The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1894-05-25
INTERCEPTED LETTER.

SWELL" said Aurora, ''what shall
We do now?"
The dreary equinoctial rain was
over; the oblique Autumn sun glinted
on matted drifts of wet leaves and
pools of water in the road; a solitary
red chrysanthemum lifted its tufts of
flowers under the window. They
had opened the windows wide to let
in the air and light after Grandaunt
Miriam's funeral. There we're the
wheelmarks and deep ground -ruts
yet in the road where the hearse had
been driven up to the gate, but the
yellow hickory leaves, fiuttering down
like golden rain at every gust of
WIND, we're fast obliterating them.
Grandaunt Miriam was dead and
laid to rest in the sunny corner of the
village churchyard, and Adeline and
Aurora were left alone in the world.
'Im sure" said the Widow Ais
ton, who lived in the next house, Il
don't know what's to become O. them
gals They amt been brought up to
do nothin'. And they're dreadful
ordinary lookin' gals. They wasn't
pretty when they was young, and the
youngest on 'em is turned forty now"
And that was precisely the prob
lem which was in Aurora Fields
mind when she sat before the fire,
with her elbows on her knees and her
chin in her hands, and looked dream
lily across the hearthstone at her sis
ter, Adeline.
"What can we do?" said Adeline,
who was the meeker and less enter
prising of The two.
"We've got to live" declared Au-
rora.
"Oh, of course-we've got to live. "
"And we've got nothing to live
upon but this cd house and thirty
acres OF rocky, uphill ground" said
Aurora. "Grandaunt Miriam's pen
sien d ed with her, and she never
saved a penny out of it-though, in
deed, how could she, poor old thing?
And l don't see that there's anything
left for US but to keep boarders"
"But, who will board with us?"
said Adeline, in her feeble, inefficient
way.
Aurora shrugged her shoulders i'm
patiently.
''You never had any faculty,
Addie," said she, land I s'pose it's
too late for you to begin to reform
now. But I should think you might
have had the common sense to put
two and two together. Amt there
that big red brick factory a-buildia'
by Jennings Falls, and won't it be
full O. girls in two months time?
And won't they be glad to have a
handy place to board? I've been
counting up-there are four, five, six
rooms we could spare, a. we'll as not.
And I'm a pretty decent cook if l
could get the materials to cook with.
and I s'pose you could, at least, look
after the rest of the house?"
eyes, 1 could do that l think"
said meek Adeline, who always had a
sense of inferiority in her sisters
presence. sat least 1 would try!"
''Then," said Aurora, '1et's 20
right to work and get the house thor
oughly cleaned the very first thing!'
"Now?" gasped Adeline.
cot course, now! Do you suppose
1 meant next year," retorted her sis
ter, irately. 1.-The house is full of
old truck and furniture, and we'll
have to have half a dozen bonflres
at least, before thlngs'n be decently
cleared out. And we've got to do it
ourselves, Adeline! We can't afford
to hire any one to help US. And so the
sooner we begin the better"
eyes, l suppose so." assented AIDE
line.
$50 the next morning the Field
girls set themselves diligently to
work, Aurora had a certain hard
hearted energy of purpose that rather
enjoyed toll and hustle, but poor AIDE
lines heart failed within her at the
prospect. The tears came into her
eyes, as she took Grandaunt Mlriam's
old faded clothes and books and papers
out CT the musty-smelI .ng drawers.
"Where am l to put these" she
asked.
"Burn 'em!" was her sisters curt
reply.
Adeline looked aghast Grandaunt
Miriam had been a stern old tyrant
to her, it was true-a domineering
mistress who exacted everything
from her, and gave her in return
nothing but the merest subsistence.
Grandaunt Miriam had ruthlessly
crushed in the bud that one only lit
tie love affair which she had ever
known. Not, she thought, that she
had any right to call it a love affair
at all Doctor Hunt-ne was only a
young medical student then-had
walked home from the historical lee
lures with her, one bleak March
evening, and Grandaunt Miriam had
never asked him TO come In and
warm himself.
elf you're goin' to keep company
with any one, Adeline," the old wo-
man had sourly uttered, sIet it be
with some one that can support you