The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1901-12-07

uOOF HI Ine DaCk. Inc memory OF Olu,
boyish days was strong upon. him, and
he had no difflcultysir finding his way
about in the darkness. To his surprise,
the door was merely latched; 1t became
evident, in a moment, that the place
had been SO long uninhabited and left
to ruin and decay, hat ~fastenings were
not thought of. Gaining confidence, he
slowly pushed open the door, and found
himself in deeper darkness than before
and in a stone-flagged passage.
Here he was on certain ground
knew every inch OF 1t. Cautiously feel
ing his way along tile wall,@$h he came, at
the end Of the passage, to q door.
II ought to know this DOM" he
thought. 1--WE crept down here many
and many a time to get on the soft side
of old Jemima for goodies. What's be-
come of Jemima, I wonder? Dead long
,ago, I expect. However, there's q stair
case in here leading to the upper
rooms"
He turned the handle and stepped in
to the room, and stepped, in a moment.
into a blaze. of light. There was no
time to retract; in fact, he al too
much amazed to know what to do: For
there, facing him, and standing, look
ing steadily at him, was a figure that
might have sprung straight out Of the
buried past.
It was an old woman-one Of those
old women who seem never by any
possibility, to have been young; who
walk with bent shoulders and feeble
steps through ones childhood. and
seem not a day older when ones hair ~
gray. This old woman had g lined old
face, with a yellowish, tinge in It, and
wisps Of her gray hair had strayed out
of place and were tumbling into her
eyes. Dull eyes they were, as though
they had looked on the world for a long
time and had found nothing particular
" interesting. She turned, without the
least haste or trepidation, and picked
up a lighted candle from the table,
brought it quite steadily close to&the
face of the man; turned, and set It
down again.
Master Gilbert" she said, entirely
without emotion, you've come 'ome.".
Now, IL the old woman, on seeing
him, had screamed or tainted, or dons
any other Of the thing W are gener-
ally led to suppose g. woman does under
tho influence of fright or surprise, Gill
bert Rickerby would probably have
known what to do. But to be greeted
in this callous fashion, as though he.
had merely returned to the house after,
a casual evening stroll, when, as a mat
ter Of fact, he had not seen the old
creature for years. was o than
startling; it was terrifying.
but you-you didn't expect to see
me?" he began. feebly. !,
It don't never expect to see any
BODY she muttered, with a short
laugh-"but they comes, all the same.
I only believes what I sees-and not
much OF that. And-oh, dear me!-the
lies people do tell!!" She said 1t all in
I the. same monotonous tone, and quite
without resentment, almost as though
it were a thing to be expected and made
the best of.
what lies:" he asked.
"W'y-they said you was dead; they
mournin' for you. Come 'ome. that
there Leathwood did, with q pack O.
lies about buryin' you. Shouldn't won
you, with a burn an a trowel."
said Gilbert. earnestly. There must
L NC III IL1l5l61hC dOOut- L11dLp L dill d6t AV6O
as the deadest door nall"
""Oh-I don't mind,' she replied, with
a shrug; ""ave 1t yer own way-please
yerself an you'll please me. It seems
to me, in this world, it don't matter
much whether a PERSONS dead or alive;
they're pretty much of a muchness.
Please yerself:"
But I want you, Jemima, to. say
/ - H. ~ @Nl ~LSNll-I- - L~~:A- =
play dead. Tn going"
"Play away" she broke in. You
! was always a queer boy-and God
knows you 'ad enough to make you
queer. II 1t pleases you to come back
ere and say you're dead-then dead It
is. I never was one to spoil sport
But I want you, Jeminma, to- say
nothing about me, to let them believe
that I am dead; no matter what you're
asked, You know nothing about me..."'ts
Il shan't say anything" she replied.
IT amt worth mentioning"
He knew from old experience that he
could trust her; knew that whatever
duties She had to perform In that In
habttedg part OF Rickerby's Folly, she
would say nothing about the strange
tenant of the part which had been Civ
en- over to decay. So far as she wa
lsconcerned, he might wander about the
old house 50 much. Al he liked, and she
would take his presence sthere.quite 60
a matter OF course. II
She went away presently: he heard
her shlItflings along among the dead
leaves toWards the other house.. He
was alone in the place In which HI had
been born. and not twenty yards away