The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1896-05-08

cloud Of smoke was brooding, dull and
pale. and, as she looked, thicker black
clouds came rolling up through it iii:
great great heavy pqhtfs, pier re here md
even under the sunset Of the sky cleaned
strong and red. Very clearly the house
was on fire, which was dreadful thing;
hut what struck Rosanne with still more
dislnay was that there seemed to be no.
body about to mind it. Three small
stranger boys We're sitting on the TRAN
gular grass plat between the two lanes
were busily playing some game with bits
of broken crockery and taking no inter
est in the fire. Nobody else was to be
seen. Rosanne ran up to the children III
a GREATNESS scare. "Where's ali the
Mahonys?'' she said; "sure, they cunt
be in it, wild the roof blaxit' over their
heads" One Of the boys glanced at her
put out Of it + yisterday for the rint," he
ould bad houses to- hinder the people
of comm back to them, aud suuatters,
and tramps, and all manner. Give me
the blue-edged bit, Billy
And where's HE uncle gone top said
Rosanne. ...
waa to s tHe Gns ss be taS Il III t nsss
"sure, not at all" said Billy; Il heard
his brothers. place, away at Tiliyiough."
The first boy, who was freckled and
blue-eyed and red:headed, put out his
tonghe in acknowledgement of this cor
,reaction, and the third, who was like
him, said: "Np, he isn't. They've all
took off to the states" Rosanne thought
She was turning towards the house when
Billy said: There's nobody in it," but
his brother said: "Yis, there is, after
that ag'in. l seen Alec Anderson and
another of the bailiff's men goin' round
wild pitchfork awhile ago"
Rosanne ran desperately up to the
door and looked in. It was all smother
of smoke inside. and the flames might
be heard gnashing their teeth among the
round the corner of the house, and there
sure enough. were two men, one of
whom. standing on the pig stye wall.
was poking Il pitchfork into the thatch.
The fact was that Alec Anderson, who
had thrifty turn, had noticed a fresh
golden patch where Pat Mahony had
lately dacned his roof, and now deemed
it worth while to rescue the good bit Of
straw from the contlagration for use on
his own premises. Burning cabins is hot
and thirsty work on radiant July day,
and Anderson's mood had become irrita-
BILE over it, So when dishevelled bit Of
a vagrant girl, wrapped in an old rag
of shawl surmounted by an incongru-
GUS gay hat, came rushing up to him,
and in horror-stricken accents asked
would he phase be tellin' where Mrs. Ma
hony was gone. he felt moved to reply
by tossing down bundle of thatch on
her off his fork, and saying: lou sneir
that at somebody that kens or cares, me
hizzie, and dinna be bletherin here avn"
Unluckily the bundle had a red-hbt
smouldering core. and as it dropped on
and set her hair alight, and fell in scorch.
ing flakes before her eyes. She was fiee-
ing away. blinded and terrified, but she
triDped over a stone and fell with her
head against the wall, which stunned Ker
into unconcern.
BY the time that her troublesome
world came back to her; she had been
conveyed to the, ihfrniary ward of the
Hewitstown worl{ {house, d dolefui white
washed place, where the last red rays
of the sunset was beating on the gfimy
sunk SO deeply within tie last 'i f6df aad
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 hayfelds, while
the sun went down behind a screen of
rounded tree tops. For her clothes
We're blackened and drenched with fire
and water: and, much worse, her pretty
curling hair was all burnt off, and one
morning her neighbor in the ward
tthoughtfu!ly lent her bit of broken
looking glass that "she might see the
quare show she was:;" but she had
scarcely energy to glance at it, and was
family shocked by the disfgured image
All the day she lay in a dazed, apathetic
state, and took little heed of anything
always IN dreafy sort of dream.
ing shadow on the floor had shrunken
almost to it's noontide skimpiness, she
suddenly reused up quite awake. Just
outside the door, which was close to her
bed, she heard a familiar voice speak
ing-the voice of Dan MCLEAN. Rosanne
held her breath as the nurse, Il square
framed stolid person, was called out to
interview "a young man from about Kill
bracken, that was come AKIN after a
like heavenly music to her, if the echo
OF Martha's had not come harshly
through it and Jared it into discord.
beg your pardon, ma'am," she heard
him say difidently, might there be a
81 ity BY the name of Rosanne Tierney
- 1T is the name?'' said the nurse,
sure l couldn't be tellin' you the names
of the half of them that comes and
goes. What sort is she?"
'Och, the slip of a girl" said Dan,
whose descriptive powers were not great
a slip of a girl-wid black hnir-and a
smallish size she isl
that's ALL" said the nurse. we've a
black-haired one come in the other day,
not over-big. Some sort of tramp she
is, and got crack ON the head wild
a bit of the roof slippin' down on her;
put could be axin' her her name:
Rosanne Tierney, did you say? And
what might you be to her supposin' she
is! Her brother marbe?''
1t seemed to Rosanne as if an endless
pause. followed this question; yet Dan
only hesitated for a moment before he
answered.: "Och, we'll, ma am" he said,
~ ,you might say I'm as good as broth
And with that stormy darkness fell
good as q brother'' signify, except mar
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 villain
might just go back the way he came.
When a minute, afterwards the nurse
returned to ma Ike 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 them get along out of that-me
names Isabella Hill.' facts which were
at once reported to Dan outside in the
passage, with the additional details that
the creature seemed to be cross.tem-
Pered one, and perhaps not quite right in
her senses. But at this moment another
visitor arrived in the shape of a small
freckied and red-haired boy, who was
carrying, with an averse expression of
countenance, a large, gaudiiy-wreathed
straw hat. "And what might you be
wantin', Matthew Flanigan?'' said the
nurse.
"Me mother bid me bringin' th' onld