Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-04-03

Il past the breakers? Had it ballast
enough of force and character.
Would it ever return to her?
A nightingale began to sing out
side, in front of the window; the
night was so soft, so sweet, so
odorous! She went to the window,
and looked out in the the twilight
garden; she stood there as she had
done when she was a betrothed
maiden, and wished that she might
look out to that distant spot whittier
he had betaken himself.
She thought that a mother who is
sending out a beloved son into all the
dangers of the world would feel, per-
haps, as she did now; that she could
not sleep during the night for
anxiety; that no morning would
dawn in which she would not think
of him with fear and dread.
Thank Cod she said, that have
work to do-a great deal of work"
CHAPTER XVIII.
Summer passed away, and autumn
came round again. The Wild Hunts
man dashed through the air in the
frightfully stormy nights, the rusty
weathercock creaked on its hinges,
: and the sparks from the forge were
scattered in all directions. But the
old walls of the manor-house guarded
we'll the lOney woman and her child,
who had taken refuge there. The
| in he
| porcelain stove through all the fury
OF the tempest. The night-lamp hum
med slightly, and the child, in it's
little bed. breathed softly.
But the large bed remained ur-
touched; Frau Ante could not sleep.
She thought of her wedding-day the
| year before when he made her feel,
| for the first time, that she was an
! unlOved wife. of no value in his life:
! and she recalled all the sad, weary
! days that had followed. But these
! late months had seemed the hardest
! OF all. At first, when she found
Leo had gone away, she had hoped
! for few lines of farewell; but no
news had come. then or later-she
| had never once heard from him.
Maiberg went away, but he, too, knew
nothing of Leo.
| Hilda had already left "Gottes-
| segen, and returned to her parents
| Her lover had followed her, and the
+ wedding had just taken place, only
/ few days before. The steamer which
! was carrying them to Rio de Janeiro
| was already tossing about on the
ocean. Aunt Polly had been present
at the wedding, which was made the
occasion Of complete reconciliation.
A pOstaEcard, which Hilda had
! scrubbed just before the ceremony,
| thank Antje for costly wedding
! gift, spoke of another present, "a
| Antje could scarcely decipher the
v ords-a charming statuette of
| bronze, representing a little Cupid
with bandaged eyes. But the happy,
thoughtless Hilda had not said
word of whence this present came
from what city or what country
Nor did the bridegroom mention his
friend in the few earnest words that
desire for her future happiness, an
entretay to be kept in remembrance,
the hope of a future meeting. He,
too, knew nothing definite, or. if he
did, he would not speak of it.
Antje was brave and steadfast; she
tried to soothe her pain by work, and
OF this she had more than enough;
] I,
attend to it all. The workmen made
claims upon the new mistress, which
| they would not have thought of max
ing upon the Frau Bergrath. The
times were changed. and Ante under
stood this. She was always ready to
consider just demands, but she had
| courage enough to put down all in
science, and this even in personal in
! tercOurse with the people. For when
a gigantic workman called out to her
all insOlent threat-she was standing,
raised little above the people, on
one of the steps in the hall-she
turned him away with a few words,
and his dismissal followed instantly
Old Herr Kortmer and the young
clerks in the counting-house could
not believe their ears; the for
mer urgently entreated Frau Ante to
cease her lonely walks, for the dis
charged workman was a revengeful
fellow, and quite capable of anything.
But Ante shook her head, with a
smile, and that very same evening
she went to the big, imprudent fellows
house to tell his wife. who had a
child three days old, that she could
stay quietly in her house till she had
| quite recovered, and till her husband
: had found another situation. To be
sure, she received no thanks for this !;
the man who was sitting at the table
with clinched fists, said not word
but his gloomy eyes spoke for him
and what they said was not reassur
ing. But Antje, apparently, did not
, observe this. Three days after, how
ever, the great, tall fellow came tc
. her and begged to be taken back
again; he said he had found that she
/ was just and merciful and he would
l never offend again. And Ante put
I him on probation, on the result o,
| which depended his reinstatement
: The building of the new furnace
: was in progress, and the yield Of tn
2 mine was excellent; the business wa
greatly enlarged, and the number o
I workmen increased. Antje had tn
| r,1aDe for fhe ho11SaS for fho man an,