Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1907-07-25
abe never had been

CT IL.
Not strong! This was what ne SAD
that night: but the next day tnere
aoated to Noel Lowther darkeneu
cloud She was i'll, dangerously. me
Ions night hours had brought forth
+bis much that there was no vague
anxiety, but terrible agonizlng rear,
in the hearts of those VINO Waecneu
about the pillow where the sweet race
| rested in unresponsive silence.
Among the many who raised the mul-
Aad knocker at the rector's house
that day. came the methodical ngure
! ~ the curate. who made his lew,
stiff Inquiries, in his usual constralh-
cd manner. He had learned tnat
member of the family was unWen'
and so had stopped on his way nome
to inquire as to their progress. ihls
was all. But his mediocre face was
MALE In it's sallow way, and when the
servant replied to his question, II ne
came paler still. The invalid was not
better, indeed, was even worse; ana
then the woman who gave the answer
stood for moment, looking In IN
certain wonder at the odd change Wnlcn
had come over the caller.
81 am-very sorry-to hear TINS,
he faltered hoarsely, at last i DID
not imagine there was any danger
L She is so young. Perhaps there
will be a change for the better to-
night. l hope so. I will call again
~ tho morning" And then he turned
hurriedly away.
Through the slowly dragging hours
of that sad winter night light burned
steadily In one window of the rectory,
and inside the room its brightness
fell upon a shining, tumbled mass OF
pretty hair, forming halo about an
innocent face upon the pillow; and
the watchers who moved noiselessly
to and fro, turned back to this pillow
always, whatever might have been
the task they left to perform; and
their wearied eyes bore fresh shadow
of anxious fear. In this fear and
grief not one of them dreamed that
there might be near them other watch
ers than themselves. And yet If one
of them had raised the curtain for a
moment and glanced down into the
cold darkness of the street below, she
would have seen another watcher
a watcher, of whose despairing dread
they knew nothing, but who watched
with them nevertheless. They might
have seen this figure any night
of the many that the light fell
in subdued, prophetic din1ness up
on the pillow, and they might have
seen it any morning of the many thai
Noel Lowther called to make his meth
odically worded, constrained inquiries
but their hearts were so bound within
/ the four walls of the dim room, tina
not one of them had even the slight
est shadow of thought of it's near
ness, even when the end came tt
them, and he shared it with them.
There was a knot of Grape on tn
door the next morning, when tn
staid, respectable figure stood there
and the servant who replied to hi
summons met his glance with eye
heavy with weeping.
st is useless to ASK" he said, il
the strange breathless way the won
an had noticed before. "She is
And he stopped, and pointed with
mute gesture at the Grape upon tn
door.
Dead" was the low-spoken answer
eyes, sir; last night"
He passed into the house withou
another word. He had right Their
i now. They would expect him Dead
Yes, he had known that hours ago
and yet he had not taught himse
to believe it anything but torturin
, dream.
!, He stood in the mysterious dimes
!. before the marble presence at las
! The closed blinds shut out all ligh
! it seemed, and the soft gloom wa
deaths shadow There was only on
, thing III the room to this man, tn
slender, black casket, wherein reste
h the lost jewel -Life's purest pea
Z 4 in Deaths setting of ebony TIL
! pure cheek rested against the sof
~ rising pillow of satin; the brigl
hair flowed softly over it; fair flower
+ lay in the fairer hands. He had I
e right to weep. He had been so fl
: apart from her life, and he was s
n far apart from her innocent des
h body. He stood at the casket's sic
and looked down in utter silence
. agony. He had never hoped to wal
q her. to a realization of his ma
"a love; but life's despair was not Il
# despair of death. the dumb pang
i. looking down upon her sweet des
a face There was only for him this
r. lence, and this last look. He passe
+. out of the door and into the ia
le darkening street. The dull room wa
,e ed for him beyond, the dingy wall
ID and the old torture Of the leads
k groove Of labor. And to this he wen
is with his memory of the fair dead fac
rs in its setting of gold: with the mer
ID DRY Of the words the sweet your
10 voice had uttered, and the echoes hs
le caught up, and carried into the vaul
" ed roof.
Ie "Oh, Lamb Of God, who takest ava
te the sins Of the world"
~ Grant us thy peace''