Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-01-27

There was another reason for avoid
ing delay which Nelly had not named;
for, warned by the judgment of Dame
Iibbetts, she had not confded the
whole of her strange history to
her new acquaintance, but had content
ed herself with mentioning the death
of her first husband, without even
touching upon the existence Of a sec
ond.
She continued-"I did call at the
house where | had been directed by
the carrier, and the good woman
said how sorry she was she had not
heard me the night before, and how
glad she would have been to make us
comfortable.
"She shook her head when told her
where we had slept, and about the
loss Of the bundle; we weren It the first,
she said, that had been robbed in that
house; and, from what | made out,
they were regular bad people, poach-
ers and the hke-and folks did not
care to NEEDLE with them.
"She was very kind, and would
make us have some breakfast, before
we set forward again on our road,
worse off than when we met with
Mrs. Tibbetts, except, indeed, for the
rest we had GOT
II have often noticed, said Agnes,
chat, after any good fortune, bad
often comes all on a sudden, as If it
made up for it,"
cay, and the contrary, too, more
than once has happened to us, am
sure" said Nelly; and when I have
not known whatever would become of
US, something right out Of the way has
turned up, quite mercifully and provi-
dentially.
"Just ais this was. 1t was the third
day after we had lost our bundle, and
we had kept on the road
from, village to village; and,
now and again, kind folks that
[ asked the way of would ask us to
rest, and offer the child some milk,
and more than once we got a hearty
meal from the good people. But, oh,
it did seem strange at first; could
not have brought myself to it but for
her."
Agnes shook her head as if she had
known that feeling, and Nelly went
on
ri don't know what we should
have done else, for the few pence WAS
obliged to keep TOR a bed, and two
nights we managed to get one; they
were Wretched places, but anything
was better than the open air; and SO
as [ tell you, we had got along those
two days-and, being fine, we had
managed pretty well. I carried her
now and again, but she would keepup
with me, poor child, and never com
planned; indeed, she was quite taken
up with something she had picked up
that morning, trotting along in front
of me, for flowers, as she always
does
''You will say it was an odd thing
a fox's tail, quite a long brush, just
like the men stick in their hats when
they come in from the hunt.
"Poor dear! she was so pleased
with her big feather, as she called it,
that HOPED she would not feel the
hunger so badly, for we had had but
one bit OF bread the whole day, and a
drop Of milk she got at cottage.
What to do for bread or victuals |
did not know; hadn't a halfpenny i'll
the world, and it was getting on to-
wards evening, while we were still out
on Withholding road, and no signs
of any town or vilasf,e to be seen.
III began to think chat we had in
deed come to the worst, and | might
as we;, look for some dry corner
wherswe should try to rest for the
nlg..v.
"a slse or cottage we had not
seen for miles, and hardly human
creature. All at once, | heard horses
feet coming slowly along, and in o lit
tie while up came two gentlemen, the
one leading his horse, and the other
riding slowly beside him.
"Theyiust turned tolook careless like
at us. but he gave q start, the one on
foot, and jumped towards the chilG,
when he saw what she had in her
hand.
"Would she sell it to him?" he ask
ed; "where did she find it?' Ida began
to tell him, but was Hurried, and I
told the gentleman, but he didn't
seem to care. All he wanted was to
buy it of her, and as the child had CIV
en- itup, the moment he asked-for
could hardly say we would sell what
scarcely was ours he pushed some
money into her hand, and kissed her,
and jumped ON his horse; then he cri-
ed out. It's just the thing; we shall
win it now!' The other gentleman
clapped him on the back, AND they
galloped off together, and there we
stood, just like in dream and when [
looked in the dear child's hand, it was
a golden sovereign =
'"Think Of that!' cried Agnes
"Whatever ON earth could gentlemen
want with SUI n q thing?"
"What, indeed?" said Nelly.
"Likely, to play some trick with, "
observed Agnes.
"But think of sovereign" return.
ed Nelly.
ooh, gentlemen don't mind what
they pay for their whims, replied the
other, with a slight bitterness in her
tone. "But please go ON; how glad
Won no11st have beenp'