The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-03-08

arms StretCDeu ont before ner, COM
menced the search. In and out among
the barrels and boxes she went in the
utter blackness, calling out merrily now
and then that she would find him and
punish him for giving her SO much
tr: uble. Once she almost touched the
shrinking figure |; but il held its breath,
and she passed on.
1t was weird game of hide-and-seek
the dark figure with the ugly face COVER
ing among the wheels, listening with
strange kind of savage fear to the light
footsteps that sounded now here, now
there /; he heard them climb the ladder
and patter about in the loft overhead,
then come down again, and the voice
not SO merry now-repeat her assurance
of finding the truant, and n sudden de-
sire entered his brain to spring upon her
and choke her. 1t would not be the 6rst
time he had done such deed, but her
perfect audacity seemed to paralyze him,
and again she passed him all unconscious.
He saw her pause in the doorway, dimly
outlined against the sky, and then dis
appear down the path.
"Ef she amt the pluckiest I'm - he
growled, as he crept from behind the
carriage. Hanged eff she amt ghost
or suthin." And with this peculiar COM
ment on Mrs. Cuthbert's bravery, he
shook himself and made his way out of
the barn with sidelong gait, as if he
was used to Sinking in and out of places.
Mrs. Cuthbert meanwhile sped ON to
the house, her steps hastened by the
idea that her husband might be there
perhaps he had slipped out of the barn
while she was up in the loft, or perhaps
he had not gone into the barn at all.
Alas for her hopes The sitting-room
was empty, and just as she had left it.
Not despairing yet, she snatched up
the lamp, and determined to search the
house. From room to room she went,
calling upon George, and looking into
every closet and behind and under every
article of furniture, but not glimpse Of
her husband gladdened her eyes, and at
last she sat down by the baby's cradle
and burst into tears.
"Oh, how can he be so crnel !" she
sobbed, "and for such little thing. He
might have known 1 was only in fun
but maybe he's only in fun himself, and
will come i'll soon."
Cheered by this last reflection, she
trotted briskly down stairs, stirred the
fire into blaze, and stood watching it,
: too fidgety to settle to her sewing again.
The wood famed noisily, then glowed q
silent red, then crumbled and FELL an un-
tidy, dreary mass of whitened ashes and
dying embers, and still her husband did
: not come.
, The clock struck nine, and Mrs. Cuth-
| bert looked at it reproachfully, as if il
/ was the time pieces fault that it was SC
late. Where was her husband? Per,
haps he was wandering about in the dark,
unable to find the house. Why hadn't
she thought of that before? She would
, put lamp in every room. =.
: And in few minutes lights were
twinkling from I'll the windows, giving
the little cottage G:.te gay and festive
air. Who could have guessed that &
} lonely woman and sleeping child were
its sole occupants Not lie dark figure
with the ugly face, doubled up under
: the lilac bushes that bordered the gravel
path.
AS the hours wore on, another dark
!; figure joined the one of the ugly face,
) and was greeted with an oath upon his
laziness, and the information that
something was up" that the first
chance was "spiled," and they would
have to clay to awhile; y and then both
the dark figures, with many a curse ano
: shiver, crouched together, bidding theil
: time.
Poor Mrs. Cuthbert, as the night crept
, on, wandered from window to window
with the vague feeling that if she coulo
not see her husband from one, she might
! from another. Sometimes she stood al
) the door, listening intently, and conjur
| ing every breath of wind into the longeG
for footsteps. her heart dying within hel
J at each fresh disappointment. She
| must have walked miles in that smal
} house; the baby waved restless, and she
was up many times to replace the cover
ings that the sturdy little legs had thrown
: off in climbing the invisible mountain
: that a child is always ascending in hi'
sleep.
The clock struck one. How like the
: voice Of fate it sounded 1t was not Il
all the cheerful ting that, when the SUI
was shining, had announced the dinnel
r hour that day.
A distant dog barked, and Mrs. Cuth
+ bert rushed to the door; she had resum
. ed her sewing to keep herself from going
} distracted, and she still clasped it in he
, hand. What a black, black night ant
how cold the wind was Hark she wal
certain she heard voices by the gate
J Yes; she did. Just then the baby began
: to cry, and only stopping to call back
"In a moment, darling" she plunged
down the walk.
All was silent; there was no one there
| She stood with her hand upon the gate
few seconds, looking eagerly up the road
and then walked slowly back to th'
, house.
As the front door closed, the lilac busl
, by the gate quivered, and two dark fig
ures crawled from under it.
When Mrs. Cuthbert laid the baby il
! his cradle, after singing him back to tht
invisible mountains, the clock strucl
two, and Mrs. Cuthbert looked hopeless
7 ness in the face.
George was never coming home, sh
) decided. 1t was no use watching; h
was never coming home any more. Then
, as the next gust of wind sent twig rat
Ting on the gravel, she was at the win
dow, straining her eyes as she had beel
doing all the evening.
How strange every familiar object il
the house seemed the light burned ST
Whitley, and the sitting-room looked 81
! uncanny, with the tea table spread, ant
, the hands Of the clCck marking the small
hours. An unreasonable moth wen
banging about the ceiling with wha
sounded tremendous noise in that deaC
silence, and the fire refused point blanl
| l. II FL - L. 1f,,1o y