Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1900-03-02
THE WATCHERS
BY l.. Won Rehren.

Lauritsala.
The mourners came, one after another,
lifted the sheet from his face, took
long look, and said, "Ah, how changed!'
or Gle looks as natural as in life,' ac-
cording to the disposition of the speaker.
Then they pressed the hand of the young
widow. who stood with swollen eyes by
the bedside, and went INTO the adjoining
room for Il bite and 4 glass of punch.
Gradually the throng dwindled away and
only four persons remained to comfort
the widow and watch over the dead.
These four were Olla's MOTHER Onni Dit
kalachti and Asto Snutati. who had been
Lass best friends in life. and Oge
Handler.
The last had not been exactly & friend
Of the deceased, for he had been his rival
for Ola's hand and had never forgiven
Laas for having carried off the prize.
But now that Laas was dead. Oge re-
manned with the watchers in order to
show that he did not carry hard feelings
beyond the grave, which was very noble
and kind of him, to be sure.
And so all FIVE; the widow and her
mother, the two friends and Oge, sat to-
gether, silent and sorrowful
After awhile Onni rose and approach
ed the table. He drank a glass of punch
and said in mournful accents:
eve are all sad, very sad; but we must
not forget the necessity of the flesh. You
permit, Olla?"
Ola readily permitted, and the others
drew round the table, on which was not
only good Swedish punch, but liberal
provision of eggs, ham and other smoked
meats and great, fat loaves Of the hard
Swedish bread.
They all ate and drank and wept to-
gether.
The night wore on. The clock struck
?, but il. was not yet dark. The white
night lay over Lauritsala, the bright
summer night Of Finland in which Koit
and -Aemorik, dawn and twilight kiss
each other. Below lay the quiet Saima
lake, which reflected the rosy glow of the
sky. Stiffness reigncd in the watch cham
Der. All except Ola and Ogc were
asleep, with their heads on the table, and
Ola and Oge sat gazing at each other
with now light in their eyes.
"Comc," Oge whispered, 'let us leave
them sleeping here and go down by the
lake"
She clasped his hand and they went
out together. The others slept calmly
on.
Through the window the dawn looked
into the chamber where the dead man
lay so still. Somebody had forgotten to
draw the sheet over his face, and the
beams Of the rising sun fell full upon it.
Dear, good Laas in this Eight looked quite
handsome and not III the least like a
corpse.
A little fly was buzzing about him. 1t
alighted on his hair, but not finding that
region to it's liking, it crawled over his
forehead and down his nose and at last
entered his nostril.
Now it is an exceedingly unpleasant
thing to have fly up ones nose, and
Laas evidently thought so, for he sud-
denly sneezed twice with great violence.
and then he opened his eyes and sat up.
He gazed about him stupidity at first
for fellow is apt to be little ratified on
awaking from the dead-but he gradually
got his bearings and understood.
All, ne thought, how glad his wife
would be to sec him alive again!
He climbed out of bed and shivered In
the cool morning air, for he was very
lightly clad. So he picked up the sheet,
wrapped it tightly around him and Went
forth to look for his wife.
He felt a trif]e dizzy, but people who
rise from the dead must put up with a
little discomfort at first. In the next
room he found the watchers still sound
asleep and the remains of the punch and
other good things on the table.
Laas was very hungry, but he was de-
termined to find his wife first of all
things, which was certainly very good of
him.
He walked out of the house door. Out
side the dew was sparkling on the grass,
fine clouds were floating over the lake,
which gazed up at the overhanging YER
dure like great, bright, blue eye.
The cocks were growing Justify. Down
by the lake Laas saw the CLEAN of a
white kerchief that he knew very well,
for he had given it to Ola.
All! There she sat, weeping for him!
Laas picked up the skirts of his wind
ing sheet, the end of which trailed Oh the
ground behind him, and stalked down to
the lake with mighty strides.
Yes, Ola was there, but Oge Handler
was there. too, and their heads were very
close together.
Suddenly the lovers were startled by
Laas Kapiaisen's hand coming between
them from behind and falling with loud
thwack on Oge's cheek They sprang to
their feet, regarded the sheeted Laas
with horror stricken eyes for an instant,
then fed in panic fear without uttering a
syllable
One ran to the right, the other to the
left along the shore of the lake. and Laas
stood gazing ngrily after them by turns.
He shook his fist at the fleeing Oge
and muttered to himself, ''That fellow
never enters my house again''
Then. with a sorrowful mien and much
shaking of the head. he went slowly back
to the watch chamber. There the flies
were awake and buz2ing, but the three
watchers were still asleep.
And Laas, 18th his rueful countenance
and his white. winding sheet, sat down
beside them at table, and. to the accom-
paniment Of their shores. RECALLED himself
with ham and eggs and mighty drafts of
his much loved Swedish punch.-Trans-
lated From the German For Short Sto-
ries.
Fashionable Partisan Life.
A witty Frenchman has declared that
the Parisians are passionately fond of
the country. but: they never dare drive