Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1896-10-08
CHAPTER XX.
The Cup Of sorrow FILLED to th'
RrIm.

The Gun of sorrow Filled 10 the
Rrim.
Poor May. What could the we'll
meaning neighbOrs do for her! =.
Their clumsily expressed pity could
not assuage her grief: their honest or
fers of assistance could not restore
happiness TO her heart.
Alone i'm the world, she sat In the
cottage which was NJ longer her fath-
e,,s with eyes red with tears ana with
trembling limbs.
Her new mourning, so trim and neat.
u,,s Int the outward sign of a grieving
spirit. .,
and ha' n bit o. supper this evening
along q me and my old man Wen
rive We a welcome. we Will
So spoke old Mrs. Hayter. but May
ONLY shook her head iii reply.
..Lor'. you'll go on grieying and a
pinin till ye join your blessed moth
err" -,
what could / do better:' asked
Nav almost fiercely. DO you think
I have so much on earth for which l
| should care to Liver
snow. don't go on in that way,
there's a dear pet lamb! What a L
do for you. deary?"
Nothing"
Think. little one. Is there nothing
you want?'
.Only TO be left alone answered
! May. Then, when n moments rcfec-
| ton had shown her the rudeness or the
| speech. she rose and threw her arms
round the good hearted old womans
neck and sobbed anew.
ooh. forgive me!' she cried. II did
not mean To be ungrateful. but am
very, very miserable and hardly l.llow
what / say.
lem" said Mrs. Hayter, calling
from the window to Il passing boy,
'.Iem. you run off home n tell II
OLD man | sLan't be home tonight, FOR
I'm going TO stop with this poor, suf-
fering baby and then the old woman
proceeded to take off her CLOAK ana
bonnet, and 10 hustle about the room,
and May looked on. incapable OF help
ing. almost of speaking.
And as the day drew TO q close ana
the sun set in Il fiery glory ana May
moved slowly about as one walking III
her sleep. but yet with the conscious
ness that in another o was Il man
sent over from Winchester TO watch
fhat nothing was removed and to as
sert the claim of John Gridley TO the
house and furniture, which had been
her fathers years before the younger
man was born.
And this nein-this FOL tfridley-
who was TO have been her husband.
The man who even now sought to
make her his wife, not by persuasion,
but by force.
II was a strange kind OF wooing,
this OF John Gridley's; but the cum
ming man calculated rightly that 1t
was the only method by which she
| could be
He would fam buy a wife for tl.2Uo;
! and his willy nature told him how best
to transact the business.
The night come; but day and night
We're alike to the poor girl, who sdr
| silently wretched, scarcely conscious
of the flight of the hours in the remeui-
brallce that her sole remaining parent
was lying at Winchester ga0l Il pris-
oner for debt, ard that the only per
son " no could procure his release was
herself, and that only by seeking on
the h~ard-hearted man who had pro-
cured his Incarceration, and Offering TO
become his wife.
Mrs. Hayter saw that poor May was
not inclined for conversation, and,
therefore, kindly refrained from talk
| ing; but silently she sat by her side,
in the hope that she might be Of some
| service, till the clock in the old church
tower doomed out the hour of 10, and
then she rose, ana. putting on her
cloak, prepared to take her departure.
"Good-by. dear she said tenderly.
Don't you 20 f~retting and pining, for
it can't do no good. Good-by."
"Good-by," repeated May mechani-
cally.
Don't you trouble about anything
in the morning, there's a darling. I'll
come in early and see to everything
Thank you said May. You are
| very good and kind TO me"
Now you go to bed and have a good
sleep"
The poor girl only sighed; for she
felt az If the only good sleep for her
was the sleep Of death.
You see. she was a poor, weak,
tender and loving little flower and
her feelings were almost too strong
for her frail body. She could not rise
and philosophically argue and strive
dSuihSt iulSlOTtuut-S cOulu Only
Sigh, and weep and look for death t.
Ellie her from her sufferings.
Once before, when her burden had
been almost greater than she could
bear, she had contemplated self. de
struction. But no such thought as
that now entered her mind.
"Oh, Ernest, Ernest" she cried"
why do you moi come to me? Why
arc you not here to comfort and sus.
tain mey'
But Ernest Hartrey was divided
from her by many hundred leagues OF
ocean; and her cries rose Int, the still
night air, and no response came to
then.
With the early morning came Mrs.
Haytec to the cottage, which had been
the property Of Matthew Rivers, bent
on her errand of charity.
In a basket on her arm were some
daintlcs, with which she hoped to en-
tice the poor, unfortunate girl to eat:
n in her capacious pocket was a
great bal OF worsted, and in her hand
her knitting needles; for she had re-
solved to spend the whole of the day
with the maltster's daughter, TO pre-.
vent. II possible, her giving a too
much i'm hpr lnpolipnc. a. -