The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-16

Der how she had sacrificed herself for 1 the sake of this little child. and how
 all her sacrifice had been in vain. CHAPTER XXI. The Blasphemer. Two days after the railway accident Laura and her husband returned to Tankerlane Court, and brought with them the body of their child. Long before they arrived the whole district was In possession of the news but the | people did not know that the infor- nation had been concealed from them. | It was reported that the unfortunate victim had died some hours after the | disaster.
 When the train reached the station 1t | was dark. and the platform was de- serted. save for the station master. a | porter. Mir. Danby. the agent. and four Etoitd-iooking men dressed in black. 1 It was drizzling with srain and the water ran from the roof of the build ing in tiny streams that sparixied in | the light of the oil lamps. Danby came forward to meet them, l hat in hand, .murmured few words to | Sir William, and then led the four | sombre-visaged men to carriage | where the guard and porter stood with 1 barred heads
 Then the men took out the tiny cof- l fln--any one of them could have lifted l 1t with one hand--and they slowly car ried 1t to the hearse, which was walt | ing outside. The two parents follow I ed, and not till they had disappeared l did the guard blow his whistle. Then | several of the passengers. who had | been looking out of the window, with drew their heads and the train pro- | ceeded on it's way. The porter turned | out the lights. and then went of to his l supper.
 Such was the home coming of the | Tankerlanes rulers of all the land as l far as man might ride in a single | day. yet in their sorrow less to be en- | estate. For the grief of the laborer Is I short, and is frightened by the knowi- edge that there Is one less mouth to l feed But the grief of these two was | hard, silent, and terrible, They could l not even turn to one another for sym | pathy. Each had to bear the burden | alone < 1 other since they had first looked on | the dead body of their child. and only | the most commonplace remarks had 1 passed between them. And the sad | dest thing of all was that an event which should have drawn them to- | gether with the bonds of common
 sorrow, had apparently only set them l further apart. Laura. had not shed a single tear | since the first wild outburst of weep l ing. But her white. hard face. and 1 the silent agony in her eyes had testi-
 fled to the awful strength of her grief | She had even refused to see her father | until after the funeral.
 1 But when the quiet and simple cere-
 mony was over, she allowed her hus- l band to return to Tankerlane Court | alone, and. she drove back with Sam
 vane to the farm house where she had | been born.
 Poor thing,v said the wife of la- | borer, as she watched the carriages | leave the gate of the churchyard. ''It's l comfort she's wanting with that hard
 face. It's good cry'd do her good" Seems to me-" replied her husband slowly. "as it's the judgment of the
 Almighty. Nothing good ever came of them secret marriages. I don't hold
 with hidin' things up"
 Then you baint a Christian" his
 wife retorted hotly. Them thoughts didn't come to you fete time, when you drunk more of his beer than was good for you. and I had to lead you home like dog. That's not Christian char ity. If were you, I'd pray for 'em
 both next Sunday in church. and ask
 pardon at same time, fer un-Christian
 beck biting"
 The man spat on the ground. and followed his wife meekly up the vil-
 lage. But his words had voiced the
 common sentiment. The death of the
 child was the Judgment of God"
 Somehow, it had transpired that the
 two bereaved parents had not been
 united in a church, and registry off,
 flee, to those who had never seen one,
 savored of actual immortality.
 But Laura, who neither knew nor
 fhn fcf
 on her bereavement, drove back tn si- lence to the farm house under the hill,
 and when she and her father were
 alone in the same room, where she
 had sung Tosti's Goodbye" more than
 two years ago, her grief found vent al last in tears, and she broke out into a storm of weeping that convulsed her whole body.
 Old Sam Vane took her in his arms and spoke to her as he had often spoken in the days of her childhood, when some tiny grief had brought tears to her eyes.
 There, there. Laurie" he said gent ly. "'twill all be well with Zee. see if it won't. Iris the Lords will. little one, the Lords will ain 'tain't for us to cry out. ."
 "Oh. you do not know" she moaned; you do not know" And then, thrust ing his arms away from her, she clasped her hands together in wild fury of grief. "Oh. God" she cried, what have I done? Where was the sin? Where was the sin?"
 Her father looked at her in terror. Her eyes glittered with the light of madness. and a tress of her glorious auburn hair. loosened by a wild thrust of her hand had fallen over her shoul- ders She looked like some fallen an- gel breathing out rebellion against God
 Laurie. Laurie" cried her father. you must be yourself. child; you must not look like that. Iris the will of the Lord, the will of the Lord"
 There is no God" she answerd cold ly. and her voice was more terrible in it's calmness than in it's fury. No God would suffer such things in this world. I say there is no God. and I mean it from the bottom of my heart"
 Alas. poor soul. like many a one before her. she fancied for the mo- ment that she was the central fact in the scheme of creation. and that the Justice of the Universe must stand or fall on the merits of her own jndi- vidual case.
 "Silence. child" said her father stern ly. "are you seeking the portion of the blasphemer? I will nos listen to 'ee. Laurie and if you talks like that