Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1903-05-27

| W SOiEpLOLllSe, OOrOLuy COQClQuCu
HE is young and able and father
is old and feeble. He might move on
and"
She suddenly dropped her voice tc
an indistinct murmur, for an apparitior
appeared in the doorway Of the shack
which made her excited. She shaded
her eyes and looked more keenly. II
was a small, toddling child, scarcely
two summers old, holding uncertainty
to the side of the doorway, and cooing
at the big ball Of fire slowly disap'
pearing below tie horizon. The man
raised his hands and the child ran
to him and jumped into his arms.
"Hc is married, then, and has fam.
ily," Dorothy brcathed. Maybe
have misjudgcd him. Has the child a
mother, Or"
Again her sentence died out In an
ind:stinct murmur. but the sun had set
and twilight was rapidly spreading
over the landscape. Dorothy saw an
other form. bent Of figure and white OF
hair, walking across the field, and
after waving a hand of welcome TO him
she turned to her work inside.
There was seldom any mention of
their neighbor's affairs between father
and daughter, and tonight Dorothy
merely told of the presence Of the baby
or the opposite side OF the "dead line"
and then subsidized. Jared Wellington
raised his shaggy eyebrows and
gruntcd:
"Thcn he's married? He'll bring his
wife next, I suppose. Maybe he has
heard that the courts"
\ horrible suspicion entered the
minds of both. Had the courts decided
respecting their claims. and had Henry
l2gerton heard that lie was the sole and
legal posscssor OF the quarter section
Otherwise why had he brought his
family out to his lonely home when he
had lived without tLen for three
months?
Jared wellington felt the heavy op-
preston OF disappointment, and his
white head dropped lower and lower as
the evening advanced. Dorothy tried
to cheer him. but In vain. Finally she
decided to present tie matter clearly
to her aged parent md show him
that ell would not be lost even IL the
courts decided against them.
'What Of il. fathcr?" she said cheer
fully. Eve can so back East and live.
I can work and support You. I will
enjoy life moro than out here. can't
stand this much longer. must have
companions and ncighbors."
"No. no. Dorothy, it can never be-" lie
murmured. I shall never live to see
the East again. If it is true that-that
-he owns it"-pointlng dramatically
toward his cnemys shack-"it will kill
ne. I cannot survive it."
The tears blinded the blue eyes Of
the woman, ard she turned away to
hii,e them. "It may not be, father" T"
she murmured in thick voice.
But whether true or not, Jared We'll
lngton took to his bed, and on the NOR
Tow he was unable to raise his head
from the pillow. Dorothy rursed him
with all the skill she possessed, but he
needed morc than she could give.
Slumbering ntfully. the patient would
awaken occasionally, and murmur in
distinct sentences. The fever Of age
ard anxiety had unsettled his mind,
and he ravcd like a child CT ten.
Dorothy turned away in c. -
impending death in the dreai'y stecz
made even her stout heart quail 1t
was ten miles to the nearest physician,
but it was necessary to go. Would the
feeble patient awaken, and Ss;Sing
himself deserted, commit some Wild
act?
She, held the door half open, dehat-
Ing whether to go OF stay, when sud-
denly slight pressure from without
made her turn hastily. There, almost
at her feet. was bundle of red cloth
ing, surmcuntcd by 4 shock of light
brown hair. The pair Of innocent eyes
looking up at her suddenly cleaned
with a newborn happiness.
"AIuzzer. NIuzzer! I'se found you
1T last. Where's YOU been so long?
Baby's been cryin' an cryin' fur you.
Hug baby, an tell him you'll nebber,
nebher leave him again"
A pair Of warm arms were raised be-
seechingly upward. Dorothy picked
the little child up in her arms and
huggcd and kissed it. The longing in
her heart for some one to love and
speak to was almost TOO much. and she
broke into violent sobbing. The child
cuddlcd close to her and said softly:
"Don't cry. muzzer. fur I won't leave
you ag'in. Use goin' to stay forebber
an ebbcr with YOU"
The hands, chubby and warm, stroked
the hair Of the weeping woman. Dor
othy raised her eyes to look at the little
face pressed to hers, and then she
started. A dozen feet away stood Henry
Egcrton, IN expression Of confusion
and uncertainty on his face.
He raised his hat and said:
pardon me, I've come for Virginia.
She ran away, and could not catch
her until she crosscd-crossed over
here"
Dorothy still held the child in her
arms, and Virginia suddenly ex-
claimed:
"Tse found muzzer! Use found muz-
zer, Uncr Ecn'y. Here she Is"
The face of the man worked strange
". A softening Of the fir,c outlines
made him lock tender and sympa-
thctic.
poor Virginia lost her mother n
week ago." he murmured, "and she has
come to live with ME. 1 could not
bear to tell her the truth. But sup
pose I was wrong. Come, Virginia,
come with Uncle Henry"
"Not unless muzzer comes, too, !"
pleaded the child.
The embarrassment of the man in
oroo cod Dorothv understanding tho