The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1896-12-03
Generally he sat up for two hours after

ty the sitting-room stove; tonight he
fdgeted in chill uneasiness till seven
o'clock, and then he took his littlelamp
from the shelf and abruptly left them.
Mr.. Brush looked for some time
dumbly at the door the boy shut behind
him. He was heavy-hearted. He
knew not what part Ed'ard had had in
the bad business of the calf, but he fore
saw that he would go back to Gene
Huntoon. TX
IF the calf didn't die a natural
DEATH" he said at last, land il I'd
known it soon enough SO I could have
bled him, we could have made veal of
him.
do you s'pose he poisoned him, pap"
said Mrs. Brush, in half-whisper.
"Why, mol" Mr.. Brush answered,
blankly. He looked down the columns
Of the county paper without compre-
hending a word of what they held.
He shared his wife's unspoken, increas-
ing conviction that so long as Ed'ard
was under the roof their lives We're not
entirely safe. 80,
Upstairs in his bedroom Ed'ard lay
broad awake, with wide-open eyes. The
white moonlight streamed in at the
east window and brought out the gay
colors in the patchwork quilt, and
cleaned on the water-pitcher and on
the picture Of some far relatives of the
Brushes, in an oval black frame On the
wall. ~
He could not sleep. His senses were
alert He did not know how the time
passed. He seemed to have lain there
in his silent misery for hours, when ne
heard Mrs. Brush's heavy, slow tread
on the stairs. She came in.
1--WE brought you some hot ginger
tea, Ed'ard," she said, land hot fat
iron for your feet. didn't know but
you was going to be sick-you didn't
eat your supper. You drink it down,
now. There!'
It was a duty perfunctorily per-
formed; but she tucked the iron
against his feet and waited until he
had swallowed the drink before she
left him.
Ed'ard lay as she had left him., He
heard the peaceful, quiet country
sounds-the slow passing of wagon,
the barking Of a far-away dog, the spas
modic. faint jingle of cow bell in the
barn. He knew not what strange
thoughts and feelings were stirring
within him. He had never felt such
before. He had never known any re-
pentance nor regret, nor any pang of
self-conviction, and now he was bewil-
dered.
At last he moved. He crawled out Of
bed. He shivered, and his teeth chat
tered, not with cold, but with dread Of
what he was going to do. And yet an
irresistible something within him bore
him on.
He went to the closet, fumbled with
in it and brought forth, one by one, the
miserable garments in which he had
come to the Brushes. Mrs. Brush had
put them there, looking forward to a
possible cleansing and mending.:t He
put them on, and buttoned the ragged
coat and laced the broken shoes. Then
he felt his way down the stairs to the
sltting-room.
Mr.. Brush sat with his shoes off, and
his feet on the warm stove-hearth;
Mrs. Brush was winding the clock.
They turned and stared at the appar-
ition.
Ed'ard stood in the middle of the
room 'I'm a-going back" he said.
"Hey, sonny?" Mr.. Brush gasped.
II killed the calf" said Ed'ard. II
chased him round, and he tumbled
through the fence and fell dcwnhill and
broke his neck and killed himself. T
was scarf, and went and got the rope
and took him off to the woods. knew
you'd go and look at him, and thought
mebbe you'd think his neck got broke
hauling him off with the rope. Ididn't
want you to know I'd killed him. I
thought you'd send me back to Gene"
He stood stiff, his arms hanging at
his sides-a little, thin, forlorn speci-
men of humanity.
$50 I'm a-going," he ended. He
gulped, and winked hard; he would
not cry. "1've killed the calf. I amt
taking the clothes you give me. I've
got on my old ones.'
There followed deep and solemn
stiffness, except that the clock licked
with unnatural loudness.
"Where are you going?" said Mr..
Brush. His voice was husky.
"Back to Gene
"You going now. tonight? It's past
nine o'clock" -:
Ed'ard nodded.
'What put it into your head to tell
us you killed The calf" said Mrs. Brush.
She looked down upon him. To the
child she doomed large and stern, and
he raised his eyes to her in new terror.
But he spoke up, when he had searched
himself for the answer, and found it.
"'Cause you treated me so good" he
said, TREMENDOUSLY. He moved toward
the door.
Mrs. Brush got in front of him. She
swept him TO her with one strong
hand. and sat down on the cushioned
settee. She held him close, SO that his
little, pitifully working face was hid.
den in her arm, and she rocked him
back and forth. Her tears dripped on
his head.