Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1908-10-16
The fatal Three
MISS II. 3. BRADDoH
-=~ =
OHAPTuR uI.--(Continued

ILL., Continued-)
It wal growing toward the sumner
darkness when he rose and won't into the
house, where he questioned the butler
whom he met in che hall. Mr. Porter
had been brought back and had seen Miss
Greswold. He had found her slightly
feverish, and had ordered her to 20 to bed
Mrs. Greswold was sitting with her. Did
DIR. Porter seem anxious? No. not at
all anxious: but he was going TO send
Miss Laura nome medicine before bedtime
She was much the same next day
languid, with IN aching head Il some
fever. She was not very fevcrish. On
the whole, the doctor was hopeful, or ne
pretended to be 80. He could give no
| positive opinion yet. The polluted water
in the garden well had hecn the cauac OF
| the village epidemic. Analysis had shown
that it wa. charged with poisonous gas.
Mr.. Greswold FASTENED his preparations
| for Il journey to Scotland with a feyerish
eagerness. He wrote to engage a sleep
ing carriage on the Great Northern. They
were to travel on Thursday. leaving homo
before noon, dining in town and starting
for the north in the evening. II lola's
| illness were indeed the slight indisposi'
ton which everybody hoped it was, she
might be quito able to travel on Thurs
day, and the change Of air and the move
msnt would do her good.
"She il always so well in Scotland
said her father.
DR.. Porter came on Tuesday evening,
and found his patient not quite so well.
There was a long conference between the
two doctors, and then the nurse was call
ed in to receivs her instructions and then
Mr.. Greenwood was told that the journey to
Scotland must be put of for n fortnight
at the very least.
Hc received the sentence rs il it had
been his death warrant. He asked no
questions. lie dared not. A second
nurse was to be sent over from Southamp-
ton next morning. The two doctors had
the cool, determined air of men who are
preparing for a battle.
Lola was light-headed next morning !;
but with intervals of caimness and con-
sciousness. She heard the church bell toll
ing, and asked what it meant.
ITS for Polly Rainbow's funeral an
swered tho maid. who was tidying the
room.
'.Oh, no. cried Lola, shat can't be d!
Father said she was better"
And then her mind began to wander,
and she talked Of Polly Rainbow as 4
the child had been in the room talked OF
The little girls lessons at the parish
school; and Of q prize that she was to
get.
After that all was darkness, all was
degpair--a seemingly inevitable progress
from bad to worse. Science. care. love,
p.aycrs-ail were futile and the bell that
had tolled for the widows only child
tolled ten days afterward for Lola.
1t seemed to George Greswold as those
slow strokes beat upon his brain, heavily,
heavily. like minute guns, that all the
hopes and cares and joys and expecta-
lions life had held for him were over. His
wife was on her knees in the darkened
house from which the funeral train was
slowly moving, and he had loved her pas
sionately and yet it seemed to him as II
the open car yonder. with its coffin hid
den under snow-white blossoms, was car
rylns away all that had ever been pre-
cious to him upon this earth.
..Shc was the morning. with its prom
iss Of day" he said to himself. "She
was the sprinEtime, with it's promise Of
summer. While I had her l lived In
the future; h~enceforward I a only live
In the present. l dare not look back
upon the past"