Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1907-12-12

hand on his, and whispered something
In his ear Instantly the troubled look
gave way to one OF peace. Seeing this,
she bowed her head and placed his
hand upon it. There It remained until
his spirit passed beyond the gates"
I'VE will lay him by his wife, In the
family vault" she said. 1T Is under
the western hill slope, ut the end Of
the myrtle walk"
She took massive Eeysfrom a cur
tanned cabinet, and led the way, we
following, down the myrtle walk to the
marble sepulcher under the western
! hill slope With her own hand she
turned the heavy lock, and we entered.
| The men deposited their burden be-
side casket engraved Caroline Ham
| ilton," and went quickly back to their
work. Overcome by the solemnity of
the place, closed my eyes and repeat
ed part of the burial service. The
responses were made in broken
voice, and when / had finished, ! saw
| that the brave girl had abandoned her
self to unrestrained emotion. She was
kneeling by the woman's coffin, her
arms were thrown across 1t, and her
whole frame was shaken by sobs.
Poor child" said, even your
great strength can bear no more. You
must have rest Come"
Recovering her composure with a
sudden great effort, she said, Yes, l
must go; there is not time for tears;
Roger Is very ILL.,"
She spoke OF young Hamilton. he
was, indeed, very III, so Ill that for
days we thought he must follow his
father; but at last the tide turned,
and we knew he would live. When
consciousness returned, and he lay in
that state of utter prostration which
follows the fever, l watched with In
terest for the effect produced on him
by the presence Of the young girl, who
was evidently no stranger in the
house; but his languid eyes betrayed
no sign of recognition, and though
they followed her every movement,
there was in them no expression of
surprise or questioning, only deep
contentment which gave place to rest.
lessness in her absence. There was q
sick child downstairs who needed her
care, and now that Roger Hamilton
was convalescent she left him as much
as possible to me. One afternoon
found IL necessary to administer a
narcotic, and, having seen him fast
asleep, | went into the next room and
lay down for little much-needed rest.
/ had fallen into a doze when my at
his voice. Rising upon my elbow,
saw that La Soeur Solitaire" had
come into the room and was standing
by his bed. His arms were thrown up
on his pillow, just as l had left them,
and he had not stirred; though his
eyes were open knew he was only
half awake. and that his mind was
wandering.
Beautiful spirit" he was saying,
you leave me SO often, and stay away
so long, and cannot ind you because
l do not know your name. Tell me,
bright spirit. by what name may call
your"
While he rambled on in this strain,
she stood motionless. and seemed to
be looking far away. After while
she said, very softly, and her voice
sounded more like an echo Of the past
than part of the present. Il have no
name; no name" Then, for the first
time since that day In the tomb, she
lost her wonderful self-control and,
clasping her hands over her face, she
left the room. sobbing. He told me
not to call him brother; he said had
no name"
The next week found her tossing ON
bed OF fever.
All that wealth and skill could do
was done for her. She had made her
home In many hearts, and those to
whom she had been ministering
angel came now and begged the priv
ilege of doing something. anything, for
her. The most importunate of these
was Roger Hamilton. and I felt that,
for some reason unknown to me, he
had a better right than others to be
near her.
Her attack had been very vio-
lent, almost hopeless from the first.
AS the fatal symptoms increased, and
| saw her beautiful young life fading
out before me, l felt no idle curiosity
to know what she had chosen to con-
ceal, but could not put aside the feel
ing that l was responsible for the
knowledge that had come to me by ac-
cident. and that / might use it to allay
misery, If M to create happiness.
But how? Should take Roger Ham
ilton into my confidence? He had
grown daily in my esteem, and COM
mon anxiety had drawn us close to-
gether. He was with me great deal
now. constantly In waiting near the
sick girls room. One night as we sat
together and talked Of her l was i'm.
PEELED to tell him of the scenes in his
fathers tomb. and at his own bed
side. Had my words been daggers
aimed at his breast. think they could
not have inflicted keener pain. / was