The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1894-12-28

eyes. and haif-open. rigid lips. AM:
feeble as she was, thrust her hand.
straight out before her with grel
force, her hands open and lifted up
with the palms outward. The whole
action was of one violently repellins
another. She began to talk wildly Il.
she had done before you were born
but, though / seemed to hear and un
derstand it all the time, I could not r.
call a word of it afterward. 1t wa:
as if l had listened to it when hal
asleep. / attempted to soOthe her, put
ting my arms around her, but she seem
ed quite unconscious of my presence
and my arms seemed pOwerless upor
the fixed muscles of hers. Not that
tried to conStrain her. for | knew thai
a battle was going on of some kind OF
other. and my interference might d.
awful mischief. i only tried to comfort
and encourage her. All the time / was
in a state of indescribable cold and suf-
fering. whether more bodily OF mental
| could not tell. But at length l heard
yet again the clink of the shoe. A sud.
den peace seemed to fall upon my mind
Or was it a warm, OdOrouS wind tina.
filed the room? Your mother dropped
her arms. and turned feebly toward Der
baby. She saw that he slept a blessed
sleep. She smiled like a glorifed spir-
1t. and fell back exhausted on the pill
low. | went to the other side Of the
room to get a cordial. When 1 re-
turned to the bedside l saw at once
that she was dead. Her face smiled
still. with an expression of the utter.
most bliss"
Nurse ceased. trembling as overcome
by the recollection; and l was too much
moved and awed to speak. At length.
resuming the conversation she said:
You see it is no wonder. Duncan, my
dear. if after all this l should find, when
l wanted to fix the date Of your birth.
that l could not determine the day or
the hour when it took place. All was
confusion in my poor brain. But it was
strange that no one else could, any
more han l. One carried you across
the room to lay you down, for l as
sisted at your birth, l happened to
look up to the window. Then l saw
what did not forget, although I did
not think of it again till many days
after-a bright star was shining on tao
very tip of the thin crescent MOON"
"Oh, then" said I, sit is possible to
determine the day and the very hour
when my birth took place"
See the good of book-learning.!" T.,
piled she. "When you work it out. just
let me know, my dear, that 1 may re-
member it."
THAT | will"
Absorbed in the story 1 had heard. l
took my way. as | thought. hOmeward.
The Whole country was well known 70
me. l should have said, before that
night. that l could have gone home
blindfold. Whether the lightning be-
wildered me and made me take a false
turn. l cannot tell; for the hardest
thing to understand, in intellect as well
as moral mistakes, iS-hOw we came
to go wrong. But after wandering for
some time plunged in meditation, and
with no warning whatever of the pres
ence of inimical powers, a brillia it
lightning-fash showed me that at least
| vas not neal home. The light was
prolonged for a second or two by a
slight electric p~ulsatiOn, and by that I
distinguished a wide space of black
ness On the ground in front Of me.
Once more wrapped in the folds of a
thick darkness. | dared not move. Sud
denly it occurred to me what the black.
ness was. and whittier l had wandered.
1t vas Il huge quarry of great depth.
long diSused. and half filled with wa
ter. | knew the place perfectly. A few
more steps would have carried me owe
the brink. | stood still. waiting or
the next flash. that l might be quite
IRE of the way | was about to take
before l ventured to move. While l
stood | fancied | heard a single hol-
low plunge in the black water far DC.
low. When the lightning came, 1
turned. and took my path in another di-
rection.
After for walking for some time
across the heath. I fell. The fall be-
came a roll. and down a steep decliviiy
| went. over and over. arriving at the
bottom uniniured.
Another fash showed me where ]
was-in the hollow valley. within Il
couple of hundred yards from nurses
cottage. l made my way towards il.
There was no light in it, except the
feeblest glow from the embers of her
peat fire. "She is in bed" l said to
myself. land l. will not disturb her."
Yet something drew me toward the lit
tie window. | looked in. At first I
could see nothing. AT length as l kept
gazing. / saw something indistinct in
the darkness, like an outstretched hui
man form.
BY this time tie storm had lullrd.
The moon had been UP for some time.
but had been quite concealed by tenn
pcstuOus clouds. Now, however, these
had begun to break up; and, while l
stood looking into the cottage. they
scattered away from the face of the
and 4 faint. vapory CLEAN of her
light. entering the cottage through L
window opposite that at which l stood.
fell directly on the face of my old
nurse. as she lay on her back, out
stretched upon chairs, pale as death
and with her eyes closed. The light
fell nowhere but on her face. \ strane-
er to her habits would have thought
she was dead; but she had SO much of
the appearance she had had on q for
mer occasion. that | concluded at once
that she was in one of her frances. But
often heard that persons in
such Il condition ought not to be dis
and feeling quite sure she
knew best how to manage herself, l
though reluctantly. and left
the lone cottage behind me in the
night, with the deathlike woman lying
in the midst Of it.
T r.- $1,000 -..-- |