Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1896-07-30

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suggestion. and with q somewhat flOrid
bow he opened tho door to tho hall, and
his r~etreating footsteps re-echoed through
the empty corridors.
CHAPTER XII.
Hulda woke up toward noon the next
day with the ems Of having slept a
fortnight. She seemed to be waking
from very humiliation, 30 profound had
her Inconsistencies 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
a face full of mournful sympathy, but
for a moment or more she lay and stared
smilingly at her as she slowly returned
from the blissful blank Of sleeps mir
ana. But presently the meaning of
Magda's expression dawned upon her,
and q vague forcboding which deepened
into u distinct apprehension Of calamity
began to stir within her.
The room was filled with dusk, and
the many storied stove roared menacing-
" in the corner. Outside the SNOW was
descending noiselessly in large white
flakes, sleeping the world in q 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. It was
no more the world Of yesterday, with
it's clear. ringing frost, its ~boundlcss,
starlit sky and its wide horizon. No;
this was a wet, clammy, nightmarish
world, in which all sounds were mufled
and the vision dim and contracted.
A ens Of oppression and al indcfin-
able discomfort weighed like a 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 tcmporize instead of boldly de-
manding the truth. 1.-The air felt SO
raw and chilly" answered Magda.
There was q long pause, during which the
two sisters avoided each others chances.
what time is it," asked Hulda-
"About half past H."
Another pause, filled 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 to 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 evasively.
"Why? What has she donc?"
"She aroused Mr.. Brun in the middle
Of the night" declared the younger sis
ter, doling out her information piece
meal and with a due sense of its impor-
lance.
REUSED him? Why, what for?'
"You know that better than I, sister,
for you never told me the least thing
about it. though I tell you everything
that happens to me.
This was a grievance Of long standing
between the sisters and the cause OF
many heartburnings.
Hulda started up with a blanched face
and began to dress h%urriedly. She felt
a seething white heat within her. So
far from trembling at the Thought Of
her encounter with her mother, she
yearned to measure her strength against
her. Magda, half offended at her lack
of curiosity, got up and approached the
door.
"Where-where is he now?' demand
ed Hulda, tearing the comb through a
refractory tangle of hair.
why, don't you know he's gone?'
''Gone? Gone where?"
probably. Mother had a talk with him
in the parlor of 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 to the
nearest station where he could catch
| the steamer"
Hulda had sunk down upon a chair
with the comb in her hand and sat
staring blankly at the stove. The para.
Lying force Of the blow deprived hen
for the moment Of the power of
thought. She felt stunned, tremulous
and a trifle chilly. The naked nymphs
Of Diana on the panel of the stove seem.
cd to mock her, and all familiar things
assumed q sudden strangeness and IRE
sponsibility. Magda, aching with sym
pathy, but rebuffed by her sisters 81,
lence, opened the door, al which a tongue
IF fame leaped ont from the draft
hole. The drip, drip, drip Of the water
spout became importunate, intrusively
annoying, and she rose, half wondering
at her own calm, and hastily completed
her toilet. Her face looked hard and be.
numbed, and in the cot Of her mouth
there was q rigid resolution. An in.
| vincible power seemed to bear hcr along
the hall, down the stairs and into the
parlor. which was darkened by the great
mass Of snow and filled with the odol
of sailed roe leaves, mingled with that
OF burning wood. There was no one in
the room, and she walked mechanically
to the window and stood gazing absent
" at the whirline snowstorm. Then the
i -Msl n~~enn~nA A~A ~HAn> LA~s~~- ~--J