The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-02-17


! for the night Their generous udders huns
| heavy with the promise OF rich yield
| All OF the black and white kline used 10
| belong 10 Colonel Broxton. No one else
| had their like. She could distinctly re-
| member hearing the old colonel discourse
! upon the superiority OF his imported Hol-
stems and being rallied by her father on
| his extravaganza I'm keeping such
| fancy breed. She wondered who the black
| and white cows belonged TO now-Tom'
1 OF course. The thud of rapid hoof beats
! on the road behind her made her draw
stlll farther aside into the dusty grass
and weeds. She felt like hiding. why
| she asked herself petulantly. With long,
clean strides drawing light sulky after
her as easily as IL IL were a baby's per-
| ambulator. the colonels black mare sped
past her. A stranger was In the sulky A
man she had never seen was driving the
| mare Winnie. She wondered who she be-
louged 10 now--Tom. OF course.
Sick at heart, sore, frightened, hating
herself for even remembering that
crazy old woman's' terrible words. she
reached the Spilman gate and passed
timdly through IL and up the broken
brick walk. between Miss Malvina's two
rows of gayly blossoming ANIMALS, into
the cottage, without knocking. for the
door stood wide open. IL she knocked,
Mother Spillman might answer.
There was no one in the little sitting
chair which she had never before seen
vacant had been pushed back against the
wall Miss Malvinas sewing machine was
closed. and its oilcloth cover was spread
over It, The books on the table In the
centre of the room were rigidly correct I'm
their stiff arrangement. A lamp burned
dimly in the midst OF them. There was a
certain air OF decorous repose about the
entire room which smote upon Olivia's
nerves omniously. The door to the ad-
joining room was ajar. dim light
shone through IL. Perhaps she would find
them in there. OF course she would Or.
Govan had said Mother Spillman was
sick. She had forgotten It.
With considerate caution she made her
way toward the light. She did not want
TO disturb 1.-The poor old lunatic," but she
must have speech with Miss Malvina-
She could not rest that night without II.
Yes, she found them In there mother
and daughter. the one quiet motionless,
az rest, with her long. gaunt hands lying
stretched peacefully upon the white COW
erlet. tha other sitting by the bedside
weeping In noiseless resignation to the
expected, weeping for her dead. Olivia
swept swiftly forward and laid hand on
Miss Malvina's arm. 'Ts she sick? Is she
asleep?"
"She is dead" said Malvina quietly.
she went very peacefully just FIVE min
utes ago"
The lonely woman lifted her dull red
eyes to Olivia's. The girl felt quick
rush of sympathy. She wound her arms
about the mourner
Dead, and you here alone!'
Miss Malvina turned and smoothed the
thin gray hairs back from the marble
cold face on the pillows
I'D rather have had IL So" she said. IT
wanted nobody about. Poor dearl She has
not been herself for so long. She talked
nd Il nj al M prlq
sips about"
Olivia bowed her head in sad compre-
hension. you mean about my father"
She stood resting one hand on Miss NAL
vina's shoulder. her eyes fixed upon the
dead woman's face. She did not catch her
friends look OF startled establishment.
Her voice was drearily calm.
Yes, ] know. 1t is very good OF you.
IL Is Just like you not TO want anybody
to know how she talked about father.
She said such dreadful things to him last
night"
Mother up to your house last night
My dear. you must have dreamed it."
"Oh, no! l wish hadl l wish / had!
| But she was up there. cannot tell
you what she said to papa. l thought
| then / could never forgive her. but she
| knows better now, and / expect II she
| could she would ask his pardon and
| mine too. She knows now that my dear
! father did not ruin Thomas Broxton.
| She knows that he Is n good and true
man. 1 can forgive her now. have
forgiven her"
Miss Malvina forgot her own bereave-
ment in pity for the desolate young face
bent over her mothers bed She turned
| comforter.
Yes, she knows better now. You poor
| little girl--to think l should have fallen
so dead asleep that she could leave the
l.. a.
| To suspect that she has been deceivlns
me for a long time You know the in
| people In her fix are dreadfully sly.
did not know she had been out OF the
house for years. / can't beg your pardon
often enough for letting her worry Mr.
Matthews / knew she had a sort oi
unreasoning grudge against him. Some
times, you know. dear, they--I might n;
well out with IT," she added I'm a sor
OF desperation, insane folks often picl
out their best friends TO vilify."
| 81 know. / know. More than ono,
she has left you asleep and wandered
out into tho night. I heard her tel
about II last night. oh, II she had only
lived long enough TO tell me something
more about those papers, Why cannot
get her dreadful words out OF my head p
Miss Malvina turned her tear dimmet
eyes away from the dead old face to IN,
pallid young one with startling sudden
| ness.
Papers! What papers?"
Olivia stopped and kissed the plain fac,
impulsivcly
"Oh. 81 seems such a monstrous thing q
come here and accuse her of cruelty
when she cannot say a word in self de
fence! Hut. then. no more could father
, last night. She said that somebody hac
brought her some papers that che meant
TO keep until Tom came back. but Stha
she had lost them. She said tina
she could not look for them in the day
time because you watched her so close
ly." Here the poor child dropped on hei
knees and clasped her trembling hands
upon Miss Malvinas zap. 'oh. wha
dreadful things she said TO papa about
those papers, Find them for me. NAL
vina. Help me to find them before It Il
too late"
Miss Malvina gathered her into .
| motherly embrace TOO late for what
my poor little Ollie7'
Before father-goes--and cannot tell m,
what to-do-with them"
my child, Olivia, there are no papers
| Relieve me. II was all the fancy of a dis