Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-07-24

give away many time but tor his sake
she didn't show one-h half she felt. An
she never lost faith ia the Lord. She
said His ways seemed hard, but that He
knew what was best for her.
Well, time went on. N about five
years ago things seemed to take aturn
for the better with Luther His wheat
crop turned out we'll, n he sold it 10
good profit, m he got his corn off the
bottom lands before the river rose, m
that was a great help to him. he
seemed real cheerful, n told John he
was just beginnin' to enjoy life. n if
things went well he'd soon have the
mortgage cleared off the farm. The
weather set in cold n stormy just after
Thanksgivin' n one afternoon was ont
in the chicken yard shellin' corn to the
hens, n all mufled up to my eyes.
when / heard wagon stop at the gate
n there was Luther noddin' n beck
onin' to me- / went down TO the gate to
speak to him, m before I got there he
was tellin' me how he'd sold Tom Lay
ton'a colt he'd been raisin' m was on his
way at last to buy Annie that silk dress.
He asked me bout the number, of yards
he ought to get n where he'd best go to
buy, n, said he couldn't hardly wait to
get it now he was ready. He was goin'
to give Annie surprise, he said; she
didn't know what he was goin' after.
well, the taars was in my eyes as
watched him drive off, pleased as child
at the idea of snrprisin' Annie. But
never guessed what the black silk dress
was to cost her, poor soul! "
ct began to rain soon after Luther d
gone, n poured down for upward OF
four hours. I was at the window when
he went on his way home, II I noticed
he didn't have his overcoat on, n !
wondered what he'd done with it,
for L was sure he'd had it on when he
stopped at the gate. Annie told me
afterward that he'd taken the coat of
his back II rolled the black silk up in
1t to keep it from gettin wet. It wasn't
even damp when he unrolled it n
showed it to her, but he was wet tc
the skin himself, N few days late,
there was a doctors buggy ut the gate
John he went over to see what was thu
matter, n found Luther walkin'' the
floor n groanin' with pain. The cold
had settled in lis side n the doctor
couldn't give HIM no relief. But he
said he guessed he'd pull through all
right n there wasn't no need to worry.
Miss Parsons was maxim the silk
up. Lnther wasn't satisfied till ANNE
had gone to the village n got some one
to work on it, n she thought best tc
humor him. He wasn't no better
when the dress came home n the doc
tor was still tending him: out TO one
lowed he was anyway dangerous. 1t
was John who brought the dress home
from Miss Parsons, II he said Luther
was just too pleased for anything to see
the bundle.
"'I'm goin' to have Annie dress right
up in it, he says, n you n Jane must
come over after supper n see how she
looks.
well, as + heard afterward, John
had hardly gone when Luther began tc
tease Annie to put the dress on. She
wanted to get supper first, but he
wouldn't hear to it.
1--we been waitin' nearly twenty
y w cCC } ou LII ClAaO al 4lc SAY >,
n won't wait even all hour longer
well, Annie she made him lie down
for he'd been waikiki the floor con-
slant nearly all day--'n' she went into
her bedroom to put the dress on. She'd
got the skirt On, n was tastenin' the
waist, when she heard a queer sound
from the spare room where Luther was
LYNN. She stopped minute to listen,
n then called to him to know if lie
wanted anything. There wasn't no an
swer, n she crossed the hall N hurried
into the spare room. Well, child, 81 g
found him dead, bis face turned toward
the door as he'd been watchin' for her, Ii
the sound she'd heard was the dea: b
rattle in his throat.
"When John n L got there he'd been
dead only few minutes, n tell you,
child, it was q sad sight to see her
kneelin' down by that low bed in her
new black silk, her arms round that
dead man n moanin' n shudderin' over
him n beggin' him to speak to her.
He isn't dead! she says to me as
came in. He has only tainted. O.,
Jane! do something for him. Get hot
water, n you'll find camphere in the
pantry on the lowest shelf to the right
But saw that hot water n camphere
wouldn't he no use, n I told her 50 as
gentle as I could n begged her to come
away. She wouldn't listen to me at
first, but after the doctorhad come, n
he'd told her it was all over, n poor
Lnther'd died from apoplexy of the
stomach, she let me take her to her own
room. .
AS we was crossin' the hall she heard
the dress rustic, n she stopped short n
looked at me pitiful.
"'He never saw me in it, after all,
n she broke down and cried as if her
heart would break.
"After poor Luther was buried n
there was stone put over him n his
debts were all paid, there wasn't moth
in left for Annie, n she was glad to
take place in the mills. We wanted
her to come here, but she was too
proud to eat bread she hadn't earned,
She said. About week ago I was out
with Miss SHIPPER gettin' subscriptions
for the church carpet, n we met Annie
on the street. Miss Sniper, she ain t
oyer-sensitive herself n she don't give
no one else credit for being so, n she
up n asks Annie if she didn't ever
wish she'd said yes stead Of mo- to
young Tom Layton.
"FNever" says Annie. Had I my
Life to begin again I would not altar it
as far as Tom Layton is concerned" .
u "tBut it's pretty hard to have to work
FOR him, isn't it? asked Miss Snlper,
n felt it in my heart to hate her for
asking such thing. - e...
"But Annie only smiled. T consider
myself fortunate to be able to earn such
good wages, she says, n then she walked
away smilin' still. - .