The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-04-21

now when SIZE thought o. Margaret ana
her .-xtock.nx@ alone through the silent
night and al me mercy Of Midnight ROB
bews-
There was not a day that several OFFER
srsgs were not laid at Narxarets feet But
cutie suddenly she changed her stsreo-
typed fern Of thanks 20 a mysterious Ut
fe-1nce You're may be feeding more
than you know. kEad neighhors, was the
dark saying that set the women NRlec-
turing about Aargarst's sanity.
Then the bolt came one day , big,
angular stumbling girl with Margaret
suspicious eyes and cynical mouth,
crossed by the ferry 70 the Island. She
had a trunk, which Barney Ryder the
general carrier OF the Island. would have
ustea 10 his asS-cart, bat the newcomer
scornfuIly waved him away Come here.
you two xosSoons" she said. seizing upon
Jack LafTran and a comra9e who ere
gazing al her, grinning- Take a hoult
o. the trunk an lead the way 70 Marga-
ret I.affran's. In the Red Glen Ill crack
stxpence between yez when ! get there
The lads, fun OF curiosity. lifted up the
trunk and preceded her UP the hill 10
Margaret's. She stalked after them into
the sunny kichen where Margaret sat
waiting handed them the .ixpence when
they had put down the trunk. bundled
then. out and shut the door before she
looked toward Margaret In her chimney
corner.
The explanation came first from his
reverence. who was walking IN me even
ing glow, when Mrs. Jack Lafran came
flying toward him with her cap strings
streaming.
Little Jack has quare story. yer riv-
ereace.'' she cried out. painting. about
girls comm visitin ould Margaret in
ths glen, an wild a trunk as big as
house Him an little Martin was kilt
draggin' IL up the hill"
His reverence waved away her excite
uaenr gently.
~ know all about it." he said. 'ln-
deed. I've been the means in a way OF re-
STORM Margarets daughter TO her. You
never knew your sister-in-iaw was mar
ried Mrs. .L-affran? An odd woman to
drop her married name! We must call
her by 1t in future. Mrs. Comedy is the
name"
But Mrs Jack. with an emotion which
even the presence OF his reverence could
not quelI. let what the nelghbors de-
scribed afterward as "A 'screech out or
her fit to walk the dead" and fled into
her own house. where on her own bed
she had an attack which came as near
being Mysteries as the strong minded
woman could compass. She recovered
when Mrs. Devine and Mrs. Cahill and
the Widow Mulvaney, running in. pro-
posed 10 drench her with cold water.
when her heels suddenly left of rum
ming and she stood up very determinedly
and babe them be of about their own
business. She always spoke afterward of
Margaret as the rol,ber of the widow and
the orphan, which was satisfying, IL not
quite appropriate.
We all heard afterward how Margaret
had married on the mainland. and, after
this girl was born, had an attack OF
mania, for which she was placed in the
county asylum. In time she was de-
clared cured, and IL was arranged that
her husband should come for her on
certain day and remove her: but Marga-
ret, having had enough of marriage ard
its responsibilities, left the asylum quiet
~ before that day came, and made her
way 10 the Island. She had been well
content to be regarded as a spinster till
she felt her health falling. and then she
had intrusted TO Father Tiernay her Sc
cret and he had found her daughter for
her.
Margaret lived some months after that
and left at the time of her death thirty
pounds to the fortunate heiress. The well
stocked larder had sufficed the swo Ter
quite "a long time without any recourse
10 the stocking" There was very little
further intercourse between the village
and the Red Glen. Such of the neighbGs
as were led there at first by curiosity
found the door shut in their faces, for
Mary had Margarets suspiciouSnes3
many times intensified. After the Laffran
family had recovered from the first
shock OF disappointment. Fanny made
various approaches to her cousin. when
she met her at mass on the Sundays, end