The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-04-20


night she carried home at least two
schoOlbooks and studied until she had
mastered the points of each lesson.
She did her share of the work faith
fully, and every available minute she
was in the fields searching for cocoons.
for the moths promised to become her
best source of income
She gathered large baskets of nests,
flowers, MOSES, insects and all sorts
Of natural history specimens and sold
them to the grade teachers. At first
she tried to tell these instructors what
to teach their pupils about the speci-
mems, but, recognizing how much
more she knew than they, one after
another begged her to study at home
and use her spare hours in school to
exhibit and explain nature subjects to
their pupils. Elnora loved the work,
and she needed the money, for every
few days some matter of expense arose
that she had not expected.
When the music swelled from the
school orchestra Elnora's heart almost
broke with throbbing joy, for music
always had affected her strangely, and,
since she had been comfortable enough
in her surroundings to notice things,
she had listened to every note to ind
what it was that literally hurt her
heart, and at last she knew. 1t was
the talking of the vioIins. They were
human voices, and they spoke a Ian
guage Elnora understood. It seemed
to her that she must climb up on the
stage, take the instruments from the
speak what was in her heart. She
fairly prayed to get hold of one; If only
for a second
That night she said to her mother:
81 am perfectly crazy for violin. 1
am sure I could play one; sure as 1
live. Did any one. Elnora never
completed that sentence
"Hushv' Numbered Mrs. Comstock.
"Be quiet. Never mention those things
before We again-never as long as you
live. loathe them. They are a snare
of the very devil himself. They were
made to lure men and women from
their homes and their honor. If ever 1
see you with one in your fingers I will
smash 1t in pieces"
Naturally Elnora hushed, but she
thought of nothing else after she had
done justice to her lessons. At last
there came day when for some rea-
son the leader of the orchestra left his
violin ON the grand piano. That morn
ing Elnora made her first mistake In
algebra. At noon, as soon as the
great building was empty, she slipped
into the auditorium, found the side
door which led to the stage, and, go
ing through the musicians entrance,
she took the violin. She carried it
back into the little side room where
the orchestra assembled, closed all the
doors, opened the case and lifted out
the instrument.
She laid it on her breast, dropped her
chin on it and drew the bow softly
across the strings. One after another
she tested the open notes. They re-
minded her Of things. Gradually her
stroke ceased to tremble and she drew
the bow firmly. Then her fingers be-
gan to fall, and softly, slowly she
searched up and down those strings for
sounds she knew. Standing in the
middle Of the floor, she tried over and
over 1t seemed scarcely a minute be-
fore the hall was filed with the sound
of hurrying feet, and she was forced
to put away the violin and go to her
classes. OF food she never thought un-
til she noticed how heavy her lunch
box was on the way home, so she sat
on the log by the swamp and remedied
that. The next day she prayed that
the violin would be left again, but her
petition was not answered.
That night when she returned from
the school she made an excuse to go
down to see Billy. He was engaged in
hulling walnuts by driving them
through holes in a board. His hands
were protected by pair of Margaret's
old gloves, but he had speckled his
face generously. He looked well and
greeted Elnora hilariously.
me an the squirrels are laying up
our winter stores"' he shouted. "'Cos
the cold is coming, an the snow, an if
We have any nuts we have to fix 'em
now. But I'm ahead. 'cos Uncle Yves
ley made me this board, and I can hull
big pile while the old squirrel does
only ist one with his teeth
Elnora picked him up and kissed him
BILLY, are you happy?" she asked.
eyes, and SOS Snap" answered Billy
"You ought to see him make the dirt
fly when he gets after chipmunk."
He espied Wesley and ran to show
him a walnut too big to go through the
holes. and Elnora and Margaret went
into the house.
They talked Of many things for 9
time, and then Elnora said suddenly
Aunt Margaret, like music
I've noticed that in you all YOU
life" answered Margaret.
81 can make violin talk" announc
ed Elnora, and then in amazemen
watched the face of Margaret Sinto1
grow pale.
"a violinr' she wavered where die
you get violin?'
'They fairly seemed to speak to me-
in the orchestra. One day the con
ductor left his in the auditorium, an(
I took it, and Aunt Margaret 1 car
make it do the wind in the swamp
the birds and the animals. I car
make any sound ever heard on 1t