The Press., 1899-11-02

and twice she let it fall in cowardice
Then self pity came over her with q
burst in the throat, and her lips whis-
pered in dun repetition: "Oh. it's pity
o. me! It's pity O. me! My God, aye!
It's geyan pity O. me-" She Knocked
family. There was no response. AS
she craned to listen she heard the old
fashioned kitchen clock tick with q
dreary loudness.
She knocked again. The scrunt OF
chair being pushed backward on the
stone floor made the blood prick her
veins suddenly. A silence followed
| and then the shuttle of slippered feet
coming slowly. Would it De her IA
| Their? And would he curse her? Her
tongue was dry in her mouth.
A bolt clanked to the wall, the door
creaked on its hinges, and somebody
peered out at her, hand over eyebrows.
"Its your said her mother at last.
The woman stared at her daughter
for awhile and then turned away with
out word, leaving the door open be-
hind her. Janet followed to the kitch-
to start backward. But her father was
not in the kitchen.
There was a strange stiffness. The
| rich light came streaming through the
bare window and fell full upon. the
dresser. The dishes shone weirdly
against it. There on it's old hook
Janet's mug was still hanging, her
name on it. With sudden stab Of
memory she thought of the night her
father had brought it home to her from
| the winter fair at Carbie, coming In
from the wonderful darkness, with
snowfiakes on his coat, to his little girl
| by the great fire; how blithe hau ~een
his dark eye. how CHEEKY and red the
middle Of his cheek. She could still
feel his finger rough and cold beneath
| her chin and the benediction of his
eyes looking down at her. But now
| Ah, Christ!
Mrs. Goudie had put away in the
window sill her great Bible and her
heavy white trimmed spectacles atop
of it. Janet was still standing.
"Sit doun," said her mother care
lessly.
Janet sat down On the edge Of a
| chair close to the door. Rab, the cat
she had reared, was sitting near her in
a blank band Of sunshine lying
athwart the flags, his legs propped in
front of him like two furry little pill
lars, his gray golden Sits of eyes fixed
on the window. Janet, feeling the con-
straint Of the silence, put out her hand
and, not daring to speak aloud, said
''Rab!' in a choking whisper. Rab
turned and looked at her carelessly
through his half shut eyes. Then he
rose and walked, with lazy stretchings
Of the hind legs, away over to the
| hearth. There he sat down and star
up at a blue wisp of fame blinking
the crate. The monotonous tick of
clock was the only sound in the W
kitchen.
| Mrs. Goudie stood with her ham
the back Of chair. At first her
gazed before her with the wide lol
a proud anger, and her mout@
hard. The glow fell upon her witt
face and revealed its dark and
nobility. Presently her eyes Mario
and went away, and she seemed to-
| musing. Then a strange smile IL
was not pleasant to look at appearl
| about the corners Of her mouth. BID
she did not speak.
| The light became more unearthly.
II declare" said Mrs. Goudie sud-
denly, with false shrillness of voice
that made Janet wince;'"I declare, it's
like the day O. judgment, this" The
smile never left her lips. /
Again was appalling silence. The
clock seemed to be ticking more and
more loudly. AS Janet listened to it's
slow metallic beat her heart sank low
er in her breast. Where could her IA.
ther be? He was SO seldom out Of the
kitchen at the cleaning. She turned
her head to see what o'clock it was.
The old yellow dial was shining with
eerie vtvidness.
All this time her mother had given
no sign either of pity or resentment
But
"Well," she said at last, always, with
that ironic edge on her voice; "well, we
had better gang butt the hoose, dye no
Think?
Janet rose passively without speak
ing. Now that her ordeal had come
she was too feeble to be sharply afraid.
She felt herself borne onward like q
creature in the clutch Of fate. She
was going to meet her father. A bare
lobby with whitewashed walls ran
from the front door between the kitch4
en- and the parlor. A shaft Of yellow
light struck in through an oblong slit
Of glass above the door, falling straight
upon row of pegs. On one of these
was the farmers everyday hat, a
square hard felt, green gilt at the sides
with age. The level rays revealed =
| thick coating of dust on it.
The mother opened the room door,
which fell to the right, and then stop
ped, speaking over her shoulder.
We've made changes here" she said
shrilly, as if showing alterations to a
stranger She pointed to bed, the
curtained head of which was close to
the door on the left. Janet had begun
to tremble.
She followed her mother into the
room. At first she could see nothing
because Of the invading glory.
There's your fether!' said Mrs,
Goudie. a.,fs,.;...s: +. NJ. =
Janet turned her eyes from the light,
and there lay her father in his shroud
beneath the full glow of sunset
| The clock licked loudly in the
kitchen. 49, - T
"A fringe of sandy wMskers stuck
tout from the tight jaw bandage. There
We're vivid hairs in it, redly cleaning.
Janet's knees were water below her.
She sank by the bed.
"Fetherv' she painted, with open
mouth and unstrung lips. "Fethery'
and then with d .shriH scream Of an
guish: t+Oh. God; My fether! My fe.
tier! My fetherw a
"A-hey." said her mother, that's
what We brocht your fether tillv' On
| an April morning three and twenty