Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1883-04-05

est, queerest little laugh You see this
hne chap hired me 10 take care of You.
soft you i never come in his way again.
/ reckon YOU won't; rha. hA ~s~
You know how extravagantly de-
monstrative used 10 be. and expect l
nearly strang3ed the poor little old man.
for remember he coughed and choked.
and got terribly red in the face, and
there were tears in his eyes, but he
brushed them away with his coat sleeve,
and hurried round and brought ont my
clothes, and put them on IN bungling
way. and made me lie down, ard COW
cred me carefully un. 4 man came TO
the door and asked if the little 'nn ~as
dead. He said l was just alive, and
pointed 10 the coffin. The man said
his woman would come over # he
wanted her and Briefly promised ID
call her if he wanted her. and the man
went away.
I'VE kept perfectly still until after
dark. and then he wrapped me up in an
old coat and by and by. somebody out
side said. softly: Joe. He went TO the
door. opened it carefully. and woman
came IN. She was such a perfect con-
rrast TO him that laughed in spite OF
all the anxiety and alarm l felt- She
was the plunlpest woman / ever saw,
I looking mora ike an enormous feather
bed with string tied round it than
like living, breathing woman. Ard l
can say now that her heart was as large
and as soft as her body. Dear Aunt
Molly Blake. doubt if Heaven holds a
purer spirit than yours, to-day"
She is dead?"
Yes, she died three years ago From
that night until her death she was my
warm. true, constant friend. She wss
Joe Brierly's slster. and lived five miles
away. IN log cabin. she and her hus-
band and & poor crippled boy. l neye:
saw Briefly but once after left there
until the day he came 10 his sister 5
funeral | knew that | was considered
dead. and indeed. AL that Summer and
winter was little better. but with the
spring / grew better. One day Aunt
Molly came TO me with a bIotted paper,
and q little rusty kew. Hound il IN Your
dress pockec, dearie, she said. the
bright. wool dress YOU wore here. and
has been hanging up in the closet ever
since.
4 took it, spread If out, and saw that
ii was letter Ny mother had learned
me 10 read writing. and l set myself 10
decipherinC this. but from lack OF praC-
tice and the illegibility OF the writing,
il was a long time before could make
il out, and then | could not understand
it, But ! studied Il. and as | grew
stronger. look in little by little It's
meaning, till. child as | was. the whole
story was, i think. nearly as plain to
me as il IS now The letter was
written 10 my mother, and was full
of yaure hints and threats and entTealeS
One passage declared the writers I'M
changed feelings toward her. and his
determination TO force her to Yield TO
his wishes As my wife YOU shall
never know another care or anxiety
be wrote. Then again he said: y on
were not his wife. and YOUR child has
! no lawful claim. but pride might force
something from his father. rather than
] that his son. OF whom he was SO proTld.
should he disgraced. as he would he. II
the pertidy by which he made yo4 be-
lleve YOU was his lawful wife wa. re-
yealed 10 the world, for John Mont
ford is a proud man. as u04 probably
know / doubt not but ne made that his
excuse for not openly acknowledged
! the MARRIAGE! Let me take your case
! into M hands. Genevieve: give NE tie
} Tfgffi. a3iu our GNU S4Is24i NC pAcNfNCd
! for OUT of her Idtbcr's inheritance, even
/ if she is not permitted TO bear his
name There were other passages,
/ bu; having the same general bearing.
and one which referred to Harrt 5
sudden death, which the writer believed
q sort Of judgment for his cruel dceep-
ton and the whole was s;gneds De
1 Fries.
TO BE CONTINUED.