Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-05-29

1t was late Decoration day. Out in
Kankakee, H., the last stragglers from
the parade were coming leisurely home
ward through the dusk, empty-handed,
heartful of the strangely mingled SEN
timent of the day-sorrow for the dead
pride and happiness in their achieve
ment
One Of the very last to leave was lit
tie Ida Van Slette. Until the shadows
deepened in the old cemetery and the
wreaths and bouquets faded in the first
chill of the night air she a fingered
and looked backward. the mystery and
against her will.
When she reached home supper was
over. The two younger children. Ro-
sella and Pearl, had been undressed
and sent upstairs to bed. But there
were seven brothers. and they had all
gone outdoors to play.
Cant we play, too. mamma" Ida
asked at the foot of the stairs after She
had eaten supper. Just a little bit
And Mrs. Van Slette, mother of eleven
and wise in the ways OF children,
glanced from her housework with a
smile of understanding and sympathy.
OF course, they could play until she
came upstairs If they wanted 10. They
could do no harm.
And overhead, as she went on with
her work, she could catch the patter OF
l~ight-running feet i'm the bedroom. Now
It was hide and seek. She could hear
the merry little squeals of diSmay when
a hiding place was discovered. Then II
must be a pillow fight, Rosetta was
laughing so. And at last there was ST.
lence, and the mother. tired with the
extra work that comes with a holiday.
smiled to herself as she turned the light
In the kitchen low n went upstairs
TO her babies.
1t was after 9 o'clock. There was
no light In the upstairs room, and she
went cautiously, half expecting a little
Whitehead form to jump out at her
from a shadowy corner. That was the
faVorite game. to scare mother. But
tonight there was no sudden jump. no
peal of laughter, no clinging arms
around her neck and she went INTO the
little bedroom where the girls slept, and
lit a lamp.
Still everything was silent. The bed
was tossed and tumbled, the pillows
gone. the quilt left over the footrail,
where 1t had been used as q tent. On
the hairs were piled the little gar
ments, each in it's place, as she had
Taught must De uOfe. vi lHe Duitdu
lay a bunch of ha~lf-withered wild
flowers that Ida nae gathered on her
way home, buttercups n daisies and
q few last violets. On her pile of
clothes rested the little 5-cent flag she
had carried so bravely In the parade.
But that was all-nothing but still
ness, a strange, unnatural stiffness that
in spite OF herself seemed to steal upon
the mother like an icy chill of appre-
hension. She set the lamp down and
tried to call to keep the tremor from
her voice. OF course 1t was n OF their
games, only some crazy little childish
prank. She would find them. They
were hiding from her; under he bed.
In the closet, in the next room, some
where they were hiding, and laughing
at her for being frightened.
Ida" she called, Ida. dear. IL Is
time to go to bed. Rosetta, come now;
you've played long enough. Come.
Pearl; come to mother; tired baby
grille, come and be rocked to sleep"
No answer, nothing but silence and
the rustic of the wind in the maple
leaves against the w~indowpane. Catch
ing her breath, Mrs. Van Slette went
into the other bedrooms and searched.
That was part OF the max believe,
part of the bedtime game. to make
mother hunt for them. She threw
open closet doors and called. knelt to
look under beds, lifted the curtains
away from the window recesses. and
even glanced behind the dressers. but
there were no babies TO laugh at her,