The Southern herald., 1901-06-07

as if he had not received a snub. |,
more modest, kept back and did not
hear the dialogue which took place,
when an old woman appeared in an
swer to repeated knocks. | saw, how
ever, by her gestures and expression
that she was deaf. In a few minutes
Jack came back to me saying;
"They will give us something to
eat, but we cannot go in. 1t is a
wretched hoyel, only one room, with
a curtain of some kind strung across
it. l saw an old man inside, and he
said we could get all the meals We
wanted down at the Corners"
l remarked that as soon as We had
lunched we would 60 to the same
Corners, for a mail bag was due there,
and | was anxious to have news of
my little girl. Jack looked at me sus-
piciously and exclaimed,
1.-The child is all right. What is
the use of your tramping all the way
down the mountain again for letter.?
I'll not 60 with you, old man.
My brother-in-law looked so de-
termined that | knew persuasion
would be in vain, only strategy would
answer the purpose, so answered;
"Very well, wait for me here if
you'd rather" and at that moment
the deaf woman brought us some
sandwiches on tin plate, and re-
turned to the cabin without speak
ing. We lunched in thoughtful ST.
lence, and Jack saying suddenly: 81
want to send a letter." pulled out his
writing materials, wrote hurriedly,
and then handed me letter directed
to bookseller in the city.
"Whatever is he up to?" / won
dered, as | set off. After a long walk
| reached the Corners, a hamlet con-
sisting of four houses, at one of which
a diminutiye mail bag was left twice
week. Hardly waiting to read my
wife's letter, which was awaiting me,
l hired a horse and rode at top speed
to the telegraph station. The mes
sage | sent would have seemed quite
simple to most persons, but my wife
has a wise little head and | trusted to
it. 1s your mother well? "Tele-
graph" | said to her, and in a few
hours | had her answer: "Mother not
well, come at once"
Just what l wanted! Ny Nell
scented danger in the air and rose to
the occasion. She is a wife in a thou
sand. l turned back at once, reached
the Corners before midnight, Sc
cured a bed in the farmhouse post Of
flee, and at daybreak went up the
mountain. I found Jack asleep in
a shed near the little cabin, and as
soon as he awoke | discovered that
he had been enjoying himself in my
absence. He expressed no surprise
at my having been away so long, but
began talking about that girl as soon
as his eyes opened. He had learned
that her name was Mildred, for some
one in the house had called her. She
had come out several times to look
down the road, as before, and he had
caught some fish in the brook and
presented them to her, and she had
cooked them divinely and brought
some out to him for supper, and he
had thanked her and gazed at her un.
rebuked, and had talked to her fol-
several minutes as she stood before
him in the cleaning, while the leaves
on the trees whispered all around
them, and the brook gurgled melodi.
ously and the moon came out. 1t had
evidently been very pastoral and po-
etical, and | was determined to gel
him home, so handed him his sisters
telegram and began packing up oul
traps. He was silent for some time
but | knew what was passing through
his mind. As soon as his mother got
well, he would come back to the maiC
Of the mountain.
So 1 was positively glad when, OF
our reaching home, l saw the doc
tors carriage before our door. Ny
wife had shown the telegram to hel
mother and the dear old lady haC
worried herself into an attack o.
nerves. We all agreed that Jacl
must take her to Europe with somc
friends who were to sail the mex
week. In the midst of preparation
for departure, | saw my brother-in
law directing package to Miss Mil
dred Mason, the Corners, ETC., etc.
and l exclaimed in surprise:
GLOW did you find out her name?'
ooh, | managed to get it out o
her mother, the deaf woman" he an
swered, hurriedly; "and am sending
something to the girl in the way o
literature. | have ordered the book
seller to send her an interesting pape