The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1891-01-23
The Widows Lodqer.

oned him in. This was his usual practice,
but it did not always succeed, for Sensi
was as quick as he was silent. This
morning, however, the student caught
his man.
"Is there no changer" he asked. clos
ing the door.
mo change was the mournful re-
ply, Except that Mrs. Mary looks more
like and angel, AN the other is asleep
Worn out, poor thing; she is a good
nurse really. Doctor Hyde is asleep,
too. and your master droppedotf to sleep
while l was talking to him, with the
baby in his arms. Sensi."
"Sir.n
MI. Parker had stopped, and was
looking at the glassin Sensis hand with
an expressiono of horror and incredulity
slowly creeping over his face.
sWhere did you take that glass
from.p
THE little table by Mrs. Mary's side.
! Was l wrong? Her mother was asleep. !
and I saw it had been used, though it
is not quite empty"
"Haye you ever done such athing be-
fore?'
Never! Old Mrs. Allenby always ,
gives ms everything; but stop! you
know something, Mr.. Parker, and you
must tell me-you must. and he rolled
his terrible eyes at the young man. IF
she has done anything to Mrs. Mary, /
will strangle her in her chair"
"Stay!" said Parker, with q sudden
and resolute sternness which took the
mulatto by surprise; sit down and let
me test it before we say a word to any
one. Should the test fail, no harm is
done, and if it is as I suspect. we must
keep the secret to ourselves. / want no
help but yours, and not a word to your
master, mind, or Doctor Hyde, till l
tell yon to. speak."
lie opened asmall chest of drugs used
by him in some analytical experiments,
and applied a test to the few drops of
medicine and sediment remaining in
the glass; he waited for the changes,
and as they CAME Il low thick sweat
broke out upon his face.
"Amongst all the things-cruel and
horrible things-that | have heard or
read" he said. there WAS never any
one thing SO bad as this. and sheis Mar
garet's mother. No wonder that we
could not understand the symptoms"
"What is it, Mr.. Parker? Was Mrs.
Mary being killed?n
Slowly and surely poisoned, Sensi.
unless there has been some terrible and
almost ineXplicable mistake: but we
shall know tonight. Now. Sansi, listen
to my plan. If it is as | suspect. it will
be time enough to tell your master and
Doctor Hyde when we have proved it.
Ii not, We a keep our wv counsel,
and shall have done no harm"
The mulatto, with a rapidly growing
respect for Mr.. Parker, listened atten-
lively. and it was quite half an hour be-
fore he left the room, and then he went
about the house with his sweet good
tempered. smile, quiet face, and quiet
footstep as usual.
4. The next time he was semitic the sick
room Mrs. Allenby opened the door
rather wider than was customary, and
stepped out on the landing.
II was asleep when you came in this
morning." she said, with her unvarying
plea SAINT manner.
Eyes, madam" he said, with an I'M
moved c~ountenance. II tried to wake
you, but / could not, so ] set the chick
en- broth over the spirit lamp and clear
ed the room" 9
"You are very kind and thoughtful,
Sensi, and would make an excellent
nurse. VIII you please tell the cook or
the housemaid, or whoever cleans that
) china and glass to be very careful that
they are quite bright and dry, the medi-
! cine glasses especially; they generally
are. but if there is the slightest smear
, or dulness it is SO distasteful,"
t ~ always do that myself, said Sensi,
with that same unmoved face and re-
: spectful attitude, "they are too busy"
"Then you attended to those you
took down this morning?'
Eyes, madam"
"That is right. Will you be good
!. enough to say there is a slight change
: for the better, and Doctor Hyde may
y come up when he a%rrivesTn
: The mulatto bowed and went down
z stairs; if she could have seen his dark
d face when it was turned away from her
Mrs. Allenby would have trembled.
He took the message down, to the in
$ tense relief of the household, though a
3 similar message had gone down many
times before. George Hyde thought,
: or hope and love made him think, he
saw favorable signs when he went into
the room, and Mrs. Allenby cheered
d him with q few words,
81 should not be surprised she said,
q smoothing Mary's long, rich hair ca
O ressingly, "to see a change by the morn
! ing; she rested so well last night"
n "You were right in your predictions
II before" he said, touching the white
face on the pillow gently with his lips.
e " hope it may be so again"
Mrs. Allenby did notleaye her charge
9 all the day. She slept and rested for a
!, few hours in the early evening, and
then resumed her vigil. By midnight
# the house was quiet and the gas turned
Is out-the only light to be seen was in
the sick chamber and Mr.. Parker's
IS room. He had his reading-lamp before
% him, and sat studying a treatise on toxi-
cology. The door of his room was part
10 ly open.
h The hours passed slowly, but he had
~ no sense of drowsiness. A church clock
in a neigh boring square chimed the
is quarters and struck the hours until it
,e had told three past midnight-the time
L. he knew for Mary's sedative-the hour
ic at which she nearly always woke. She
had been so accustomed toher medicine
Va at this time that she woke by the forco
of habit to take it.
re Strangely enough she did not awake
L. on this occasion, and Mrs. Allenby, af-
y ter looking at her attentively and medi-
tatively, drew II long breath, and went
3 to thu table near her couch. divided
q from Mary's bedstead by heavy screen
of many folds. She poured the medi-
n cine OFT With q steady hand. set the bot
el Gle down, and then took a small phial
:h from the bosom of her dress. From this
she measured certain numbero of drops.
as counting them carefully - they fell in
re to the glass.
MS AS she replaced the stopper, a stilied
Us cry rose to her lips, for both her hands
were seized from behind, as the terrible
eyes CT the mrlatto locked into her
G. own. H
n -