The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1896-07-18
CHAPTER XI


Hulda woke up toward noon the next
day with the sense of having slept a
fortnight She seemed to be waking
from very annihilaIon, so profound had
her unconsciousness been and so difficult
it was to reattach the threads that
bound her to existence She saw her
sister Magda seated at her bedside with
face full of mournful sympathy, but
for moment OF more she lay and stared
smilingly at her as she slowly returned
from the blissful blank Of sleeps mir
vana. But presently the meaning of
Magda's expression dawncd upon her
and vague foreboding which deepenod
into distinct apprehension Of calamity
began to stir within her
The room was filled with dusk, and
the many storied stove roared monacing-
ly in the corner Outside the snow was
descending noiselessly in large white
flakes, sleeping the world in vast
white silence. The frost Of yesterday
had half thawed ON the window panes,
but the dense, whirling snow piled itself
upon the sashes and plastered its glisten-
ing crystals all over the glass 1t was
no more the world Of yesterday, with
its clear, ringing frost, its boundless,
starlit sky and its wide horizon. No;
this was a wet, clammy, nightmarish
world, IN which all sounds were muflled
and the vision dim and contracted.
A sense Of oppression and an indofln-
able discomfort weighed like burden
upon Hulda's mind as she strove to re-
call the events Of the night and clarity
to herself the situation.
why have you made it so hot here?"
she asked her sister, feeling inclined
now TO temporize instead Of boldly de-
manding the truth. "The air felt so
raw and chilly" answered Magda.
There was a long pause, during which the
two sisters avoided each other glances.
"What time is it," asked Hulda
About half past IL. "
Another pause, filed by the cracking
of the brentwood in the stove and the
dripping of water in the spout which
descended from the roof Then some one
knocked at the door, and a maid with a
scared face entered and summoned
Miss Hulda 10 her mother The girls
heart shot into her throat at this an
nouncement, and half rising in bed she
demanded to know what had happened
"Oh, mother--she is on her high
horse, said Magda evasiyely.
"Why? What has she dOnef"
'She aroused Mr. Brm in the middle
Of the night, declared the younger sis
ter, doling out her information piece
meal and with due sense Of its impor-
tance.
"Roused him? Why, what for?"
"You know that better than ], sister,
for you never told me the lease thing
about it, though 1 tell you everything
that happens 20 me.
This was a grievance Of long standing
between the sisters and the cause Of
many heartburnmgs.
Hulda started upWith "a blauched face
and began to dress hurriedly. She felt
q seething white heat within her. So
far from trembling at the thought Of
her encounter with her mother, She
year. ed TO measure her strength against
her. Magdas half offended at her lack
Of curiosity, got ~ and approached the
door.
"Where-wheio is he nowY' demand
ed Hulda, tearing tho comb through
refractory tangle ol hair
"Why, don't you lnoW he's zone
"Gone? Gone wheueY
"H1N 3an II tell? Eack 70 The city
probably, Mother had talk Will him
in the parlor oi about ten minutes, and
then she walked the girls to get break
fast for him and made Nils get up and
harness Big Roam and take him 70 the
nearest station where he could catch
the steamer.
Hulda had sunk down upon a chair
with the comb ia her hand and sat
staring blankly at the stove The para
lyzing force of the blow deprived her