The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1905-03-17

he OlQ woman 4alQ QOhn the paper
+ carefully upon the table and pushed
back the cheap spectacles upon her
/ forehead. She looked dazed and shot
T a glance Of pitiful appeal at Mrs. Hen
I dersOn, who had run in from the room
T across the hall. TO show her the sad
news First Mrs. Henderson had read
/ it to her and she had reached for the
I paper in dazed sort of way, as
T though unable TO comprehend the due
/ puTpOTt Of the others words She
had put on her cracked old glasses
and painfully spelled out the brief
line pointed out TO her. 1t was
labOTiOus undertaking for there had
been but little time for learning even
to read and write in Jane Bradley's
hard and pinched life. Finally, how
ever, she had conquered the line. 1t
was only a little line in agate type in
a list of dead cabled from Santiago.
JOHN BRADLEY. S7th Infantry; yell
low fever.
That was all-Only that one little
Iine-but the spelling out of it swept
every CLEAN Of hope from the jOyless
life of the reader. She made no sound
and Mrs. Henderson, who had been
expecting half with hope and half
with fear an outbreak of sorrow, felt
10th disappointed and relieved.
No outbreak! No there was no out
break But that moment if dull Mrs
Henderson had but known it she saw
the breaking of a human heart. The
old woman, bent and shriyeled and
worn and faded out was as
still as summer day. Only
the fading OF the last sug-
gestiOn Of light in her dull gray
eyes told Of the terrible weight Of ice
and lead that settled upon the poor
old crushed heart Presently the thin,
wTinkled face dropped into the tired.
worn fingers and the tears trickled
down onto the faded calico gown
Mrs. Henderson gulped spasmOdically
feeling in some inadequate manner
the pathetic tragedy of the moment
and quietly slipped back TO her own
troubles in Number So.
Her going or staying were Of small
moment to the old woman in her great
sorrow. The overburdened old mind
held for a lifetime TO sOdden things
had been released for a brief moment
by the awful catastrophe which had
Oyertaken her and this newly claTl
fed mind was filed with a great
panorama.
She could not realize at first the
dreadful import Of the brief line.
Johnnie dead-her Johnnie, her only
boy, and the image of her husband,
dead these many years It could not
be true. Johnnie, an, how graphically
happisst DAYS Of her life-Teally her
only happy days, when little Johnnie
was playing at her knee and filing
hew-tarved heart with his childish
prattle. even while she still tOiled-
but with new energy and new hope
and new courage. And she remem-
bered how the childish prattle had
nerved her for the fearful struggle
which had followed and never since
had ceased
The awful nightmare Of her hus-
bands death and the narrow margin
BY which she saved his body from 4
grave in the pOtter's field rose before
her and her heart warmed as she re-
membered the comfort and courage it
had been to her in those dark hours
of unyielding grind and sickening
worry and merciless self-sacrifce. to
held the little man-child 10 her bosom
and feel his warm arms about her
d sck.
To be sure he had not always
treated her right-at least SO said ali
her little world. and perforce she had
been compelled 10 admit TO herself
sometimes that it did seem So He
had been wild and fallen into bad
company and instead Of being the
help she had 50 fOndly counted Oh
his escapades had cost her all her
little savings To BE sure neighbOrs
had told her that he was a graceless