Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-10-14


that's what Annie told me-"
That's bad" said the cid man
thoughtfully. "well. must be goin'. =
he said. taking up the reins. ITS
gettin' late. Coin to the sociable this
week.
II don't know--perhaps 50. Per-
haps." hesitatingly. well both co."
Mr.. Frost looked at her curiously.
Perhaps" he said slowly. "Tm sure !
hope you will"
I'VE meant her and Oscar" he ex-
planned to his companion as he drove
away. II guess" he remarked, SEN
cautiously. shell be tolerable pleased
to see him when he comes
Dorcas went slowly back into the
house. On the threshold she turned to
look after the retreating wagon
Fathers growing DID," she thought.
hell be sorry to see 1t when he
comes"
The lines of the lower part of her
face relaxed as she stood by the door,
nor showed that touch of rigidity, that
lack of tenderness, so characteristic of
her manner and so untrue to her real
nature. Her hand fell caressingly up
on the flowers at her waist. She need
ed the flowers to brighten her up, she
thought, for she had grown somber
with the years, like an old engraving.
II was a picture of Washington near
parison.
She looked about the room with all
the pride of possession; for in her eyes
X was the choice spot of all the world.
1t was large, and bay window added
light, and broke the otherwise rigid
outline. In the winter that window
was a miniature conservatory, redolent
of pink and heliotrope, and gorgeous
with geranium and oleander. Now IT.
served merely xs a shrine for a pot of
carnation, set apart by its mistress, as
especially worthy of honor.
The room had been rather bare when
Oscar went away, for Dorcas had come
to the house with small dowry; but
now there was pretty carpet setting
forth bright leaves relieved by back
ground of green; sofa covered with
gay Brussels, some eminently respect
able, but hardly inviting, black walnut,
including a table on which were laid
some of the current magazines, ex-
pressing Dorcas's pride in being in the
world and of it.; some willow chairs,
ribbon bedecked; and near her
large, well-filled bookcase-her medi-
cine chest she called it, as she thought
of the purpose which 1t had served.
During the first year of her loneli-
ness she had been angry and resentful:
but in time the anger had burned out;
then had come a period of waiting,
when she sat for hours, listening so
intently that the fall of book or
step in the house Jared upon her like
discordant note; then had come
period of regret and self-accusing. She
tried to defend herself from the charge
of being quarrelsome, by thinking that
her theories were not like those of 9th.
ers, just patterns woven into the life
texture; hers were part of it's very
warp and wool, and she could not help
trying to set them forth and enforce
thCil dhy AhOiC ohC Coulu hClp
the color of her hair. She became
more and more sure, as time went on,
that If there were ever to be any hap
piness in her home when Oscar came
back, and she made sure that he would
come back, she must somehow estab-
lish harmony of thought.
1t was for this purpose that she had
bought the books. Her hand ran light
ly over their edges as If they were pi-
ano keys, while she remembered what
they had meant to her. She had pored
early and late over those on the first
shelf, that she might unlearn a creed
as dear to her as her own nature.
CHANGING up, she noticed, across the
room, painted face just outlined in
the dusk. 1t was portrait of her
Aunt Dorcas, a prim, sweet-faced wom-
an, who had looked upon "trinkets of
gold" and bright ribbons as ''instru-
ments of the Evil One" and had even
mourned her own gift of beauty as
snare set by this same Arch-contriver
to catch the soul.
Dorcas remembered for years Aunt
Dorcas had never looked into mirror,
they said, lest she herself might be led
away to pay some slight, and as she
age to the image reflected there. YET
once, when she was an old woman,
they said, she had accidentally come
upon mirror, stood staring a minute.
then turned away, and was very sad.
and refused to speak for long time.
She had thought, 1t seemed, that the
whole world had grown gray except
herself.
On the second shelf were the books
which she had studied when she had
tried to unlearn a political theory, TO
renounce which was like trying to
move out of her own brain. In time,
she had succeeded so far as to give up
her strong advocacy Of and passion for
In the course of time,
too, she had managed to sweep her
minds sky of all cobwebs of modern
fantasy, till she felt that there could
be no wrangling when Oscar came
he should disagree with
her on a certain question of national
finance.
She had formed, through various in
fiuences-perhaps the very air of the
locality was infected oy tia strong
opinion upon this money question. Os
car had never spoken Of it, and her
heart sank within her, as she fancied
that he had been wandering in a reg
ion of different thought and policy. She