The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-02-24
to some unuttered question, she went

ing. and | could not help thinking. My
husband, you know, sings at a theater.
He-he is not strong, and lately he
seems strange, as if--as if his health
was giving way. He wants rest and
change. Only The other week the doc
tor said ho ought to get away to the sea
just enough for us to live upon, and if
if he should be i'll, l don't know what
we should do. l came to you to know
if could earn some money.
She stopped. The professor was still
watching her.
"Well, WE'LL" he said not unkindly,
" let us see. Let me hear you sing"
She sat down nervously to the piano.
The keys were indistiDguishable before
her eyes and her fingers trembled
weakly. For moment her voice was
beyond her control. She felt incapable
of steadying it and she could not re-
member word to sing.
Then che suddenly caught sight of an
old song called Daddy" lying upon
the piano and she took it up and began
to play.
She sang through the first verse with
all the exquisite pathos of which her
voice was capable. 1t rang out soft and
clear across the room and the profess
sor almost fancied he dreamed.
He woke with start to find that she
had stopped and was putting back the
music.
"Agsin," he said harshly. "Sing it
againi"
She sang it through once more; and
when she looked around, the professor
was staring out of the window, and the
sight of bis back turned toward her
sent chill to her heart.
81 was afraid should be failure"
she said with q half-sob, taking her
gloves. 8" am sorry IL"
He turned around at the sound of
her voice. She did not know that his
eyes were full of tears, and that the
song had conjured up recollections OF
his dead wife.
"Scalesl" he said abruptly. And
Nellie went back obediently to the
piano.
When she had finished, he came over
himself and put her through number
of exercises. He tested her voice in
every possible way. He took infinite
pains with her-such pains that would
have considerably astonished some OF
his pupils if they could have heard
and when he had finished, he looked
up interestedly into her face.
"Your voice has been we'll trained"
was all he remarked.
81 had a good MASTER" said Nellie,
with the chill growing at her heart,
"and have always kept up my prac-
tice. 1 have practiced every day since
have been married"
"Good, good!" said the professor,
suddenly. "very good; and if some
thing should turn up, will you take it at
once9"
Nellie caught her breath with gasp
of establishment.
"Take it'll" she cried. "Then-then,
you do think-you think I can earn
some money!"
81 think" said the professor, forget
ting his dignity and his English, with q
sudden frantic gesture, 81 think you
hat q beautiful voice-a very beautiful
voicei"
That afternoon Nellie waited impa-
tiently for Ralph to come back from
rehearsal. She was burning to tell him
the news, and to get his permission to
look out for an engagement. The pro-
lessor had spoken 80 favorably OF her
voice-hsd given her 80 much encour-
agement-that she was filled with the
widest hopes. There must be some
thing in it. He had promised to help
her out of sheer admiration for her
voice, and surely it must be worth
something for so great q professor to
take her up.
She Law back luxuriously in her easy
chair and dreamed golden dreams.
And the summer afternoon waned,
and passed, and still Ralph did not
come. She sat up listening for his
footsteps. Somebody was making such
q noise on the stairs outside that she
could hear nothing. Men-heavy.
booted men-seemed to be tramping
up with some heavy burden. She
could hear their clumsy feet Chamber.
ing up; she could hear the murmur OF
their gruff voices; and she sighed i'm
patiently as the sounds came nearer.
Suddenly they stopped-stopped out.
side her door; and there was an omin
GUS silence. The next moment there
came knock, and policeman walked
in.
Nellie started up with cry. The
policeman came forward and tried tt
keep her back. Some other men fol
lowed him. There seemed to be quite
lot of men crowding into her little
room, but she could see none of then
distinctly-Only one form that lay
stretched unconscious on shutter
and over that form she bent, with |
terribly white face, and stared Wild,
at the narrow stream of red blood tina
was oozing slowly from her husband
celorless lips.
y
Somebody was saying something t.
her about Ralph. "He tainted at re
hearsal, and" She looked up an,
found the doctor was speaking to hel
"The truth is kindest after ALL" h
said presently. He is very danger
ously ill--so i'll that think"-glancin
around the shabbily furnished room
81 think he ought 10 be removed to
hospital. He requires great care-gres
care. He must have a nurse, and,
his life is TO be saved he must be spare