Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-11-23
IN AFTER YEARS.
BY ABBE c. M'KEEvER.

ny ABBIE C. M'KEEVER.
School was dismissed at last and TIL,
eager children went storming out int
-shc warm June sunshine.
jane Ferris, the pale little teacher
gave long sigh Of relief and turned tx
Tie badly-blotted copy-books tina
awaited new copy.
Kane WAS not pretty, though she had
ris hair and eyes and sensitive
rneath; to use the common expression
abe locked we'll enough, or would, il
she had not been so pale; and, besides
sac was past thirty. and many woman
-sose,s her freshness before that age.
Not only was she lacking in beauty,
aut she dressed shabbily, for the very
good reason that she had to-for what
.~onaan would do it willingly?
There was the dot of home to keen
q over the old mothers head, Eliza's two
explained children to support, and
and there Was her father.
Folks who knew about him said it
vsas no wonder Jane was pale. The
sEzougght Of having him around was
enough to make any one pale.
For old Jack Ferris had been sea
captain, and was now dreadful drunk
ard, and very bad case altogether.
Jane was not afraid of him, she never
ksad been, though the wife and little
grandchildren would cover in the cor
1ser when old Jack took one of his
spells, and strange to say James
gentle voice and slender hands were the
only ones that had any control over
hIm.
This was the last week of her sum-
naer school and the was very glad, al
Though she could i'll afford to have even
THAT small salary stopped until Septem-
I,er; but she was tired of the monoto-
rgons duties, she had been teaching now
for Twelve years, summer and winter.
She was only Is when she began; how
Gar away that seemed now. All, was it
azs1e that she was once young and
happy! Yes, they were all happy then,
when father was at sea and came home
only twice year with loads of presents
s.nnd a big drunk. Poor, poor father!
All these things came vaguely before
her minds eyes as she put away the
hooks and closed the old school house
door.
There had been q bit of love story
.eonce. long, long ago, when upon one of
1his visits her father had brought home
with him his young second mate, and
9ane had tried to Danish it's memory
every after, for the second mate was a
captain now, she knew, but he never
came back to his old love; she doubted
saot but that she was forgotten long ago.
4x WAS the way, she believed, Of sea-
Caring men generally.
Reaching home the first words to
wreet her were from Robbie down by
GS1e old bars.
."Oh, Aunt Jane! Grandfather-Oh,
grandfather"
@sazhat is it, Robbie my child? How
white you are!"
q Ef' Grandfather -he-is dead"
Rol,bie" sternly, growing very white
herself
Yes, he's dead. He came in a while
sgo awful mad. Grandma and us ran
and hid, cause there was another fierce
hooking man with him. We hid in the
closet, and oh, Aunt Jane! grand.
father and that big man fought-and-
sud grandfather is dead on the floor and
all bloody"
so there had been murder that bright
June afternoon, her own father, too
An, well! they had always expected
some dreadful termination to his reck
hess life. But how awful it was-hoM
terrible!
Calming herself as much, as possible
she asked again.
1'Who was the man Robbie?"
I'VE did not know. Grandfathe,
kept calling him cheat and a thief
and said chat he had robbed his family
'and then the big man struck him will
a great knife. Oh! oh!-and he's ali
s,locdy and dead"
There! there! Don't Robbie! How
terrified you are. We cannot help this
awful thing now. Where is YOU
grandmother"
In the closet. I cropt out to tel