Telegram-herald. ([Grand Rapids, Mich.) 18??-1892, 1891-09-26


CURED now it was tn2f chiId with no
constitution at al could b. expected 20
hive. She told RszSen il WAS ZOO mneh
10 ask. SAe gave every one 10 under
stand that Reuben seemed 70 believe
their children oagas 70 i've. but sac knew
they coaldn's.
As the yezrs went BY she male Ar.
Marsh keep those little grayes. ard their
head tones, and their lettering Ut dor
linda. daughter Of Reuben and Dorinda
Marsh" more aud more ''triggei up"
When Mr.. Marsh was NOT at home nor
1t the store i, was vel known Laat he
aust be 10 the csmetr'y trigsin' up
them graves"
Ii was one mill day in winter that
Mr. Marsh pat on his oyercost and his
rubber boots. lie said he was going
down 70 the store and guessed he should
Just stop in az the graveyard before he
came home. The hill sioped 70 the
south there. and il was warm and sunny.
almost Ike spring day.
The man had il in his mind that there
was just chance that some snowdrops
might BE- blossomei, or at least budded.
But IL he saoaid find bloom be was
not so crazy, he told himself, as 70 take
it to his wife. who would only consider
it as some kind Of sitter" He should
stop az the store. as he said. and lie
should probably see Tom Ryder's for
lorn little girl shiyering about, and he
should give the flower to her. Then her
small, pinched face would suddenly
tighten, aad she would smile in that ia
diant way thar always went like knife
TO Reuben Marsh's heart. He wondered
if any Of those Dorindies, IL any had
lived, would have had such face and
such q smile as that. II they took
after" their mother they surely would
not.
Once after Mr.. Marsh had seen this
transformation take place in the face OF
Tom Ryder's daughter when she had TO
ceived kindness he had ventured to
speak about her to his wife, with wild
hope in the bottom Of his heart that they
might adopt Ryder's child. for Ryder
WIS oaly q drunken wretch whose wife
had long since died Of u broken heart
and too much work.
Mrs. Marsh made il very plain indeed
to her husband that she had no opinion
whatever Of that nasty Belle Ryder.
Mr.. Marsh had fallen into his ordinary
home mood OF dull, cowed silence. He
sat with his sl;ppered feet on their wood
Ell cricket, and hung his head, pulling
his beard slowly and wondering what he
was living for.
he supposed men never hated their
wives. He supposed there was no man
in the world whose wife was such good
cook. who kept her husbands clothes SO
well mended and SO clean as D'rindy
did, but he said plainly TO himself that
.he'd ruther be flo5ged than to be where
she WAS"
Often, rs he sat there pulling his
beard and watching D'rindy as she made
everything painfully clean. no told him
self that he must have been even moro
of fool than most young men to have
fallen in love with girl who could turn
cut to be such a woman Us that He
also asked of his own soul how it would
be with him if it were possible for u
man to hate his wife.
When he walked slowly through the
mud OF the main street he was conscious
that there was moro than the ordinary
bitterness in his heart. He stamped
down his heavy feet with an air of bra
yado when he reached the store. He
took in largo quantity of mud, and he
talked SO loud and spat so emphatically
that the storekeeper winked at the man
next to him, and said in a whisper that
D'rindy must have been carryin an ua-
common high hand with Reuben that
day.
But for all this extra swaggcr Mr..
Marsh was aware that he was grea.,y
depressed. 1t did not seem to exhilarate
him to have his heels on the stove. He
did not understand himself today, and
he left .he store much earlier than was
his custom. One of the men actually
got up from his broken backed chair and
went TO the window to watch the re-
treating figure.
Something OF others tire matter Of
Reub Ma-sh," no said pityingly. IL
never seen him miss his airn Aspirin bs-
fore. n lie missed it every time today"
The storekccpcr was chopping off a
piece of tobacco. He nodded his head.
10 said he was sorry for Reub. He
s'posed he was goin' up to them graves
now. lie hoped il want wicked, but ns
did think 'swould be jest rs well if there
was sixth grave in that row and
D'rirdy was laying il it. For his part
he'd hike 10 help trig mp D'rindy Marsh's
grave. whether twas wicked or not.
Then they fell 70 talking about Tom
RYDER, and Of the fact that he had been
gore a week, nobody knew where, on q
worse spree than ever.
II guess tiey'il have to take the little
ono 10 the pooshouse this time, and no
mistake. somebody ought to speak to
the svlectmon. n lave her seen TO-"
Dir. M.gsh walked on mechanically mp
the road. ne did not know why it was
that he could not throw off his wife's in
fluence when he had left her, Is he was
usually able to DO.
Some strangely desperate mood was
upon him. Ee put his hand to bis head.
and said il he didn't know better he
should almost think he had been drink
ing.
Just before he reached Tho cemetery
be passed by tie house where the Ryders
lived. an oil place with low caves that