The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-12-29
IN THE MIDDLE WEST.
A Story of Life in the Great
Mississippi Valley.
BY ALVA MILTON KERR.
COPYRIGHT, 1885, BY THE a. N. KELLOGG
NEWSPAPER CoMPANY.1
CHAPTER XIX.-CoNrrNuEp.

But the stricken man opened his
eyes and turned them about in theil
shadowy, shaggy sockets until they
found the face of the young man who
had entered. Then he whispered
something, and John Earling leaned
down and took his cold, crumpled
hand. odd you find out who done
it?' the old man whispered.
Eyes, think we have. Don't let il
disturb you, sir; he will surely be pun
ished," said John Earling, in a low
voice.
"Who-who-w itp' he whispered,
hoarsely, trying to get up, with his
feverish amber eyes feeding upon the
young mans face. But his strength
was not sufficient, and he closed his
eyes and rolled his big head to and fro
upon the pillow. John Earring tried
to move away, but the old lawyer held
to his hand, and, without opening his
eyes, whispered: Waltz
After awhile he opened his eyes
and looked at the young man. edo
know him?" he said.
Eyes; we think it was Fowler, "
John EARRING answered.
The old man looked at him long
time, and John Earring seemed to see
through his eyes. those dark. clear
glasses, into his BRAIN. A thousand
emotions, thoughts, clouds, fires,
wishes, hates, seemed to go glaring
silently across those amber windows.
He relaxed his grasp upon the young
mans hand, closed his eyes, turned
his head away and said, with a
lingering, bitter, sibilant whisper
"Snake! and was silent.
John Earring went away through the
midnight gloom, and all the darkness
and WEAKNESS of the world seemed
gone into and settled through his be.
ing. He dragged himself slowly up
the dark stair-ways to his room close
under the roof of Bowers Block, and
threw himself down upon his pillow
What tempest had beaten upon and
gone over him! With the first thought,
so weary was he, the soft warm numb,
ness of sleep began to fold him in.
Suddenly he sprang up with cry and
shuddeTed, and twice after that sprane
out of slumber with dreadful dreams
then he thought voice faint and
silvery was singing far, far away over
an endless sweep of wind-tormented
water, and he was trying to go to it,
but the shore evermore went with him
and a white face under the water al
his feet went with it, and he strove, anC
strove IN vain. Suddenly the silverJ
voice came toward him, expanding
swelling, swelling, and swerved up
ward like an inverted rainbow of SOUND
and burst at the zenith in great crash
that seemed to shake the world, anC
he sprang up and the sunshine was
there in dapples On the wall again, and
all the horror of the time came flooding
back upon him.
They buried Maun that day just be-
fore the sun went down. No one was
there of kith or kin to mourn her, but
the common heart of Openstone was
moved with pity, and hundred moth
ers wept. No one, perhaps, save two,
guessed what darkness filled John
Earrings mind as he stood there, white
and silent, while the fiower-ladened
coffin sank out of sight. Sadly the
prayer was said, then band OF girls
came forward, all in white, chanting a
soft hymn, and dropped wreaths, hearts
and anchors OF flowers into the grave;
and one, q lame, slender girl, dropping
her flowers, stood there with her hands
extended over the grave, and with
swimming eyes turned up to the sky,
sang the sweetest, saddest song John
Earling ever heard. 1t seemed fit to
move the heart of God in the Begin
ming, and was in the ending as if she
were singing among the angels that an
innocent soul had come back from
earth's trial and was ushered in among
them. The tears ran down John Earl
ing's face, and q hundred more had
wet eyes as they came forth from the
sacred slumbering-place.
Then on the morrow Celeste went
back to her teaching in the city, and
the weeks wore slowly along and the
snow came and the winter almost
passed, but at last Justice adjusted her
scales and the book-keeper stepped in
to be weighed.
The prisoner had not suffered exter-
nally during those months, how deadly
soeyer may have been the agony within
his crime-stained spirit. For name
less kind of goodness-delighting to
show itself, in some sense honor1ng
his shame, and dropping here and
there a pinch of poison on the dead
girls name-had Tapped him about
with all soft comforts! Mrs. Whitney
and the Reverend Cuttleton suffered
rather the larger emulation of humane
milk. perhaps, though their disciples
were not few. Among them, under the
disapproval of her mother and harrow
ing up the soul of the long wind-piped
Salvo, moved the mercurial Yeslit and
her enthusiastic father. Harry, too,
though giving a rather shame-faceo
approval, was brought by the skill
full Yeslit to bear like an elegant
social force in the weight of their
somewhat nauseating ministerings.
Joel said little, as was his
wont, having his eye too intently upon
the future to be Incorporate in any di-
rection, but he furnished the carpet
from his store with which they softly
lined the iail-bird's cell. Then there
We're flowers brought every day, and
books and papers, and baskets of pies
and cakes ana pressed chicken, sly bot
ties of red wine from Mrs. Whitney's
cellar, white bread, yellow butter, Jelly
and steamed ham, stewed lamb, picked
peaches, fruit buildings, hot oysters,
celery, fine coffee and cream; then there
were snowy pillows and sweet warm
blankets for his bed, pictures for the
wall, and bird in q fine brass cage
hungHp to MARBLE in the window. In
deed, they We're very GOOD to him.