The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1897-05-14
THRIFT.

Qled. she left him with great Wealtn
of silent love, but that, like his name,
could not help him much, that is, not
as far as one can judge things. The
neighbors said it was a cough that had
settled" that carried her off. Proba-
bly, the cough had something to do with
1t, but a starved-out life Of lack Of af-
fection andrhard work had good deal
more.
The neighbors also thought that Mrs.
Watson never had much spirit. 1t
would seem as if they almost blamed
her for dying, and leaving a husband
with child barely 2 years old. They
had misgivings about the child, and
there they were right. Thrift was deaf
and dumb. His mother had struggled
against the knowledge as long as she
could. When she realized it, she kept
the knowledge to herself with a fierce
love. But the cough came and settled
all the problems of her life for her.
Thrift's father took her death as apa-
,thetically as he had taken her all her
life. Only Thrift seemed to realize
that fate was still against him. He lay
crying for hours alone in the little cot
tage, strapped into his cot. 1t was a
weird, pathetic cry. The neighbors
were kind to him. They took him in
turn to their cottages, but the element
of teasing children and rough handling
was discordant to him. The women
meant well, but it was hard winter
and money and tempers were short
Beside, Thrift's baby nature was hard
to understand.
Brightness came into his life one day.
1t came in the guise of little dress
maker, Jean Lawrence. She brought
him black frock. She had been busy,
so had put off the making till she had
time. No one else thought of the little
mark of respect. 1t was a tribute to
custom, but it was the one tribute of
Mrs. Watson's life.
"Puir little lambw said Jean Law
renee, as she came in.
Her eyes filed with quite unexpected
tears as she saw the lonely baby.
Thrift could not hear her, but some
thing sympathetic touched his under
standing, for he held out his hands.
"Puir little thing" said Jean Law
renee again, and she caught him up
and covered him with kisses.
Then she put Thrift back in his cot
and united the little black frock She
turned to go, for she was in a hurry.
Thrift's mood changed. His blue eyes
grew dark in the intensity of his pas
sion. He kicked and screamed. His
fluffy, fair hair was ruffled. He looked
the picture of little demon.
"Presairve u.s." said the little dress
maker. 1t was the first time any exag-
geration of feeling had come into her
life. She was half fascinated and half
terrified by this unexpected burst.
''Presairve usp' she repeated still more
emphatically.
She never could explain afterward
what prompted her, but she stepped to
the cot, wrapped a blanket round
Thrift and did not stop to think till
she had deposited him safely In her
own house. 1t was characteristic of
Jean Lawrence that she had never rea-
soned out why she had done this ac-
tion. Certainly she never regretted it.
1t was quite as easy matter to settle
the disposal of Thrift with his father.
He was only too glad to be rid of the
burden.
The first clashing of wills occurred
over the same little black frock. Thrift
ungratefully refused to have anything
to do with it. Miss Lawrence was per
picked. 1t would never do to dress him
in colors on Sunday. She compro-
missed by making him a white frock
with broad, black sash. 1t set off the
child's fairness, but still more It satis-
fed her sense of fitness.
Jean Lawrence always thought of
that Episode as an epoch in her life.
The next epoch was the sudden resolve
OF Thrift's father to go to America.
Jean Lawrence lived in state of ten
sion till he had sailed. 1t seemed in
credible to her that he could wish to
leave his boy behind. She only saw
the extreme desirability of Thrift in
any manner and way. Thrift's father
did not.
1t was soon after this that Jean
Lawrence's old lover returned to his
native village. This caused more
thought in the village than Jean her
self gave to it. 1t was ten years since
John Forbes and she had been going to
be married, and ten years is a long time
in woman's life! Since Thrift had
entered her life she was utterly obliv-
ious of anything except her work. The
more money she made the more she
could do for little Thrift.
Jean Lawrence had always kept to
herself, and no one knew why she and
John Forbes had never married.
Her old mother was alive then, and
every one knew she would have liked
the match. John Forbes had come back
grayer and older than he had gone
away. but he was richer and even
more able to afford a wife.
Time had not gone very well with
Jean. She was thin and small always,
and she had had a hard life of work.
Her sparse drab hair was beginning to
be sprinkled with gray. She looked
older than she really was. The VII
lage came to the conclusion that John
Forbes would go by ner and seek
younger and BONNER woman. Tie two
most concerned gave no cause for Cos
sip.
John Forbes would sometimes stop
as he was passing the little cottage and
say a few words. There was never
any allusion to past fimes between |
them. They called each other Mr.. |
Forbes and Miss Lawrence studiousIy.
That was the only clew either of them
had that there was mutual past be- |
$Ween them.