Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1906-02-16

Ter lutk. anu some OI lItlH tcCIil
1t that the Orphan" as they called S.
via. had brought the luck back aga
to Lorn Hope, and that they were
!. going to be rich.
t Ncvilie's claim only Just paid for h
d labor-but he still stuck to II, nj
with more contentment than he won
have imagined possible.
II Sylvia was never tired of sitting
the edge of the pit, and sometime
| after Il long silence, Neville thlnkin
she had fallen asleep, would turn an
Q look at her. and meet her gray eye
( fixed upon him. rs If she found hil
, iGore worthy of her attention than tn
[ book.
:, One day, In the mldSt of one of thes
~silences, she began to sing. At frs
she sang in n low. subduel voice
then. as If she had forgotten his pres
cnce, her voice grew fuller. but no
less sweet, and she sang like a night
ingaic.
Neville was startled. but he wa.
careful to keep his back to her, ant
not brighten the bird that had sud
denly flied the hot silence with such
delicious melody. He waited until she
had finished, then he said as careless
" as he could:
Bravo. Syl. You don't pipe badly.
Thought 1t was n thrush at tristan
English thrush. you know-"
Il know" she said, with an utter alb
sence OF self consciousness. Il re-
member" Her eyes grew absent and
thoughtful. Yes, / remember. It
must be a long time ago. 1t was in
the country | heard the birds sing"
She pressed her lips together and knit
her brows till they made a straight
line over her eyes. Yes, it was In
the country, and can remember,
l try, that l was riding a little
pony, and-and-' She put her hand
to her forehead and sighed. Its all
gone now. Wait a minute" and she
her brows.
Never mind" said Neville.
NO" she said. ~contentedly. "It
matter, Loes it? And do you
ike 10 hear me sing, Jackt"
Il do indeed. very much,' he re-
Piled. What was 1t you We're sing |
.ng? | seem t o have a recollection of
L."
bid Me Discourse" she answered |
promptly. 1T was-she hesitated a
moment, but only for a moment-"it
was one of my fathers favorites."
She sang to him again. This time an
I'D French ballad. Neville leaned
the sides of the pit and lis
with all his ears. He was pas
;ionately fond Of music.
"Hallo!" he said. whats that. |
Who taught you that-but,
# course; l beg your pardon. SyI.'
Yes" she said, In a low voice. HE
me that-everything. He said
Is power-to the person
who knows how to use it. And vet
he was so poor" she mused, thought
fully.
You don't remember your mother,
Syl?" asked Neville. as it occurred to
him that he might learn something of
her people. He would have to find
them some day and restore her.
mo: she died soon after I was
born. Papa seldom spoke of her; it
always made him sad and unhappy.
And vet l know that they We're so
happy-once, for he told me that they
lived In a beautiful house in the coun-
try. Then trouble came. Papa lost
his money. 1t was not his fault. He
had an enemy-a man who hated him.
and wanted to ruin him. 1 think he
must have ruined him. Then m
died. think she died Of grief"
She paused. and Neville turned his
head away. II there had been any
tears In her eyes they had gone when
he looked round again.
Then papa left England, and we
travelled about. We lived in France,
and papa taught a school. That's as
FAR back as l can remember clearly,
and we were very happy, we two. We
used to take long walks along the
river bank, and papa would tell me
the name of every flower and teach
me things. Then one day he came
home very sad and tired looking. and.
said that we must leave. His enemy
had been to the school and told lies
about him, and the people had be-
iieved the enemy because he was rich
and powerful, and papa was poor and
Then we took to wander
Ing again and sometimes papa got
work teaching or in n bank or an Of
flee, but sooner or later the enemy
come. and we had to leave"
HE was a nice kind man; the en-
envy, as you call him. What was his
name, Syl"
Il don't know. Papa never told
I'm sorry for that. said Neville,
Because / should make 1t
my business when I got out OF this
hole to find that individual and try
ind square accounts
What could you do, jack? she
obviously.
well, I could give him the sound
EST thrashing-but I suppose he would
Dc too old, confound him."
Yes" she said, softly. but / thank
you all the same, Jack"
And she stretched out the brown
Jaw and laid Ii ons his hot, strong arm.
endured the caress, permitted
1, just as 8 young fellow twenty suf-
,ers his sisters to kiss him.
.wellg'' he said. lis that aii7
That's Ill, ! think. Except that
papa lost heart Mt last, and we
crossed the ocean, and came; here to-
Australia. But he couldn't dig, he