Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1900-03-23
CHAPTER VII
A WARNING UNuEEuED.

stood wide open. Mother" SVllIau
sat just inside Of il. Her tail figure.
crowned With mass q SNOWY white
lair and tie bright figured cLiutz u
her h.. armchair. made 4 conspicuous
spot Of color visible from tie public
load.
She had made Malvlna locate her 50
that she could smell the Uiguouette
and keep an eye on the front gate.
She had never yet brought herself 70
the point OF admitting that her small
establishment could lie successfully
managed without her personal super
Vision Miss Maly!ns had stepped Up
10 tie Matthews 10 see how Olivia vas
getting on after the uuu>ua! excite
I-eLt and fatigue OF the day before.
Sc rather enjoyed "motl-g.nS the
pretty thing. She was n"t 10 6e gone
long. and before starting she extracted
4 promise from her mother that SIZE
would not leave the house. She quote!
from The manual upon which her own
infant mind had been trained.
Il kuow | can trust you. mother. FOR
you never deceived me in all your life.
Then she had Kissed tie w.tAegei
forehead and gone briskly down tie
front walk. quite unconscious Of tie
remarkable tumult she had stirred he-
Heath the fresh white kerchiet she had
folded over her mothers bosom when
assisting her TO dress that morning.
When size vas sure she was quite
alone. the old woman developed un>u>-
prcted capacity. She got up and made
tie tour OF her small home experiment.
ally, first with her cane and then with
out il. Presently she flung herself
lack into her chair with q petulaLt
s.sh.
She doesn't know me Ny daughter
does not know me. lsham used 10 say
when | got my head turned in one di-
lectlon there was no power Oh earth
that could make NE look in another.
But know I've got it turned at the
right angle. I'm not called Oh 10 tell
3Ialyiua everything. know what Nal
i.ua thinks, know what they all think
the old woman has gone daft. A.
Ike as not, II | was TO tell Ma!y,ua,
she would 60 10 Matthews the first one
with apologies for poor mother Il
won't do. IL sLsn't be done waute
them for Tom, | wanted them for Hen
lietta and Rufus Broxtou's boy, and Il
lie can't have them nobody shall
Where did put themf What did DC
With them: Oh, my poor head. Are
you really going to fail lie when
have SO much TO doT"
Tears TOW sluggishly from the eye:
CT old age. The fountain Of thai re
lief supply dries Up quickly under TIT
scorching fires OF life's passionate
years, Mother Splllman pressed on
corner OF her white kerchief to her lin
eyes. Her withered bosom rose ant
whether because she was deceivini
Malyina systematically and purposel,
as 10 the condition OF her spraiue,
ankle and other matters or because sh
was not carrying out cherished pla
very satisfactorily perhaps she scarce
IL knew herself. Lying back in be
big chair, she lifted red lidded eyes !
the ceiling and frowned.
IF could lust leave Malvina entire
Is out Of the question and think eEclr
sively about him, could straichte
out this snarl much quicker and easiel
Some Of these days III make it a
right with her. Now I've got to wor
for him.
The papers which Jimmy Martin la
found in the garden and brought to he
had disappeared again in the no:
mysterious manner. Either she r,
fected mournfully, her memory wa
getting so treacherous that she coul
not recollect where she had original
hidden them to keep them from failin
into Miss Malvina's hands or else the
had been stolen from her.
She had three theories touching the
Disappearance. either of which Wa
sufficient TO fill her soul with bite
ness-Malvina had found them AMI r
stored them to Horace Matthews wit
out ever a word to her about Il
transaction, Jimmy Martin had bee
bought by the lawyer at an adyanc
price over the one she had paid him
hold his tongue and had burgl
rlously secured the package while 81
slept or she had herself careIessly T.
cluded them among some papers 81
lad recently destroyed.
But know them by heart. | c0u
swear to every word In them if on
some one would believe In me. If l.
failing so fast that don't know leg
document from a pudding recipe,
I'm grown such witless body that
clodhopper like Jimmy Martin ca
overreach me, if I'm Of SO little impo
lance in the world that my own daug
ter will make common cause with
bad man against me, the sooner /
the better"
"Muther' Spillman had not V
reached the sluggish point whio
comes as compensation for failur
She had not been shelved long enou:
to grow passive under the humiliatio
During the Rev. Mr.. lsham's incur
bency she had been a power in Mand
vile, and when time removed him al
disabled her she yielded up her scept
reluctantly and ngracefully. She vi
still much given to asserting her view
in defiance Of large majorities. and.
for consulting Malvina in matter
grave importance, she could not bril-
herself to do it. In this matter OF d
lost papers, Malvina could never
brought to see it in the right light. s.
would have stOutly stood out for Ma
thews' rights as Toms guardian al
car,i ID the documents when found
him.
With all the strength OF affection u
diluted by diffusion this stern old "
man had loved the older generation
the Broxtons. Rufus Broxton, his wi
opJ hiS hon utIf,l SiStap 7 upar-a h