The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1906-05-18

-hothSl' NOu 1tu tliluh IL is uUu l
you?'
II don't know what to think Flora, -
.Jnst then door shut somewhere in the
back part of the house. There father, '
said Mrs. Dunn, getting up; AN the fire
ain t made
Flora rose also, and went about helping
her mother to get supper Both suddenly
settled into a rigidity of composure; their
eyes were red, but their lips were steady.
There was a resoiute vein in their charac-
ters; they managed themselves with
wrenches, aud could be hard even with
their grief They got tea ready for Mr..
Dunn and his two hired men, then cleared
it away, and sat down in the front room
with their needlework Mr. Dunn, a
kindly, dull old man, was there, too, over
his newspaper.
Suddenly low moaning cry sounded
through the house seemingly from the room
overhead. "There it isr' shrieked Flora.
She caught up lamp and ran Mrs.
Dunn was following, when her husband,
sitting near the door, caught hold of her
dress with bewildered air; he had been
doing. What's matter?'' said he
vaguely.
Didn't You hear it Didn't YOU hear
it, father ?'
The old man let 20 of her dress suddenly
II didn hear notbin. said he
"Iarkr
But the cry had in fact ceased Flora
could be heard moving about in the room
overhead, and that was all In moment
Mrs. Dunn ran up stairs after her The
old man sat staring. It's all dun fool
iShne>>. he mut,ered, under his breath
/ Presently he Tell 10 dozing again, and his
vaean,ly smiling face Topped forward. Mr.
Damn, slow Drained patient and unimagi-
us,lye had had hls evening maps interrupt
I 81 after this manner for the last two or
/ three months aud there vas as yet no ces-
/ satipn Of his bewiIiernent lie dealt with
! tbs simple. broad lights Of l.fe. the shad-
\ cws were beyond bis speculation. For his
! consciousness his daughter Jenny had died
aud gone to heaven, he was not capable of
listening for her ghos,ly means in her little
I chamber overhead. much less Of hearing
I them with any greduliiy.
( When his wife came down stairs finally
she looked At him sleeping there, with
bitter feeling She Eel, s. if set about by
an icy wind Of loneliness Her daughter.
I who was after her own kind. was all the
( one 70 whom she couli look for sympathy
AMI understanding in this subtle perpleHity
/ which bad cJme upon her And she would
rather have dispensed with that sympathy,
I and heard alone these piteous, uncanny
I cyies. for she was wild with anxiety about
/ Flora. The girl had never been very
Z strong She looked at her dis,reSsiully
when she came down the next morning.
Did you sleep any last night 2. asked
her mother
some, answered Flora.
Soon after breakfast they noticed the
liitle Wren girl stealing acruss the ruad TO
/ the cemetery again She soes over there
al the time, remarked Mrs. Dunn. II
b Hayc she raas away See her look be-
hind her
Yes. said Flora, alphabetically.
Ii was nearly noon when they heard
voice from the next house calling, Nancy!
Nancy Nancy Wrenr The voice was
Z loui and imperious, but Slow aud evenly
r,oiulAtei Il Indicated well its owner.
/ \ woman who could regulate her own an
gry voice could regulate other people.
Mrs. Damn and Flora heard it understand
ingly.
That poor little thing will catch /, when
she gets home. said Mrs Duun.
Nancy Nssyl Nancy Wrent'
called the voice again. Il pity the child
I If Mrs Gregg has to 20 after her Mebbe
she fcn asleep over there, Flora, why
don { you run over there an GET her =
The voice rang out again. Flora got
her hat aud stole across the street little
below the house, - the calling woman
could not see her. When she got into the
cemetery she called in her turn, letting out
her thin sweet voice cautiously. Finally
/ she came directly upon the child. She
was in the Blake lot, her little slender
body, in its dingy cotton dress, curled up
on the ground close to one Of the graves
/ No one but Nature tended those old graves
now, aud she seemed to be lapsing them
( genily back to her own lines, at her own
/ will Of the garden shrubs which had
been planted about them not cue was left
but an old low spraying white rose bush,
/ which had just gotten It's new leaves. The
| Blake 10, was at the very rear Of the yard,
where it verged upon light wood, which
was silently stealing its way over Its own
proper boundaries, At the back Of the lot
/ stood thicket Of little thin trees, with sil
very twinkliug leaves. The ground was
| quite blue with houstonias
The child raised her little fair head and
stared at Flora, as if just awakened from
sleep She held her little pink mouth
open, her innocent blue eyes had a sur
prised look, as If she were suddenly gazing
upon new scene.
Where she gone p asked she, iu her
sweet, feeble pipe
Where who gone :?
Jane
II don know what you mean, Come,
Nancy, You must 20 home now
Didn't you see her ?
Il didn' t see anybody, answered Flora,
impatiently. "ComeI
she was right here.
What do YOU mean ?
Jane was standin' right here. An
she had her white dress on, an her
wreath -
Flora shiyered and looked around her
fearfully The fancy of the child was
overlapping her own nature. There
wasn't soul here. You've been dream
ing, child Comet
mo, | wasn't; I've seen them blue
flowers an the leaves winkin' all the time.
Jane stood right there. The child point
ed with her tiny finger to a spot at her
side ''She hadn't come for long time
before she added hShe's staid down
there. - She pointed at the grave nearest
her
'You mustn't talk so, said Flora, with
tremulous severity. "You must get right
up and come home. Mrs Gregg has been
calling you and calling you. She won t
like it.