The Portland daily press., 1891-07-17

Monday morning to Wednesday night
she lived on remembrance, and from
Thursday morning to Saturday night on
anticipation, so she got along pretty well.
But one day, after six or seven months
of this alternate sunshine and shadow.
the clouds settled down in earnest over
the little cottage. He came home in the
middle of the week, and Over-the-W Way
met him at the door with scared face.
The next morning he left with q big
trunk. He had his hat down over his
eyes and never looked back at the bav
window. He knew Over-the- Way wasn't
there to kiss her hand to him. We
didn't see her at all that day, for by and
by Aunt Amanda came and pulled down
the shades.
He had been ordered off on three
months trip to South America, and John
Berry said reciprocity" or some such
thing was the cause of it. 1 know we
women all hated it, whatever it was
Over-the-Way came back to her bou-
doir after while, but she didn't seem
to be quite the same old Over-the- Way.
She got letters, but they didn't come
every day now. Sometimes we fairly
hated the postman-just as if it was his
FAULT But when she did get one-why,
we could tell a block off when the post
man had letter by the way he walked.
By and by Oyer-the-W Way had broad,
comfortable lounge put in her window
and deserted her armchair for it. There
she would lie for hours reading or look
ing idly out of the window. And Jim
Gray said one day that he hoped Over
the-Way wasn't going to grieve herself
into decline. If she didn't chirk up
pretty soon he believed he'd get her hus-
bands address and write to him to throw
up his job and come home. And Harry
Roberts said that may be Over-the- Way
wasn't SO much better than every other
woman after all, and liked to lie around
in loose gown and read novels Just like
the rest of them. Nobody said word,
and the next day Harry Roberts told
Mrs. Smith that he guessed he'd leave at
the end of the week, and he did.
But Jim Gray didn't write, for Over
the-Way did chirk up right away. She
got an industrious streak all of sudden
and sat in her big armchair and cut and
basted and sewed until Jim said he was
afraid she was getting vain and thinking
too much of her clothing for such a SEN
sible young woman. Then he discovered
that all her sewing was white, and he
suggested that most likely she was get
ting ready to join her husband in South
America; it was so hot there that every
one had to wear white all the time. We
oil 10 a1l H.
bonnets and Mrs. Smith left the room.
She suddenly remembered that she had
left something in the oven.
Jim grew reconciled to the sewing,
but he found other things to worry him.
He elected himself bulletin committee
of one and made frequent reports.
When there were no facts he gave us the
benefit of his speculations. One day he
announced that he guessed Over-the- Way
would begin to pack up before long; she
had pretty much finished her sewing.
He could see that she was just puttering
and putting in fancy stitches. Another
time he said he was afraid that Over
the-Way was i'll; there was a light in
the bay window when he got home at
o'clock that morning.
A few mornings after that there was
news. We women all knew it long be-
fore breakfast time and John Berry and
the other men were told by Mrs. Smith
when they came down. The bulletin
committee was a little late and we were
all at breakfast when he appeared. The
moment he entered the room he said he
was sure that Over-the-Way was i'll;
when he got home everything was ablaze
with light and there was a doctors
phaeton in front of the house. We could
see for ourselves that the bay window
shades were down.
"Umphr' said Mrs. Smith. SIS that all
Won have TO tell nsp"
"Why, what's happened"
"Over- the-Way has visitor"
$50 he's back at last, is hep Well, it's
time"
81 wish her husband was here; it's
dear little girl"
"Good Lordr said Jim.
Nobody laughed right then, but
minutue later, when Miss Elliott made
one of her vivacious remarks everybody
roared-except Jim. Even John Berry
and Elizabeth Hawkins, who were look
ing powerfully glum, had to laugh
Things get out so in q boarding house.
We all knew that he had proposed and
she had said no.
Just as we were getting through
breakfast John Berry gave groan at
the window and turned to us with his
face working and his lips trembling. He
couldn't speak; just pointed across the
street.
Old Aunt Amanda was tying long
streamer of white crepe to the door bell.
"Over-the-W Ways dead" said some one
in strained whisper.
"White's for little children, said Mrs.
Smith. "It's Over-the- Ways little baby.
o dear! o dear!" And the good woman
burst out sobbing. None of us were
much better off, for that matter.
So it happened that then we made our
first call across the street. John Berry
and Mrs. Smith went. Mrs. Smith went
in, but John paced up and down in front
of the house. Elizabeth Hawkins never
took her eyes off him. She was as pale
as ghost, and yet she didn't look exact
ly unhappy either.
By and by they came back. AS soon
as they came in John took out roll of
money and dropped bill in his hat.
FLOWERS" said he, and looked around
as much as to ask if anybody wanted to
follow suit. We all put in something.
Elizabeth Hawkins put in dollar. l
knew she had saved it to buy some Sun
day gloves. After John had gone out
Mrs. Smith told us how she had talked
with the poor young mother in the dark
ened room, and how the little baby was
to be buried the next day, and how John
was to see to everything and go to the
cemetery, and how the little coffin was
to be put in the vault and kept till the
father got home.
By and by John came back with
great box. 1t was full to the brim with
lilies of the valley-not another flower.
Well, Johns services were not needed
after all, for that very night the young
husband came home from South Amer
lea, and the next day, when the carriage
drove away from the little cottage with
a little white casket on the front seat
heaped high with lilies of the valley,
the poor young husband looked over to
us in the windows and made sort of a
bow and put his hand on his heart.
That evening, when it was time to go
to work, John Berry came down with a
satchel in his hand and began to say
hNT 10