St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-06-10

and tramped the house, till Royal Phelps
at last went over to fetch his wife, with
the sage remark:
"He past my handlin'; Iguess wom-
en-folks' d know better how to fetch him
to now
SO Mrs. Phelps came over, made some
hot coffee and persuaded him to drink
it, set things to rights little, and pre-
pared to get dinner; but viii still lay on
his face in the bedroom, as wretched
and hopeless as a man could be.
Suddenly a horse s hoofs beat on the
crusted snow up to the back door.
VIII jumped up and rushed out, and
a man handed him q telegram; he did
not hear, while he was opening it, the
bearers explanation.
1T come to Taunton deepott for We,
and the operator said twas real i'm
Dortant, an you'd give me dollar to
fetch it,
VIII did not answer; his brain reeled
as he read:
civilian Gray, Taunton. Your wife
is at Seyms Station, very ILL.,
''Can 1 60 back to Taunton with
you?' he said to the man, handing the
telegram to Mrs. Phel ps, with a light in
his eyes that told the relief he was scarce
ly conscious of as yet.
"Reckon you kin, for another dol
lar" and with a nod to the astonished
Mrs. Phelps, VIII was off. and in an
hour was seated in the train for Seyms
Station.
The story is strange but true; when
Sally slammed the barn-door behind
her she pulled her apron over her head
and ran across the road, safe in the
knowledge that the morning express had
passed. The light fall of snow dulled
the sound of a special freight-traln slow
ly rounding the corner just at that mo-
ment, and Sallie was struck by the
cow-catcher as she stepped on the
| track, and was thrown violently to one
side.
Stunned by the blow, she lay on the
ground unconscious. She did not
hear the cry of the engineer, who
| had witnessed the accident; did not
know that the train had stopped, or that
she was surrounded by group of strange
men.
The engineer and one of the brake
men entered the house and found il
deserted. No other dwelling was in
sight.
To leave woman lying insensible in
an empty house was out OF the question
and so at last, after calling in vain fol
assistance, they laid her in the conduct
or's car to carry her to the nearest sta
! tiOn some miles further on.
When she regained her consciousness,
it was her turn to feel all those pangs
of regret and repentance that Viii
suffered, and to make resolves OF hel
own, if ever she returned to live up tc
them.
She could not move or speak wher
the train stopped, and the men took hel
from the car suposing she was perhaps
fatally injured.
She did revive, however, but only
enough to whisper Wills name anc
town in reply to persistent questioning
before delirium set in, and when bel
husband reached the hospital where
they had taken her, she did not know
him. and it was weeks instead of day:
before she could go home.
In the meantime, Will sold his farm
to Royal Phelps brother and bough
another close by Mystic, and two mile:
from any railway. He knew tina
neither he nor Sally would ever again
feel safe at the old place.
So far, their first quarrel has beer
their last; the resolutions have beef
we'll kept. Sally can make pot-pie an(
rye-bread, as well as many other things
quite as skillfully as Cousin 'Phrony
and she is SO happy with her HUSBAND
and her baby that she sometimes think
VIII lost all his bad temper when h
found his wife at Seyms.-Rose 1err.
Cooke, in Youths Companion.