Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1893-06-15


NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND.
Colonel Graham was very weak
man, and at best very angry one,
though 1t would not do for him to
show 1t.
He played sick ana no cursed-to him
self--the doctor who had turned his
mean pretense into irlghtful reality.
He was In no amiable mood when
Othello came in on tlp.toe, and, In re-
Spouse to his masters demand to know
who was making that noise out there,
made answer:
Its my granny, sab.
May the devil fly away with the black
hag Why he hasn't done 80 before Is
mystery. What does she wantY" The
Colonel pushed himself higher up on
the pillows and glared at the black man,
ns If ready to STAY him II he did not at
once give satisfactory answer TO the
question.
"She wants fob to see yeh," said
0thello, his tremulous voice indicating
the fear he felt of his master.
-Yes, en- TIE got to SEQ ye. No use a
tryin' to keep me out Ell yer sick,
I've got YARDS to cure ye; 80 in l comes
---en 'ow does yeh do, me LODI"
The door was opened and closed with
a sudden bang, and Dlnah stood In the
middle Of the floor, bowling In way
that to any other man than that sitting
bolt upright on the great "four-poster"
bed would have been extremely ludl-
crous.
Il am sick, woman, and want to be
alone, said Colonel Graham, but even
Othello noticed that he did not speak
with the peremptory voice that usually
distinguished him.
80 We does" The old woman turned
to her grandson, and enforcing her COM
mand by extending her lean, black arm
In the direction Of the door, she con-
tinued cit out, Thello; me en- yer
mas'r wants TO be lone. Don't ye 20
fob to stan dar GRIMM wild yer mouf
open, but go out. Tell i'm to go out to
once"
Dinah turned to the bed, and the
colonel, falling back on his pillows with
a sigh Of mingled wrath and pain, said:
Leave me alone for little while,
Othello.
Amazed at his grandmother audac-
ity, 0thello went out, but he did not go
out Of hearing. His curiosity was
aroused, and he made up his mind to
learn, II possible, the secret Of the old
woman's power, SO far it had been his
firm belief that there was not In all the
world being who would dare to oppose
the wishes of his fierce master.
Dinah had not been In town for some
days, and though she had heard of the
departure OF the Wanderer, she as yet
did not know that Capt. Denham had
left on that ship.
Il have offered you gold to leave me
alone and to keep your cursed tongue
quiet" said the colonel. Now, what
do you wantp"
Before replying to this the old woman
drew back the bed curtain, 80 that she
might get better view OF his face,
and then, coming so near that she could
look into his cold, glitterlng gray eyes,
said In a voice that was not whisper,
but which sounded far away and
sepulchral:
Il want to keep on leadln' OF bettah
life, en- I can't go fob to do 1t ven yer
roun'."
Leave me alone, and I'll soon be
away" The colonel threw a pillow
under his shoulder so that he could rest
on his elbow, and returned the wom-
ans look without flnching. Suddenly,
as IL he had decide on different tactics
from those he would pursue II he con-
tinued acting In accordance with his
feelings, he said:
Sit down, Dinah, and let us have a
chat; let us be friends, as we were In
the old times. You must excuse me,
but have been sick In mind and body
for some time.
"Id rather stan up, replied Dinah,
and she placed both hands on the top of
her long staff. and, resting her chin
thereon, she still watched him.
After pause, she continued:
"Ye'z sick In min en- body, en- no
wondah. wy ye'z alive arter all de
min en- body sickness ye'z had yarsel
on made odders fob to hab Is de mos
'sprisin' ting I'ze ever heard on, en-
re been libbin' now nigh onto fou-ah
score en- ten"
Never mind that" interrupted the
Colonel, restraining with a terrible ef-
fort his tendency to anger. Let US
talk about yourself and what you have
been doing since last saw you. Let
mo see, it must he one and-twenty years
agop"
-Jes' dat time. l couldn't fohglt it,
en- you couldn't fohgit 1t. We was bofe
In Bermooda den, en- / was the slave Of
de Gov-nah. Does yer reminder who
that Gov-nah WARP"
The bag cooked her head to one side,
and leaned forward ON the staff for an
answer.
Colonel Graham shot glance at the
door and saw 1t was closed, then he
threw back the curtain still further and
looked over the room before he said:
THE Governor of Bermuda, at that
time, was my brother.
En- dey called i'm Colonel Ora am,
tooP"
"You know they did, Dinah.
EN- II he'd libbed den dat Gov-nah'd
been Lo'd Paliton2"
What Of itp"
But dat Gov'nah didn't lib. Kaze
w'yp Doan't you know, sah?"
@He died." replied the Colonel, with
another impatient glance about the
room.
"En wy did Q die2"
1t Is so difficult to reproduce with ac-
curacy the strange dialect Of this wom-
an, that for the present we shall dlscon-
tinue 1t, and give a summary of the
facts developed by her shrewd ques-
tiOns and her ready and frequently gro
tesquely humorous answers.
Twenty-one years before the date o
our story, Colonel-the Right Honor
abe Ralph Denham Graham, the edes