The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1898-10-12

Misery saw her father take deadly aim
at the brave dogs head. Involuntarily
she started to go to him, but before
she could cross the room the dog was
lying on the floor gasping out his last
breath.
For one instant she stood over him.
her eyes stretched painfully wide open
with horror; then, with the child in
her arms, she turned and ran from
the house. Down the mountain road
through the dark, with a cold wind
blowing hard against her, she ran on
till she was exhausted, and then
walked as rapidly as she could till she
saw the lights-very few were burn
ing yet-in the village.
The awful desolateness of their stu
alton struck her as she wondered who
in the village would take them in. She
knew the baby needed ething from
the doctor, so at the doctors door she
bravely knocked, although the dark
ened house told her that they were all
in bed and would resent being dis
turbed to attend to Misery McVicker.
who's there, an what do you
want?" came from an upper window in
a by no means encouraging voice.
"Please, sir, it's Misery McVicker
an the baby. The baby's sick, an I've
brought it down from the mountain
to get something for it,"
"Well, l reckon, at such a time O.
night! JUS like your shif'less ways,
putin a thing off till the last minute
an then disturbin' people this way"
But the mountaineers were so
healthy that patient was something
of a curiosity; SO in few minutes
more he was down at the office door
with Pickering tallow candle, ready
to take look at the young un."
The look decided him to take them
in for the night, much to the disgust
of his wife, who did not hesitate to put
in her loud remonstrances. They
compromised at last by letting the
girl stay in the office, where she was
comfortable enough, in rocking
chair, with the baby on her lap.
In the morning the baby was much
worse, and SO the doctor kept them
longer. Seeing Misery subdued and
quiet, nursing the baby with passion
ate tenderness, the doctors wife grew
less hostile, and unbent SO far as to al
low the girl to help her about the
housework; but ii was not for long
The baby was dead and buried before
the week was out, and Misery had
started back to her home.
The long walk up the mountain was
hard on the girl. She felt done out"
She sat down often to rest. The near
er she came to her home, the slower
she went. Her arms ached for their
accustomed burden. She shrank from
the farm and the work, that would
now be easier, since there were fewer
to care for. Before, there had been
so much to live for and work for that
days.
At last she came to the house. She
wondered if her father had buried
Lion. She wished that the baby and
she and Lion might have been buried
together. 1t would not be so lonely
for the baby. She had been at the
doctors long enough to know that
such wish would be looked on as
blasphemous; but she felt that since
people had not taken any care of them
living, they had no right to interfere
with them dead. She sat in the twi-
light thinking, in a dull uncertain
way, of her mother and the baby and
Lion, until her father came in. Then
she got his supper, but while he was
eating she went out and stood by the
gate, still thinking, till the moon came
up and threw such CHASTITY shadows
about her that she shuddered nervous
ly and walked back.
Nothing could have been more DESC
late and dreary than her life that win
ter. 1t was only when at rare inter-
walls she came to the village to trade"
that she spoke to a soul. Her father
was doing better now, and was at
home most of the time, but they had
nothing to talk about and seldom
spoke. In the monotony of her life
she sometimes grew almost frantic
for something to happen. Anything
seemed better than this endless work
ing and thinking. For she had grown
into habit of thinking and longing
for something better than the mere
animal existence given her. If she had
only had the baby to work for and
worry over, she would have been con-
tented and happy, but the dead still
ness in her life grew intolera BILE.
At last the summer came, and with
it came an epidemic in the little vii
lage and on the neighboring farms.
So many were stricken down, and the
work on the farms was so pressing,
that the sick were mostly left to get
along as well as they could. The doc
tor complained loudly of the lack of
nurses, and when Misery heard of it
she came down at once and offered to
help him. She had not responded to
his call for the sake of the good she