The morning call., 1894-03-25

were lying in the road. where she dropped
them when she ran from whoever killed
her. They never found him.
"Was her name Mary Wiiliams?" says |.
"How did you know it?" says the doctor.
''She told me" says /.
The old doctor turned white as q sheet.
you amt hystericky?" says he.
When he found out l wasn't scared and
didn't want TO give uD the school, he
wanted to know what I'd seen, and asked
a good many questions. l told him as
short as l could and thenII went home.
The next morning before school / got
some linen rags from Mrs. Simonds and n
piece of bright blue thibet. and made a
real pretty rag baby. Pd never MADE one
before. but | couldn't see why | didn't
make it as we'll as any body. | raveled out
little of an old black stocking / had for
its hair. ana | cOlored its cheek and mouth
with cranberry juice and made its eyes
with blue ink. found. too, an old primer
that Mrs. Smonds said her mother had
studied. for l thought that might have
been like the one the child was carrying TO
sehoOl when she was killed.
That night l stayed after school again.
and waited un til l saw the little white arm
raised out of the DUSK: She ala not walt
for me to speak that time. She piped up
quick: please. teacher. find my doll for
me. and here me say my lesson in the
primer"
put your arm down and be quiet" says
/, "and | will hear your lesson" put
the rag doll in my pocket and took the old
primer | had found and went to her.
'Find the place and go on with yonr
lessou," says /, and l gave her the book.
She turned over the leaves as If she were
quite accustomed 10 it. and / saw at once
that had the right book. Ii was a queer
little primer that had been written by an
old minister in Marshbrook, and used in
ha thara for soma fimu Sha found
The place soon and began to read. piping
up quite loud. You could have heard her
out of doors; the windows were open
The piece was called the Character of n
Good Child" She read it very well. l
onlv had her spell out a few of the words
saws |. Then l took the doll out of my
pocket and gave il to her. She fairly
snatched for it with her little white, gieaGl-
ing hands, and they touched mine, and /
felt the cold strike TO my heart again.
She huggad the doll tight and kissed it
with her stiff. parted lips. Then she held
II off and looked al il.
"Please, teacher. ind my doll for me-"
says she, with a great wall. and saw she
knew it wasn't her own old doll.
Hush" says |. 81 can't find a doll that's
been lost fifty years. This doll is lust ex
actly as good: Now. you'd better take it
and run home"
But she gave that pitiful cry again,
"PIease, teacher, find my doll for me-"
you are not behaving prettiIy at ALL"
says |. THAT doll is just a. good" Then
don't know what possessed me to saw in.
but | says: She hasn't got any mother.
either"
She just hugged the doll tight, and kissed
it again then, and didn't say another word
against it.
"Now, you'd better run home" says I.
She rose up and cnrtsied, and as was
I F,l1
krow as ] could keep her in sight, but
did, and she went iutO the old graveyard.
| saw q gleam of white in there a minute;
then it was gone.
That evening l went to DIR. Emmons
and told him what Rad happened. Now"
says l. Il want to know where that child
was buried.
"She was buried in the old Williams
| tomb" said he.
Then l asked him to take lantern and
60 TO the graveyard with me and look in
that tomb. | didn't know as | could make
| him for quite while. He said the VIII
| liams family had all died out and gone
away. There wasn't one of them left in
town. He didn't exactly know who had
| the key to the tomb, and he kept looking
! at me real sharp. | suppose he was afraid
was getting hysterickv. l guess he got
pretty sure at last that ] wasn't, for
/ taught that Marshbrock No, l school
| thing could have done it and stayed after
school every night in the springtme, for
that little girl never came to scare any,
body again. He kept looking at me that
night and then he felt my pulse and
counted it by his watch.
You don't want to give the school up,"
SAYS he.
''No, don't" says l.
He went out after while, and presently
he came back with lighted lantern and a
! l-nx- don L M -Nor l,.,
We went down the road TO the graveyard
Ii was dark night, and it was misting a
| little. He went along iu front with the
lantern and l followed on behind. He
| didn't speak a word the whole way. 7
guess he felt kind of grouty at having to
come out. / didn't care il he was. / was
| bound 10 find out.
When we came to the old graveyard he
opened the gate and we went in. His Ian
tern lit up all the old ht adstones and trees
| and scraggy bushes as we went across to
the Williams tomb. It wasn't very far
| from the gate. A lot of little bushes were
growing out OF the humped-up roof, and |
read civilians" in the stonework over
the iron door. The doctor fitted the kew
| in the lock while / held the lantern. /
felt the way | used to when | was child.
when l walked up in the dark, in the night.
! but / held the lantern as steady as If nv
! hand had been an iron hook.
1t was hard to turn the key in the rusty
paddock. and the doctor worked quite
long time. but finally it snapped back
and he pulled off the paddock and slipped
the hasp. But even then he could not
| open the door until he had cleared away
some stones and pulled up some little
plants that had grown over the threshold
! by the roots.
After he had done that he opened :he
| door. and a puff OF that same strange odor
which had noticed about the child came
| IN my face. He took the lantern and
stepped down and into the tomb, and /
! a fter him. All of a sudden he stopped
short and caught hold of nv arm. There
on the floor of the tomb in the lantern
| light right before Us lay the rag doll and
| the prlmer.-Mary E. wilkins in St. Louis
Post-Dispatch.