Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1913-02-15


locked you up again
mo, sir, she amt" replied Ryan
.Lavfny, she's sort of din'rent lately.
She amt nigh 500 down on q fell
Ter as she used to be- can get out
once in a while by myself nowadays,
when she wants to write a letter or
somethin' Writes one about every
once in a week. don't know who
they're to, nuther. She's talkin' Of
goin' up to Sandwich pretty soon"
She is? Alone?" :
$50 she says"
ITO leave you here2 whyi well. I'm
surprised
..Godfreys mighty so be L But she
says she b'lieves she needs q change
and there's church conference UP
there, you know. and she figgers that
she amt been to conference she don't
know when / s'pose you'll go. won't
you. Mr.. Ellery ?"
Probably"
Lavinia got herself elected dele
gate and went. in company with Cap
| tain Elkanah. Mrs. Mayo, and others.
to the conference. She was faithful
attendant at-the meetings and seemed
to be having a very good time. She
| introduced the minister to one Caleb
she said she had known ever since
she was a girl.
"Mr. Pratt's a cousin OF Thankful
Payne over to home" volunteered La
| vinia- You know Thankful, Mr.. FL
| lery."
Lavfnia conf1ded to her pastor that
| Mr.. Pratt made the best shoes in Os-
| table county. He could fit any kind Of
feet. she declared, and the minister
ought to try him sometime. She added
that he had money in the bank
Spring once more: then summer.
And now people were again speaking
of Captain Nat Hammond. His ship
was overdue, long overdue. Even in
| those days, when there were no cables
and the telegraph was still something
of a novelty, word of his arrival should
have reached Trumet months before
| this But it had not come, and did not
Before the summer was over, the wise
heads of the retired shippers were
shaking obviously. Something had
| happened to the Sea Mist
AS the weeks and months went by
without news of the missing vessel,
this belief became almost a certainty.
AT the Come-Outer chapel, where Eze-
kiel Bassett now presided, prayers
were offered for the son of their for
mer leader.
| One afternoon Keziah came into FL
lery's study, where he was laboring
with his next Sunday sermon, and sat
down in the rocking-chair. She had
been out and still wore her bonnet and
shawl.
john she said, "I ask your par
don for disturbin' you 1 wanted to
ask If you knew Mrs Prince was
sick?"
mo. Is she? I'm awfuIly sorry.
Nothing serious, hopper"
No, l guess not. Only she's got a
cold and is kind of under the weather.
thought p'r'aps you'd like to run up
and see her. She thinks the world
and all of you, cause you was SO good
| when she was distressed about her
son. Poor old thing! she's had a
hard time of it. 1 just heard that she
was ailin' from Didama Rogers. Di-
DANA said she was all but dyin', SO
knew she prob1y had a little cold. or
somethin'. If she was really very bad,
| Di would have had her buried by this
time, SOS to be sure her news was
ahead of anybody else's. / amt been
| up there, but 1 met her t'other norm
in"
| D1Qama Z!
mo; Mrs Prince. Shed come down
| to see Grace.
oh"
Yes. The old 1ady's been awful
kind and sympathizin' since-since
this new trouble. 1t reminds her OF
the loss of her own boy, presume
likely, and so she feels for Grace
John, what do they say around town
ahollt-ahOJ1t him ?''
Captain Hammond? Why, IL you
mean that they've all given up hope
should hardly say that. Captain
Mayo and Captain Daniels were speak
ing of it In my hearing the other day
and they agreed that there was still
chance"
"A pretty slim one. though. they
calIated, didn't they?"
well, they were-were doubtful, OF
course There was the possibility that
he had been wrecked somewhere and
hadn't been picked up They cited
several such cases. The South Pa
cifc is full of islands where vessels
seldom touch, and he and his crew
may be on one of these"
John" she answered, with a sigh
sometimes 1 think you'd better gel
another housekeeper.
What? Are you going to leave
me? You?"
"Oh, 'twouldn't be because 1 wanted
to- But it seems almost as II there
was a kind of fate hangin' over me