Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-05-30

Only this morning size had been quite
cheerful over the prospect, until let
ter had been brought to her from Ter
native village in Illinois. II came from
former lover. who was now engaged
10 be married To her sister Ruth. frank
Dennison was wealthy Young mer-
chant, who bad once sought Hannah
Mclean's hand in marriage. When
she refused him aud married Dick Bar
| ~ her father had refused to- speak to
her, or see her. Dennison had heard
OF Hannah 5 poverty. and how hard she
4 toilcd. and now had written n letter of
! friendly advice, suggesting 90 her that
u would be well for her tu leave her
husband and come home for n time at
least He was cautious in the wording
Of his letter, yet tie tone of il panied
her. She read il carefully and then
| put IL away out Of sight, I'm her work
box. She was angry at its patrOnizing
| tone, and womanlike wished TO spare
Dick the unpleasant feelings the read
/ ing If il would occasion his proud nat
urc. Therefore she intended to treat il
with quiet contempt and TO speak Of it
/ To no one.
II at evening when he came home
I
stepped into ne ghbor's upon an er-
rand. Dick went To the work-boX to
/ find pencil to cast up his accounts
with his employer, rs he had been at
work for several days. Seeing Dem
nison's letter living there he. of course,
read it, and wondered why Hannah had
not told him Of it before. He was in
dignant nj its tone. But the chief pain
came from n suspicion that his wife
had been influenced by it and intended
/ tO act upon its advice, else why should
she have kept il from him? He knew
/ all her loyalty, her goodness. but his
! lack of fa Ga was in himself, in his pow
or To- keep her love since he had failed
To make the happy, comfortable home
| for her that he had intended to when
they were married, yet he was fully
conscious that buried beneath mass of
faults and weaknesses there was a man
illness, ny. n over of self-sacrifice for
those he loved that Dennison, prosper
Gus and pompous, was utterly incapable
of even comprehend
This was n new blow, and just as ne
began to take fresh heart i'm the spring
weather and was maturing plan which
babe fair to srccced-a plan that would
enable him tO take Hannah away and
/ place her in pretty cottage amidst the
/ flowers and trees of some genial eli
mate-he meant to- surprise her with
this. IL depended upon the answer his
employer, a capitalist and owner of n
ranch in California, would give him
within the next three days, and now,
perhaps. she was coldly thinking of
/ leaving him
She came in looking quite cheerful
and smiling kindly. He had folded the
letter. placing il carefully ack in the
box. Richard sat with bowed head.
scarcely looking up rs she came in, and
/ Hannah rocked little Jack to sleep
I looking wistully ut her husband.
~ OF arc III. | am afraid YOU are
working too hard before your strength
has returned. That attack of pneu-
mOnia has left you weak she said.
He made no reply. Then hoping TO
beguile him from his sorrowful mood.
she continued checrfully: II am so
| glad spring has come. As soon as we
can lind time let us have the garden
plowed; mean to have fine garden
this summer
Il don't think we can make any
/ Il
were foolish To marry me, and l was
wicked to ask you, but loved YOU.
All! well. better leave me TO nv fate:
take the boy and go home"
He sail this, more in the hope of
hearing her denial of any such thought
than really meaning IT, But her loyal.
lOng-sutiering heart was stung to be
thus dOu ted, or il was possible she
thought that he really was tired If her.
oh! that was cruel, maddening
thought! She loved him, yet he must
not think she would weakly cling TO n
man who did not care for her, who
would not also cleave to her through
every storm and trouble. She clasped
Jacks lutte sleeping form TO her heart.
and paused n moment before replying
/ She did not choose that he should find
/ her voice trembling.
VERY well. but supposed YOU had
more independence and pride than TO
allow your wife to 60 back to those who
would insult yoU.'
Dick, whose head seemed to be on fire
and his heart like ice at this their first
quarrel, arose abruptly and left the
house. II was late when he returned
and the subject was not renewed. Han
nah found he had prepared his own
breakfast and gone away much earlier
than usual the next morning.
II was late when she awoke from n
troubled sleep. All that day she went
over i'm her mind their brief married
life. Poor Dick had worked very hard
but they had labOred under great dis
advantages. beginning life with almost
hn
he looked that day when'the horses ran
away with the mower and he had saved
her life. She feared she ha 4 been wrong
in not frankly showing Dennison's let,
ter to him, then tearing il to pieces be-
fore him an | reassuring him of her de-
votion, OF her scorn of any proposal to
leave him. Thus she rcproached her
self. full of tender contrition.
Late that afternoon, her work over.
the room in order. she dressed herself
in n dark merino that Dick had always
liked To- see her in. 1t was her one
good dress and her eyes sparkled with
quite the old n luster as she thought
how kind she would be TO Dick when he
came in. After all love was enough
she thought, and il they but worked ON
together with hope and courage, fortune
could not fail to come. some day.
Papa will be here soon now" she
said gaily to Jack. taking him in her
arms TO the door and looking up the
long stretch of road towards the woods
and the planning mill.
A man was running towards the
house. II was Neal Peterson, one of
the wOrkmen, not Dick. He came up
breathlessly.
"Oh. Mrs Barry they sent me to tell
you! He paused. A rough. kindly
Norwegian, he dreaded to tell the I'M
conscious woman, his sad message.
She waited-all the blood ebbing back
To her heart.
Your husband. Mrs. Barry. He
went down into the new well they are
digging II caved IN
. Is he deadP' she half whispered.