The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1899-11-24

IUe WlultI at Sdl CoIllhS vi
from the wonderful darkness, with
snowf1akes 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 slits 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
"Rabw in 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 stared
up at blue wisp of flame blinking in
the crate. The mOnotonous tick of the
clock was the only sound in the wide
kitchen.
Mrs. Goudie stood with her hand on
the back of a chair. At first her eyes
gazed before her with the wide look of
a proud anger, and her mouth was
hard. The glow fell upon her withered
face and revealed it's dark and stern
nobility. Presently her eyes narrowed
ana went away, and she seemed to be
musing. Then a strange smile that
was not pleasant to look at appeared
about the corners Of her mouth. But
she did not speak.
The light became more unearthly.
Il declare" said Mrs. Goudie sud-
denly, with a false shrillness of voice
that made Janet vince; 81 declare, it's
like the day O. judgment, tnis." The
smile never left her lips.
Again was appalling silence. The
clock seemed to be ticking more and
more loudly. AS Janet listened to its
slow metallic beat her heart sank low
er in her breast. Where could her f;
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 vividness.
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 nc
thinkY'
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 9
creature in the clutch of fate. She
was going to meet her father. A bar.
lobby with whitewashed walls raT
from the front door between the kitch
en- and the parlor. A shaft Of yellow
light struck in through an oblong silt
of glass above the door, falling straight
upon a row Of pegs. On one of these
was the farmers everyday hat, 6
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 sai(
shrilly, as If showing alterations to 6
stranger. She pointed to a bed, the
curtained head of which was close t.
the door on the left. Janet had begur
to tremble.
She followed her mother into tht
room. At first she could see nothing
because of the invading glory.
"There's your fether!' said Mrs
Goudie.
Janet turned her eyes from the light
and there lay her father in his shrOut
beneath the full glow Of sunset
The clock licked loudly in thu
kitchen.
A fringe of sandy whiskers stucl
out from the tight jaw bandage. There
were vivid hairs in it, redly cleaning.
Janet's knees were water below her
She sank by the bed.
"Fetherr' she painted, with opeI
mouth and unstrung lips. "Fether!
guish: "Oh, God; My fether! My fe
tier! My fether"
"A-hey," said her mother, 'that'
what We brocht your fether till!' o.
| an April morning three and twent!
years ago this woman had felt thou
sand pulses leap and throb within he
when feeble little cry told that from
her body a living soul had come int
| the world-ah, mystic wondert-a new
born soul and from her body and th'
| child of the man she loved. But tina
child had broken the heart of the maj
she loved, and she was merciless.
| Suddenly blatant low from tn
| great empty byre echoed through th
silence hollowly, and again there wa
silence.
| The somber radiance deepened in tn
room. The brass knobs at the head 0
the bed cleaned mournfully.
| "Speak to me, fether" whispere,
Janet. "Speak to me. fether! Speal
to me!'
But he lay with closed eyes in tn
lonely light, and it seemed to Jane
that his shut lips smiled-smiled W.T.
the quiet irony of the dead. who know
the secrets Of all things and will tel
us nothing.-Speaker.
Only Thing to Do.
"Aunt Emeline, what would you d
II you opened your eyes at night an,
saw the dark form of burglar movin
stealthily around in your roomY'