The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-02-06
Tie Story Of On AtrlCQl Form.
By OLIVE soHRE1NER.
[coNT1NuED.l

tCONIlNUEUsl
"The oxen have come" he said. eve
can start tomorrow if you like. Shall
1 get the wagon ready tonight?
| Twice he repeated his question. Then
she looked up at him, and Gregory saw
that all hope had died out of the beau
tiful eyes. 1t was not stupor that shone
there. 1t was despair.
Yes; let us co." she said.
ut makes no difference" said the
doctor, staying or going. 1t is close
now"
So the next day Gregory carried her
out in his arms to the wagon which
stood ''inspanned" before the door. AS
he laid her down on the "kartel' she
looked far out across the plain. For
the first time she spoke that day.
/ 'That blue mountain far away-let
us stop when we get to it, not BEFORE"
She closed her eyes again. He drew
the sails down before and behind, and
the wagon rolled away slowly. The
landlady and the niggers stood to
watch it from the "stoep.',
Very silently the great wagon rolled
along the grass covered plain. The
driver on the front box did not clap his
whip or call to his oxen, and Gregory
sat beside him with folded arms. Be
hind them, in the closed wagon, she
lay, with the dog at her feet, very
quiet, with folded hands. He Greg
Ory) dared not be in there. Like Hagar
/ when she laid her treasure down in
the wilderness, he sat afar off, "For
Hagar said, Let me not see the death
Of the child"
Evening came. and yet the blue
mountain was not reached, and all the
next day they rode on slowly, but still
it was far off. Only at evening they
reached it, not blue now, but low and
brown, covered with long waving
grasses and rough stones. They drew
the wagon up close to it's foot for the
night. 1t was sheltered, warm spot.
The night was growing very old
when from long, peaceful sleep Lyn-
dali awoke. The candle burned at her
head. The dog lay on her feet, but
he shivered. 1t seemed as though
a GOODNESS struck up to him from
his resting place. She lay with fold
ed hands. looking upward, and she
heard the oxen chewing. and she saw
the two mosquitoes buzzing drearily
round and round, and her thoughts
her thoughts ran far back into the past.
4 Through these months Of anguish q
mist had rested on her mind. 1t was
rolled together now, and the old clear
intellect awoke from its long torpor. 1t
looked back into the past. 1t saw the
present There was no future now.
n The old strong soul gathered itself to-
gether for the last time. It knew
where 1t stood.
Slowly raising herself on her elbow,
she took from the sail q glass that
hung pinned there. Her fingers were
stiff and cold. She put the pillow on
her breast and stood the glass against
1t. Then the white face on the pillow
looked into the white face in the glass.
They had looked at each other often SO
before. 1t had been child's face once,
looking out above its blue pinafore. It
had been woman's face, with dim
shadow in the eyes and q something
| WA1S0 udO odlO. we are uOL dlCAlU,
you and l. We are together. We will
fight. you and L." Now tonight it had
come to this. The dying eyes on the
/ pillow looked into the dying eyes in
the glass. They knew that their hour
had come. She raised one hand and
pressed the stiff fingers against the
glass. They We're growing very stiff.
She tried to speak to it, but she would
never speak again. Only the wonder
full yearning light was in the eyes still.
The body was dead now, but the soul,
clear and unclouded, looked forth.
Then slowly, without sound. the
beautiful eyes closed. The dead face
that the glass reelected was thing of
marvellous beauty and tranquility. The
gray dawn crept in over it and saw it
lying there
Had she found what she sought for
something to worship? Had she ceas-
ed from being? Who shall tell us?
There is a veil of terrible mist over
the face Of the hereafter.