Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1903-08-13
Meadow Brook
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5s1, MARY j. HOLMES
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CHAPTER XIX
'"tt, 4,,
MARY j. HOLMES

pointed for the bridal, and In the solitude
Of her chamber 4 yohnS girl wept In the
utter hopelessnsss Of despair. At the
morrow,s early dawn he would be there
20 claim her 40 his bride, and though he
was noble and COED. there was in her
heart no answering chord Of love, and
she knew that without such love ':heir
union would be unholy. On the table at
her side lay her bridal dress. the gift OF
Richard Dela6eld, who. without a shad-
ow on his brow, or wavering In the
tones of his voice, had asked her to dc-
cept II as q token Of the esteem he should
ever feel for her. Alas. poor Rosa, as
your tears fell like rain upon the orange
wreath which seemed TO mock your woe,
how little did you dream Of the anguih
II cost the donor to say to you the words
he did, or that your sorrow was nasght
compared to his. i" @
Slowly the hours of night wore away,
and as the moon rose higher and higher
In the heavens, her rays fell upon the
bowed form Of Rosa, who, with clssped
hands and bloodless cheeks, sat praying,
weeping thinking, and praying again,
until at last there came over her trou-
bled spirit a. calm which ere long resoiv-
ed itself into q fixed p. determination.
"She would tell him sll-how she loved
Richard Delafeld, and how, though that
love were hopeless, she could not call an
other her husband" And he would re-
lease .her-she knew he would.
1t was strange how calm this resolu-
ton made her. Rising up. from the
crouching posture she had assumed in
the first abandonment of her grief, she
walked to the open window, where she
stood gazing out upon the starry sky,
until at last, sick and faint with the
sweet perfume of the night air, she turn
ed away, and shuddering, she knew not
why, sought her pillow. 1t was now
the first of June, and In that Southern
cline the air was always hot, sultry and
laden with disease. For two weeks
fearful epidemic, whose nature the oldest
physicians did not understand. had been
raging in the towns adjoining, and many
who In the morning rose up full of life
and vigor, were in the evening no long
er numbered among the living, SO rapid
was the work Of death. In great alarm
the terrified inhabitants had fed from
place to place, but the destroyed was
on their track, and the brain fever
as it was termed claimed them for its
victims. s.f
AS yet there had been no cases in
Chester, but the people were In daily
dread of its arrival. Mrs. Lansing. on
the contrary, though usually alarmed,
even at the mention of a contagious dis
ease, EXPRESSED no fear, and went on
with the preparations for the party, un-
conscious Of the dark cloud lowering
near But when on the morning succeed
Ing the night Of which we have spoken,
she heard, In passing Rosa's door, the
sound of some ono talking incoherently
while at the same time negro girl came
rushing out, sxclaiming: Young miss
has now got the brain fever, and gone
ravin' madI'. she fed in wild alarm to
the furthest extremity Of the building
and gathering her frightened children to.
gether, with Ada, around her, she called
to the terrified servants from the win.
dow, bidding them 60 for her brother
and tell him a. he valued his life not
to venture near the infected room, but
to hasten with all speed to her. And
there, trembling, weeping, and wringing
her hands In fear, the selfish, cold-heart
ed woman stayed, while, parched with
fever and thirst. the suffering girl las
moaning In her pain; now asking fol
water to cool her burning brain, and
again clasping her thin white hands con
vulsively upon her brow, as If to still its
agonized throbbings.
But one, there was who did not forget
In her excitement Mrs. Lansing failed to
notice the absence Of little Jessie, whc
going fearlessly to the bedside of hei
beloved teacher, gently bsthed the aching
head, and administered the cooling
draught, while with childish love sh,
kissed the ashen lips. and smoothed bach
the long tresses which foated over tn,
pillow. In the hall below there wal
the sound Of footsteps, and the bride
groom's voice was heard, asking for hi
bride, but his cheek blanched to a mar
BILE whitenes when told that she was dy
Ing in the chamber above. In a momen
he had her in his arms-his precious
a-dying-dying-he believed, for he
too, had heard of the strange disease, an,
ne thought there was no hope. With
bitter cry he bent over the unconsclou
girl, who knew him not, for the light o
reason was obscured and darkness wa
upon her vision.
"Can nothing be done? Is there n
help?' he exclaimed wildly; and littl
Jessie, aWtu ny bhiSi, ahSMtIcu, u
she laid her soft, white hand on Rosa
forehead, God can help her, and mayb
Uncle Dick can. / mean to so for him;
and gliding noiselessly from the room
she was soon on her way to Magnoli
Grove, looking, with her golden cur
floating over her bare white shoulder
as if she were indeed an angel of mere
Alone in his library sat Richard Del
field, his arms resting upon the tabl
and his face buried in his hands. A
the night long he had sat there thus, mu
ing sadly of the future when she won
be gone and he should be alone. WI
had she crossed his path-that littl
humble girl? and why had he been pc
mitted to love her so madly, or to drea
of a aaie when he could call her III
own, his Rosa. his wife," Again al
again he repeated those words to hmse
and then as he thought whose she won
be when another sun should have 81
he groaned aloud, and in despairing ton
cried out, How can give her up?'
Tho sun had risen and struQYli