Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-04-20

gone-gone at three dollars"
The stranger held the package
greedily and hurried to the street.
he called a cab. and was driven
to his hotel. When his room was
reached and the door locked, he cut
the string with his pocket-knife, and
slowly opened his precious bundle.
For some minutes he let it lie on his
knee. both hands grasping the strong
brown paper, and flush crept up to
his forehead. At last he lifted dainty
white shawl, a lace scarf, some hand
kercniefs, with "Julla Holmes" writ
ten boldly in the corner of each, q
pretty cap for an old lady. and two
pairs of slippers;-one for the little
mother, the other for the tall sister.
| There was no littleness, TO weak
ness, IN the face of the man who held
the long slender shoe up to his face,
and kissed it reverently, and pressed
his bowed head against the bundle, and
groaned aloud. 1t was only sharp
pang In the battle of life.
''There must be some cluel some
date, some signl Oh Godl -Four
yearsl but aUiU find herl"
Every precious article was shaken
carefully. 1t flashed through his mind
to go back to the office, ana again ex-
anime the records and the letter books.
Money letters have five different
records before leaving the office, and
are checked and counter-checked, so as
to make theft impossible. If not
claimed at the end of three months,
the money is put iato the q. 5.
Treasury subject to the call of the
owner. Every cent is kept sacredly.
For hours. the stranger examined
with the proper officials, Index Books
In the Money Branch. They went
through the distributing offices; MOTEL
all the records; and at last to the name
of John E. Holmes, was recorded the
sum of one hundred dollars. And that
was oil. Back to the Return Branch;
to the appropriation C.erk, whose
business it is to trace letters, give
dates and information. They simply
found that the money had been sent
from John E. Holmes to Miss Julia
Holmes, one week after the stranger
had gone to Denver.
And that was four years ago.
A late dinner at the hotel. A dreary
| lonely evening at the Capital wander
ing up and down the avenues. He had
made impossible inquiries-at the old
|
| the Doctor, the grocer and butcher,
who had lived near the Holmes.
Mrs. Holmes had suddenly died,
and Miss Julia had gone with the re-
mains to their old home somewhere.
| Never came back"
People lived in the small house close
by the Capitol, and children played by
the open door. The summer birds
chattered familiarly in the trees, and
the stranger took of his hat, and wan
dered up and down in the quiet street,
| Ike one looking for the dead. He
silently prayed for the woman whose
life had slipped away from him, and
the summer sky-the great white
dome, the busy city at his feet, all
seemed to him like silent witnesses of
their solemn pledge for llfe-for death,
and now which would it be?
| He went to his room. lie smiled as
il little child spoke to him, as he un-
folded each article of the package again.
He held them in his fingers and folded
them more closely, tied them with
twIne and put them in his trunk.
"How is it that one can fret-and
smother, and suffocate, such days as
these? How roomy and cheerful the
schoolroom is. Mrs. Porter is too good TO
me, the children, bless their noisy, good
for-nothing little voices and ways,
| they are just full of life-Life, the sort
| Of life one should have in such a world
as this. the same life that chokes me
sol oh how can l ever live? ever be
worth living to anyone? and in this
beautiful home"
Some things can never be described.
The longing and unrest in the girls
eyes, the pitiful quiver of the lips, and
the uneasiness IN the whole body as
she leaned her arms on her desk, and
buried her face in her hands. Outside
the sun broke over the Maryland hills;
the fitting clouds passed over the blue
sky. The children shouted and
laughed; and their mother was singing
little song to the baby as he lay in
his carriage in the sweet spring air /,
and she picked the golden crocuses in
the garden beds.
To morrow would be Easter Sunday,
Her pot of lilies stood ou the window
sill. The children brought them from
market. A big pitcher was on her
desk, all ready for church in the morn
ing. How swett { they werel How the
BIRDS sang and the buds of Spring were
on the maple trees. But when the
heart is desolate, how pitiful the hum
of happy hfel
"Miss Julia, there's man coming in
the gate. Mama has gone to the garden
and Mary is shaking the rugs, shall L
go to the door?"
Without lifting her head Miss Julia
replied, "Yes Polly, and if he sskes
for your Mama run and call her"
Windows opened upon the wide YER
anda, the school room was at its ex-
treme end. The clatter of little feet
failec. to attract the teachers attention,
for the children always played there.
Polly pushed the window wide open,
and exclaimed, ''Miss Julia the man
didn't want to see mama, he wanted
youT
Pushing her tumbled hair quickly
back, and starting to her feet, Miss
julia met the stranger at the open
window. Two people never exactly
knew what was said in five or ten
minutesl
Mrs. Porter came leisurely in from
the garden with her hands full of GRO.
cuses for her friend. On the couch
lay Miss Julia, white as snow DRIFT,
and strange man was kneeling bes de
her, with her face on his breast, and
astonishing adjectives were falling off
his lips, and poor little Polly stood
crying with all her MIGHT, and a big
camphor bottle was in her hands, that
had evidently been asked for, but had
been forgotten
Mrs. Porter stepped quickly toward
the couch, laid her hand on Miss Julia's
cold face, and said, at is William"
The stranger replied, "Oh, it is
miracle, but nave l killed her? Can
Joy kill any one?
"No-no-let me take care os her,
Just minute, she'll be better, see, the
color is coming. Polly run for Mary,
and some water" They rubbed her
hands, rolled the couch to the veranda
u1ndau and snnn tho hlnad lanr,od 70