River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-06-14

wavy hair, and dressed as neat as pink,
100. And he sitting there as glum as a
cross old man of ninety. was ashamed
of him."
''I've heard he does nothing but find
fault with her all day long," said a Sec
ond voice. ''My wife says if threw my
mother into her teeth. as George does
in Letty's, she'd run away from me be-
fore she was a day older"
"And serve you right" chimes in a
| third. ''I'll tell you what my wife says.
She says it is COMPOUNDED mean and
small of George not to keep a woman
here 10 help his wife. And when / saw
the dinner to-day. the pretty little thing
had got for us all alone, | thought so too.
| Hang me, if hadn't half mind to stop
here this afternoon and help her wash
up that great pile of dishes, and let the
haying 90 to thunder. It's enough to
| kill the woman to have all that work to
do. And George is rich. What on earth
Is he thinking about? But he'll be sorry for
| this ina year or two hence, when we have
to come here on different errand."
ITO carry her out in a coffin?" said
Solomon Wyse. eyes, suppose it will
come to that if some of us don't talk ser.
| iously to George. She don't look at all
strong now, and her hands trembled
| when she changed my plate. It's q
| burning shame-and if none OF you will
talk to George about it, | will"
| But when George Brewster joined
them Solomon Wyse deemed it prudent
to peter the proposed talking to-" for
his brow was black as night, and he had
no more to say to his neighbors now
than to his wife at the dinner table.
This, then, was the way in which they
| spoke of him, behind his back, these
men who laboTed beside him and took
their wages from his friend and pretend
ed to be his friends.
And his wife was afraid she hated him.
| To whom could he turn for comfort
| from whom could he expect true friend
| ship, if she who should have been near
| est and dearest was an enemy in dis
| guise? Lost in moody reverie, he paid
| little attention To his work.
| And at last, at 3 o'clock in the after
| noon. there was a sudden uprOar III the
hay field-a tramping of hoofs, rush of
| terrified men, confusion of voices, and
among them all George Brester lying on
| the ground beneath the moving ma
| chine, his right arm and leg broken by
! the wheels, his head cut and bleeding
| with his heavy fall.
Meanwhile Lefty in the cream cOIored
house had not been idle.
| Tying ona great calico apron in place
| Of her white one, she had quietly washed
and put away the dinner dishes and re-
| duced the dining room to order.
| Tea was easily arranged, since it was
| TO consist more of cold dishes, with
| glasses of milk for the men.
She threw clean tablecloth over the
whole as soon as it was finished. and
| went up stairs into the spare chamber
| to pack her trunk.
Yes, Lefty had made up her mind at
| last. She was going away.
Life had degenerated into slavery,
| unbrightened as she fancied, by ray of
love-
"And slavery will support one any
where" thought Lefty, as with tremb-
ling hands she locked and strapped her
trunk and fastened her few lines to
George upon the lid.
She did not intend to glance toward
the hay field.
Yet in spite of her resolution. her
eyes turned that way, to sin
ded the tall rafting moving machine.
81 wonder if he will miss ne little
Just at first?" she unused. "He can get a
divorce, | suppose, if desert HIM, and
then he will marry again. | hope he
will be kinder to his next wife than he
has been to mew
With tears that rose at thought of her
successor binding her eyes, Lefty failed
to see the figure that she sought.
81 am foolish to look at him again. l
have never been more than a house
keeper from the hrst," she thought,
stumbling blindly on toward the gate
and opening it, to find herself in the
center of an excited group.
\ k.,l- 4lanf
said Solomon Wyse, who came first and
saw the tears upon her cheeks before
she could wipe them away.
Were you coming ont to meet us?
We were in hopes you didn't see any
thing of it. It's a bad accident, but
George is so strong and hearty that
he will be up and around
again almost before you knowit. We've
sent Ben Hill off on one of the colts for
the doctor, and if you will only tell us
where to carry him"
Garry him." repeated Lefty.
Solomon stepped aside. She saw be-
hind him litter roughly made of hay
rakes and covered over with coats, and
on that litter George was lying pale and
bleeding with his eyes closed.
ooh, Mr.. Wyse, is he dead?" she ask
ed, turning even paler than George.
mot a bit of It'll Worth twelve dozen
dead men yet! Only bit of break in
one arm and one leg, and little knock
on the head when he fell. The horse
didn't kick, and he'll be all right as soon
as the doctor sees him. Shall we take
MIN up stairs, or where!
"Brine him in here" said Lefty, re-
covering herself.
she led the way to the bedroom on
the orc md floor and helped to shift the
maimed figure from the litter to the
ted.
Her soul was dying within her for
fear, yet not word passed her
lips.
When the doctor came he found
capable nurse, dressed in dark print,
who listened intelligently to his di-
rections and promised to carry them out
fully.
And so 1t happened that as George
Brewster returned to life the first words
that fell upon his ear were uttered by
the doctor outside the window, as he
mounted his gig:
Yes, he will do. Mr.. Wyse; he will
pull through nice if his wife nurses him.
And she can do so nicely if some of you
will send one to take charge ofthe house.
She is VI oman in thousand. l hope
he knows how to value herr
Lefty, bending over the bed alb
sorbed IN the invalid, had not heard
HIM.
What is it dear?"
''The doctor is right. You are a wo-
man in thousand! | always knew it,
Lefty, if never said it. So | tell you
of it now, before die" he added, GO
ing off into another faint.
1t was all that Letty's sore heart need
ed. Beside the bed of suffering she
spent two of the happiest months of
her life. The first act of George Brew
ster on his recovery was to secure help
for his wife, so that she now has plenty
of time to get back her lost color and
plImpness. They are one in heart. as
one in name and homo now. And Solo
mon Wyse has never seen occasion to
administer the talking to-"
'Some how or rather" drawls Solo
mon, getting run over by that moving
machine was the making of George
Brewster"
And Lefty and George think so, too.
"Man-CarryIng Pig"
n : I'll