The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-05-15
THE EN- STORY
BORROWED

amazement. Evidently the promised
correction was being administered,
and in no perfunctory manner, either.
A woman's agonized voice scream
ed: stop that, you brute!"
A heavy foot was stamped and a
mans voice replied. with no hint OF
your people! Take that imp and
leave the brute in peace! If 1 don't
"1rl go." was the reply. distinctly
audible. "In the morning."
And Kathleen, who was a judge of
character and knew people and never
made mistakes. knew that she would
go. and that, having gone. what h
turn. And Kathleen turned and Sob
bed into her pillow her grief over the
trouble she was borrowing. and which
was yet so keenly her own!
If she could only do what nobody
had done for her and Larry! If she
could only break that awful tension.
soften and destroy that atmosphere OF
takes had created! Show the mans
side to the woman, and the woman's
side to the man! Tears would do 1t.
she knew.
If she could only make them cry it
all away! If she could but tell him
how the yard would look if no tiny.
funny garments ever again to
swing from the line therein. If h
could but let the woman know of the
emptiness of the life that awaited her!
| And presently Kathleen smiled into
the darkness. She knew a way!
Kathleen had one great gift. the
gift of but Of technic she had
nothing. The struggle for bread and
hJIftar had y,aSar 9hato6 1nnp anONgn
for her to cultivate her gift. a misfor-
tune which was perhaps not alto
gether a misfortune after all. But she
was supplied with heart and soul and
tenderness n understanding so gen
erously that when these spoke through
her rich contralto voice every crea-
ture within hearing stopped to get
that message of good will and hope.
And so. on her side of the wall. she
waited. mandolin in hand, playing oc-
~casionally. so hat what she was about
to do would seem. when it happened,
accident and not intent. All the morn
ing she had heard from the other side
preparations that threatened par
ture. The father had gone out at s.
as usual. after more bitter words. If
he followed his usual program he
would be back at II. But would be
come back this time?
Finally Kathleen heard the front
door slam behind him. heard him
walk heavily through the hall and In
to the kitchen, heard the baby salute
him with the usual wall for attention:
Then. standing SO close to the wall
that her lips almost touched it, she
played a few soft chords and began TO
sing to the man on h other side.
What she sang would doubtless not
stand among the songs OF today. for
it was a favorite not of her own girl
hood but of her mothers:
Empty is the cradle, now the babyS
gone, y
Empty is the cradle everymore.
She finished the last verse and stop
ped to listen. The ugly sounds that
had commenced with the mans en-
trance had ceased. There was ahso-
lutte silence for what seemed several
minutes. Then the man cleared his
throat s~trenuously several times and
made an unsuccessful effort to speak.
And Kathleen, very softly so as not to
break the spell. struck again a few
tender chords and sang to the woman
the old Scotch ballad, Bonnie. Sweet
Bessie, the Maid O. Dundee" And
when she reached the last verse,
which. as every one knows. tells of
the death Of .Bessiess daddy and Of
her loneliness and despair. the singer
threw heart and som and a prayer in
to the words. ~
After the soft final chords she lis
tened again breathlessly. Had she
shown to the mar that empty cradle,
to the woman the pathos Of the mans.
empty place? Trembling. she waited
through a long. long silence. Then
"Why, Mary, Mary" she heard the