The Red Cloud chief., 1881-02-10
leave the Childish voices mute
J. y PEiSE.

IT was the dav before Christmas.
Something had happened.
Il was not that the fire was out. The
fire was apt To be out where Popsy and
Peasc lived. 1t was not that they had
not had any dinner. Peasc and Popsy
yer often had no dinner. 1t was not
altogether that PcaSe had been CRYING.
Poor little Pcase cried SO much that she
and PopSy had both got used Ia it. 1t
was not 50 much that Popsy had n sore
throat. PopSy usually had a sore throat.
Ii wa not wen that Popsy had cut his
finger. PopSy was apt To cut his finger
when he tried to stuff the broken WIN
dow TO keep the wind from Pease. Nor
was it entirely that it showed. 1t
usually showed since Tom Joggins got
drunk. and stuck amop-handle through
the window. and so made room for the
storm to come in on PeaSe. Tnen it
was not the landlady exactly. To be
sure. she had just been up and said she
'.couidn't be bodered with the two of
EN-, bad luck 10 'em, and they must
take theirSelS of StGrpr" The land
thing which had happened had V
happened before; il could never, never
happen again TO Popsy and Pcase. The
thing which had happened was worse
than the landlaGy, it was worse than
the SnOw-Storm. il was worse than n
broken window. il was worse than no
fire, and worse than no dinner: il hurt
worse than n sore throat, and il ne he'd
harder than the blue, cut finger that
Popsy put shivcring out To wrap the
end of his old tippet round the neck and
shoulders of little Pease.
The thing which had happened was
that Mamma was dead.
The window might be mended. if one
had the "lasS. The ire could be lighted.
if ANYBODY brought wood. The land
lady woId stop talking, if people paid
their rent. Ii you hurt your finger or
throat. you might get well. Even
PoaSe would not cry forever and ever.
The snow itself would stoop softly and
lie down in the streets and stop one
day, and the grass would come, and it
would be spring.
But when y6ur mother is dead there
is nothing to be done.
fopsy. in PopSy's way, thought of all
this. or some of it, or enough of il to
understand that something. not like
ANYTHING else in the world, had hap
penei to himself and his sister Pease.
lit can't Uhhappen," said Popsv,
Speaking quite aloud.
Pease stopped crying and looked up.
PeaSe was ~prettv-when she had had
ier dinner AMI q fire, and when it didn't
snow in the window, and when her
mamma WAS there to brush her hair,
tie the plaid tippet on somehow
iiiferent how df mamm tie that
ippets Popsy wondered, studying the
wist or the fringe grayely and with
are. He liked to see PeaSe look pretty.
if the fire were out.
Sweet Pease.' mamma used to call +.
Ter. Her mamma was different from /,
be landlady AMI Mrs. Joggins. They /,
lad little girls, but they called them :
Set. and Bridget, and Mariarann.
thought his mother had been diff !
erent from everybody in the world. /;
True. he did not kuoy a great many :
in the world, eht he felt ssre of {
HIS mamma@Inot let them play :
Nth Bet and Ndariarann.
His paps<i was dead, too. Mamma
aid hss was in Heaven with the Lord
80 But that didn tmatter so much, G
hecanse Popsy could not remember
abont linn. All that Popsy could re-
nomber was that they had come from
nlsce. TO place, and room TO room. he
ana and PeaSe: and that $
that happened happened
worse than the last thing. and now the Z
worst of all had happened. and mamma
dead upon the bed in the corner one {
day. and another day a man came and
took her off, and Tom Joggins said
they had buried her. And ii was cold. o
and Pease was CRYING. and his finger +
ached-and when mamma made rnf,ied 5
nightgowns-a dozen for fifty cents h
they sometimes had 4 dinner. and a :