Kimball enterprise. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1883, 1883-05-11
MARGARET.

hrst met Margaret, in a small Western
town where | went to nurse a sick
friend. The nearest railroad station was
Twelve miles away, and the letter which
had sent in advance having miscarried.
there was no n at the station to meet
me.
IT was late at night, but a~vailing N.Y.
self OF a waiting coach that carried pas
sengers to and fro, l arrived, after what
seemed an Unfortunately long drive, at a
large house that was dimly outlined
against the sky.
There was a general look of fo%rlorness
ABOUT the place, as though things were
going to ruin; and owing to the l~ateness
of the hour, we had some difficulty in
effectlng an entrance; but my coachman
at length made himself heard, and q
Wlndow-sash having been thrown up, a
childish voice called out, imperiously,
stop your racket! I'm coming"
The door was almost Immediately I'm
locked and partly opened; a small head
thrust out.
rs that you, Sam Barnes? Has any,
thing happened to pa?" was eagerly
demanded, ~
Dunno nothin' bout yer pa. This
here lady, is come to stay" returned
Sam, indicating me with a wave of the
hand. and shouldering my trunk.
oh! that's it, is it?" said the child, in
a relieved tone. And then. turning to
me with a kind of pert embarrassment.
and throwing the door wide open, she
said,-
well, if you have come to stay, per-
haps you had better walk in."
complied with this oddly-worded in
v,ltation and walked into a wide, dark
hall, lit by a tallow candle, which sput-
tered dismally in a tin candle-stick on
the one table.
paid and dismissed Sam, and found
myself alone with an o%dd..young person.
who had crossed her hands behind her
and was leaning against the wall, staring
at me with the utmost sang-froid.
There was no suggestion cfyouth about
her, except in her small, slight figure
and a certain ilnmaturity about the thin.
sharp features.
She might have been thirteen or thir-
ty, so impossible was it 10 decide upon
the bundle Of contradiction presented by
her dress, manner and physique. /
heard later that she was eleven.
She wore ill-fitting, clumsily-made
clothes, but her brows were straight and
we'll marked, and she had pair oflarge,
extraordinarily intelligent eyes, that
looked all the larger for the BLUSH cir
cles under them.
but II was the worn, anxious lines in
the child's face that most attracted my
attention. / was struck, too, by her nan
ner, which had a certain mixture ofcom-
posure and restlessness, of frankness and
reserve.
81 am Miss Jeanret's friend. and have
come to take care of her" / said, in ex-
planation. Chow is she?"
Better, | fixed her p%oultice this af-
t%enoon, and she has been asleep nearly
ever since. You can see her in the morn
ing; she'll be precious glad you've come"
You fixed her poultice" l exclaimed.
"Why, where was-everybody?" | con-
Guided, Iamely, unable to particularize.
''Oh, Aunt Stubs is most as blind as a
there are sick people. Ma is nervous,
and she always or es and drops things. l
am glad | happened to hear you at the
door. 1t is too bad you were kept wait
in. You look awful tired. | was reamin,
and heard the knockin', but | thought it
was pa maxim a coffin for the baby"
II am afraid | frightened you" i said.
"Iou seemed to think something dread
full had happened to your father, I wrote
your auntthat l was coming, and thought
she would be expecting me; but l sup
pose she didn't get the letter."
''No, it didn't come that ! know. Did
you put it in a yellow envelope9"
81 don't remember" l answered, sur
prised at the inquiry. IL don't think I
did"
"She always burns those without read
ing them. Bills, you know. Pa is out
late tonight he is making up his books"
"And you are sitting up for him, like
a good daughter" l naturally answered.
She darted an angry glance at me and
II amt doing anything of the sort"
said she, sharply. 81 had to be up and
down with the baby, and | thought i
might as well stay dressed
Surprised at having annoyed her, l
said, '"What baby? Whose baby? Not
yours, surely"
"My little brother. Such a dear! Now,
let me see; where will l put you to
sleep'
81 won't wake Aunt Stubbs up; it's no
use" she went on relectively. "Oh! l
know; you can 20 in Miss Warnings
room. She is away She is awful fussy.
She'd have a fit if sae knewyou had her
room. I'll go get the key"
With that she ran upstairs, but came
back almost instantly, and gathering up
an armful of my wraps and parcels, she
led the way into a large, bare, dismal
bedroom OF the first floor.
"Nice, isn't it?" said the child lighting
the candle and looking around with an
air of pride. sit is the best room, and
all the things belong to Aunt Stubbs,
only Miss Waring pays regular, and so
she has them. Ifyou have got all you
want, l am off"
ri shall do very well now, thank you.
but won't you tell me your name before
you go?"
Her hand was on the door-knob as l
spoke.
"Margaret," said she, and went out;
but she opened tho door again immedi-
ately, and added, "Rea," and without
waiting for another nodded twice in a
jerky. ungracefui fashion, and dlsap
peared.
Tired out by my day'sexperience, ! at
once addressed and went to bed, but
alas! not to sleep. After tossing and
tumblihg about restlessly for two or
three hours. / determined to try what a
sedative could do for me, although !
rarely resorted to anything of the kind
n~l.rRe~botfle was in my large bag, and the
Gag | found had been left in the hall.
opened the door softly and looked