Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-12-25

off three branches of precious neach
blossoms and carried them I'D the slope.
She stuck them upright In the lumpy
soil over Jase's head and stood there
long while with tear streaked face.
staring down at the grave and at the
nodding pink blossoms.
Billy Louise rode singing down the
rocky trail through the deep, narrow
gorge to where the hawthorn and choke
cherries hid the opening to the cove.
From there to the pink drift of peach
bloom against the dull brown of the
bluff Blue galloped angrily, leaving
deep, black prints in the soft green of
the meadow. So they came headlong
upon Marthy, just as she was knocking
the yellow clay of the grave from her
irrigating shovel against the pole fence
of her pigpen.
"why, Marthy!" Once before In her
life Billy Louise had seen Marthy's chin
quivering like that and big, slow tears
sliding down the network OF lines on
| Marthy's leathery cheeks. With a
painful slump her spirits went heavy
with her sympathy. "Marthyl"
| She knew without a word of expla-
nation just what had happened From
Marthy's bent shoulders she knew and
! from her tear stained face and from
the yellow soil clinging still to the
shovel in her hand. The wide eyes OF
Billy Louise sent seeking glances up
the slope where the soil was yellow
went to the long, raw ridge under the
wall, with the peach blossoms standing
pitifully awry upon the western end
Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Mar
thy! When was it?''
"In the night, some time, 1 guess
Marthy's voice had harsh huskiness
HE was-gone- 1 woke up. We'll
he's better off than 1 be. l dunno
what woulda become of him if I'd went
first" There, at last. was a note Of
tenderness, stifled though it was an6
fieeting. "Git down, Billy Louise, and
come in. I been kinda lookin' for yut
to come ever sence the weather opened
up. How's your maw|
what are you going to do now, Mar.
thy" Billy Louise was perfectly capa
BILE of opening conversational door
even when it had been closed decisively
in her face. you can't get on here
alone, you know. Did you send for that
nephew? If you haven't you must hire
somebody till"
Hes comm. That letter you sent
over last month was from him. / dunno
when he'll git here; he's liable to come
most any time. 1 amt going to hire
nobody. Charlie Fox, his name is.
hope he turns out good worker. I've
never had chance to git ahead any
but if Charlie II jest take holt I'll meb-
| by git some comfort Outa life yit."
He ought to, I'm sure. And every
one thinks you've done awfully well
Marthy. What can do now? Wash
the dishes and straighten things up,
guess"
you needn't 90 nothin' you amt q
mind to do, Billy Louise. / don't want
you to think you got to slop around
washin' my dirty dishes. I'm goin' on
down into the medder and work on q
ditch I'm putin in. You jest do what
you've mind to-" She picked up the
shovel and went off down the jungly
path, herself the ugliest object in the
cove, where she had created so much
beauty.
Billy Louise sat down on the rock
where Marthy had rested after digging
the grave and, with her chin in her two
cupped palms, stared out across the
river at the heaped bluffs and down at
the pink and white patch of fruit trees