Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-01-25

leave any till next day. But I'll see about
it,"
She disappeared behind the honey-suckle
| that hung over the porch, but she did not
| come bnck. The sound of tcmpCstuous sob
| bing came from within, and it was plain she
had either been disappointed of the sugar
cakes, or, us was more likely, forbidden Il So
cial chat with tramp.
The man took no heed Of her absence. lie
lifted his eyes and looked across the river to
| lIopefcld the little town so white and still
But to him it seemed TO run with blood and
ring with sound. His teeth clonched togeth-
CT; his eyes glowcd in his set face like eyes
in discoored marble. Close by the river
! bank was his home, log house weather
boarded, that he had built himself. lie could
see the zigzag line of the fence and the holly
hooks growing by the window. He had plant
ed them there two years ago, when he mar
ried little Betty Hill and brought her home.
| What those years had been to him he and
God knew. He was poor, but Betty had
made him love his daily work He was ig-
norant, but Betty had been his teacher. He
was rough, but Betty was fine. That for
which men have
RansacAed the ages, spoiled the climes.
had come to him pressed down and running
over And now
Wrenching his mind from that horrible
now he threw back his thoughts to the
early days of his love and hers ''she alays
belonged to me. l learnt her ter swim an
ter fish an ter row. We gathered hick'ry-
| nuts in tn same basket, an / marked every
swcet-gum tree she wanted, so't not boy in
Hopcfeld dared ter tech one Of EN-. | cut
her name in my arm an once took a stran'
of her long black hair and sewed it over my
heart so deep that the blood run every time
that druwed the needle out Little Betty A.!
Little Betty Was Their ever a time | didn't
| love her! | tUted her in my arms when Sue
was q teonchy baby, an / watched her year
| by year GROWN purifier. an struighter'n a sap
lin in the woods. She never growed very
tall on'y as high as my heart. she said. She
had sech purity way of sayin' things -nim-
ble with her tongue rs she was with her feet
in reel His lips parted with something
! like "A smile.
Here is the buttermilk," said the clids
voice, and the sugar-cakes too; but | had to
cry for them
He started to his feet and taking the bowl,
drank the milk thirstiy, faint color coming
under his brown skin. But he never took his
eyes from the Hopefield shore; and as he
drained the last drop he saw three men walk
ing rapidly down toward the river. His heart
! gave wild leap; the bowl dropped from his
hands. They're on my track" lac said
hoarscly.
No use now to hurry across the city to hide
! in the elums it was too late for that plan In
his pressing need sudden thought came to
! him of an old black woman who lived near
! She had belonged to minister's family in
| Hopefeld. He had known her all his life /:
she had made a pet of him, and would be
friend him now.
He walked quickly out of the yard toward
the hovel that Aunt Nelly called home. 1t
was a chance whether he ever reached it. for
| la gtp,,tal nj tb.. I.itfIt ,F
and for one mad moment thought how easy it
would he to crush ont fear remorse, agony.
life i'll one short, sharp point of time. But
! he drew back and walked on with long quick
steps.
Aunt Melys house was poised on the side
Of the bluff like Il rocking-stone. Back of it
was IL struggling garden protected from the
! goats by II queer sort of fence made of all the
refuse stun Aunt Nelly could fnd-broad
| plank and narrow planks, old fence-rails,
sticks Of wood and brush-heaps. OF the house
| itself you could not say that one part was
! worse than another. 1t seemed to hang to-
| gether by attenuated threads. Samson in his
| days Of bibs and long-gowns could have
! brought it about his ears with Wig
orous infantine kick The chimney was re-
marliable 1t had been daubed with mud and
stuck over with clay, and on the outside Aunt
Mely Lad nailed a shining sheet of tim
lH' ol NoH'aH was buaAlhB HOoul lhuooTS
when IL shadow came between her and the sun
! She looked up and saw a mans form in the
| doorway "Lor' blos, my soul, Phil Nickers
is dat you: What's de matter wild you Z"
I'm in great trouble, Aunt Mely. | want
you to help me-hlde me.
hide you why, what heN You been
a-don
lie pushed his way beside her into the
room.
She followed INN and shut the door What
nave yon done, Toy she repeated.
i We Killed Tom Jack, II you must know
Killed Tom Jack PM Nlckers, you God
! for,aken creetur' what did you do dat for =
HIS eyes sparkled he forgot his terror
his voice rose to a shr1H key and shook IN
| speaking Aunt Mely, tell me this Have
been good husband to Betty Hill
Yes, you have, Phil come what may, I'll
always bar witness to dat.
I've loved her, Aunt Mely, and you know
IT. She lay on my heart day an, night.
thought she was a true wife to me-
SO she was, Phil-so she was. Many au
manys de time she's said ter me, My Pills
de sweetest, kindest boy dat ever lived.
lie broke INTO howl of anguish Now
| you hear what that counts up ter. got home
Monday night from days huntin' | had n
deer ON my shoulder Itwas the day befo' Mod
dy-Gras, you know; we was comm across
| next day 10 see the sights. had been whist
lin loud but ! stopped when l got in holler-
IN reach o the house and slipped to the win
der to see what Little Betty was dom. An
thar, sho' as thars livin' God, standin' by
my wife, his arm around her waist, was n
man Things swum befo' my eyes for min
It then the pne-knots blazed up an l saw
Tom jack face. watched EN-. They were
talkin and iAughm quite frlen'ly, Tom strut
tin about like dancin' jack Then he comes
up to her "g'in, pulls at her dress an kisses
her on the bare neck, she a-laughin an a
strugglin' with him, as she'd done with me a
thousan times. | lifted my rifle thankin
God there was load in IT, an shot. I'd as
lief ha hit EN- both but only Tom Jack
dropped and Little Betty stood soreamin' over
him an wllngin her hams. flung down my
rltie an run to the woods. was thar all that
night an Yesterday, walkn, walkin', till an