The Baptist headlight., 1894-05-30
llNTERCEPTEDLETTER

pWen," said Aurora, "what shall
We do now:
,,or. the obliQue Autumn sun glinted
= matted drifts Of wet leaves and
y vaol. of water in the road; solitary
ri rd chrysanthemum lifted its tufts Of
souers under the window. They
ssd onened the windows wide to let
4 the air and light after Grandaunt
Miriam's funeral. There were the
uheelmarks and deep ground-rutS
retin the road where the hearse had
iaen driven up to the gate, but the
oollow hickory leaves, futtering down
ike golden rain at every gust Of
und. were fast Obliterating them.
Grandaunt Miriam was dead and
lad to rest in the sunny corner Of the
village churchyard, and Adeline and
Aurora were left alone in the world.
nPm sure" said the Widow Ais
ton, who lived in the next house, II
amt know what's TO become o. them
Gals They ain't been brought up to
do nothin'. And they're dreadful
mdinary lookin' gals. They wasn't
Dretty wnen 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
ily across the hearthstOne at her sis
1 ter Adeline.
.sWhat can we do?" said fAdeline,
who was the meeker and less enter
pising Of The two.
We've got to live" declared Al
rOra
sOh, Of course-we've got to live. !"
Y "And we've got nothing to live
apOn but this Old house and thirty
lcres OF rocky uphill ground" said
Aurora. ''Grandaunt Miriam's pen
ION ed with her, and she never
aYed penny out Of it-thOugh, in
iced, huw could she, poor old thing?
And don't see that there's anything
left for liz but to keep bOarders." ;"
but who will board with us?"
aid Adeline, in her feeble, inefficient
way.
Aurora shrugged her shoulders i'm
PATIENTLY.
you never had any faculty,
Addle,D said she, land l s'pose it's
TOO late for you to begin to reform
EoR But / should think you might
nave had the common sense to put
tsOand two together Amt there
mat big red brick factory a-buildin
glemming's " Falls, and won't it be
lull girls in two months time?
AHdRon't they be glad to have a
laadyplace To board? I've been
counting up-there are four, five, six
rooms we could spare, as well as not.
Ana In pretty decent cook If l
could get the materials to cook with.
aaQ spose you could, at least look
alter the rest of the house?"
YES, | could do that, ! think"
Sld meek Adeline, who always had a
Anse OF inferiority in her sisters
presence. 'At least l would try"
Then" said Aurora, ''let's go
llght to work and get the house thor
Oaghly cleaned the very first thing"
now" gasped Adeline.
~ course, now! Do you suppose
meant next year," retOrted her sis
sf, irately THE house is full Of
oiu truck and furniture, and Well
nave to have half dozen bonflres
. ieast before thlngs'll be decentIy
ueafed cut. And we've got to do it
ourselves, Adeline. We can't afford
"nlreany one to help us. And so the
ooner We begin the better"
1, Yes, | suppose So" assented Ade-
80 the next morning the Field
sllls set themselves diligently to
sOfK, Aurora had a certain hard
aeafted energy Of purpose that rather
euloyed toll and hustle, but poor Ade-
aues heart failed within her at the
nuspect The tears came into heT
s'sS, as she took Grandaunt Mlrlams
~ iaded clothes and books and papers
0ue 81 the musty- drawers.
Il. Wnere am to put these, /" she
reply.
- ;Adeline looked aghast Grandaunt
aiiiam had been a stern old tyrant
Wher, 1T was true-a domineerlnA
sasIress who exacted everything
rum ner, and gave her in return
oooshlnp but the merest subsistence
Slanuaunt Miriam had ruthlesslI
sausned In the bud that one only llt
i ioVe affair which she had eve
-ao"n. Not, she thought, that sn'