The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-04-23

and you. the only n to whom ! can
tell it, are close at hand!!"
Ivory looked at his mother and saw
that the veil that had separated them
mentally seemed to have vanished In
the night that had passed. Often and
often it had blown away. as 1t were.
for the fraction of a moment and then
blown back again. Now her eyes met
his with an altogether new clearness
that startled him. while her breath
came with ease and she seemed strong
er than for many days.
"You remember the winter l was
here ut the farm alone when YOU were
at the academy?
eyes. 1t was her that l came home
and found you SO terribly Ill. DO you
think we need go back to that old time
now, mother dear!"
Eyes. | must, | must! One morning
received a strange letter, bearing no
signature. In which the writer said that
If | wished to see my husband l had
only to go to a certain address in
Brentville, N. II. The letter went on
to say that Mr.. Aaron BoyntOn was Ill
and lOnged for nothing so much as to
speak with me, but there were reasons
why he did not wish to return to Edge
wood. Would | come to him without
delayT
Ivory now sat straight in his chair
| and listened keenly, feeling that this
was to he no vague,u uncertain and mis-
1on1{~, Nup h,vf cnYnnfhinu fru1n
and tangible.
"The letter excited ne greatly after
your fathers long absence and silence.
l knew it could mean nothing but sOr-
row; but. although l was half i'll at
the time, my plain duty was to go, so
1 thought to go without making any
explanation in the village"
All this was new to Ivory, and he
hung upon his mothers words, dread
ing yet hoping for the light that they
might shed upon the past.
81 arrived at Brentville quite ex.
hausted with the journey and weighed
down by anxiety and dread. l found
the house mentioned in the letter at 7
O'Clock in the evening and knocked at
the door. A common, hard featured
woman answered the knock and, seem
ing to expect me, ushered mi in. l DO
not remember the room; l remember
only q child leaning patiently against
the window sill looking out into the
dark and that the place was bare and
cherries.
"I came to call upon Mr.. Aaron
Boynton,' l said, with my heart sink
ing lower and lower as l spoke. The
Oma opened a door into the next
room, and when l walked in. instead
of seeing your father, l confronted a
haggard, death stricken young woman
sitting up in bed, her great eyes bright
with pain, her lips as white as her
hollow cheeks and her long black hair
streaming over the pillow. The very
sight Of her struck a knell to the little
hope | had of soothing your fathers
sick bed and fOrgiving him If he had
done me any wrong.
"'Well, you came, as l thought you
would said the girl. looking me Over
from head to foot in a way that some
how made me burn with shame. Now,
sit down in that chair and hear what
I've got to say while I've got the
strength to say it. haven't the time
nor the desire to put a gloss on it.
Aaron Boynton isn't here. as you plain
ly see, but that's not my fault. for he
belongs here Is much as anywhere,
though he wouldn't have much inter-
est in a dying woman. II you have
suffered On account Of him so have l,
and you haven't had this pain boring
into you and eating your life away for
months, as l have
II pitied her, she seemed so dis
traught, but l vas in ter -Or of her all
the same and urged her to tell her
story calmly and l would do my best
to hear it in the anne way
"'Calm,' she exclaimed. with this
agony tearing me to pieces! Well, to
make beginning and end in one, Aaron
BoyntOn was my husband for three
years
II caught hold Of the chair to keep
myself from falling and cried, 4 do not
believe it, Believe it or not she an
swered scornfully. it makes no differ
ence to me, but l can give you twenty
proofs in as many seconds. We met
at a Cochrane meeting, and he chose
me from all the others as his true wife.
For two years We Travelled together,
but long before they came to an end
there was no happiness for either Of
us. He had a conscience-not much Of
a one, but just enough to keep him
miserable. At last l felt he was not
believing the doctrines he preached,
and l caught him trying to get news
of you and your boy just because you
were out Of reach. and neglecting my
boy and me, who had given up every
thing to wander with him and live on
whatever the brethren and sisters
chose to give u.s.
$50 there was a child, a boy! l
gasped. 'Did-did he live?' He's in
the next roOm,' she answered, and it's
him l brought you here for. Aaron
BoyntOn has served us both the same.
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