Willmar tribune., 1900-05-30
DIANTTIA BERRY SAT MCSING.

great wreath at his head. I guess
can spare a lot of them to Little
Benjie! I shall have him all to my
self-Leah's got spell of rheuma tism.
If 'twarn't for that, I couldn't go at
ALL"
She experienced fierce joy, and the
sound of it was in her voice. She was
glad that Little Benjie's mother was
sick. Across the yard there was no
glimmer of light. Little Benjie's
mother sat in the dark, too, and
mused. A faint remnant of daylight
kissed her wan face gently ae it van-
lshed. s:tZS -; --s?'.' s-~H.;. -.t.r.;,
HE was such little mite of boy,
Benjie. was, when I put him into
pants,'' her: thoughts kept on, with
relentless cruelty, land I sent him
over to Diantha's tc show 'em to her.
When he came back, all his little
pockets were full O. goodies. I can
see just how he looked, struttin'
acrost the yard, talxin' long steps like
man. And 1 can hear how Diantha
laughed. She couldn't have been
much fonder of Little Benjie-she al
ways called him Little Benjie-if he'd
have been her own boy. But after
ward-aft terward, when he laid still
and cold, in his blue clothes, she for
got she'd ever loved him. She forgot
then. If he'd been her own boy,
would she have forgot? Would she
have kept away from him then be-
cause of little foolish quarrel?"
In the bitterness of her soul, Leah
Swallow flung out her arms and cried
out sharply. The rough motion tor
tured her pain-racked body, but she
scarcely felt it.
+ 'Benjie! Benjic:" she moaned.
"Benjie- mothers boy, why didn't I
hold you back? I need you so. Why
did 1 let you go? Weren't there other
boys enough Weren't there boys
whose mothers Lad other boys at
home? And you were all had, Ben
jie! We thought it was so fine, dear
the soldier clothes and the sound o.
the band playin' the Red, White and
Blue,' and the glory of settin' Cuba
free. I thought it was fine, too, but
now-oh, Benjie, my little brave SOL
dier Benjie!"
The kind mantle of the dark shut
in the poor little mother, with her
grief.
The 29th of May was raw an6 wet.
but the morning of the 3Oth dawned
clear. The world. washed clean of it's
stains, shook off its raindrops, like
jewels, in the sun. A choir of little
birds sang a high, sweet song-the
''Star Spangled Banner was it-in
the apple orchard, and the little bows,
trudging by whistled war tunes. The
Day of Remembrance found no one
forgetting. The old, old graves, and
the new ones-so terribly new!-
awaited their flags and flowers, side
by side: . -
Diantha Berry cut off her pink
blossoms early before the sun touched
them and laid them, one by. one, in
the little basket Benjie had liked.
She cut with unstinted hand, choos-
ing the fullest ones and the most per-
feet. One-two-three-she counted
them aloud, as the scissors shipped
through their slender stems. She had
made up her mind to give little Benjie
IS Of the beautiful clusters. Beniie
had put on long pants when he was
15-oddly enough, that got into her
thoughts when she cut the fifteenth
flower off. Then she cut another,
smiling whimsically Little Beniie
had gone away to the high school
when he was JIG. She could see him
owthe tall fellow! swinging down
the road in the morning, and back
again at night. She could see Him
stop at the crooked elm to swing his
hat tWice-once for Leah and once
for her, She could hear his voice
coming in at her wind low .s1Y1 1ou make
splendid spice cakes. Miss Diantha
I ate one once. Z ..s.5
The big, hungry. lattering boy! s