The herald., 1898-12-11
"He was always good to me when we

met"
HE was sorry for you, that's ALL"
sneered Mrs Murray.
You are DEVIL" said Tabitha SLOW
ly and in tone Of awful condemna-
ton.
Tell me something I don't know and
don't love to hear" retorted Mrs. Muir
ray with a little laugh. Yes, and a
devil with a power-a devil that hates
you for your stupid. gawky ignorance,
and for interfering with me-"
" 1t was the will that you destroyed"
said Tabitha. Il know it now. l didn't
hardly think any human could be so
mean, but l know it now."
Yes. you fool, you do know it now."
blurted out Mrs. Murray. Il confess 1t
to show you how helpless you are. II
you were to tell any one that l con-
fessed it, they would only say you were
crazy or lying because cut you out of
| Menefee. AS for me, / want you to
know what I have done, so you can see
what I'm going to do for you. AS lit
tie as you think of it, 1 can turn this
community against you. Before an
other month is past l shall prove my
self wholly innocent and that you are
guilty of a deliberate lie against me-"
lntTe WAS ii Sltp III iHt iitlil iiaii
and then Tabitha's name was called.
1t was Mrs. Wittekind. Tabitha rose
and went to her. followed by Mrs. MUIR
ray, who looked as if she was angry at
the interruption.
You toted my keys off," said Mrs.
Wittekind to Tabitha. II wanted to git
into my bureau an couldn't do it,
Tabitha produced the keys from her
dress pocket. curiously studying her
sisters face the while.
Are you ready to go home?" asked
Mrs. Wittekind.
Il have not quite finished talking to
her." interposed Mrs. Murray.
well l reckon you kin do it some
other time" answered Mrs Wittekind.
Il want er hep about gittin dinner
ready"
AS they trudged homeward togeth
er, neither of the women spoke. When
| they had entered the store Mrs Witte-
| kind paused where Ike was weighing
some bags of corn and leaned against
| the scale beam so heavy that the scale
rolled from her
! Il do declare" she painted, as she
watched Tabitha's gaunt form diSap-
pear through the curtains into the sit
ting-room, Il declare that gal has had
a lot more to put up with than Il heap
, of us ever dreamt Of Then she left
| Ike with his sheet of brown paper, his
stub pencil and a column of figures,
and going into the kitchen, she began
TO watch the Murray cottage through
! the window.
The bell was changing out its first
summons to meeting on the third Sun
day morning of the Rev. Mr.. Murray's
| honeymoon. In dressing-gown and
slippers, he sat at his desk. big Bible
on his knees. making notes on a sheet
of paper. His wife sat at the little WIN
dow against the glass of which the
white jasmine vines. blown by the
wind, were fitfully tapping.
| They had been talking about the plan
| for the purchase of the parsonage hav-
ing fallen through. She was sure, she
admitted, that it was solely to the ugly
rumor set af1oat by that meddlesome,
envious Tabitha Bogsworth. and as she
recounted skilfully many fictitious in
stances of Tabitha's meanness, Mrs.
| Murray rubbed her eyes faithfully on
her apron. When they grew red the
Rev. Mr.. Murray waXed sympathetic
and valiant. He had been proud of his
| W llt-SO !JiOuu llldl he lOlSOl lIlt us
parity between his age and hers-ever
since she had shown him the proposals
of marriage from the brainiest. most
conservative citizen of the village, and
he plumed himself, boy that he was. on
having won wife against such a rival.
I've been wondering" he said. ''if 1
could not do something from the pull
pit to stop this repOrt-to convince my
! Of "a n1ltrI1fb of IL -
In her excitement she ceased rubbing
her eyes.
Il wonder if you couldn't" she re-
sponded, half hopefully.
IF I only knew more about Tabitha,' -
he said rehectively, as he closed the
Bible and laid it on the desk. But the
people seem pretty we'll convinced of
her honest belief in what she saw that
night, though some of them admit that
she might have been mistaken"
Mrs. Murray turned her face to the
window and eyed the slow swinging of
the jasmine vine for q moment, look
of weighty indecision on her face. Pres
entity she plunged into the iniquity she
had already carefully planned.
IF Tabitha Bogsworth had only
known that the paper L burned that
night was to save her from being talked
about" said Mrs. Murray in a studied
regularity of tone, she would never
have spoken of it for anything on earth
She may have thought it was my hus-
bands will"
The paper you burned!" cried the
, minister. "Why-"
; NO, I did not tell you about it, >
broke in Mrs. Murray, because it wa!
; not my secret, and Mr.. Menefee seemed
so anxious to keep it from being known
: l am afraid that even now l have n,
3 right to tell you about it."
1 But" protested the preacher. eff i
e will help to put down the ugly report
about you. why you ought to speak
t to me at least. Is it possible that al
= this time you have been shielding an
0 other-and a person, too, who has in
j jured you in the eyes of the public?"
Mrs Murray's little laugh had n
f more naturalness in it than the SON
G of mechanical mockinsbrd, but i
r furnished true music to her husband
r ears
/ Yes" she said with a little shrug o
= her shoulders. II have been trying t
r shield Tabitha all this time. If I ha
e explained q first the story of the de
stroyed will would never have been cir
G culated."
"Tell me all about it?' he said eager
- ly. as ne bent over her and touched he
d hair gently.
She laughed again, this time not s
freely, for she was busy formulatin
h tha lie uuOn the success of which dc