Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1910-06-10
Zelda Cameron
BY
MEREDITH NICHOLSON
Copyright. 1904. by Tho Bobb- Merrill Co.

times in tissue paper and were sweet
with Lavender. one fiat packet had
been crowded INTO the top, and the Ia
had crushed it, so that the paper
wrapping had fallen aside. 1t held a
small address book, bound in red leath-
or; and Zelda ran the leaves Trough
her fingers, noting the names OF per-
sons who were her mothers friends.
"Margaret Cameron" was written on
one Of the fly leaves. The book had
been intended as Il register OF visits,
begun at the threshold of her married
life: but. from appearances, 1t hal
been abandoned soon as an address
book. At the back. where til" INK was
fr"sh"r and of a different kind som"
Of the pages were nllcd. The girl car
ri"d tn" hn0k close to the
Ia bic where her candles stood and
opened it.
This is to You, Julia or Rodney.
They have" old me to-day that l am
yoinu to die: but [ have known it Cor
Il long time. Thc end is nearer than
they think it is; and | am going to set
down here an appeal that ! can not
bring myself to make to either of you
directly. 1t is about Zelda. l think
she will be like us. zoe grant it may
he so. know what | hope her future
may be; but | dare not plan it. My
own you know that I planned my
own. " f. Save her, as YOU tried
to save me from myself, if it Shout
he necessary. She is very dear and
gentle; but she has our pride. l can
see it growing day by day. They say
that we Merriams are hard and proud:
but she will never be hard. Do for
her what you would have done for me.
Do not let him kill the sweetness and
g~entlcncss in her. Keep her away
from him if you can; but do not let
her know what | have suffered from
him. | nave arranged for him to care
for the property | have to leave her.
so that she may never feel that l did
not trust him. He will surely guard
what belongs to her safely.
Perhaps 1 was unjust to him: it may
AVE been my fault; but if she can re-
spect or love him | wish it to be So"
Zelda read on. There were only n
few pages of this appeal, but the
words sank into her consciousness
with the weight of lead. She was to
be saved from her father, if need be,
by her aunt and uncle; but she must
not know what this lead woman her
mother. had suffered at his hands
There was the heart ache of years in
the lines; they had not been written to
her, but fate had brought them under
her eyes. She closed the book, clasp
ing it in her hands, and stared into the
dark area beyond the candlelight. Her
MIND was busily reconstructing the life
of her mother, of whom she knew so
little. The book that she held, with
it's pitiful plea for her own security
and happiness. opened a new world -
her; her Mothers words brought the
past before her WILDLY and sent her
thoughts into the future with a fierce
haste of transition.
This was her homecoming and this
was home. She forgot for the moment
that she had friends anywhere: she
felt herself a rang in her native
city, in the house where she was born.
| Her heart went out to her mother,
across Il distance that was Vaster han
any gulf of time, for there was added
the greater void that sympathy and
love would have filled if mother and
child might have touched hands to-
day.
Her fingers came upon the broken
wrapper that had fallen from the lit
tie book. She lifted it to the light and
read:
Private. For brother Rodney or
sister Julia"