The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-02-12

anu now the people must nave mar.
yelled to see the lovely blooming thing
on the dark altar. first budding, then,
blossOming. then bearing nuts. And
what was the roc chosen for! He hur-
ried on to the next verse:
80. And Moses brought out all the
rods from before the Lord unto all the
children Of Israel: and they looked. and
took every man his rod.
40. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Bring AarOn's rod again before the tes-
timony to be kept for a token against
the rebels: and thou shalt quite take
away their ~murmurings from me, that
they die not"
ooh, Aunt BoyntOn," cried the boy,
II love my name after I've heard about
the almond rod! Aren't you proud that
it's uncle's name that was written on
the one that blossomed?" '
He turned swiftly to find that his
aunt's knitting had slipped on the
floor: her nerveless hands dropped by
her side as If there were no life in
them, and her head had fallen against
Juc uuSh VI uCI Cudll. Lie DOy was
paralyzed with fear at the sight Of her
closed eyes and the deathly pallor of
her face. He had never seen her like
this before, and Ivory was away. He
flew for a bottle of spirit, always kept
in the kitchen cupboard for emergen-
cies. and throwing wood on the fire in
passing. he swung the crane SO that
the tea kettle was over the flame. He
knew only the humble remedies that
he had seen used here or there in ILL.,
ness and tried them timidly. praying
every moment that he might hear
in the embers and. taking off Mrs.
B%oyntOn's shoes. put it under her cold
feet. He chafed her hands and gently
poured a spoonful Of brandy between
her pale lips. Then, Sprinkling cam
phOr on a handkerchief, he held it to
her nostrils, and to mis- joy she stirred
in her chair: before many minutes her
lids futtered. her lips moved. and she
put her hand to her heart.
Are you better. aunt dear?" Rod
asked in a very w~avering and fearful
voice.
She did not answer; she only opened
her Eyes and looked at him. At length
she whispered family. II want Ivory;
I want my SON."
He's out, aunt dear. Shall l help
you to bed the way Ivory does? If
you'll let me. then I'll run to the bridge
Gross lots like lightning and bring him
back"
She assented and. leaning heavily on
his slender shoulder, walked feebly
into her bedroom of the living room.
Rod was Al gentle as a mother, and he
was familiar with all the little Offices
that could be Of any comfort-the
soapstOne warmed again for her feet.
the bringing Of her n%ightgown from
the closet and when she was in bed
another spoonful Of brandy in hot
milk; then the camphor by her side, an
extra homespun blanket over her and
the door left open so that she could see
the open fire that he made into a
cheerful huddle. contrived so that 1t
would not snap and throw out danger
GUS sparks in his absence.
All the while he was doing this
Mrs. Boynton lay quietly in the bed
talking to herself f1tfully in the faint
murmuring tone that was habitual to
her. He could distinguish scarcely
anything, only enough to guess that
her mind was still on the Bible story
that he was reading to her when she
tainted. "The rod Of Aaron was
say, and a moment later, Bring IA.
ron's rod again before the testimony"
Was it his uncle's name that had so
affected her? wondered the boy, al
most sick with remorse, although he
had tried his best to evade her CON-
would Ivory, his hero, his pattern and
example. say? 1t had always been
Rods pride to carry his little share Of
every burden that fell to Ivory, to be
faithful and helpful in every task Civ
EN- to him. He could walk through
fire without %finching. he thought. if
Ivory told him to. and he only prayed
that he might not be held responsible
for this new calamity.
81 want IvOry!' came in a feeble
voice from the bedroom.
docs your side ache worse?" Rod
asked. tiptoeing to the door.
"NO. an quite free from pain"
"Would you be afraid to stay alone
just for awhile If l lock both doors
and III to find Ivory and bring him
back?"
mo. I will Sleep she whispered.
closing her eyes. Bring him quickly
before l forget what l want to say to
him."
Rod sped down the lane and over
the fields to the brick store where
Ivory usually bought his groceries.
His cousin was not there. but one of
the men came out and offered to take
his horse and drive ove the bridge to
see If he were at one Of the neighbors'
on that side of the river. Not a word
did Rod breathe Of his aunt's illness:
no Simnlv said that she was lonesome