Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1883-08-02
DEMAs DQDD'S DAUGHTER,
by HELEN FOREST GRAVES.

'I'm sure l don't know what to do
about 1T, q said Mir. Griggs, hopelessly,
scratching his car with the feather end
of his quill pen.
1t was glorious August day at Bill
berry -Four Corners. The mullen stud.
ded pastures were baked with heat; the
closed cups of the morning glorles hung
<tisconsolately among the whiting leaves,
while cattle stood knee deep in the Bill
berry River, where pollard willows made
afiiendly shade.
Go at. the Town House, however, there
was no such luxury as trees. Trees
shaded the cabbage field; their roots
drew all the strength out Of the garden
SOL, where onions, potatoes and sugar
beets We're to be grown, and their LEAKAGE
made green mould on the roofs. The
Town House was meant for use, not
show, and the selectmen had no scru-
pies on the subject of beauty; and so the
:. sun came Unlike the breath of fiery
dragon, md smote Mr.. Griggs, the
superintendent, On the very crust of his
bald head.
''Pull down the window shade, SO me-.
body!" said Mr.. Griggs, writhjrg un.
easily in his chair. .s'Oh, dear! oh,
sl dear' + I wish Mrs. Bibb was here. She
: Knows"
sWhat is the man calling about?" said
Mrs. Griggs, busting in from an adjoin-
ing room. Don't you know that Mr.,
Demas Dodd iswaiting?"
'HIake the books for yourself, (" said
the superintendent pushing a huge pile
of folios toward his better half. IsWhat
is one to do? There was two of EN- left
on the doorstep the same night. We
called bhd Ruth and the other Naomi:
and we surnamed her Snow, because it
was an awful, stormy night. The equin-
octial, acnt you remember? And here's
Demas Dodd says one of 'em is bis dar-
ter, and he wants her; and Mrs Bbb is
gone to bury her second son. And how
III the name of all creation be l to tell
which was which?"
% LeJ him pick and choose for him
self, y said Mrs. Griggs impaticntly.
'Tell him Jest how 1T was" I
No., said Mr.. Griggs, authoritative
iy, That would derogate from the dig
! gnltyj9ltlie town superintendent. amt
to DC took unawares like that. 1t amt to
De supposed as the Town House authori-
ties can be mistook.'
stuff and nonsense!" said Mrs.
Griggs. "We're all human, amt we?
But ii you feel like that why flip up a
apenny IF it comes up heads let him
have Naomi ;ifg its tails, say Ruth"
~ AndNshe produced copper centon the
spot, twirling it nimbly on the table.
For second or two it spun around
then fell heavily on its side revealing the
expressive lineaments OF the Goddess of
Liberty.
Hcads" said Mrs. Griggs. "Send
Naomi down to him. And amt sorry,
! Jfof. Naomi always was careless, fighty
thiag, and Ruth is dreadful handy with
the honse linen and mems wash.
I" But man ought to have his own
daughter" feebly demonstrated Mr..
Griggs f3 is ie5 jI-
1--WE can't do no better by him, said
Mrs. Grjggs. "And if he hadn't no more
material affection than to leave his own
daughter III basket ON the doorsteps
such an awful stormy night as that
was" ~
m tIt wasn't him; ii was old Mrs. Dud-
/ gipk, his lwife's aunt, " explained the sup
erintendent OF the town poor. "You see
he WAS awful down in the world, and he'd
gone to the Azores to gather YARDS to
/ make !. cough cure rs should knock
feverybody's colds into middle OF next
year. An when he heard the child was
dead he hadn't no heart to come back.
And he hever knowed she was lvin until
old Mrs. Dudgick made an affsrdavy on
her death bed, and it was sent to him by
the lawyers. And here he ist now. - y.
And here's q. grown up darter for
him. said Mrs. Griggs, curtly, "and
he'll be suited, and we're suited, and I
dare say Naml'll be suited into the bar
gain, and nobody need never be no
7 wiser IffI'g 8{#f
with which astounding succession of
~ double negatives the matter terminated.
Naomi was q pretty, blue eyed girl of
seventeen, who. was to have been "bound
OUT the very next week to the clergy
mans family ~ ~
Ruth was dimpled, smiling brunette,
whom all the little children instinctively
sought III tunes of trouble, and who was
Mrs. Griggs' right hand woman. And
the twoselitary young things had always
loved each other like'twin sisters.
81 wish papa would take us both!'
sobbed Naomi, with her arms around
Ruth's neck.
tDon't hint at such thing said
Mrs. Griggs, indignantly.
Sand after ail,s said Ruth, who
always saw the consoling side of things
1--WE can see each other often. And
isn't it exactly ike novel that your
a father, YER should come to claim you after all
these years?'
So Naomi went to the pretty, OLD
b rick house which Demas Dodd, who
had contrived to make q fortune out o.
his Oriental Cough Care" had pur
q hassd-a picturesque old place, al