Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-05-08

time and you seemed pleased. Be
sides, I hadn't time
Hadn't time for what?''
''To consult you. If hadn't
clinched the bargain she would have
thrown it up"
''Who would?"
t'The boarder."
whats her name?''
"I'm sure I don't know" said
YEARLY.
s'What! Take a boarder and not
| know her name?"
cit does seem queer, now think of
it, but she has paid me for the room
in advance"
For how 1ong?"
I might have said for a nearly a
twelvemonth, had I been so inclined,
but I knew that Aunt Jane Mary
would demand the care of the funds,
so I said only:
ooh, for week. I am to give her
her breakfast and dinner"
Glow do you know she isn't walk
ing off now with my mothers sheets
and pillow-cases? '
I laughed aloud as I thought of
the poor, tired, overworked nurse and
her one pair of muddy shoes. I said:
Because your mothers sheets and
pillow-cases are upstairs in the lit
tie hall closet. Those are my own,
the ones she has-those that the
ladies at the Hall gave me when I
went to housekeeping" I sighed.
''The clock, them
'"The clock is mine too
'"The Holy Bible with the card
board marker"
..'Al1 those things are mine, Aunt
Jane Mary. That room is furnished
with my own things. Poor creature!
She doesn't want to walk off with
anything. She's a trained nurse.
She's tired out. She has just come
from her last case. She is nearly
dead. The man died.
what of?''
I sat down stunned. 81 never
thought of that I said.
Aunt Jane Mary held her hands
out as if to ward me off. GO! go!"
she said. "Out of my sight! Out
of my presence! Go, and fumigate
!, yourself, and when you are sure
that you can bring me no infection,
come back to me and tell me the
rest"
AS I arose to leave the room, cast
a backward glance at the helpless oc-
Icupant of the old-fashioned bed.
Aunt Jane Mary was a very stout
old lady. She had her head shaved
!, and wore a black cap and false
!, front. She tied the ends in front in
rabbits ears. She wore Powered
} sacque with large ruf1es. She was
not pretty, but she was my mothers
sister, and the house was hers, and
I had no where else to go. She
needed a great deal of waiting on,
and she scolded me unpleasantly
sometimes, but if I left her, where
would Tom come for his holidays?
my dear boy Tom! And I must
say right here that she allowed me
to take half of all sums coming in
from the boarders in considerat ton
of my doing the work. She needed
: an immense amount of waiting on,
on account of her rheumatic govt,
but there could be no question of
? my declining the service. She was
helpless and she gave me home.
I ran down stairs as swiftly as
!, possible. I could not believe that J.
A. D. had brought infection to US,
, certainly not willingly. Her pro
fession of nurse must have taught
, her to be careful, and she had, I was
sure, come from nothing worse than
a sudden death from heart failure
5 or something similar.
I went out on the veranda and re-
sumed my discarded hemming. ]
l had not sat there many minutes when
T IL 4
leading out from Galtersville. He
was on wheel, and, as j. A. d. had
done, he stopped at my door and
jumped lightly to the ground. He
leaned the wheel against a tree and
, opened the gate. There was no
2 click of the latch, and in coming to-
wards me he walked on the grass,
S which angered me a little, as I hated
to have a path made in my small
lawn. He came and stood at the
foot of the steps and looked up at
me with a pleasant pair of brown
r eyes. He wore whiskers and mus
/ tache. He was man of about thir-
e ty-five. strong and stocky, but with
/ the hghtest, deftest movements ]
? ever saw in anyone. He had on knee
breeches and an old gray coat, very
much worn. From his lower peck
from his breast pocket stuck up the
cts protruded several papers, and
t rubber head of pencil. 1 knew at
4 once that he was a newspaper man
!, l wondered if he had come to ask
/ | questions about the great family on
the hill, If he had, he might as well
e tgo away again; my lips would be
, sealed forever on that subject. II
, was too dear one to me, too near
. and too dear Saxxz fhaf he MO