The record-union., 1891-12-19

tooney for Mrs. Somers and me to go to
! sleep on"
! Her school interested and amused Roy.
One of the pupils, colored boy named
Thomas Jefferson Carson, worshiped
! Roy, and when she told him to do any,
thing, he would invariably reply: ''Yes,
marin, honey, anything you telled me /
does, even if | cuts off this good-fur-
nuthin' hed''
He had brought a yellow dog one day
for present, and as he answered to the
name OF Chrome, Roy would not change
the name for another more classical but
Rss appropriate.
Early in the spring flock Of wild
geese had passed, and a young goose
whose wing and leg had been broken, fell
from the ranks. Tom had found it,
tended 1t carefully, and although disabled,
| 1t could go around very comfortably. He
had brought this, also, to Roy. She was
extremely fond of pets. and these two.
Chrome, the dog, and Troy, the goose,
would follow her everywhere except to
school. She grew quite attached to them.
Troy was most affectionate bird, and
| loved to be caressed. She would arch her
glossy neck for the touch of her soft fin
gers, and give soft honk of satisfaction
as she settled down at her feet before the
lire on the open hearth. And paw would
say: NAV. amt them three just like
the pictur' of the happy family in the
Bible-Mary, John and so-forth ?''
December came, and Roy was busy
drilling the children for a Christmas en-
tertainment. So. little time for thinking,
and very little time for visiting, except
now and then walk across the ridge to
Betty Martins cabin. Betty was wretch
edly poor. Her one child. a son, had
supported her. Now, he had been in the
valley hospital for some weeks with
rheumatism, and ''the wolf was very
near her door," She hated to go to town
hnUC w mis- N 10
lot, and when they saw her on the street
they would call out, ''Hii Betty Martin,
tip-top, fine; couldn't get a husband to
please her, please her-couldn't get hus-
band to please her mind ~
Betty naturally resented this, and her
wrathy rejoinders only added fuel to
their fun.
Roy heard Of it, and gave her pupils
serious talking to about tormenting the
poor old woman. Thomas Jefferson, with
his usual volubility, said: Yes, marin,
and l will let drap rocky stone on any
feller's he'd as | hear doing it. Fader
says, anyways, Cord gets mad when yer
yell at an old pusSon wild one feet in de
graber and de odder all butter, and he
VIII put you on de anvil of his rawth and
pound yer wild de hammer of his indig-
natlon," and Thomas J. rolled his eyes
till the whites alone were visible, and as
If he could see the hammer coming
Roy could hardly keep a straight face
at this Speech but the other children
We're serious till one boy said: tom
Jefferson makes a good deacon preachin',
but he is better at yellin' at Mrs Mar
tin"
Roy walked over one evening to see
Betty. She found her in tears, because
she had "nuthin' to send her boy for
Christmas, and 'nuthin' for herself. Roy
would willingly have given her some-
thing, but her salary had not been paid
and she had no money on hand. The
Trustees said 1t would be all right when
the miners had ''clean up" Every
thing depended on ''clean up" and it
must be good one that would settle all
accounts for that year.
She walked home in the twilight very
soberly, thinking how she could possibly
help Betty. 1tseemed a hopeless case, and
tears filled her dark eyes. If only Lee
would help. But she would not write him
for she knew he was with the Captain.
for cautiously-wordeda advertisement in
the city papers caught her eye. 1t was
from Lee, asking her 'tO write and get
an explanation" Whenever she thought
OF doing so repulsive feeling came over
her, and she literally had not the strength
of will to combat this. She seemed to
see pair of glittering blue eyes watch
: ing her and forbidding her to do it.
AS she walked along the idea came to
her to kill the wild goose, her pet Troy,
and give that to Betty for her Christmas
dinner. That was really all she had to
give; but could she sacrifice the pet for
poor old Betty?
The evening had grown cold, and a
light snow was falling, whitening the
ground; the wind whistled through the
dark pine boughs. Roy felt dreary,
lonely and heartsick for her brother.
And could she now give up the one
thing that seemed to love her. The tears
came. She brushed them away bravely
cnvt Il
or say a word to the old couple, she went
in the house, caught up Troy and an old
apron and retreated. She had never
killed anything in her whole life, and her
hands shook nervously as she picked up
the wood ak. The goose was contented
to be within her arms, recognizing her
mistress, and she stopped her head and
kissed her glossy feathers, with little
sob In her throat but the thought of old
Betty's misery and want gave her cour-
age. She laid the goose On the wood
block, and with one quick blow of the ak
the head rolled off. She flung the body
down and rushed to the house and to her
room like whirlwind and had good
cry. Then she went outside, picked up
her dead pet, wrapped her in the old
apron, and by the light of the young
moon went again to Betty's cabin. The
old woman heard her call at the door and
came quickly.
Il have brought you Christmas din
ner," she said in shaking voice, as she
handed in her pet, and never waiting for
the old woman's thanks she sped away
over the new-fallen snow to her home.
She was late for supper, but to Mrs.
Scott's inquiry she said, briefly: 81 have
been to see Mrs. Martin" Chrome came
up to her and shifted suspiciously at her
dress, then licked her hands, but, con-
trary to her usual custom, Roy never no.
ticed him. Mrs. Scott said to her hus-
band: "'Pears to me Mrs. Somers has
something on her mind more than COM
mon.n
''Wimmin mostly do" said he. aIt's
always somethin' more than extra they
do and think; that is, accordin' TO their
own notions"
The evening seemed unusually long to
Roy. A depressed feeling seemed in the
I air. Even the 'tgueitaf' music did not
sooth her. And when the old man picked
up his violin, and practiced calling for an
, imaginary dance, and although Roy
, could distinguish the tune of 'I want to
be an angel,'' arranged to the words:
'Honors tue the right, honors tue the
left; salute your right hand pardners and
; all promenade she did not even feel
like smiling; not even when Mrs. Scott
seized chair and executed a waltz with
) elephantine agility, and beamed brightly
as Scott said: That's well dun, NAV"
The next morning before o'clock the
t bell in the meeting house was rung
vigorously. As it was only rung for
> services and fires, this created general
/ alarm, and every man, woman and child
+ in the neighborhood ran quickly up the
) street to see what it meant. They were
t met on the steps by the Justice of the
Peace, an important feeling man, very
, large as to size, very small as to brain.
! When the crowd asked the cause of the