
HBut you did not know"
''Ihdt would have made no difference.
1 would never part mother and son."
E'Yet did worse"
"Ah? did not mean to rebuke you,
Delilah. Let by-gones be by-gones.
You are David's mother, and"
"You might have been. All me, you
don't believe it, perhaps; but you have
never been out of my mind. He never
loved me, and no wonder. He called
you with his last breath 1 did wrong,
Hannah-I knew it then-the knowl-
edge has been with me every day of
every year since poisoning my life. ]
have repented in sackcloth and ashes,
and still the faint remains. Can goa
20 81