Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-08-16
t'"der fife Cloud
By E. s. WILLIAMSON.

taung whether TO stay there then Or
come in at another time when he was
in better humOr. She had half in
tended to tell him who the stranger
| was who had visited them on the
| night before, and of the reason of her
| fainting-fit; but now, she decided, ST.
lence would be the kinder course She
had lost sight of the probability that
he too might have recognized Mr..
| Weare, and, having no idea that Mrs
/ PriOlO had been out that morning, she
! believed her own absence to have been
! unsupported. So while she stood de
| batting pros and cons, the opportunity
| was lost.
Mrs. Priolo had left the room on the
girls first entrance, and now was
heard calling her from downstairs
A little surprised, Ellen obeyed the
summons.
The housekeeper was in the kitchen,
and had a packet in her hand. The
housemaid was also standing there.
Il beg your pardon for troubling
you, Miss Ellen; but it's this arsenic
l don't know how to use it,
II am sure | don't" returned Ellen,
rather angry at the persistent way In
which her knowledge on the subject
of poisons Was taken for granted.
"Shal! l put it down plain like this:"
You can if you like; but L should
not think any rat would be 50 ldiotic
as to eat it that way"
You mean it should be mixed with
something's
why. of course-any child might
know that mU ,h!'
Pm sorry to be SO stupid; but l
shall know another time" she an
Swered, with outward pleasantness,
then turned to an open cupboard.
"See-In put it on the top shelf out
of reach for the present. Mary, mind
you tell the cook what it is. Just look
Miss Ellen, in case Mr.. Bowyer asks
YOU to get him anything this afternoon.
That's the sugar, and that's the salt;
the arsenic is right out of the way at
the back there [ declare it makes me
quite nervous having such stuff in the
house; but no one could make a mis-
take now
NO. indeed, num-" said the house
maid, visibly impressed.
Ellen, who could not help suspecting
that the hOusekeeper was speaking
with an object, remained silent, and
presently went upstairs.
Mr. Bowyer was still alone. and a
sudden impulse prompted her so
strongly to speak then that she felt
she must obey it, and would have done
so but that, as she waited for him to
address her first, the dinner-beIl rang,
and her second chance was gone.
In the afternoon they were left
alone again, as Mrs. PriOlo professed
fatigue, and went to her own room;
but Mr.. BoWyer was cross, and,
CURLY declining Ellen's offers to play
to him or read aloud, sat quietly IN
his armchair near the fire till at last
the heat and the unbroken silence
caused him to dOze off
He slept for some hours, and woke
up in a better temper. Presently he
asked for some tea, and she went to
prepare it.
She came back in q few minutes
with a cup of tea Sweetened and with
cream as he liked it, and, putting it
down on small table beside him, was
going to draw a chair closer to the
fire, when she remembered something
that she had forgotten to tell the
servants, and ran downstairs again.
AS she returned, having been detained
longer than she expected, and while
still at a little distance from the sit
ting-rOOm door, she thought she heard
a stifled cry proceeding from that di-
rection. She stood still to listen, then,
seized with a sudden indefnable fear,
she rushed on into the room.
Mr.. Bowyer was writing in terrible
agony in his chair. his face livid and
drawn out of all resemblance to itself
with pain; at intervals d sharp groan
escaped from his lips; but it was evil
dent that already he was getting too
weak to find relief even in that.
Mortified and bewildered, feeling she
was utterly useless in such a fearful
emergency. Ellen ran back, screaming
for help.
The servants flew upstairs, but Mrs.
Priolo, prompt and alert as usual, was
on the spot first
What is it," she called out sharply
as she came up.
Mr.. Bowyer is dying!' cried Ellen.
1t was heart-rendering to see how ut
terly overcome and Frustrated he was
by pain, how his Stength seemed to
be slowly leaving him with each par
oxysm. Sometimes, when the strug-
giles ceased for a moment and he lay
back with open up-turned eyes, they
! thought he must be dead.
| Mrs. Priolo had disappeared, but in
about ten minutes she came back with
a glass Of what looked like steaming
! punch.
| With something of her old cOmpos-
ure and promptitude, she raised Mr..
| Bowers head on her arm and or
dered him to drink what she had
! brought
Drink every drop of it; it will do
you good she said, peremptorily; and
he obeyed her.
A few minutes later he vomited VIC
! lently. After that the pains seemed to
grow fainter, though the prostratiOn
still remained-indeed increased.
When the doctor arrived they had
managed to get him into bed, and he
had sunk into a sleep from exhaustion
1t was Mrs. Priolo who explained ex-
! oc+11 yvl,ot had occurred what the