Middletown transcript., 1903-03-21
EcoNr1NuEp FROM LAST WEEK

SO she sat by the fire and did
her tatting, and followed the girl
in her thoughts. Sometimes
she shook her head, and said
to herself that David Ray had
something to answer for! and
once she wiped her eyes, and
then looked round fiercely to
see if any one had caught her,
But there was no one to look;
the rain beat against the win
dows, and then lulled, and then
came again with a dash, tearing
the leaves from the tulip tree
by the gate, and making the
windows shake and clatter in
their frames. So it was no Won
der that about noon, as she still
sat brooding over the fire and
trying to read, she did not hear
the old carry-all 60 splashing
by in the rain; but if she had
she could hardly have guessed
that Rosamond was inside.
Afterward Rosamond told her
all about it. It seems that about
halfway to town something went
wrong with one of the wheels.
sIt stuck" Resamond said. The
driver got out and stood in his
rubber overcoat in the pouring
rain, and pulled and pushed, and
"said naughty Words" Rosa
mond told the Judge, who chuc-
kled, and said he would like to
see the human man who would
not fuse language" under such
circumstances!
Then the man made his way.
to a farmhouse, across half a
mile of freshly plowed land,-
"Used more language then, I
guess" the Judge said, when he
heard the story,-and brought
back a boy with carriage jack
and wrench; and they worked
over the thing for an hour.
And all the while Rosamond
sat in the dark carryall and
heard the rain pour on the roof,
and thought and thought and
thought. There was nothing to
see, except the gray square
of rainy hills and the drenched
back of the horse, with the
water dripping in beads down
his name and tail. The men
tside tramped squas hing
through the mud, and wrenched
and pulled and kicked in their
wet impatience.
AS for Rosamond, at first she
sat duly waiting; by and by she
began to look at her watch; she
had recl1oned on two hours in
town before the train started
that was to take her out into the
werld-and an hour and quar-
ter had gone! Once she leaned
out over the rubber. apron and
asked the driver when he thought
he could start.
Don't know, miss, he said, less
we might swim!
Rosamond laughed, and then
sighed with impatience. AMI
hour and a half gone! She told
Miss Alice afterward that she
did not know why she was i'm
patient, whether it was to catch |
the train or miss it, and have
one more night at home.
She began to think-not of her
music and her voice and her |
new life; all those glowing, gold.
en- thoughts, which had been
like wine in her young head for
all these months-but of her
father and mother, old, and not
very strong, and little lonely,
of course, and-and-who can
tell?-sick, perhaps. Perhaps
even But Rosamond would
not face that possibility, even
in her Imagination. She took
out her little watch again, and
held it in her trembling fingers
but she did not see the time.
Then there was a great wrench
and the wheel came off, and she
heard the men congratulating
each other, and the driver called
out, All rightnow, miss! We1l
start in five minutes!
Then it seemed to Rosamond
as If the Kingdoms of this world
suddenly lay glittering at her
feet; and behind her, silent, gen
tie, the two people who loved
her. Oh, I can t. said poor Ros-
amond. She did not say what
it was she could not do; but she.
stood up in the carriage and
touched the drivers shoulder; /
as he gathered up the reins, and
said, breathlessly, Go home!
The man looked at her, startled Fl
and not understanding. We can /