The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-03-30


had thrifty turn, had noticed q fresh
golden patch where Pat Mahony had
lately darned his roof, and now deemed
il worth while to rescue the good bit
of straw from the confagration for use
on his own premises. Burning cabins
is hot and thirsty work on a radiant
July day, and Anderson's mood had be-
come irritable over it. So when di-
shevelled bit of vagrant girl, wrapped
in an old rag of n shawl surmounted by
an incongruous gay hat, came rushing
up to him, and in horror-stricken nc
cents asked would he plase be tellin'
where Mrs. Mahony was gone, he felt
moved TO reply by tossing down bun
die of thatch on her off his fork, and
SAYING: lou speir that at somebody
that kens or cares, me hizzie, and dinna
be bletherin' here AVA" Unluckily
the bundle had a red-hot smouldering
core, and as it dropped on Rosanne's
head, it knocked off her hat, and set
her hair alight, and fell in scorching
flakes before her eyes. She was fleeing
away, blinded and terrified, but she
tripped over a stone, and fell with her
head against the wall, which stunned
her into unconcern.
By the time that her troublesome
world came back to her, she had been
conveyed to the infirmary ward Of the
Tewitstown workhouse, a adoleful white
washed place, where the last red rays
of the sunset were beating on the grimy
windows. Poor Rosanne's fortunes had
sunk so deeply within the last four and
twenty hours that you would hardly
have recognized her as the same girl
who had talked to her cousin Martha
at the gate among the hayfields, while
the sun went down behind a screen of
rounded tree tops. For her clothes
were blackened and drenched with fire
end water, and, much worse, her pretty
curling hair was all burnt off, and one
side of her face was scorched. Next
morning her neighbor in the ward
| thoughtfully lent her bit of broken
| looking glass that "she might see the
| uuare show she was;" but she had
scarcely energy to glance at IL, and was
family stocked by the disflgured image.
| All the day she lay in a dazed, apathetic
| state, and took little heed of anything.
| It seemed to her as if she had been there
| always In dreary sort of dream.
| But on the day after, when the creep
| ing shadow on the floor had shrunken
almost to it's noontide slSimpiness. she
| suddenly reused up quite awake. Just
| outside the door, which was close to her
bed, she heard q familiar voice speak
| ing--the voice of Dan MCLEAN. Rosanne
held her breath as the nurse, a square
| framed stolid person, was called out to
interview "a young man from about
| Jxilbracken, that was come akin after
girl" Dams voice would have sounded
like heavenly music to her, II the echo
of Martha's Ind not come harshly
through 1t and Jared it into discord.
''Beg your pardon, ma am, "she heard
him say diffidently, might there be n
girl be the name of Rosanne Tierney
in it?"
"Is 10 the name?" said the nurse,
"sure couldn't be tellin' you the names
OF the half Of them that comes and
goes. What sort is she?"
"Och, slip OF GIRL" snid Dan.
whose descriptive powers were not
great, "a slip of n girl-wid black hair
and smallish size she is."
There's plenty of them like that, il
that's ALL" said the nurse, "we've
black-haired one come in the other
day, not over big. Some sort of tramp
she is, and got a crack on the head
wild bit of the roof slippin' down on
her; but could be AKIN her her name.
Rosanne Tierpey did you say? And
what might you be to her supposin' she
is? Her brother maybe?"
II seemed to Rosanne as II an endless
pause followed this question; yet Dan
only hesitated for moment before he
answered: "Och, well, ma 'am." he said,
'you might say I'm as good as q
brother, anyway"
And with that q stormy darkness
fell upon Rosanne. For what could
''as good as brother" signify, except
marriage with the step-sister, Maggie
Walsh? She hoped to goodness she
might never have the misfortune to
set eyes on either of the two of them
TO the end of her life's days-and she'd
as lief that mightn't be very long--a
pair Of black-hearted rogues-the viii
lain might just 60 back the way he
| came.
When a minute afterwards the nurse
returned to make her inquiry, the
tramp kept her head under the blanket,
and would only mutter in a husky,
mumbling way: II dunno any such
people at all--bid him get along out
of that-me names Isabella Hill" facts
which were at once reported to Dan
outside in the passage, with the addi-
tional details that the crature seemed
TO be cross-tempered one, and per,
haps not quite right in her senses.
But at this moment another visitor ar
rived in the shape of small freckled
and red-haired boy, who was carrying,
with All averse expression of counte-
nance, large, gaudily-wreathed straw
hat. "And what might you be want
in, Matthew Flanigan?" said the
nurse.