Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1901-07-20

The cold weather came suddenly.
People woke in the night shivering for
more blankets, and the next morning all
ponds were covered with ice. Then the
wind rose, and came in an arctic gale
straight from the north. 1t blew so all
day and all night, and before the second
morning dawned the cold was bitter.
| That second morning Tom was a full
half hour late in getting to Mrs. Byrds.
She was in the kitchen to receive him,
and he noticed a certain unusual gra-
ciousness in her manner.
Il amt just on the minute this morn
ing, he said, with his pleasant laugh.
Bed felt so good, lay little too long. ;"
Gust a little" said Mrs. Byrd
smoothly. Nov that you mention it,
think you have been late every morn
ing; half-hour or so"
Tom gave her an apprehensive look.
well, you see them warm mornings
thought it wouldn't make any difference
You sec"
But isn't bargain a bargan?" she
asked, calmly. you know you agreed
to be here every morning at half past six
and don't you think had right to ex-
pect you at that time2 I may be wrong,
but it seems to me it was none of your
business what the weather was"
"Oh, we'll, if you look at it that way
And another thing" she interrupted
him, in the same even tone. Yesterday
morning you left the furnace with only
very little coal in it, saying you would
come back after breakfast. I am afraid
your mother was worse, or you certainly
would have come, especially as it was
such a cold day"
"N-no, ma'am, mother wasn't worse,
but-Tll tell you. One of Our neighbors
stove-just a thank-you job-and I
thought just for once maybe it wouldn't
be any hardship for you to put on a
shovelful or two, till"
mo hardship at all, l assure you, for
I didn't do it. [ was out most of the day
and ali the evening. Didn't you find the
fire rather low when you came in the
EVENING""
yes ma am, but I coaxed it up as
| WCll DIS COult dIlu l1OuRHC WOulu
be"
II imagined so, for the house seemed
cold to me when came in. Don't you
think it is little below normal this
morning, even?"
She led him into the dining-room; it
was as cold as sawmill. ''Perhaps it
would be. as well to go down now and
see what can be done to improve mat
ters," she said, and with the same dan
gerous sweetness of manner she opened
the cellar door and followed close be-
hind him down the stairs.
/ ooh! Oh! OH"
At the foot of the stairway Tom stop
ped, pale, Speechless, overwhelmed. The
cellar was flooded with water, and a
small cataract was still pouring into it.
The water-pipe had burst.
Mrs Byrd, close beside him, uttered a
cry of fresh dismay Bad as the situa-
ton had been fifteen minutes earlier, it
was worse now. Her voice reused Tom
from his stupor, and hessplashed away
through the water to the cutoff, turned
it, and so stopped the rush. Then he
waded to the furnace; it was freless,
and had been so since the night before.
There, staring him out of countenance,
was the vacant space into which he had
promised to put a pane two weeks ago.
Il thought a few more days
wouldn't matter-and l wasn't expecting
the freeze yet, and anyhow | put board
against it last night. 1t must have
blown in, he muttered, trying to ex-
cuse himself
And you are the one that never went
back on a bargain y
Some of Mrs. Byrd's friends had never
seen her angry, but she had her full
share OF human nature, and now she
was fairly ablaze with wrath and scorn.
Her tone and the look she gave Tom
made him burn with shame There
could be no possible doubt about her
opinion of him, and for the first time
in his life he felt that it was the opinion
he deserved.
Never went back on bargain!" she
repeated You never did anything else
l knew your record, but I thought you
might have learned lesson at last, so
gave you one more chance; and this is
the use you have made of it You have
cheated every friend l recommended you
to. Even patient Judge Grey could not
put tip with your dily-dallying You
are an out-and-out swindler from first
to last! !"
'No, ma am, I ANTI Excuse me, but
ANTI He came and looked straight
into her angry eyes. There was new
sort of dignity in his respectful tone and
in his pale face. Il was, but my luck's
changed, and amt now,
60! l have no patience for any
more experiments. Cor
He went meekly up the stairs. She
followed him slowly, with the uncom-
Portable feeling every sensible person
has after fit of anger; she had said
more than the occasion called for. Be
sides, there had been a ring of sincerity
in his voice and a look in his eyes that
added to her discomfort.