El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-10


| dresser. The dishes shone weirdly
against it. There on it's old hook
| Janet's mug was still hanging, her
name on it. With a sudden stab Of
memory she thought of the night her
father had brought it home to her from
the winter fair at Carbie, coming in
from the wonderful darkness, with
snowf1akes on his coat, to his little girl
by the great fire; how blithe hau oeen
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
chair close to the door. Rab, the cat
she had reared, was sitting near her in
blank band Of sunshine lying
athwart the flags, his legs propped in
front of him like two furry little pill
lars, his gray golden Sits 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
''Rab!' in a 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 a 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
q proud anger, and her mouth was
hard. The glow fell upon her withered
face and revealed its dark and stern
nobility. Presently her eyes narrowed
and 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, this" 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 IA
Their 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 vfvidness.
All this time her mother had given
40 sign either of pity or resentment.
But
''Well," she said at last, always with
hat ironic edge on her voice; well, we
lad better gang butt the hoose, dye no
.hink %
Janet rose passively without speak
ng. Now that her ordeal had come
The was too feeble to be sharply afraid.
3he felt herself borne onward like a
.reature in the clutch Of fate. She
vas going to meet her father. A bare
obby with whitewashed walls ran
rom the front door between the kitch-
N and the parlor. shaft of yellow
light struck in through an oblong slit
# glass above the door, falling straight
lpon row Of pegs. On one Of these
vas the farmers everyday hat, a
quare hard felt, green gilt at the sides
With age. The level rays revealed q (
hick coating of dust on it.
The mother opened the room door,
which fell to the right, and then stop
led, speaking over her shoulder.
We've made changes here" she said {
hrilly, as if showing alterations to a
tranger. She pointed to a bed, the
head of which was close to
he door on the left. Janet had begun =
o tremble.
She followed her mother into the
Dom. At first she could see nothing
ecause of the invading glory. :
There's your fetherp' said Mrs.
soudie. =
Janet turned her eyes from the light.
nd there lay her father in his shroud
eneath the full glow of sunset.
The clock licked loudly in the
itchen. =
A fringe of sandy whiskers stuck
ut from the tight jaw bandage. There
7ere vivid hairs in it, redly cleaning. .,
Janet's knees were water below her.
he sank by the bed.
"Fetherv' she painted, with open
louth and unstrung lips. ''Fetherv
nd then with shrill scream of an =
uish: "Oh, God; Ny fetherl Ny fe-
Ter! My fether!' =
"A-hey," said her mother, that's
hat ye brocht your fether tillv' On
q April morning three and twenty al
ears ago this woman had felt a thou
md pulses leap and throb within her -
hen a feeble little cry told that from
pr bl(lV a living SOul had come into
lie world-ah, mystic wonderful new a.
orn soul and from her body and the -
hid Of the man she loved. But that