Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1891-12-10

till silent.
"Heavens!' she said, chow sound
she sleeps that it requires SO much to
wake her."
| At the instant the door opened Of
| itself. She entered. Her lantern il.
Illuminated. the interior of the dark
and silent cabin, and showed her the
water falling from the ceiling az
through the openings of a sieve. Al
| the end of the room an awful form
was lying-a woman stretched out
motionless with bare feet and sightless
eye. Her cold white arm hung down
among the straw of the pallet. She
was dead. Once strong and happy
mother, she was now only the spectre
era long struggle with the world.
Near the bed on which the mother
lay two little children-a boy and girl
slept together in their cradle and
were smiling in their dreams Their
mother, when she felt that she was
dying, had laid her coat across their
feet and wrapped them in her dress, to
| keep them warm when she herself was
cold.
How sound they slept in their old
| tottered cradle, with their calm breath
and quiet little faces! 1t seemed as If
nothing could awake these sleeping
orphans. Outside, the rain beat down
in floods and the sea gave forth q
sound like an alarm bell. From the
old creviced roof, through which blew
the gale, a drop of water fell on he
| dead face and ran down it like tear.
What had Jennie been about in The
dead woman's house? What was; she
carrying off beneath her cloak? Why
was her heart beating? Why did she
hasten with such trembling stei,- to
her own cabin without daring to .ook
back? What did she hide in her own
| bed behind the curtain? Wha; mad
she been stealing?
When she entered the cabin the
cliffs were growing white. She sank
upon the chair beside the bed. She
was very pale; it seemed as if she felt
repentance. Her forhead fell upon the
pillow, and at intervals, with broken
words she murmured to herself, while
outside the cabin moaned the savage
| sea.
"My poor man. 0, heavens, what
will he say? He has already so much
trouble. What have | done now?
Five children on our hands already
Their father tolls and tolls, and vet,
as if he had not care enough already
l must give him this care more Isthat
he? No; nothing. have done wrong
he would do quite right to beat me.
Is that he? mol So much the betterl
coming in; but no. To think that
! oh I, 90, +o L;
Then she remained absorbed in
thought and shivering with the cold,
unconscious of all outward sounds,
OF the black cormorants, which passed
shrieking, and OF the rage OF wind and
sea.
At once the door flew open,
streak of the white light of morning
entered, and the fisherman, dragging
his dripping net appeared upon the
threshold, and cried, with a gay
laugh. "Here comes the navy!'
"You!' cried Jenny; and she clasped
her husband like a lover and pressed
her mouth against his rough jacket.
"Here am, wife" he said, showing
in the freight the good-natured and
contented face which Jenny loved so
we'll.
II have been unlucky," he continued.
"What kind OF weather have you
had?"
dreadful"
"And the fshing?"
"Bad. But never mind. I have
you in my arms again, and am salts
fed. have caught nothing at all. I
have only torn my net. The deuce
was in the wind tonight. At one mo-
ment of the tempest I thought the
boat was laundering, and the cable
broke. But what have you been doing
all this timer"
Jenny felt shiver in the darkness.
"I?" she said in trouble. "Oh, moth
ing; just as usual. 1 have been sewing.
I have been listening to the thunder
OF the sea, and | was frightened"
eyes. the winter is hard time.
But never mind it now"
Then trembling as if she were going
to commit crime:
Husband" she said, "our neighbor
is dead. She must have died last night,
soon after you went out. She has left
two little children, one called Wilhelm
and the other Madeline The boy can
hardy toddle, and the girl can only
t,oP. ,'o pun, gnu "oliioi1 was Ii
dreadful want"
The man looked grave. Throwing
intao corner his fur cap, sodden by
the tempest: 1.-THE deuce!" he said,
scratching his head" We already have
| five children; this makes seven. And
already in bad weather we have to go
without our supper. What shall we
do now? Bah, it is not my fault; it's
Gods doing, These are things too
deep for me. Why has he taken way
their mother from these mites?
These matters are difficult to under
stand. One has to be scholar to see
through them. Such tiny scraps of
children! Wife, go and fetch them. If
they are awake they must be
frightened to be alone with their dead
mother. We will bring them up with
ours. They will be brother and sister
to our FIVE When God sees that we
have to feed this little girl and boy be-