Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1891-01-17
The Widows Ledger.

'hO WiuuW LUuytT.
II know" he said, nothing could be
more hopeless, and / am wrong to build
up such q heaven out Of her kindness.
She would be sorry, and angry too"
"Why?"
II shall have to depend entirely on
my profession, and that means many
years. hard work.
$50 much the better,n said the old
gentleman, cheerily. IF a profession
Is worth anything, you ought to desire
nothing better. You would hardly, il
you are the man / take you to be, care
to depend on your wife or your mother"
Certainly not"
And unless you have expectations
nom q grandfather who may outlive
you, or an uncle with half-a-dozen
nephews and nieces besides yourself,
what else would you depend upon2 Be
independent-work and wait, and do
not forget the faint heart which never
won O fair lady. Not that Miss Allen
by is fair-it is just a healthy English
medium color that will wear well. She
might do worse"
"You refer to me sir?"
"Yes, sir, | do. There are plenty of
better-looking men-plenty."
II know it," said Mr.. Parker, meekly.
"And you are not a genius the old
gentleman went on; but that is so
much the better. No woman in her
senses would marry a good-looking
genius. Work and wait, and win, my
boy, and you may find a friend in me-"
Mr.. Parker took comfort from that.
1t was a promise of the y uest kind,
but the medical student had unlimited
faith IN the eccentric dodgers power;
and from this time the oddly-assorted
pair were very much together; they had
an interest In common-little Arthur's
danger. The child was i'll much longer
than he would have been inthe ordinary
course of things: for he had been over
INDUCED, and an obstinate low fever
chung TO him. Mr.. Barker had misgiv-
ings of his own. based on a guilty knowl-
edge of tamarinds and preserved ginger;
but baby had been petted and spoiled
throughout the house, and there was
great rejoicing when he toddled about
again. lie was sadly wasted, and there
did not seem much of him left but gold
en- hair and large bright eyes; but he
soon picked up.
A second blow, however, and a
heavier one fell upon the house. Mary
was taken Ill. She had been needlessly
anxious over her boy.
Now she was stricken down. Doctor
Hyde looked grave when Mr.. Barker
asked him what was the matter with
her, and the old man said:
There is danger"
There is danger" was the grave re-
ply, "her system Is sadly shaken, and
some latent symptoms of pulmonary
disease have shown themselves, but the
worst feature is fever.
"Such as the boy had?"
mo, you must keep him away from
her.
"Merciful Heavens, man, you will
not tell me it is ~contagiousy"
mo more so than typhoid fever
usually is" the young doctor said, with
q dryness in his voice that was not in
his eyes.
The old man bowed his head in his
hands with a groan.
THAT is the one thing in the world /
would not have" he said, I'VE must
save her, George; you love her / know,
but not as | do"
Not as you do" repeated DR.. Hyde,
quietly; "but my future lives or dies
with het."
lie had never limited at this before,
but Mr., Barker understood him; he
comprehended how difficult it would be
for Arthur's dearest friend to under
take the guardianship of Arthur's girl
ish widow, and retain only a brotherly
feeling as the time wore on.
George Hyde had intended TO wait
till Mary's sorrow for her young hus-
band became a memory, and left room
for new thoughts of the time to come,
but he told the eccentric ledger now
how much he had built upon winning
Mary's love.
II had begun TO feel" he said, that 1t
was only a question Of time, and now
tnlS llOuDIe has come.
This may be only a question Of
time" Mr.. Barker replied. MARY is
young, and if you doubt your own skill,
or your affection renders you nervous,
have a physician; then there is the
nursing. Margaret must not run the
risk, although she would, and it is a
matter in which / am powerless."
"Mrs. Allenby has offered her services,
and in the most generous spirit" said
George; "but then"
"Do not think of me. Would she be
worth having as nurse?"
Invaluable; she has nerve and cool
ness, and is as clever as most medical
men; she would not be likely to mistake
the medicines, give too little or too
much, or 60 past the time. You are the
only difficulty"
II shall stay in this house." Mr.. Bark
er said, ''the boy wants me, no one else
could keep him quiet, and | will not
leave her; as for the rest l can keep out
Of the way, and even should she meet
me by accident I can take care she does
not recognize me Do you think she
had better Gomez"
1--WE could depend upon her watch
fulness and attention, and she has
nerve, knowledge, and experience"
LET it be so then. The women In
the house are kind enough, but they are
clumsy, even with the best intentions,
and the hired nurse is always half
asleep, the normal condition Of hired
nurses, it appears to me-"
Mrs. Allenby had offered her services
when she first heard of Mary's illness,
but George had steadily declined them.
The lady of Orthorpe Square thought il
hard that she should be debarred q posi-.
ton that she chose to consider hers by
right since her reconciliation with Mary
was SO complete.
"You kept me away from baby" she
said, with an air of injury. ''and I did
not mind so much, because he had his