Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1891-09-12

set his thin lips together in a straight
line. His sister-in-law knew the sensi-
tive, exposed places in his armor and
was skillful in shooting her bitter ar
rows. He turned uneasily and shuff1ed
away toward his milk cart, but Hannah
was close behind him like visible Mem
esis in faded brown calico gown. 1t
was a great relief to her overwrought
nerves to unburden her mind to Joel
Fearing.
"You know" she went on, as she fol-
lowed him toward the cart, raising her
voice little, "that was what allied your
brother Anson; he was too generous and
open handed and he went against his
own interests. and you always con-
demned Anson and thought so poorly of
him it would have been sin for you to
help his widow in her straits, you know
it would. And after poor Anson died
you brought in bill against him for
borrowed money that most covered all
his interest in the undivided half of his
fathers homestead, and you made me
sign a quitclaim to the property though
felt sure that debt had been paid, and
you came into possession of the whole
of that nice old farm, with all the stock
and farm implements and the woodlots
on the Dewsville road, and there was
only bare enough left of Ansons share
to pay his funeral expenses"
She stopped suddenly, as if something
was choking her. Joel took advantage
of the pause in the torrent OF her pas
sionate speech to climb awkwardly into
his wagon, and from that safe vantage
he was enabled to fire a parting shot at
the enemy.
al don't wonder Anson died young"
said he in his slow way, "for don't
Scriptur' say it's better to have smoke in
the eyes than to live in house with
brawling woman" He gave his old
horse a smart smack with the whip that
made him leap in ungainly, rheumatic
fashion, and Hannah turned quickly and
entered her house, standing for a mo-
ment by the open door with the apron
still thrown over her head, while her
throat seemed torn by hard, dry sobs.
Not patient woman was Hannah Fear
ing, and strong, too, in all her feelings
good hater and an ardent lover. Her
husbands people called her proud, and
Joel said she was obstinate and self
willed and as vicious as his old brindle
COW. But joel was known to be noto-
rious falsifier, 80 that his opinion did not
count for much in Littleheld. Joel nat
urally abhorred that type Of woman, and
had chosen for his helpmeet one of the
meek and colorless ones of the earth
! Hannah was standing in her spotless
little kitchen, where the range fire blazed
fercely, for it was ironing day, and a
great pile of folded clothes lay in the
basket and the table stood ready with
| its snowy ironing cloth. The things
must be done up and carried home be-
fore dark. for Judge Bright's new shirts
were in demand for his journey to
| Washington and Mrs Price needed her
baby things-wonderful caps and bibs
and frocks and slips 1t was Mrs. Prices
first. and, as everybody knows, the first
always gets more rufies and frills and
puffs and fine embroidery than those
! that come later.
But Hannah let her irons get over
heated as she stood there with the dry
sobs suddenly shaking her breast and
her brown. sinewy hand clinched on the
edge of the table. All the past had come
| rolling upon her like a torrent, and il
would have way, for in nature like
| Hannah's there are crises like sudden
thunder showers that clear the air, and
when they had passed the bright sun
shone, the heavens were blue overhead,
and she put forth those great strokes of
work for which she was famous among
her neighbors. Every muscle was tense
and strung to the utmost, and her skirts
sounded like the breezes in a sail as she
passed back and forth from the stove to
the ironing table, and laid out the dainty
white things on the clothes frames smell
ing of new grass and sweet like the
breath of country clover.
But an encounter with Joel generally
did stir up the bitter waters in Han
nahs soul. 1t took her back to the time
after Anson's death when her brother
in-law put in his heavy claim for debt
and she had signed away her rights,
though she felt morally sure the claim
had been paid, but with her confused
head and all the dull. stupid grief that
weighed upon her from the suddenness
of the blow, she could never clearly re-
member what Anson had told her about
the note, and the acknowledgment oil
payment and all his other papers had
strangely disappeared She had lain
awake nights trying in vain to catch NJ
the floating threads Of memory, and II
was in her dazed, hopeless state that
she had signed a release to her claim on
the old farm. Then the anguish al
came back of the time when she first
knew that her little home in Littleield
was mortgaged up to its full value and
must be sold on foreclosure sale, and
she and her two children would be
turned into the street. She had hum bled
herself and gone on her knees to Joel
but he had refused to help her.
He had called Anson improvident ant
careless about his affairs, and said h'
had no ready money to throw after tha
which his brother had already squan
dered. He had had dealings with An