Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-04-20
UL.-THAT OLD WOMAN

4
! ''Oh.' cried Miss Bryce, as Kilbraith told his
adventure; I'VE can't leave her so! She may
be abused. She is certainly poor and suffering.
| Do you think she can be crazy?'
Not bit of il, said kilbraith; ''she has a
| shrewd old eve"
Il must find her out by easter" said Kath-
| leen, land we've only one day. Think, to have
the poor thing in comfort and then on easter
| morning to give her a bunch of yiolets How
| she longed for those flowers"
kilbraith laughed teasingly. You have
very young-ladyish way of dealing with your
| proteges-so much bread and meat and flannel.
| so many picture cards and fresh flowers"
Yes" kathleen retorted. land if / didn't
/ give the flowers you'd say ignored the posi-
| bic aspirations of the poor. oh, you'd scold
me anyway
| Miss Bryce had lately been ceding to him
| rights over her conduct in a way that kilbraith
| found to the last degree dangerous and the
most hxed principles could hardly defend him
when she put out her hand and said. Don't
torment me 80, but find orr old woman" There
was comradeship, partnership. in the ''our."
ana the familiarity of Don't torment ME so'
turned him little giddy; SO. promising cate
goricaly to be faithful to his charge he hurried
away.
kibraith had been newspaper reporter too
long to fail i'll obtaining entrance to any house.
however tightly it might be sealed. 1t was
dark on Saturday evening, and the policeman
was settling the national policy at the corner
7 VI. L W
no CLINT of light anywhere, but standing with
his ear glued against the basement door he
/ could hear slight muf1ie -sound recurring at
irregular intervals. After while he could dis
tlngulsh it clearly as a cough-undoubted the
cough of that old woman. After cogitating a
! good while, kilbraith walked off and brought
up before little drug shop on the nearest cor
ner. He entered, and addressing brisk young
man in attendance, asked for a good cigar
The brisk young man took several samples
30 frun rhnro 1nun hot
| customer. kllbraith selected two fragrant Ha-
vanas. and Lighting one himself, handed the
other to the young man.
do you smoker" he said
| Thank you. Don't care if dc. j." answered
| the clerk, accepting the proffered cigar
The way being paved for familiar chat, Kill
braith after discovering that the brisk young
| clerks name was Joe, entered skillfully upon
| his investigations concerning the neighborhOod
| and the mysterious house in particular But
| when judicious questioning had shown that Joe
| knew nothing of the house and innocentlv be-
! lleved 1t empty, the visitor ungratefully re-
! garded that young man with unspeakable dis
| gust. and felt greatly at odds with himself for
| having chosen this stalking-ground. But Just
! before midnight he began to respect his own
! Judgment immensely. tor there came straight
! into that shop slouching old man, and he
recognized the greasy coat and fabby face of
/ Chubbuck
| 81 want some more" said Chubbuck: putting
| a bottle on the counter.
''All right, answered Joe: ''but by the way,
! who's this for? You've had lot
Its for my sister, grumbled Chubbuck.
| well say" remarked Joe. with emphasis
! you'd better look sharp, for if she dies with
| out doctor you'll have a coroner's inquest and
! no end of fuss. Come, you'll have to get GER
! titicate. don't want to be hauled up about
giving medicines without prescription round
! to tenement-house people,
| "Coroners inquest" mumbled Chubbuck
SniUaF InQllEh NJ
as Id better get somebody. What do they ask?
I'm poor. but I'll pay little-not much.
Say, Joe" Kilbraith called out, there's Dr.
| Frink on the avenue; he's cheap"
| Old Chubbuck turned the bullying ewes upon
Kilbraith. who held his breath until he had
made sure there was recognition in them.
| Then he informed Chubbuck: I'm a friend
of Joe's. | have to walk up the avenue toward
| home. I'll go with you.'
Tell the DOCTOR" begged Chubbuck, with
| confidential anxiety. and yet cycling Kilbraith
! sideways with uneasiness and suspicon-.'tell
him You know me; that I'm a poor man. He
must come cheap. I'll pay little; not much
! not much"
! 1t was easy enough. as kilbraith met the
| doctor, to speak a word in his ear: easy enough
| to write a dispatch to be delivered to Miss
! Bryce In the morning, and easy enough to
! bring two men from police station to watch
! outside the house. 1t was easy too this time
! to get in. for the doctor opened the door and
| Z.
| on bed In the corner, lay the poor old crea-
| ture he commissioned to serve. A
wretched fire burned low in the great dirty
| cooking stove, few chairs stood about, and
| over everything lay the CRIME of years. The
! front room also had bed in it, aud here.
| below-stairs. evidently the two had lived while
| the rest of the house was given over to the rats
that were squealing and tumbling in all the
! walls
Chubbuck, who had followed at the doctors
! heels manfred as kl1hraith IN,
| does he want here?"
| Il told him to come said the doctor sternlv
''Now there's going to be death. and we must
know everything is right; or there'll be trouble
| Is this woman your sister?'
''Well. no, answered Chubbuck ''she hain't
| She's just an old cretur I've got the care of
and heverything's right. You can hask er if
you want to, but suppose she couldn't speak
word if she tried; eh?'
! NO; she'll die very soon." said the doctor;
and held a candle so its light fell on the weird
face in the bed. on the rolling, half-closed ewes
the sunken mouth. and the few white eIf-locks
The cough sounded muffled now and dull as if
| the grave were already closing her in.
| Chubbuck, being at best ghouish. was not
| pleasant to see as he said: There hain't no
| 'ope, is there? Dear! dear! She can't speak
nor move. can she? Dear! dear!' And bend
| ing over the bed he touched her.
| She gave strangled scream and the doctor
| commanded, sternly, Let her aloner'
"Ot course, answered Chubbuck; but hev-
| erything's right. She likes me- You'll see as
| heverythlngs right" Whereupon the doctor
| gave him order to bring her some medicine
| to ease her at the last and took care it should
| be found only in distant part of the city,
kllbralth and the doctor sat long in silence,
| listening to the rafting breath until unexpect-
| eddy there came a respite. She opened her
eyes, put out skinny hand toward some liquid
| food that was on the stove; kilbraith brought
| it to her, and she drained the cup almost
greedily. She looked at the doctor with those
eyes, keen even now; then she looked at Kill
braith, who was holding the lighted candle.
long and steadily, and having looked, she pro-
nounced distinctly the name. kenneth"
Kilbraith in establishment, nearly dropped
both cup and candle, and stammered: why.
she spoke my name. Is her mind wandering?
and by some chance has she known somebody
of thai name?"
"She's not wandering" whispered the doc
tor; ''she's perfectly lucid" Then Kilbraith.
eagerly bending over the bed waited-waited
to witness strange and pitiful scene that was
to mark a turning point in his life.
Iv.-THE END.
| The old woman presently spoke again, her
feebly working fingers showing intense nervous
eagerness. Her tones had here and there some
thing of the provincial burr of the north of
England. did you ever hear O. Kenneth Kill
| braith?''
Il am Kenneth Kilbraith," answered the
| young man-''KennethE sme Kilbraith"
Kenneth Esme! Ny God! there coufdna be
mony o. that name. My husband was Kenneth
I'm Eliza Kilbraith He died fiye-and-twentv