The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1890-11-28

things besides. w
were to give IL grand supper on THU
Thanksgiving day-which was, also
the thirtieth anniversary OF ou1
wedding.
"Dcary NEIL thought, peerina
into the oven to see how the turkeys
were getting on, II can't believe il
Inns been thirty years since Tom and
l stock up before Preacher Censor tc
get married-it really dosen't seem
that long; but Preacher Censor has
been dead and gone these twenty
years, Toms hairi is Us white us tioul
ut the mill. and I-well, don't feel SC
very old yet, and wouldn't realize
the flight of time so much if
hadn't jamie, here. with me-" and
glanced ut our only child-a man in
years, but to me always IL child; for
lie had never grown in statue since
ten long years ago, when they
brought him mangled and bleeding,
his feet crippled for life caused by a
fall from a beam in the mill.
l thought it would kill me, ut first
to see my once active, bonny, bright
darling tramping around on crutcll-
es; but somehow got used to it ms
years passed us both by 30 used to
it, indeed, that when jamie asked me
that Thanksgiving morning if
would take Dora for my daughter,
! finred up at him and answered him
more sharply than / should have
thought it possible for me to answer
my idolized boy.
What right had lie to leave ME for
Dora? Not that disliked the girl,
though she wns q strange sort OF
bosly-living first at one house then
ut another. Our neighbors were all
working people and managed to get
along without hired help, except
field-hands OR some such mnn-labor;
it was only Mt house cleaning times
TINT Dora was needed steadily, or
sewing was going to be done ut mar
riages or funerals. 1t was u haphaz.
ard way OF getting ones bread, but
Dora was always busy; for she was
as handy Mt boys work as any la,l
in the village and had the advan-
tage OF being more intelligent. Dora
would lie just the wife for my son;
she was energetic, robust, strong and
smart, while lie was the crippled son
of n hard working miller, who could
leave him no money or estate when
lie died; and me, his mother, who
could leave him only to the mercy OF
the world when life was ended.
But l steeled my heart against his
pleading voice and eyes, and gave
him short angry replies, until he
could stand itnolonger and hobbled
nwny, slowly and tremblingly, to-
ward the mill.
My heart cried out for him; but
stitled its reproaches, and gave vent
to ugly feelings by spiteiully dashing
all manner OF kitchen utensils out up.
on the porch. After the turkeys were
tanned to russell and gold in the big
oven, and the cakes were done the ex.
citement that had kept me in fur.
~ all day suddenly left me, and
sat down in the disordered kitchen
and had q good, long. hard cry over
my poor boy. Still l felt that this
trouble WINS Dora's fault, and / tried
to !usil my accusing conscience by
blnming her.
by shutdown all was ready to re.
ceive the expected guests. Dora had
come so as to help me about the to
bles, and had treated her so coldly
that her usually bright, sweet, sun
shiny look fled from her face, and
there seemed, oddly enough, q
gloomy cloud spreading, shadow
like. all over the house.
Tom and Jamie came in late from
the mill, for it was being repaired
and the Masters eye" was required
incessantly. Jamie stopped on the
porch, and before my very eyes
with never a hint that he saw the
anger flashing out OF them-he
drew Dora's face down to his and
kissed her..
Then was mad and said things
that made them tremble Mt their un
just bitterness and hate. Jamie
never answered mo but limped up
stairs to his own room and stayed
there several hours; as for Dora, she
disappeared.
BY ones and twos and threes thu
guests began to congregate in my
little best room until it was crowded
and they were forced, for want ofspacc
to move on into the other rooms OF
scatter about tho porches and gar
den. The young folks chose the lat
ter place, us the night wa,
mild rs summer itself, and Thu
big full moon, that seemed too heav,
ever to rise above our heads, was
floating slowly up over the eastern
hills. The lovers looked SO blissfu
and happy. that it made me almost
sorry l had driven Dora and Jamie
apart by my fearful tongue. flashing
but my bark is worse than my bite
and it was Jamie's own fuult il he
hadn't found that out long ago.
For the next hour or SO forgot
Jamie; but when supper time came,
crept up stairs to his little room
anc peeped in. He lay stretched or
the bed by the window in tho white
moonlight, which was Ms bright as
day, showing me plainly his poor,
dwarled feet, his useless limbs and
his grand, wide forehead. He was
still dressed but his overdrawn
breath assured me he was