The morning times., 1895-11-24

| OF bFlluie dnt. WDere III WdS pOunueu Dy
the county rUad, and struggled down to the
lake shore, its hundred acres or so wander
ing over hills or dipping into honows,
until they terminated at the bay, with its
rim of white and Glistening sand.
One OF the most picturesque spots OF
eartn, and right in the center OF it, crown
ing roJi:Ged knoll, surrounded with sIal-
wart oaks and butternuts, squatted the
hogse OF It's owner.
1t was always a difficult spot to reach in
winter, when the drifting SHOWS piled high
their white pillows against the 10 w-eayed
structure and Ind the windows from the
outer world But in SUMMER it was a
. delight. this nioss-brown dwelling beneath
, tile OAKS, ana at one tine had been home
! around whose hearthstone had gathered
SOILS and daughters.
[ Nowit twasuesoiate. The passing stranger
| would have but added it TO the category of
f, deserted farms. No sign OF lie was visible
| this bright Thanksgiving morning; from
/ lis w.ur, paneieI CH.nInry No curl OF smoke
! invaded the crisp and frosty air; the light
fall OF SNOW that had covered the ground
the night before showed no trace OF foot
| step leading from the weather-beatend door.
! Aid yet 1uege Was Il hUr Ol life III the
/ farm yard, IN the hollow among the trees,
! where tue old barn tottered, ready for its
wandered discons0iately about. In the
| adjacent stall an Obj horse stamped i'm
| patiently for his breakfast, and forlorn
! COW chafed restlcssiy at her stanchIons.
| Except for these, the old farm was as
I silent as when its first owner carved il from
| the virgin wilderness. A rustling in the
| shrubbery that friDged the tall. stiff
| ed pines on the hill, beyond the barn, told
| that "A visitor was coming to Lonely Farm.
Il human lead appeared IN sight. 1t was
! crowAed by wvUicn cap, Iron bencdtn
which peercd pair of black, bright eyes.
Their owner took off the cap and mopped
his brow. He was rugged country Iad OF
| eighteen, well knit and sturdy, with 4 pair
| OF ruddy checks, white teeth and lips rosy,
New England, always hard 10 her chill
dren had Ia ken from TINS boy the home and
mother that make Thanksgiving. even as it
had taken from the widow all but the
wretched framework OF what had once
been home.
House looks ike mothers used to after
she got so she couldn't get about" soliIo-
quized the boy, staring at the smokeless
near the widder in week. and I'll bet,
while I'm a-bettin', that she needs some
body. Guess I'll find out what's the mat
ter"
He strobe down to the house and
Knocked There was no response. ouiy
the crow in the oak tree was disturbed by
the unwonted noise and flew away, with
a cav of alarm. A second knock startled
the fowl in the barnyard. who greeted him
with a suppressed chuckie, but there was
no answer from within. Guess / nights
well go in" He pushed open tue crazy
door and entered the room which served
as kitchen and sitting-rcom all in one. A
table stood in the center or II, covered
with a snowy cloth nd set as IL for sup
per. tall clock licked in the corner un-
a. tb..S fafr 1 rnythfllC
seemed to make the silence audible. 1T
seems kinder creepy, that's fact Hope
there ain't uothin' Happened 10 her. Won
der where shc is? P'fans she's aslcpD-'
He raped loudly and then put his ear
down to the key-hole, listening intently.
AT first there was no response Then he
thought he heard faint. quavering voice.
Its me-Jem Hastings Eve come
to see IL you need anybody"
Come in." The feeble voice struggled
with a cough. then: Yes, I'm so glad
you've come. L was taken faint yester
day and had Just strength enough to crawl
to bed. Perhaps''--
What, an you amt had notbin' to
eat:"
mo" with feeble smile.
''weii. IL you'H let me try. I'll make q
cup of tea"
Jem closed the door, set his gun in O
corner and looked around for the place in
which the widow kept her stores The
dresscrs ranged against the wall were
bright with old-fashioned pewter piattcrs
a ''i'a- H"r' ue 8" nj saddy OF tea
and then set about making fire. a huge
fireplace yawnei at one side of the room,
hung with black iron crane from which was
suspended tea-kcttie. The woodpile was
outside. near the back door, and brushing off
the snow, lem suon had some dry wood with
which he made a roaring blaze. 1t was MT
hpf M had tiSfn nf
the kettle send forth a volume uf steam and
o few minutes later he tapped again at the
bedroom door with a tray, on IL a tempting
cup of tea and two wcIl-buttered slices of
bread. The bread had been intended for his
luncheon. the gift of the farmers wife who
paid for oThisservicesin"k "keep'-New England
wages.
Wrapped in a shawl of Canton silk. the
heirloom of a grandmother whose father
once sailed from Salem 10 the Indies, the
widow sank back into her comfortable arm
chair with deep sigh of content She
closed her eyes from sheer weakness, while
Jem tip-tced about the room. setting
things to rights" and preparing the table
for a prospective meal To be sure. there
was very little in sight, but he bad faith
that there might be something in the cef-
lar and in the cupboards. for the widow
was known in the township to have been
a s'cood perviGer'' in her days of affluence.
Through the narrow-paned southern win
dow an advance qua rd of the outside sun
beams came streaming in, one of them
lighting the gray hair of the woman with
silyery halo. Jem thought he had
never seen woman who appea red so lady
like" and how young she looked. He
paused a moment to regard her, and she
opened her eyes. He retreated in con-
fusion step or two, the red bushes stain
ing his honest, open face.
rFN-a FVA ma nVNvnN raFNa
very thankful"
''Well. ma'am, I'm glad of 1t. It's /
Thanksgivin'."
''What! Really Thanksgiving Day? It's
the first time I've forgotten it-ever. 1
must be growing old"
Jem grew bolder.
"There's a turkey out in tue barn
yard. He amt very fat, but II you say
so III help You fix a turkey dinner"
The widow urged no objections, and both |
fascinated at the prospect of n ThanksSiv- |
ing dinner with themselves as host and |
hostess, the boy trudged out to the barn.
Some sticks of hard wood were soon !
piled on the fire, and by the time Sir Turkey !
wasready for the oven the widow had peeled |
the vegetables and dropped them into the !
mysterious depths of the steaming kettles, |
Jem looking on with glowing but basLfuI !
appreciation.
A snowy cloth over a round table, with /
two seats opposite each other, is always |
au inspiritiDg sight, and when topped by /
steamiug brown turkey, with all the /
"fixinSs" of turkey dinner, the feast is |
one to melt hearts harder than that of the
lonely widow and the homesick New Eng
land lad.
'.It is the bappiest Thanksgiving dinner
have had in many a year, my boy" she
said to him, as he cleared away the dishes
and brought out the dessert, of fragrant