Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-05-30

'"fZs@ Cook. Her voice
had a certain triumph in it, but it
ended with a decorous sigh.
81 guess there won't, either" re-
turned her sister, Mrs. Kemp. 81
guess Phebe Ann is too sick to think
much about it" Her voice sounded
like Sarah's.
Lucy Kemp dropped her sewing for
a minute, and turned her face toward
the window. "It seems most too
bad, don't it?' she said, meditative-
1y. "When she's done so much every
year, and thought so much about it."
81 don't know as 1 think it's too
bad" said Mrs. Kemp. "Of curse
I'm sorry Phebe Ann is sick, but
when it comes to these flowers she's
always covered Sylvester's grave with,
Decoration day, [ guess there was a
great deal of it for show. 1t would
have seemed different if he had been
in the war, but I've thought a good
many times, when I've seen Sylves-
ter's grave with more flowers on it
than any of the soldiers, that Phebe
Ann had a little eye to what folks
would say, for all she felt so bad"
SCI don't car anything about the
show" said Sarah Cook, shut I do
think such an outlay on flowers to
put on a grave is wicked, when there's
folks that's her own kith and kin
in actual want. It's as much as. 20
years since Sylvester Kemp died, and
there amt been a year hat Phebe
Ann amt laid out dollars on flowers.
I guess if we'd had the dollars right
here, it would have been more to her
credit"
"We1l, 1 amt never complained nor
begged" rejoined Mrs. Kemp. "No-
body can say 1 have, whatever hap
pens. There's the rem money due,
and that new dressmaker has come
to town, and the works falling off,
and 1 don't know what's goin' to be-
| come of us, but I amt complained
o begged"
"There's the band!" cried Lucy.
1t was a very warm day for the
season-almost as warm as midsum-
mer. The windows were wide open.
The two women and the girl leaned
their heads out and listened. They
could hear far-away music. Two lit
tie girls, with their hands full of
flowers. ran past.
They're just forming down at the
town hail." said Lucy. "Annie Dole
and Lottie are just going" e
'They came over here for flowers
this morning." said her mother, "and
I told 'em I hadn't any to give. All I
had was lilacs, besides that little
early rose bush, and they'd got all
the lilacs they wanted of their own,
and there was only just three roses
on that bush, and I could not bear
to cut 'em. The procession amt com-
ing-the music don't sound a mite
nearer. It won't be here for an hour
yet"
The three seated themselves and
fell to sewing again. The w older
women swung out their long arms
with stern persistency. Their faces
were harsh and sad, and had a SIM
ilarity of feature as well as express
sion. Lucy, the young girl, bent
weakly over her work. The room
was full of the faint band music and
the perfume of lilacs. She wished
in her heart hat she could put ON
her best dress and go out with the
other girls, but she said nothing.
They sat in the kitchen. The floor
was swept clean, and there was no
fire in the polished cooking stove; 1t
was early in the afternoon. Pres
emily Lucy looked up. Mother
said she, "cain't I stop sewing and
run outdoors a minute?"
"Where do you want to go?"
"Just outdoors a minute"
Lucy was II, but she seemed like
a child in her N toward her
mother.