River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-12-02

voco speaking to the horses, and then
in louder tone:
Come out aud get these things"
She went out with her finger on her
/ lips. trembling lest his voice had
wakened the baby
''Sun' awful hot. was his comment,
as he piled her arms full of packages.
wish you'd bring the swill pail as
you come back. Those hogs haven't
had blessed mouthful to drink. I'll
be bound. since morning.
She could have said that she had
watered them a time or two herself,
but she said nothing. The large tobac-
co pail was nearly full of swill, but she
carried il out. and used all her strength
to lift it to his reach as he sat there.
| He tGrned to speak as he started off.
Il saw johnson, and he wanted out
| ter, so | let him have it on the account
there. There wasn't any left TO get
] chat calico. but / got it myself, so try
and not get anything more till you
| have marketing enough 10 get it, for l
can't buy so much out of hand.
/ She watched him drive away, hold
| ing the pail carefully poised over the
! wagon-be,. but the next instant she
was in the house. There was cooking
/ to do for supper. and berries to pick,
and if the baby would only sleepi She
unrOllee the calico. 1t needed only a
/ glance to tell her there was not
enough, and she soon saw the amount
was seven yards. She couldn't have
| her calico dress after all and her but
/ ter must go on bill for blacksmithiug,
+ and she must take n slur from the one
/ who should have given her better. be-
i cause it had gone so deep in pocket.
/ that forty-two cents which ''he had
paid himself for the calico. There
4 had been three dollars worth of butter!
/ She sighed, aud took up her burdens
again. The baking was done when the
/ baby walked, and she thought ne seemed
/ better. she sat him up in his high
/ chair by the window. The sky was
/ cloudy now; the men were hurrving
/ back and forth in the bayfield,. and Bob
was riding the rake. She picked her
berries and had supper on the table as
| the men came in at six clock. and the
first big drops of rain descended.
How did your calico suit?' asked
| Mr.. Harris. as she handed him his cot
( fee
She looked him in the face.
/ Mr.. Harris looked at his wife. She
was very poor and slender, weighing
/ perhaps a hundred pounds. Her
| fingers were scarcely larger than the
| baby's, and he saw they were rot as
! large as ROb's. Yes. she was changed
/ since at seventeen, when she had taken
/ his lot to be hers She had red checks
and bright blue eyes then. Her cheeks
were scarlet with fatigue and heat.
/ now. but not round and soft as they
were then. and her eyes had a weary
! look in them. Int be my fault. :"
ran through her husbands mind.
She certainly looked badly, but it
didn't seem to him that she could mind
so much as that the hurry, quick words
and Impotence that were his habit.
He took the milk-pails and went to TIE
COW tarn to milk as usual. after sup
/ per. He was destined to have his ears
opened. The men had preceded him to
the barn to care for their teams The
rain had nearly ceased. and he was
finishing the milking when he caught
the sound Of his own uame.
II tell you. pity her Joe Ames
was saving. What with her being
everlastinglv on her feet. her sick
baby. and Wills own fault-finding, it's
a wonder she's alive. -
''Pshaww answered coarse John
Mills. That's the wav o. women;
give EN- an inch and they's take miles.
The only way they're any good is TO
give them lots to do and keep them at
it. And as for that young'un, if she
warn alters pettin' of it, it wouldn't
be so tarnal cross
Il know better" was the retOrt.
Mother remembers when VIII and
his wife were married, and there never
was smarter likelier girl anywhere.
And Will was good, too, but he's got
in such way to make money, and the
| more he works the more she has to.
Then they've buried three children. and
mother SAYS her hard work helped to
| shorten their lives. and
''Oh. you Ire a perfect baby yourself.
/ that's my notion, sBeered John.
And | tell YOU proceeded honest
Joe, ''if the poor thing goes on this
way much longer, theTe'll be another
/ grave over there. for she : next to scik
now, and wish Will could see it
| He began to see it, He sat on the
| milk-stool listening He thought of
/ long ago and now. and the changes he
/ noticed at supper. He remembered
/ how often she had received, as reward
+ for her toll, short words from him.
Not that he meant them so, but he was
/ in haste always. and she surely very
/ slow; but then if, as Joe was saving,
/ she was sick-and the words, another
grave over there, seemed to ring in
/ bis ears. His lips closed systematically
as he caugb: the last words of the con-
versatlon, as they closed the barn doors
| for the night.
well. then, why don he get her
some help? He has himself and Rob
and Us, and she-didn't you see her to-
day toting tie things back and forth
while he looked on fl ON the seat ia the
wagon? Made me mad. Wait till get
married. Aud they pas sed out of
hearing with these words.
Mrs Harris came MP to the door as
usual to get the milk Her husband
watched her CLOSELY as he said:
Il can carry them in for you"
The look of wonder she flashed in
his face made his heart beat rapidly.
He watched her arrange the milk, Civ
ing lift to the heavy pals and jars.
occasionally. Picking up the empty
IltliiSs sue turning lONdiu Tue Kitchen
glanced at him. How tired she looked
He took the pals away from her and
closed the milkhOuse door. He placed
both hands on her shoulders.
"Mollie. ne said in a husky voice,
tell me, have | been abusing you?'
She looked surprised, and he went
on hurriedly:
Il heard tonight was brute; that
you were worked to death. and got no
sympathy except from strangers.
They think you've changed since you
married NE, and guess-I guess Che
paused and drew her close in his arms)
that it is all so, Mollie: but believe NE.
dear, that in my haste to make money
| forgot you could not stand this. and
that 1t was not that / no longer have +
your happiness in view.
Then he suddenly left her alone. for .
it is hard thing for a proud man to
come TO confession. She sank on the .
floor and suffered hot tears 20 flow
Tired, sick, heart-weary. she felt a mo- I
ment since as if she should drop with /
fatigue. She arose soon, and having
washed the pals, took the baby from /
Rob and sat down in the sittiug-room
where they all sat. The rain had /