Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-05-14

into his empty veins. You told me
SO! Look at him! Oh, dear! oh,
dear!" and the little girl seemed al
most frantic with an unnamed terror.
l did look at John, and suddenly it
all flashed over me. There, in the
emaciated features of the GONZALES
cent, were truly the distinguishing
characteristics of a sleeps face
The absence of hair emphasized the
peculiar effect from the sloping lines
to the frontal bones; the long nose,
gently bending in aristogratic curve
at the end, continued the ovine con-
tour; and the conformation Of lips
and chin, as his head was leaned
family back on the pillow, completed
the resemblance Once with the idea
in my head, there was no escaping it..
Johns face did look like that of 4
sheep as he lay there. Even the pal
lor Of his skin, the drawn and sunken
appearance of the muscles of his
cheeks, and the pinched and white
lips, added to the caricature, whose
fantastic singnificancc grew more
horribly vivid with each instant.
The look of blank amazement which
came into his eyes as he noticed the
momentary hesitation of his betrothed
completed the portraiture.
Mamie was trembling like leaf.
There was nothing to be done but to
break the spell as quickly as possible.
"John, old fellow" said l, stepping
forward with Mamie like a dead
weight OH my arm, "your companion
in convalescence brings you greet
ing"
With the best intentions in the
world, l had precipitated the crisis.
Had Mamie been allowed to exchange
the first word in the close whispers
of which lovers are so fond, she
might have forgotten sheep and
everything else in the happy con-
sciousness Of John again. But there
she was, half way across the room,
when John, compelled to make an
effort to speak aloud, tried to say:
"Welcome, Mamie"
The very essence of the strident
tones left by the fever in his voice
seemed condensed in those two
words. 1t was too much for the
overwrought imagination of my
cousin.
"Hc bleats! oh, Frank, he bleats!!"
1t was really agonizing and horri
bic enough, as that poor girl sunk on
my arm, to recognize in the voice of
a sick man a striking resemblance to
the plant Of the animal whose like
ness he seemed to have acquired.
He was astonished, too.
"Mamie" he cried again, making
greater exertion than before, and
thus rendering his tone yet more un-
natural, "Mamier'
ooh, don't! please don't" cried the
girl, now utterly frantic. 'Take me
away! You have changed him! Oh,
my John, my John! why did they
change your blood?"
Mr.. Stuart and l whisked her OF
of the room as quickly as we could
fearing the effect both upon herself
and upon John. And as we went
from the room pathetic exclamations
of "Mamie! Mamie! Nam" and
the door closed upon what seemed
only too like the bleatings Of the
Cotswold whose blood now flowed
in the veins of our unlucky friend.
The drive home, as may be i'm
agined, was not altogether pleasant.
But for the pathos of Mamie's col
lapsed condition l believe Uncle
Suart's almost motherly tenderness
would have given way before the in
dignation swelling in his heart. The
poor girl lay there on the cushions,
her bloodless face contrasting pitt:
fully with their rich crimson, moan
ing, with now and then huttering
sob, seemingly stricken in heart and
body. There was nothing for it but
to get her home as soon as possible.
1t was not a bad relapse. Mamie
picked up again in few days, and
came down stairs one sunny autumn
afternoon, looking some stronger
John, for his part, not fully compre-
hending the state of affairs, and being
allowed only to know that Mamie
had been taken suddenly sick because
of her weak condition, and was
promptly recovering, worried his
honest heart but little. This could
not last.
"Mamie," said I, the second day of
her appearance down stairs, 'the doc
tor lets John drive out this afternoon,
and will bring him around to throw
kiss to your window"
"Don't do it, Frank" said my
cousin, with solemnity for which l
was not prepared; "don't do it, for l
can't" and here came sob and a
sudden flow of tears, 81 can't see
him."
"My silly little cousin, said | draw
ing near tor the purpose Of admins
tering certain cousinly consultations.
But Mamie put out one thin hand to
repulse me.
''No, Frank; 1 don't want anything
of that sort. l know l am silly /
know l am wicked, and know that
all liars have their part in the lake
that burneth with coal and brim-
stone," said Mamie, with a quaint
misquotation, as if she would spare
herself nothing in the way of pro-
spective torment for her perfdy.-
But when l promised John to love
him forever, he was John. Now he
is something else-you know-you
helped change him-you saw him
take his life from that-that-sheep"
This was supremely absurd, but l
saw Mamie was rapidly exciting her
self, and thought silence my best role.
Hardly pausing to dab each of her
eyes with a small wet square of a
handkerchief, she continued, rapidly:
81 saw 1t in his face, I heard 1t In
his voice. Oh, Frank, don't make
me think of it. Why do you?" like
her supposititious ancestor, the wolf,
falsely accused me of muddying the
stream of her thoughts. 81 never
can look at him again. He used to
say he could breed an animal that
should equal a human being. Now