Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-06-05
However, she had not told her when

spring came.
AT length she set out after tea one
night. She had resolved to put it off
no longer.
The cemetery was on the way. She
fingered and looked in. Finally she
entered.
"In Jest look around a minute" said
she. II dare say Mis- Holmes amt
through supper"
The Pingree lot was almost in sight
t:c:n inc street. Nancy went straight
there. Inc cemetery was itself a spring
garden, blue and white with Houstonias
and vlolets: The old graves were green,
and many little bushes were towering
around them. The gold green leaf
buds on the weeping-w. lows were un-
folding.
The Pingree lot, however, partook of
none OF the general lightness and love-
illness. No blessing of spring had fallen
on that long rank of dead Pingrees.
There they lay, in the order of their
deaths, men and womcn and children,
each covered with q flat white stone
above the grave mould.
Tall, thickly set evergreen trees
fenced in closely the line of graves. In
the midst of the cemetery, where gloom
was now rendered tender by the in
finite promise of the spring, the whole
was a ghastiy parallelogram of hope
less death.
Nancy Pngree, looking through the
narrow entrance gap in the evergreens
on the dark, tomb-like in~closure,, had,
however, no such impression. She re-
gardcd this as the most attractive lot
in the cemetery. Its singularity had
been in subtle accordance with the Pin
gree character, and she was a Pingree.
At one end of the long row of PROSTATE
stones there wasa vacant place; enough
for another.
Nancy began with this topic when
she was seated, a little later, in Mrs.
Holiness Brussels-carpeted, velvet
upholstered parlor: Il looked in the
graveyard a minute on my way here"
said she, "anNwentover to the Pingree
lot. I'd alters calculated to have a
stone like the others whenI was laid at
the end there; but now I don know.
You remember that money I showed
you, Mis- Holmes? Well, it amt there
now; I've had to use it. I thought I'd
better tell you, in case you wouldn't
know what to make Of it, if anything
happened"
Mrs. Holmes stared at her, with a
look first of amazement, then of intelli-
gence. .'Nancy Pingree, You gave the
money to bury that woman upstairs"
"Hush! don't you say anything about
it, Mis- Holmes. Jennydon't know the
hull of it. She took on so, I couldn't
help it. 1t come over me that 1 hadn't
got anybody to feel bad, eff I was buried
by the town, an it wouldn't make so
much difference"
"How much money was there?"
eighty dollars" said Nancy, with
the tone in which she would have said
a million.
Mrs. Holmes was a woman who was
seldom governed by hasty impulse; but
she was now. She disregarded the
strict regulations attached to giving in
Nancy's case, and boldly offered to re-
place the money out of her own
pocket. She could well afford to do it.
Nancy looked majestic with resent
ment. "No," said she. IF it's got
to be done by anybody, I'd enough
sight rather 'twould be done by the
town. The Pingrees have paid enough
taxes in times gone by to make it
nothin' more'n fair, after all. Thank
you, Mis- Holmes, but I amt quite
come to takin' money out an out from
folks yet"
."Well. 1 didn't mean to hurt your
feelings"
II know you didn't, Mis- Holmes.
You meant it kind enough. We won't
say no more about it,"
"Don't you believe Jenny will be able
to paw you back some timer"
II don't know. She says she's goin'
to, an I know she means to-she's
awful proud. But she can't save up
much, poor child, an I shouldn't Won
der eff / died first. Well, never mind.
How's the Deacon?"
'sHe's well, thank you. He's gone
to the railroad meeting. Somebody
was telling me the other day that
Benny Field was waiting on Jenny"
..Well, 1 believe he's come home with
her from meetin' some lately; but /
don't know"
When Nancy reached home that
night she wondered if Benny Field was
not really waiting on Jenny" She
found him sitting with her on the front
doorstep.
She knew that he was before long.
Jenny came to her n afternoon and
told her she was going to marry Benny
Field. Nancy had previously received
another piece of intelligence on the
same day.
Early that morning Mrs. Holmes had
come over with an important look on
her face, and announced to Nancy that
the new railroad was indeed going to
be laid through the Pingree land.
..They are going to build the depot
down on the corner too," said she;
.'and-the Deacon thinks, seeing the
property has come up SO much in val
ne, that it isn't any more'n fair that
he should make you a little present"
81 don't want any present"
"Well, I didn't mean to put it that
way. It isn't a present. It's no more
than your just due. don't think the
Deacon would ever feel just right in
his conscience if he didn't pay you a
little something. You know the prop
erty wasn't considered worth so much
when he foreclosed."
.'How much did he think of payin'?"'
81 believe he said-about two hun