Wichita eagle., 1888-03-06

DcuulHS Will uSf own OelI UuSeIS. AS d
spinster, she also willingly lent humble
attention to a course of lectures on baby
culture, undergoing considerable brow
beating from old Kitty, who had raised a
numerous progeny in her day and was not
at all inclined to forego such an oppor-
tunity of airing her stock of musty re-
ceipts
Rachel accepted her hectoring as the
probable accompaniment Of superior
knowledge, and meekly anxious to profit
by her sage counsels, went for peppermint
to the corner drugstore, where she was
in turn patronized by the clerk-a
friendly young fellow, whose upper
lip looked as If he had bitten into
a deep slice of pumpkin pie. He
was SO knowing about a baby's stomach
the possible teeth, and talked so glibly
about the ills threatening infantile exist
ence, that Rachel would have been greatly
alarmed if he had not always ended by put
ting into her hand some infallible remedy
for the evil upon which he expatiated;
SO that she began to see that it was all
matter Of being initiated, and went homo
with her arms full of patent medicine to
spend the last afternoon of her brothers
absence in reading glowing testimonials,
never for moment suspecting that the
names of patrons and physicians were
fictitious. Indeed, with the medical pro-
fession thus at her back, she received with
no little dignity Aunt Kitty's sighting
opinion of her purchases.
Asi grew dark, however, she became too
restless to keep to any employment, and
spent her time vibrating between the
window and fireplace-being driven from
the window by fidgety care of her all
ments, and from the fire back to the win
dow again by the fear that her deafness
would prevent her from knowing Of the
arrival of the carriage.
AS she was thus standing by the win
dow, Aunt Kitty made her appearance,
carrying a saucepan of porridge as an ex-
cuse for her intrusion. She stopped short
in the doorway, evidently surprised to
find her mistress alone. fastening to
her side she called in her ear, 'Missy.
whar de baby?'
'"They have not come yet" said Rachel.
"Mahs Dave s hyarr' cried the old
woman, and seizing Rachel by the arm
she drew her to q window looking out on
the side garden, where light, evidently
from the laboratory at the top of the
house, was shining on the snow.
Rachel looked helplessly at her COM
panion.
Missy" said the old woman, go de
Lor', l is gwine up dar"' and she started
for the door, perhaps not little strength
ened in her determination by seeing that
Rachel followed her.
She climbed the stairs, slapping her big
feet down with less noise than was her
~, 81 L
hands touched the walls, and muttering
below her breath: cole dog, ole black
Of her master or of the
devil, who was supposed to be his ally,
she did not make clear.
AS her turbaned head came above the
level of the upper landing she looked in
through the open door of the laboratory.
OF sudden she squatted, and, seizing
Rachel's skirts, gasped in whisper:
"Fo' de Lor' sake, chile, keep stilll''
But curiosity was as strong as fear,
and she crept up couple Of steps that
she might, in her crouching position,
view of the room.
She did not in the least doubt that
the ''old black man" was before her
as she gazed at the moth eaten orang
outang in the corner. There was an un-
csnny skeleton in sight and the faring
lights made the uncouth shadows cast by
the retorts tremulous, as If the long
disks were struggling into life.
Rachel was struggling with a vague
fear that as yet had no shape; and re-
gardless Of Aunt Kitty's OBTAINING hand
pushed upward that she might see into
the room. But the cause Of Aunt Kitty's
sudden fright was not evident to her.
She looked at her brother and saw that he
was looking quietly into a small box,
which stood on table in the center of
the room. 1t was, in fact, an automatic
incubator of his OWE manufacture.
Early that day he day suddenly
doubted whether he had filed the lamp
beneath the machine before leaving
home; then, if he had done so, was
he sure of the thermometer? or, would
the egg revolve properly? and his
mind had gone on imagining all possible
defects In the machine and how he might
have made it better, until he grew more
and more desperate at the distance that
separated him from home with every hour
Of travel the express train made toward
his destination; and he had finally taken
to pacing up and down the car with such
4 feverish one ideaG expression that the
passengers looked after him. On reach
ng home, however, he found that all had
gone on as well in his absence as if he had
been standing beside the machine day and
night. Having scrutinized it with the
sondness of an inventor, he stood looking
,omplacently down upon his handiwork,
lis eve resting casually on a short hori-
.ontal line Of red ink, which he had put
n the egg, suspended in the warm air. as
/ means of knowing whether it made its
low, invisible revolutions. A film of !
lbsent mindedness had gradually crept |
'yer his face as he looked at the mark, |
when all at once he thought he saw it |
urve into rosy mouth and in an instant |
more fancied that he saw a soft outline of |
limbs.
At that moment there was 4 sound that |
'either he, nor Rachel, nor Aunt Kitty, /
ould at once have defined in their over
wrought state Of mind--an explosion or q |
hud. Aunt Kitty plunged down stairs
With howl, nearly upsetting her COM
'anion in her course. Rachel, on recover
nS herself, however, perceived that her
rother was unhurt. though apparently a
title bewildered to account for what had |
and she resolved to go to him.
When she reached his side, he was again
usy with the incubator; this time in
licking up bits of shattered egg shell.
David" she said, what has thee done
nth the child:'
He started violently and looking at her
eturned, ''The baby' have failedr'
He spoke bitterly, then his face sud-
enly frightened, and fixing his shining
yes upon her he exclaimed, mo, not
liled! 1t was victory, victoryn' And
18th tenderness such SIS Rachel had
ever known in him before he drew her to
i'm and kissed her; then releasing her,