Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1895-11-25


her back from death.
Nelly bent her eyes momentarlly
upon her work, then suffered them to
wander out over the calm sea that
was softly rocking the weary sun to his
repose.
She was reused from her attitude Of
meditating by the touch Of her child's
hand upon her own. She started, for
the small fingers were chill, and she
had not heard Ida approach.
Looking down, Nelly saw her child's
face turned up to her very pale and
with q scared expression; she was
trembling too, while she was evidently
scarcely able to command her speech.
"What is the matter?'' she exclaim-
ed. "Idal darling! what has hurt
your"
''Not hurt me, MOTHER" the little
girl said slowly and with some diff
Guilty, ''but it's something drefful up
there, mother" she pointed to the
cliff far above, where the Chimes sum-
NIT bordered on the barren crag Of
the Deepgang; II was gathering the
blue flowers, there is lots there, and [
saw beauty down little bit, and
was just getting it; and in anon the
! fern [ saw something's mother, l
touched it, it's drefful! like dead,
mother, SO drefful.'
She put her hand nervously to her
head, and laid it on her mothers bos-
ON, as she finished speaking.
'You shouldn't have gone SO far,
my darling" said her mother, while
she soothed and lifted Ida to her lap.
cit was the blue flowers; [ wanted
them SO for you" said the little girl,
plaintively; "but Inever will any more,
mother" m
"But dear child, what was it to
brighten you? poor little bird, sup
pose; fallen from it's nest?"
Ida shook her head -"Oh, no! no, it
wasn't, dear mother, it was drefful-
it was like this" HG
| AS she spoke, she held up the little
| buttoned sleeve a moment, and shud-
| dered
''Ida! what do you mean?" exclaim-
ed Nelly, as she set the child upon her
feet and started up.
1t was, mother, only worse-lt was
bones! Oh, mother, don't go, please. .
'sIda, [ must see! [ must go; my
child, stay here. | will not be long /
must go, Ida. Do as / bid you-sit
there! mother will come back
Ere the words had passed her lips,
she was rushing up the rocky cause
way, moved by she knew not what
impulses, what dread anticipations-
she reached the summit of the fowery
Chine, she paused and darted keen
| IL l.. l. H.
black rocks, almost destitute Of vege-
tation; hurriedly she advanced, till,
close to the edge, where the cliff fell
suddenly off to the precipice, she es-
| pied think fern bush, whose hardy
russell foliage grew far over the edge
and down the face of the rock. AS
she approached, she saw the scattered
handful of blue flowers which poor Ida
in her alarm, had let fall; and the
thick tuft which sheltered luxuriantly
| beneath the broad leaves of the fern,
| showed this to be the one she had in
dicated. Nelly shuddered as she saw
| the dangerous locality to which the
! child had ventured; but with quick
firm step she approached, and stoop-
ing, removed the flowers, and parted
| the overgrown and stubborn leaves Of
the mountain fern.
With a cry of horror she started up;
her hand had touched, her eyes had
fallen upon the object which had
alarmed the little girl
A skeleton hand!
There it lay, the rigid, bony fingers
clutched as in the death agony-there
it had lain, who conld say how long?
the winds and the rains, the tenn
pest and the sunshine, had passed
over that silent relic of humanity,
beneath the covering ferns.
But she recovered herself again that
impulse urged her to seek further
was there no more? or was this the
terrible index to a tale yet untold?
She stopped again; hurriedly she
plucked away the fern leaves, scatter
ing them around, peering below into
the sunless depths Of the dried-up
earth beneath.
Suddenly a glitter as of metal
caught her eye, and diving down, with
hasty clutch she grasped at the
object, and, amidst handful of dust
and withered leaves, she brought it
into daylight.
A ring She sprang to her feet, and,
with distended eyes Sazed uponlit.
An exclamation Of dismaY broke
from her lips. The next moment she
had caught up the gaunt skeleton hand
and was pressing it to her bosom, as
she sank to her knees, and gasped, in
a broken voice, "My husband! he was
murdered-and, oh! God, forgive
mel"
She had no utterance for the dread
truth which rushed upon her mind
with certainty that Knocked at the
possibility of doubt. r
The ring was one that had been her
mother's-a massive, uncouth jewel,
of ancient and most peculiar fashion
and device.
It had been handed down from the
grandfather Of her parent, who had
found it on the beach after wreck of
which this was the sole vestige that
ever came on shore.
TN