The Opelousas courier., 1899-07-15
THE SILENCE OF SIMEON SAYLES.
IL II. l.. III n IL IL II.

hal been rather &c 'entrics and tina
e Simeon himself had @ever SCENE
g quite like other men. No matter hoy
true this may have been, his siste
+ Myra was a thoroughly well-balance;
woman, with a large fund of strong
9 common sense, and her brothers freal
, caused her great secret modification
l and distress, although she had de
c'ared at the beginning of it: ut vii
be an actual rest to me to get rid OF
your eternal scolding!'
But Simeon had not sco!ded ''eter-
nally,' as Myra felt obliged to confess
to herself in her reflective moments.
He was, indeed, somewhat mfr I'm OF
temper and sometimes gave himself ur
to prolonged fits of pe,ulance, bat
there had been days and even weeks
at a time when Simeon had been as
serene of mind and as companionable
as any a
lie and his sister Myra had sat side
by l on the little porch over the
front door of their old red farmhouse
throughout many a peaceful summer
evening, quietly talking wei the past
and the future. The long winter even
lnSs had often been filled with a quiet
happiness and peace for them both, as
they sat at the same hearthstone at
which their parents had sat, Myra
with her knitting and Simeon reading
aloud or smoking his pipe in peace.
They had nearly always eaten their
meals in harmony, and now, as they
sat at the table facing each other in
hard, cod silence, there were times
when, although neither would have
confessed j. to the other, their food al
most choked them.
"This freak Of his is harder to put
up with at the table than at any other
place or time" his sister confessed to
a Sympathetic neighbor. "oometimes
it just seems as il I'd fly. There he
sits as mum as a grindstone. Some.
times l try to rattle away just as if
nothing was the matter, but I can
never keep it up verylong. I've tried
all sorts of little tricks to catch him
unawares and make him speak once,
but he won't be caught. One dav,
just when he'd come in from the field,
| smeIt something burning so strong
that L said, 4 do believe the house is
on fire. and he opened his mouth as
If to speak and then clapped it shut
again and whipped ont that abominable
little book and wrote, 'Whare?'
II was SO put out that I flung the
book clear out into the %gooseberry
bushes. I really doubt if he ever does
speak again in THIS world, and the
prospect is pleasant for me, isn't it?'
Tie two lived alone in the old red
farmhousein which they had been born
30 years before. They were without
kith or kin in the world with the ex-
ceptlon of a much younger sister
named Hope, who had married a pros
porous young farmer AMI had gone
out west to live. It had been a time
OF great sorrow to them when this
pretty, young sister had married Henry
Norton and gone from the old house.
They rejoiced in her happiness, OF
course, and were quite sure that Hope
had "done WELL" but it was none the
less hard to give her up.
She was only 81 years old at the
time and so much younger than her
brother and sister that their affection
her was much like that of a father
and a mother for an only child. They
had lavished the tenderest love of
their lives on Hope, and their affection
had not lessened by her absence. In
years since they had seen Hopes
pretty face and heard her CHEEKY voice
they often talked of her.
Myra had always stood as a strong
wall between Hope and harm or trouble
# any kind, and this loving thought
had kept her from writing a
word to her sister about their brothers
sileace.
81 wouldn't have Hope know it for
Myra had said; est would
worry the child 50. And there's no
LANCER of Simeon writing it. He'd be
to-"
During all the fall and through one
whole long, wretched winter the iron
villed Simeon kept his resolve not to
peak, and a decided shake of his head
N a written 'sNo" was his reply to
often repeated question, s.Don't
'ou ever intend to speak asain?"
One day in May a neighbor, coming
rom the town, brought Myra a letter !
hat gave to her troubled heart the
Widest thrill of JOY it had known for
AMY a day. Hope was coming home!
The had written to say that she would l
rive on Wednesday Of the following S
'eek with her little girl of three years s
that they would spend the entire
ammer in the old home.
Catching up her s%unbonnet, Myra
nm all the way to the distant field in +
Inch Simeon was at work, holding a
letter out as she ran and calling Il
ut before she reached him:
20 Simeon! Simeon! A letter n
ON Hope! She's coming home!
he'll be here next week with her lit a
g Grace, that we've never seen! Only t
link of it Hopes coming home!" b
Simeon was blowing. He refined up
is horses with a jerk and opened and O
his mouth three OF four times; b
ut no sound came from his lips. His
zee wore a half-wild, half-frightened "
'oh, and his hand trembled as he held O
out for the letter. a
Simeon! Simeon!' cried Myra. g
18th quivering voice and fearful eyes. t.
you'll have to speak now!" g.
He shook his head slowly and sadly L,
he sat down on the rlow to read the 81
tier. He handed it back in silence &
i'd turned away his head when he a
~ tho Too. q ctroaL: - III