The Red Cloud chief., 1881-11-17

"Tranny." the woman said. "it's
company-company from a long way
of. Don't you want to talk 10 herr
She knows about all the places you
think about; the places you want to
get to-"
She bent owe anxiously and took the
girls hand. which lay for q momen,
passive, then seemed 10 fall away oil
itself.
"Trannyr' she went on. tyranny
Why won't YOU say a word2 l cant
ba IL. You re the same n dead: shu,
up in yourself. an never n word for one
OF us that think about you an pray fo,
YOU day an night. Can't you rouse a
bit? Oh Trannyr'
"Hushr' the girl said, in . voice
hardly more than a breath '.Hush'
IL must be quiet when he comes So that
can hear him. | thought heard him
one last night. The dogs barked, aud
there was n step, but the shell said il
was not time"
Then the shell knows" / said. a.
she lifted the left hand, in which lay Il
small pink shell. held tightly. as if some
one might take IL from her.
"Oh yes. The shell knows it all.
How could ! tell anything If hadn't
been told?"
Come away" the mother said.
"It's no use. Come an sit Wonder by
the window an I'll tell YOU the whole
"But it will disturb her"
mo. You can't disturb her. She'll
lie that way hours an hours an never
stir. Many a time I've thought she
was dead aud leaned over To feel her
breath. Sit there an I'll tell how il
was. You think me mighty strange.
maybe, To want SO 10 say a word. but
thought there was maybe Just one
chance Won could rouse her. or maybe
you'd know some different way o
m%anagin'. Fl she was yours. now
the only one out o nine-an' lyin' there
that way. an you with no sense what
you'd better do or what you hadn't,
what would YOU do? Fifteen wears
now. You'dthink her a child. but Tran
ny amt but seventeen years younger n
me. Look at me. Would you reckon
twas sop
She threw OF the slat sun-bonnet. rs
she spoke, and the face of 4 woman of
Fifty looked at mc-ai face which in its
youth must have held not only almost
beauty, but a life and expression not
the portion of her class; the eyes still
dark and clear, but the face still
wrinkled and sallow, and troubled;
deep lines of pain about the mouth,
which while indicating n resolutc en-
DURANGO Of the inevitable yet held an
energy bent upon throwing of, if pos
sible, the burden laid upon her. A Gu
rious change had come upon her. She
sat erect. The accent which had at
once to my mind established her place
rs one of the poor whites disappeared.
She looked and spoke like a Southern
lady in middle life. her eyes liked on the
motionless figure in the corner.
You think I'm a cracker-a clay
eater, may be-" she said, with a certain
pride, land deed we live enough lise
'em, but I'm not. I'm of good stock.
There was a time when | thought much
of it. but everything's changed. You
wouldn't think I'd ever been pretty Lo-
rena DOmnick, toasted III dinners. and
my sister tyranny and me SD overrun
with beaus we picked and chose just rs
we liked. l wasn't but sixteen when |
married and came from the valley of
Virginia down to Wilmington. I'd
everything that heart could wish. We'd
a plantation Just outside the city-a lit
tie one, put well managed-and my
husband, handsome an proud, and
thinking nothing too good for ME.
Then Tranny came She's thirty now,
though she looks fifteen aS she lies
there. .and then all the others. till we
had nine and didn't know which we
loved the best. When Tranny-it's
Melissa Tranquille Moore. the whole
name-when tyranny was seventeen she
was the wonder of us all. She didn't
care for books-we'd had her at school
an she could play an sing, but she
didn't care for books--but all day long
she was like n picture, with her skin
like a rose leaf, and her hair below her
knees and her eyes with a look in them
she keeps now-like a baby Just wax
ing. I'd liked horseback riding and
gay times when / was young. but she
Just hung about me all the time. or
petted the other children. Now and
then some one would ask if | felt Just
comfortable about her, she seemed so
indifferent like. as if she was way off
yonder all the time. and she wouldn't
mind if she was all by her lone hours
an hours. She was quick enough when
she chose, an l said she'd wake up
when the time came. I'd always the
feeling she was a little nearer the angels
than any of us, ami in church often I've
watched her, with her eyes set on the
minister and a look as if there was a
light inside shining out.
Then came the waking up. She
hadn't cared not a thing for any N of
the beaus that were about her, and
there were as many and more than |
had had in my time. But | knew the
night it happened-the night that
young Walter Buasby came home.
often, but this boy did; and it came in
n way you'd never think-from a book
| have now. ''Tybee." He was our
next neighbor, in and out all day; and
often he'd talk with me when he was
little and say: Mrs. Moore. just as
soon as l am big enough. l shall marry
Tranny.' and Tranny always smiled a
little. but never said a word.
He'd sit and read to her and tell
her things, but she eve cared much.
till one day he brought this book and
began to tell her all about the strange
and the wonderful things. and
they read it day after day. And at last
he said he must see it all. He should
come back and settle down; but he had
never seen anything. and he would 90
and bring back some of the strange
And tyranny liked it and want
ed him to, and he went in q ship that
from Charleston.
"She didn't seem to miss him, as l
thought she might, but was just the
same. He came back in a year and
brought all those things which YOU see
here, and many more, and they fixed
Tranny's room at home the way
his is now, so that every one said 1
vas crazy to let them. And then
promised to marry him when he
anne back. for he had said he'd 90
nee more. He was wild for the sea,
nd had asked her if she would not like
o be a Captains wife and sail all over
he world, and tyranny said she didn't
now, but she liked everything he had
her. And then he went away.
nd she waited; but she was different