Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-09-19
CHAPTER I'LL.

. ND Pt'i ''ShihS tllC. AS i
passed perceived that it held two oc
cupants that I well knew. The,
were Miss Elizabeth and Miss Evelyr
from the Hall, or. rather, they USED
! to be from the Hall and would now
be again. They were in deep black
and were evidently on their way tc
the old Darlington place, where Their
brother had died. 1t seemed strange
that l had almost forgotten all about
the sensation of the hour because OF
my own troubles. The truth is,
had been thinking very deeply of the
ladies when Miss Dacres came up tic
| the gate the day before, and 1 had al
so been thinking very deeply of my
own affairs. ] really had not known
where to turn until / found that |
could let the rooms, and the com
pletion of my arrangements had put
everything else out of my mind. 1t
seemed strange too that l should
have been so forgetful of all that
happened at the Hall. l had been So
at home there, in days gone by, as
governess to Mr.. Eugene's little girl
and as friend to the older ladies',
that l felt the death of the Squire
very much, but Poverty is a master
who drives away our tenderest
thoughts, taking possession with
his grim presence of the place which
harbored them. and I was all at
once aware that my anxiety as to
bow was to get our bread and but
ter had made me somewhat forget
full of my duty. These thoughts
flashed rapidly through my mind as
i went onward, and then l heard the
carriage stop and turn. faced about
at once.
isn't that Sophronia?" I heard,
and in q moment the carriage door
was thrown open and / was drawn
inside to Miss Elizabeth's kind arms.
They had both thrown up their
wells, and first one kissed me and then
the other.
"Drive little way back with us,
sophronia, dear" said Miss Evelyn,
"and tell lis all about it,"
GLADLY" said i, as I took the place
into which Miss Evelyn, being the
younger, pushed me, on the back seat
beside her sister. / sighed as I
thought of the lock unpicked and the
boarder's dinner to get, but could
do nothing but go with them These
dear ladies' had been my friends
when / most needed friends, and when
the Judge married me, though he was
no judge then, they gave me my we'd.
ding from the Hall, Since they and
their brother had quarrelled about
his changing his religion, and they
left the Hall for home of their own,
had seen little of him, though he
always gave me a pleasant enough
bow when | passed him on the road.
The ladies had now come from their
home at Springbororeh, called hither
by kilograms, no doubt, and L could
see that, having heard the news only
yesterday, they could not have ar
rived before.
Tell us all about it, DEAR" said
Miss Elizabeth. did he suffer very
much? Was it sudden? Poor Dav:d!'
little thought when-but tell us, my
dear, what yop know,a
Il can't tell you anything at ALL"
said l gloomily, cor very little. I
know almost nothing"
What! Sophronia, that isn't like
you. Never went near poor David
in his last illness? Why, how could
that be? So unlike,
II went, over and over again." said
1. When l found l couldn't get in
at the front door, went around
to the back to old Margot. Yes, she
is still there, But there was no hope
For me. ] only heard each day that
he was no BETTER"
But how perfectly absurd! Why
couldn't You get in2"
1.-The priest wouldn't allow it, and
there was no one to prevent. You
know your brother had quar-was at
odds with his old friends down in
the village and over at Marchbanls,
and they none of them felt like in
terfering,"
"Who took care of him?" asked
Miss Elizabeth with tears in her
eyes,
"a Sister of Charity, 1 believe.
Margot told me so.'
"Margot would hardly like that"
said Miss Evelyn.
AS l recalled the old Scotch
woman's stern face, and her anger
at the priest dominating herself and
everyone else in the house, l shook
my head. NO" said /, "Margot was
very indignant, but what could she
do? She could have gone off and
left him with them, but that she
would not do. She could not desert
Mr." David, she told me, no matter
how he had treated her. She would
not go and leave him in the hands
OF his self-appointed friends, stran-
gers to everyone about here. 4
promised the old gentleman, she
said, that | would never leave Mr..
David, and j won't!-not, for the
Pope himself !"
"She is a very bitter Protestant"
said Miss Evelyn, who had leanings
towards Rome.
She had excellent reasons for be-
ing one" returned Miss Elizabeth.
She was brought up as we all We're,
n i! the Scotch Presbyterian church,
ard why should she change at, her
ase2" She looked as unutterable
things at Miss Evelyn as her sweet
face would allow.
I'VE won't go into that, dear Eliz-
abeth," said Miss Evelyn very gently.
Let us hear what we can from So