The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-10-24

difference. l amt got much flesh t
carry round to tire me out.
:" cure always pretty well. too. ain
you, 'relia?"
"Lor'. yes; 1 never knew what 'twa
to be sick. How's your folks, Mis-
Atwood Is Why any better than sh
| was"
Il don know as she is. much. Sh
feels pretty poorly most of the time.
guess IN hev you fix some more OF tina
root-beer for her. thought that scenes
to 'liven her up little.
'Pve got jug of it all made. dow
cellar and you can take 1t when yol
go home if you want 10.
$50 W II. If you've got it Twas IL
hopes you might hev il. !"
The important look had not vanished
from Mrs. Atwood's face. but she wa
not the woman to tell important new
in a hurry. and have the gusto Of it 81
soon over. She was one of the nature
who Always dispose of br ad befor'
pie. Now she came to it, however.
Il heard some news tonight, Re
lia." said she.
Aurelia picked out another spray o
hardhack. "W hat was itP'
Thomas Pank ms dead"
Aurclia clutched the bareback me
chanically. +" GU don't mean it, Ms
Atwood! When did he die? l hadn'
heard he was SEX"
"He wasn't, long. Had kind of 9
fit this noon. and died right OF. Tht
doctor-they sent for DIR. Smith from
Alden called it sunst oke. You know
twas awful hot, and he'd been out il
the field to work all the morn n.
thinK twas heart trouble; it's in tn;
ankin family; his father died Of it
Doctors dent know everything"
"Well, it's dreadful thing" said
Aurelia. 81 can't realize ii. TIL re
he's let four little children, and i,
amt more'n year since Mis- Rankin
died. 1t amt n year, is it?"
ut amt year into month and
sixteen days" said Mrs. Atwood. sol
EMMY. =. my and was countin' OF
it up ..nst before come IN here"
"Wall, l guess 'tisn't, come to think
of it. couldn't have told exactly.
The oi,fest of thosa children amt more
than eight. is she:?" ..-.
"lthesiud is eight, coming next
month; Why and was recklnin' it up.
Then Edith is six. and lsadore is five.
and Myrtle amt but two, poor little
thing"
"What do you s'pose will be done
with emp"
IL don't know, Why an me was
talking of it over, and got it settled that
her sister, Mis- oomis, over to Alden,
would hev to hev 'em. It'll be consid-
cradle for her, too, for she's got two OF
her own. and don't s'pose am Loom
is has got much. But don't see what
else can be done. Of course strangers
amt goin' to take children when there
Is folks"
"Wouldn't his motheI take emp
what, old lady Se1rs? Lor', no.
You know she was dreadful put ont
bout Thomas marryin' where he did,
and declared he shouldn't hev cent oil
her money. it was all her second hus-
bands. anyway. John Rankin wasn't
worth anything. She won't do any
thing for 'em. She's livin' in great
style down near the city. they say. Got
a nice house and keeps help. She
might have 'em Just as we'll as not, but
she won't. She's hard woman 20 get
along with. anyhow. She nagged both
her husbands to death. an Thomas
never had no peace at home. Guess
that was one reason why he was in such
a hurry get married. MIS- ankin
was a good-tempered soul, if she wasn't
anita 81 b,-iyio nc soma ~
Il do feel dreadfully to think OF
those children" said Aurelia.
lis hard; but we must try an be.
lieve it was ruled for the best.
'spose l must go, for l left Why all
alone"
"Well, if you must. I'll get that
rogt-beer for YOU, Mis- Atwood.
shall keep thinking bout those chill.
dren al night"
A week or two after that Mrs. At.
wood had some more news; but she
didn't 60 to Aurelia with it, for Aurelia
was the very sub essence of it herself.
She unfolded it gingerly to her daugh-
ter Lavinia-a pale, peaked young
woman, who looked as # it would take
more than Aurelia's root beer to make
her robust. Aurel had taken the
youngest Rankin child for her own, and
Mrs. Atwood had just heard Of it. ats
true said she; 81 see her with it NV.
self. Old lady Sears never so much as
sent a letter, let alone not coming to
the funeral, and Mis- Looms was Lad
enough TO get rid of it.
Why drank in the story as if it had
been so much nourishing jelly. lei
too narrow life was killing her as much
as ANYTHING else.
Meanwhile Aurelia had the child,
and was actively happy, for the first
time in her lie, TO her own naive as.
ton;sbment, for she had never known
that she was not so before. She had
naturally strong affections, of an out.
ward rather than an inward tendency.
She was capable of much enjoyment
from pure living. but she had never
had anything to be so very fond of.
She could only remember her father as
gloomy, hard-work NO man. who
never noticed her much. He had q
melancholy temperament, which re-
suited in a tIagical end when Aurelia
was a mere ch Id. When she thought
of him, the same horror which she. had
when they brought him home from the
river crept over her now. They had
never known certainly just. how Mar
tin Flower hal come TO die; but folks
never spoke of him to Aurelia and her
mother, and the Two never talkel OF
him together. They knew that every
BODY said Mart n Flower had drowned
myself; they felt shame and a Puritan
shrinking from the sin.
Aurelia's mother had been q hard,
silent woman before; she grew more
hard and silent terward. She worked