The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-22


then they did not give milk so well. Under
his rules ours certainly do give a great
quantity.
When 1 reached the yard 1 thought at
first l was too late, and that one was
there; then | saw Wilhelmina leaning
against the closed lower half of the stable
door. The upper half of the door was wide
open. | was about to call to her when /
realized that Wihelmina was speaking to
some one just inside the stable. Her back
was half turned from the opening, and her
mead was bent. The moment / saw Will
helmina's attitude and her dropping face I
recognized something unmistakable. / said
tC myself In my sentimental old heart:
Il am going to lose the best cook / ever
had, for Wilhelmina is surely listening to a
love story and she does look too pretty for
anything"
Though I longed to know who was the
coachman, for he was unworthy of her, l
was slipping off softly when Wilhelmina
caught sight of me. She stepped forward
quite quietly.
Did you come to see the new calf?" she
asked, and before l could answer the lower
hait OF the door swung open and my Hal
Oh! sister dear suppose Hal showed me
the calf, but when l got back to the house
l could not have told If it were red or white
was to go at once 70 my dear husband and
tell him who's l had discovered but on
thinking it over IA the quiet of my room
soon saw that l had discovered nothing.
Wflhelmina had stood by, calm and just
like herself, while Hal showed me that
Wfetched calf. He had been rather silent,
to be sure; but if Hal had been garrulous,
that would have been unusual for him.
Altogether, the only evidence l had of a Sc
cret between those two lay in the look of
conscious happy ..stening which L thought
| had caught on Wilhelmina's face This
was no evidence at all, coming, as it did,
from foolish, sentimental old woman like
myself | therefore said nothing to any
one, but, watching closely, never saw a
word or look pass between Hal and Will
helmina from that time to a week later,
when her father came to take her and her
sisters home. Their abrupt leaving was in
convenient to me- of course, and under 9th.
er circumstances / should have resented it.
AS it was far from crying, as my dear hus-
band believed chow little our best loved
know uSO, it was the greatest relief to me
to see the Schroeder team drive out of our
gate with Wilhelmina on the front seat by
her fathers side.
How mistaken 1 was to rejoice in that
sight!
Not two months after, as 1 was sitting
one morning, placidly sewing in my bed
room, my husband came in, and, taking a
chair beside me, began turning over the
contents of my workbasket. You know
that he is not what one could call a
''hdgety'' man. If / find my Workbasket in
disorder [ know something has sorely trou-
bled my husband, and that he has been
turning over the matter in his mind, along
with my spoOls and scissors. No one else
ever dares touch my workbasket
What is it, dear?'' 1 asked. and he an
swe1ed:
Have you noticed that Hal has been
much away from home of late?"
My heart sank unaccOuntably. Il thought
he was out the farm with you, / said.
My husband turned over my spools a little
more, then said slowly: mo, he has not
been with me. Can you guess where he
/ was shaking like leaf as I answered:
with Wilhelmina Schroeder Oh, my dear
boy"
Have you suspected something there?''
asked my husband
And then l told him of the scene in the
barnyard, saying that [ had not mentioned
hafn
to build fears upon.
4 am afraid your straw showed the way
the wind was blowing" said my husband,
and then he told me something which he,
in turn, had been keeping from me.
A few days before one of the neigh6or5
had met my husband and mentioned to MN
seeing Hal at Farmer Schroder's.
He spoke so significantly that my hus-
band asked him outright; Have you
our neighbor, who is also an old friend,
said frankly that he had, and added:
Hal visits the SchrOders frequently; L
think you ought to know it.
NV husband shook his head when 1 urged
that Hal might nave been consulting the
farmer about the crops.
Il think you had better hear all" he said.
L have more evidence at hand. To-day
I learned something from Schroeder himself.
He was walking on the roadside with a
friend and did not hear my buggy Whee5,ls
on the soft earth. He was talking loudly
of his good prospects, ending, as l came
up, with: An den, tank Colt, Wilhelmlna
ish besphoke""
My husband laughed little as he quoted
this, but / burst into, tears;
1T does look rather badly, said he.
I thought it looked wretchedly, yet, know,
ing that Hal loved his father as ne loved
less, and implored my husband to speak to
the boy II you forbid it he will give her
up" | cried. II know he will" ,,,a,ona
II know it too answered my nuSDanu,
but | cannot forbid this, my dear. once
before Hal entangled, himself In love az a.
fair of this same kind, and intertered; ne
has never been happy since.
Il was not told of that, CRED; ;,
1T was not necessary to I fToupIe you 1o,.,,
said my dear husband Tor ia aI was vas yer very
of life as Wilhelmina Schroeder. Evidently
that is Halls taste, and he is a man now
he should be able to decide l do not think
he would be happy with a woman of his
own rank of life Has he ever been happy
with his sister and her friends? They are are
has a slow, uncultured nature. He is
frightened by the retinements even mere IN
his own home. We must thank COO that
the boys tastes are not low, as they Wen
might be in his case Hal wanted to non
orably marry the first girl; nothing else
occurred to him. We can't drive MN 100
Nv dear sister. what could 1 say? This
was a long, long speech for my husband,
where did our boy get nature that only
\VilheIInina Schroeder could satisfy? l be
gan to feel as if he were a cuckoo IN our
nest though ! don't believe the mother blrd
ever pushed the changeling out OF the home
tree and heart. do you? Some father birds
would. | know. My husband was not of
Let me speak to Hal" 1 urged; but no,
my husband would not consent to that
Il dare not interfere he said; nor ought
Won to do So We must watch and wait and
he silent. The boy will speak to me before
long; and after all, ne might 90 worse, t L
worse. than marry Wilhelmina Schroeder.
OF course. I cried out at TINS, as any
mother would. In the bitterness OF my
heart I said wicked thing, comparing my
two boys and crying: go
oh if Hal were but like Rowland! MY
@0h nv dear" he said, Rowland may
be more like Hal than you know, and VIII
ment or | should not have been obliged
TO go to Schroeder and tell him he must
take his girls home. A coarse woman would
not have attracted Rowland. 1t is all safe
lv over now, and Schroeder came for MS
girls as YOU know; but you did not know,
did Won that Rowland came to me IN sore
distress. entreating that Wilhelmina might
be taken out of his sight before 1t was too
late? Like Rowland, was II not! CareIul
as Hal is careless.
ing IN the same hour that both my boys
had fallen victim to my-to Wilhelmina!
For the moment | was very angry; ana
vet as Rowland had honorably spoken TO
sion, my husband was right in telling me
of this. 1t did comfort me to nave II so
proven that Wilhelmina was not wholly
nnrefined for Rowland is almost too fas-
tidous. The girl he has since married Is
dainty as a flower body and mind.
r. must have been Wilhelmina's beauty
that FIRST singed Rowlands heart; and then
she did have a wonderfully quiet, queenly
saw that I found some comfort in my
ant IN q c