The Press., 1896-02-27

over there now, fixin up."
 "'Aha, thought l, that's what s upE But said was glad, an that had brought her some sponge cake an other things, an l unused the baby while she ct little-a mighty little, was sorry to see, but she went on to tell me Jim had been to the doctor about her, an he said she needed tonics, an he sent her some, an she was goin to take the med 'cin an would soon be we'll an strong an so happyi But, Aunt Nancy, she says, baby don't grow bit. I'm afraid he is too old fashioned. Mother Curtis says don't stir round enough to git an appetite. Do you think that's it-that baby don't git enough to make him grow because l can't eat? She looked so weak an pitiful.
 1T says, Well, it ain your fault; 1 reckon you can't make yourself eat.
 "She laughed little. You are sich a comfort, auntie!' she says But that wonderful tOnic'll set me up agin.
 "An so I left her an went home, promisin to be back in day or two an take her home with me for little visit if she was strong enough. You'd jist oughter to seen her face when I said that; it jist lit up.
 Mother Curtis?' she whispered.
 "'Oh, says l, she'll be glad to git rid of you for awhile. An went off plannin how I'd see Jim and make him bring her over. But it did seem as if there was a spite to be worked out agin me, for that very evenin it set in to rain < ,11 I,l for days he could not move hisself, an was kep' close at home for three weeks, hearin from the neighbors every once in awhile that Rhody was gainin slowly, but the baby wasn' right somehow.
 "Well, Jonathan got able to hobble round agin, an purity spell of weather sot in, but there was garden to make an soap to bile an another week slipped away, an says to Jonathan, says I, As sure as I live I am goin to see Rhody tomorrer if old Mis- Curtis II let me in, an the words wasn't hardly out of my mouth when somebody knocked at the door. Come in, says l, and who was it but old man Curtis, lookin like ghost. Whats the matter?' says l. He r'al'y couldn't speak for a mint, an then he got out sonethin bout Rhody an the baby. an comin, but I sensed it all, an in less n mint was ready an in the buggy with him. ..'
 From what could make out as we druv as fast as we could, Jim had been away from home over to- the Duncan place from airly in the mornin till about o'clock that afternoon. When he got home, he run right up to Rhody's room, an found her a-settin there with the baby in her arms, asleep as he thought, but when he spoke to Rhody she began to scream, so that he was scared an tux hold of the baby an it was | dead.
 " Then he hollered,' said the old man, 'an me an Mary Ann an Tom (that's the hired man) ran up there, for we was jist settin down to supper, an when we saw what it was Tom went for the doctor all came for you.
 "An, oh, Mis- Johnson, Inever want to see such sights agin! The baby was dead, sure enough, pore little thing, an out of its misery, but Rhody, she jist went out of one faint into another till the doctor came, an then we worked over her long time, an when she quit faintin she was ravin in high fever. Dangerous, the doctor said, an turned everybody but Jim an me out of the room. Such an awful time! Rhody would scream, 'Oh, do come, mother Mother Mother! Baby's dyin' till she couldn't scream any more, an then she'd ask for the baby, an lie still, waitin l like, an then scream agin.
 "It was midnight before the doctor got her quiet, and then she lay in a | stupor like, with Jim settin watchin her. Then thought If the pore baby an went to see about it, but some of the other neighbors had come in. an found they had it laid out nice in the parlor.
 ''Mis' Curtis was settin by the kitch- en stove, for it was a cool eyenin, an I says to her, Mary Ann, says I, what ailed the child? It was tux student, wasn't it?'
 ''She locked at me. Iknowed she was mad as well as fcclin bad, but she didn t want to show it then, all she says:
 Yes, reckon you might say it was, though never srected the child 10 live from the first. What'd Jim marry that no count spindly girl for? He might a knowed
 ".Mis' Curt,s.' says I, 'Rhody'll not trouble you long, an it's my be- lief, says I, 'yl.a've hurried her into sher grave.
 "'It's no sith thing, says she. I waited on her as good as if she was my own, but I had lots to do today, an tole her this mornin was done packin victuals up stairs for a lazy trollop like her, an she could come down to dinner | if she wanted any. She's plenty able to, Nancy Riley, an it's my 'pinion she didn't take half care of that baby. An she set Jim agin me. He's fixin to go off to live by hisself.' y
 "I jist turned round an left her, an she bounced up an says to one of the women, I s'pect ou're all hungry, an I'll git supper, an, in spite of all they could do, to work she went. {"
 "Oh, yes," said Mrs. Johnson, "the madder she got the harder she'd work, an mighty good worker, too, she was, But how did that pore Rhody get along?'
 "Well, she lay quiet all that mOrnin but about the middle of the afternoon she reused up an seemed to know mN an Jim, an asked for the baby
 It's down stairs, Rhody, says I.
 She looked at me so queer.
 Is it?' she said. Mother wa mad, Jim, an wouldn t come up stairs an baby was so sick, an tried to cal her an I couldn t make her hear, an the1 I tried to go down stairs an couldn't, al baby got so stiff and cold, an couldn' I git him warm. An then, oh, Mis- Johnson, she began to scream agin. I was awful, but after awhile she wa still again for several hours. an I trieC 4 to git Jim to lay down, but he wouldn' leave her, an his mother come up fo him to ait him to go down an eat some