Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-05-02

separate rooms but with no doors in
them, faced him. Something told him
that both these rooms held human life, or
human death.
First he looked in at the one on the
left. He expected to see lonely death.
His nerves were unstrung to such de-
gree that he wholly forgot everything
except his own absorbing sense of his
duty as q man in holy orders. In the
room on the left he saw q little bed, laid
at the foot of fat four-poster; and on
this little bed of white lay a lady, or a
lady's body. cast down recklessly, in
sleep or death; with the face entirely
covered by silvery cloud of hair. From
the manner in which one arm was bent,
Hardenow thought that the lady lived.
There was nothing else to show it.. Be
ing a young man, a gentleman also, he
hung back and trembled back from enter
ing that room.
Without any power to "revolve things
WELL" as he always directed his pupils to
do, Hardenow stepped to the other door
way, and silently settled his gaze inside.
His eyes were so worried that he could
not trust them, until he had time to con-
slider what they told
than that which had grown upon him
for an hour .sand passed from a void
alarm into a terror; they showed him the
loveliest girl-according to their render
ing-that ever they had rested on till
now; a maiden sitting in a low chair read
ing, silently sometimes. and sometimes in
a whisper, according TO some signal, per-
haps of which he saw no sign. There
was no other person in the room, so far
as he could see; and he stra med his eyes
with extreme anxiety to make out that.
The Rev. Thomas Hardenow knew
that he was not discharging the functions
now Of the sacerdotal Office, in watching
A young woman through a doorway, with
out either leave or notice. But though
he must have been ware of this, it
scarcely seemed now TO occur to him; or
whether il did, or did not, he went on in
the same manner gazing.
The sound of low, laborious breath per
vaded the sick room now and then. In
spite of all draughts, the air was heavy
with the scent of herbs strewn broad
cast. TO prevent infection-tansy, worm
wood, rue and sage, burnt lavender and
rosemary. The use of acids in malignant
fevers was at that time much in vogue.
and saucers of vinegar and yerjuice.
stepped lemon peel, and such like, as well
as dozens of medicine bottles stood upon
little tables. Still Hardenow could not
see the patient; only by following the
glance of the reader could he discover
the direction. 1t was the girl herself,
however, on whom his wondering eyes
were bent. At first he seemed to know
her face, and then he was sure that he
must have been wrong. The sense Of do
ing good, and the wonderful influence of
pity, had changed the face of pretty
girl into that of beautiful woman. Har-
denow banished his first idea, and won
dered what strange young lady this could
be-
Although she was reading aloud, and
doing it not so very badly. it was plain
enough that she expected no one TO listen
10 her. The sound of her voice. perhaps,
was soothing 10 some one who understood
no words; as people have been soothed
aud recovered by thread of waterfall,
broken with walking stick. At any
rate, she read on, and her reading fell
like decent poetry.
Hardenow scarcely knew what he
ought TO do. He did not like to go for
ward: and il was mean thing TO go
backward, rendering no help. when help
seemed wanted so extremely. He peep
ed back into the other room; and there
was the lady with the fine white hair.
sleeping as soundly as weary top, driv-
en- into dreaming by extreme activity Of
blows.
Nothing less than fine idea could
have delivered Hardenow from this bad
situation. Ii was suddenly borne in upon
his mind that the house had rare old
fire bell. relic of nobler ages. hanging
from bar in little open cot, scarcely
big enough for a hen roost; and Russell
had shown him one day, with laugh,
she corner in which the rope hung. There
certainly could be but very little chance
Of doing harm by ringiry 1t; what could