Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1897-07-01

ever, it can't be helped. Here we are,
and here we shall stay, SO we must
make the best of it. .
eyes, we must" his wife said, re-
gretfully, ''but I shall never feel again
the interest I once did in our pretty
home:"
'sTo change the subject" said Mr..
Maberly, IT bought COW to-day"
go, real COW for our own p cried
Ernest, looking up from his toys.
eyes, real cow-and we shall have
real cream" said his father. s'She is
coming here tonight. .
Mrs. Maberly said nothing. She
had been very anxious for the COW, but
her thoughts were all taken up with
the knowledge she had gathered that
day.
s'And kissed her baby!" she said
over and over, ''and that girl will tell
her I would never have made such
concession if I had known"
The next day she carefully shut the
blinds to all the windows that over
looked the pretty gray stone cottage,
thus denying herself view that had
come to be almost necessity OF her
beauty-loving nature.
s'They never shall be opened again, :"
she said bitterly. ST want nothing to
do with her or hers"
The time went on and winter came
with its deep SHOWS and keen, biting
winds. The blinds were still kept
close on the south side of the house,
and the next neighbor was seldom
mentioned. One day Mr.. Maberly
spoke of him on his return from
business.
cit is bitter night, he said, "and
I wouldn't like to be in Warren's
place.
ssWhy, what is that?" his wife asked,
with some show of interest.
Ellis wife's father is not expected to
live, and Mrs. Warren is not able to
go. There are some business matters
to be attended to, and his presence is
needed. : It's long, cold journey. It
must be hard for the poor wife that
she cannot see her dying father. I
feel very badly for them both. !"
cit is-very hard" Mrs. Maberly
forced herself to say, and once or
twice in the night she thought OF the
lonely woman, as the snowfiakes were
whirled against the window in the
heavy windbeat of the storm. She
could not help picturing her, wide
awake and fearless in her misery. And
yet she never suggested to herself she
ought to call or betray any interest in
her neighbours sorrows.
''I said never would speak to her
again. she said, 'and I never will.
She brought it all on herself. -
"Don't expect me home till the last
train tonight" Mr.. Maberly said the
next morning. "There's meeting of
business men that must attend, so l
shall be obliged to stay in. Send John
down with the sleigh about eleven"
The day proved a pleasant one, and
Mrs. Maberly felt unusually light
hearted as she sang and worked about
the house. Tt was not till evening
that she realized how very lonesome
she was. Ernest had been kept up an
hour beyond his time, and it was not
until he pleaded to be sent to bed that
she allowed herself to carry him up
stairs. His prayers were of the brief
est, although she tried to prolong the
process of undressing, but he was too
sleepy; and presently, as his head
touched the pillow, he was in the land
of dreams. Something prompted the
woman as she went out in the hall to
open the inside blinds and lift the
curtains from one of the windows that
commanded view of her neighbor's
house.
All between was one bed of snow
trees, shrubbery. fences, garden; and
the moonbeams fell gently over the
wide. white, uneven space, and bathed
the opposite cottage in it's silvery ra-
dience. She looked toward the house.
On the white surface of the window
were shadows fitting and coming,
seemingly going to and fro in great
haste.
"Isuppose they are putting the baby
to bed" she said to herself, cor per-
haps she has company; it looks like
it."
Carefully closing the blinds again,
she went downstairs. The parlor
looked very cozy with it's rich red
drapery, made more intense in color
| by the blazing coal fire, and yet the
woman had vague feeling of uneasi-
ness. Opening the door, she could
distinguish voices in the kitchen.
John was talking with the cook, and
the sound treasured her somewhat;
bu, oh, how she missed the genial COM
panionship of her husband! Sudden
ly there was peal of the door bell,
SO sharp and sudden that it set all her
nerves tingling.
'sI'm so glad John is in!'' was her
inward comment, as she heard his
heavy footsteps across the hall.
Presently the front door was open.