Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1909-07-01

he could bear. But why?" sx cried
once more.
Il can't answer you any different
John"
IL seemed long time before eth
er OF them spoke again. A foot over
head. moving back and forth in the
vacant chamber, brought them both
a consciousness of that outside. mex.
orable life which goes on whether
we be- quick or dead. The clock
licked sharply on the mantel. An.
drew Shafer sat so motionless that his
large figure looked as though cut out
OF the dark.
You ought to believe me, boy"
| An odd hushed sense of the end of
things came TO the younger man.
There grew on him a feeling as of
a still presence in the room. of a
shape with pale, pushing hands held
up between him and that secret of
score of years. Yet he burst GU.
into struggling last word. she VIZ:
good woman" he faltered.
Il amt saying anything agains'.
your mother, John. She kept tn,
house clean, and she cooked the meals
regular, and she worked hard in tho
garden, and stood twice week in the
market. And now" Some remnant
of passion burned up in the man
voice. II trembled. And now-she's
laying out in the cemet'ry."
The clock licked sharply on.
There can't anything be done about
1t now. Don't you go worrying about
it, boy"
John sat dumb. 1t began to grow
DINNER in the room.
I'm going out awhile" said An
drew Shafer. He rose up from his
chair and strobe heavily towards the
door, and opening ii stood for a mo-
ment in the stream of thick dusk
from the west. His speech rang out
with the force of an oath. ME and
you'll begin all over again. boy"
The sky was sharp with stars. There
was no wind. On the opposite side
OF the yard, clear dark mass against
the clearer dark, rose the line of
gabled farm sheds. He pushed across
and undid the latch of the stable door.
The warm scent of hay, the crunching
sound of the cows at their cud. the
hushed, impalpable stir of the housed
air, came to him as, slouched and
lonely, he waited there. His foot struck
against the shaft of the market wagon
lifting its larger bulk in the corner.
and in moment tall, familiar figure
seemed to lean silently out of the
gloom. 1t was young, radiant, I'M
touched of wind or weather. His
youth gripped him hard. He slipped
the latch back and gently moved away.
The garden next. A place Of ghosts.
The long procession of the years. the
splendor and the pathos, the memo
ries. and the homelinesses. of the sea-
sons went marching by. Flowers
bloomed; bees hummed: little violet.
colored butterflies wavered between
him and the sun. And among them
all moved Henrietta, pulling here. clip
ping there; If ii were June. the pinks:
If 1t were October. the chrysanthe
mums-especially those that looked
like disks of white ivory. for these
the town folks bought to carry out to
the cemeteries.
he wandered out to the orchard.
striking into the narrow path that
downward under the bare
trees to the highway beyond. And
OF sudden, pink and white and
heaven sweet, blossomed the apple
boughs to left and to right of him. For
an instant IL was his wedding day.
and he and Henrietta were strolling
hand in hand across that rosy acre
Oh maryland. An instant. In another.
the long, melancholy years of his life
passed before him. He felt himself
beaten, defrauded, betrayed. Then
there came to him another vision of
Henrietta grown dumb and
with the remnant of her !
lark beauty clinging to her like the
petals of rain-drenched rose. Out
IL those long and melancholy years |
lad she not brought even less than |
he? With sort of dim added sense |
lie began to realize her struggle with |
he stirless weather of her existence.
- SO" Us NuNdhi way neT DlIJernGSS |
It him, her rigid yet shamed accept
lnce of the lot she had made and
hosen for herself And out of her
ray life what was left but a strip
# earth in quiet country church
ard? For now she was cold. cold and
cad,
A mans footstep, heavy and hating.
ounded without in the road.
That you, Andy?" said Adam Mar.
in
Yes, Adam
A Whit of tobacco smoke came pun.
emily through the dark Adam strobe
onward and stretched slow hand
Cross the palings.
I've been down to the store for Clar.
'sy. AS soon as / seen you | said:
Maybe Andy has some stuff he'd like
lie to take TO market for him day
fter tomorrow
I'm going myself, Adam"
Adams pipe made tiny scarlet
We in the gloom. The LONELINESS of