The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1899-04-04


key in its lock and carried the table
bodily, with sort of stern, triumphant
energy, into the barn and buried it be-
meath all the boxes, bales and barrels
he could lay his hands upon. 1t seemed
to yield him a grim satisfaction to
serve it SO. 1t was like a retaliation.
The key was in his fingers now and, as
he gazed out into the vivid world, they
fumbled at it nervously. He had meant
to drop it in the well as he came back
from the barn, but somehow he had not
done so. His fine alert eyes moved rest
lessly from one object to another that
came within his field of vision; his
clearly chiseled lips twitched nervously
and a lock of his white hair fell forward
over his brow when, in his strenuous
thinking, he unconsciously shook his
head.
"No, 1'won't drop it in" he said,
within himself. 81 won't drop il in. But
III lose it somewhere about the house
SOS I'll never find it again. I never
/ want to see the drafted machine againi
/ l never want to hear it! I'll never
] touch it to sew another stitch, not for
love or money, so help me-"
/ A gentle hand was laid on his shoul-
der. He started guilty.
! "Oh, Fannyl" he said, with a sort of
nervous laugh, "that you, dear?
didn't hear you come in. Twas just sit
/ ting here resting for a minute and
thinking about" his voice faltered.
81 know it, Uncle Tom" interposed
the girl, softly, stroking his hair back
/ from his temples; well both miss her.
j But we must try to bear up, dear, and
lot let Ourselves give way. She-she
was very good to me-"
Fanny was a slender slip of thing,
just turned 16. Youth was in every
curve of her figure, in every line of her
face. She knew just enough of life to
think death its one SCATTERING force. 1t
seemed to her that as long as there was
life there must be hope, and as long as
there was hope one must be happy. She
felt deeply sorry for her uncle-she
tried to comfort him.
The weeks slipped away, and the
months. The autumn came and the
winter followed. Then spring arrived
and the tulips in Amelia's garden began
to blossom. Thomas watched them ex-
ultantly. He seemed to see them fol
the first time in his life growing calmly
and silently and not from over mist
of jigging machinery and amidst a tit
ter of winkiDg wheels.
Fanny bowed the shutters of the liv
. ] ha1. I,nd :
Go, but Thomas no longer sat within
them bending laboriously over hi.
loathsome task, byword and hiss.
ing, as he thought, for al the world
The machine had never been brough-
back from the barn, and no one buf
Thomas knew where it was. Fanny
wished she dared ask. 1t would havl
been worth worlds to her to discover i
just now, for then she could have "ruI
up her graduation dress in twink
ling. which now she was trying to sew
by hand, stitch for stitch. in tn,
meager hours after school ard house
hold tasks were done. 1t was all Gu
out and basted, but the time flew fast
er than her needle could, and at length
the week fairly arrived ard still tn
frock was scarcely more than begun
In spite OF herself the tears would ris
and fall as she sat trying to finish OF
the last ward Of dainty hem before tn
twilight fell.
Come, Fanny, child! You'll pricl
your eyes out sewing there without
light. Put away your work and 81
here alongside of me. It's kind of lone
some all alone these long evenin's."
She obeyed him silently and Thoma
took the little hand in both his own an,
began to pat it fondly. But in a secon,
he had dropped it, and with hast,
glance at her had risen and wardere,
: away to the other side of the room.
$50 tc-mcrrow's your last day a
school?" he asked from out of tn
shadow of his retreat, in sharp, awak
ening sort of voice.
''Yes, sir" said Fanny.
: Didn't l hear you and-and-you
r Aunt Amelia talking last year. just be
fore she had the stroke. of something
about graduation dress?"
Yes, sir"
Where is it?"
Inc stun UP IN my room. Inc ores
I amt more than cut out an basted.
won't have time to finish it. I'v
worked real hard, too--but there's beei
examinations and-and-other things
+, and 1 haven't got along very fast
Auntie had planned it all out for me.
she'd been here"
? Thomas wandered back again towar
= her out of the gloom. He placed hi
hand on her head.
$ GOOD little Fannyl" he said, and hi
: voice trembled as he spoke.
7 Mother" cried Elizabeth Field, hun
! rying into the house in a flutter of eS
: element; what do you suppose ha
t happened?" and then, in answer to he
. mothers look of inquiry: "As cam