Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1905-02-02

him about it and he is all cut up and
wants to come and make up, but told
him to let Betty take the first step this
time. 1t will be good for her.
Upstairs in her warm, dark room,
Bettina thought and thought, but ar
rived at the same thing each time. She
wanted John and was too proud to own
herself in the wrong and write and tell
him so. She decided that she would
go to the country to spend Thanksgiv-
Ing. She would go down to Porter to
Cousin Mary's. She could wander
around the fields and woods alone and
perhaps forget.
She sprung her plan at the breakfast
table, expecting that it would meet
with a firm refusal from her parents
SAT least" she thought, they will tell
me how lonely they will be and try
to get me to stay" What was her sur
prise to have her father after glanciug
at her mother give an immediate and
hearty consent, even going so far as
to suggest that she make a week of It,
"You may as well stay and visit a
little, daughter" said her father
Mamma and l shall get along very
we'll We will take our Thanksgiving
dinner at the Slavery and go to hear
Mrs. Fiske in the evening" And Bet
tina could do nothing else than consent
through her heart was hot. They knew
how she loved to go to the Slavery for
the holiday dinners, and she had never
heard Mrs. Fiske. And they were posi-
lively glad to be rid of her This was
too deep for tears and she set about
burning her letters and getting ready
for long stay, for she had decided at
once that she would stay as long as
Cousin Mary would keep her.
She left home three days before
Thanksgiving. 1t was four-hour trip
to Porter and she was kept busy rec
ognizing things along the way BY
the time she reached the little station
she was very pleasantly excited and
Rugged Cousin Alb enthusiastically But
the ride to the farm was long and 1t
was cold and some Of her high spirits
died away by the time they reached
the warm house.
The first day things we're all right
Bettina was kept so busy exploring the
farm that she had no time to be lone
some. The next day things were not
quite so nice. There wasn't anything
to read and the fields and woods did
not look quite so inviting as Bettina
had thought they would She was glad
to go to bed early and walked the next
day, the day before Thanksgiving, in
very bad temper. 1t had turned much
colder and her fingers were so stiff
that she could hardly dress, there be-
ing no fire in the room. The day
dragged on, and Bettina in sheer de-
spair helped cook the dafnties that
she was to eat the next day At dusk
the farmer brought the tri-weekly pa
per from the city and tossed 1t over to
Betty, who was eager to read the news
of home. She glanced at the first page
and then something caught her eye
that sent the blood back to her heart
and left her pale and sick. What
should she do In big headlines was
announced the Accident in the White
hall Brothers wholesale house. Three
injured fatally and among them one
of the firm, John Whitehall, Jr" She
read no further, but tossed the paper
TO the wondering cousins and dashed
to her room to pack her suit case. The
evening train could be caught if they
hurried and Cousin Alb hitched up the
team quicker than he had in his life
Neither he nor Bettina will forget that
ride to town. She was nearly wild and
kept saying; "Its my fault, all my
fault" Dut they reached the station
in time 20 get the train and in due sea-
son tk3 train reached the city, though
Bettina thought the four hours eight.
1t was midnight when they got there.
She took a cab and went straight to
the Whitehall house, only to find 1t
dark and lifeless. After ringing three
times and getting no response, she di-
rected the cab driver to take her to the
Mercy hospital, rejecting that they
would probably have taken him there
and that the family was there to say
good-by to him. She hoped she would
be in time to have him speak to her
again. The cab waited for her at the
door of the hospital, while she made
inquiries, finding that there was no pa
tient of that name in the building.
The matron looked at her rather Sc
verely and Bettina began to recognize
that it was after midnight and that
she was alone-hardly a conventional
situation. Nearly frantic with grief
and suspense, and not knowing what
else to do she went home and her as
tonished father let her in at one o'clock
and asked rather sternly for an ex-
PLANTATION. He looked at her rather
strangely as she explained, and then
he told her to 60 to bed and he would
take her to the house in the morning
if she wanted to relieve her mind by
being forgiven. She plead to go now,
and then told him that she had been
to the house and could rouse no one.
All the comfort she got was that she
probably had got the wrong house, and
she was not sure that this was not
true. So she went to bed, and her
father told her mother that Bettina
had learned her lesson and that he was