Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1898-12-29

III the coolest weather. At first madn
him present of some old coats. trous.
ers and flannel shirts. But 7 soon
gave up that, for he never wore them.
and | formed the impression that he
had probably converted them into
cash.
In fact, I asked him one day what
he had done with them all. He only
looked cunning, affected stupidity, anu
made some unintelligible signs. De
spite his numbness, he could make me
understand things very we'll when he
liked-especially anything connected
with his pension papers. 1t was only
when he did not wish to make himself
understood that his signs had no
meaning in them.
"In this matter of coming to have
his papers signed, he was, as have
said, always absolutely punctual. On
March rs and September 20 he ap-
peared at the rectory as regular as
clockwork, taking me on the way to
F., where he had to present his pa
pers at the post office.
Il always looked for him on the
morning of those days, and always
took the precaution to have my study
windows wide open. The old man and
water had long been mutual strangers,
and the atmosphere which attended
him was, to say the least, rather op-
pressiye.
He was always, as I have said.
punctual in coming. And when one
Michaelmas day-it was just two
years ago now-came and went with
out his putting in an appearance, l at
once remarked it as a very noticeable
circumstance The next day | expect
ed him--with open windows-and the
next, and the next; but he did not turn
up. At length, after waiting a week
l felt sure that he must be i'll, and
went over to the shanty to inquire.
Il hammered at the door. Nobody
answered. l hammered louder and
louder, with the same result. In the
end, as a last resort, tried it. To my
surprise, it was unfastened. 1 pushed
it open and went in.
"Crouching against the wall, upon
the damp and mouldy floor, was fig
ure covered with an old sack. I went
nearer. At first could not see which
Of the two it was. But on looking
more closely, I made it out to be the
old woman. The tangled black hair,
which had always struck me so about
her, was now betrayed as not being
her own. It was a wig half on and
half off at that moment, giving her a
fearfully grotesque appearance, and
clearly revealing her bald pate, scant-
lily fringed with a few wisps of gray
hair beneath.
where is your brother?" I shouted.
"Has he left you alone?"
well, you shall hear she went on.
I'm just going the same way myself,
| and it's no use keeping secrets any
| longer. He's dead
Dead l exclaimed, supposing
| that her wits were wandering, for I
| had seen him at his howell door not
less than fortnight before When did
he die?'
Fifteen years ago.
"Now, of course, l saw that she was
raving. Her hawk-like eyes, fixed on
my face in a most forbidding leer, at
once read my thoughts.
"'No, | amt mad. It's the truth.
He died fifteen years ago and buried
him myself under yonder hearthstone.
Get them to dig it up, and you'll find
his bones.
las she spoke, the bag clutched my
sleeve and half raised herself by su-
preme effort. She leered into my face
with a look that l cannot forget.
Eyes, yes she said. All true-all
true. hid it, and no one knew. And
with hideous chuckle, I've dror'd
his pension myself for fifteen years.
"And were her brothers bones found
there? l asked the rector, in the
course of a subsequent conversation
on the subject.
Eyes. He had been buried scarcely
couple of feet below the surface.
And in a hole in the chimney we found
the misers savings-more than 500
pounds in gold and notes. 1t was
paid over to the government, in re-
turn for the fifteen years pension out
of which they had been cheated"