The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1917-07-20
Afraid
Continued from page s

window into the dark. 1t WAS Jacob
Ernestine, brother to the woman who
had brought up Allen and had been
kind to him when nobody else in the
world was kind. For years Sarah
Ernestine had been "West and with
that awful inarticulacy Of her class,
mere distance had become an impas-
sable gulf and the silence had taken
her. Allen had not even known that
she meant to return. And now, Jacob
told him, she was here, at his own home
back in the hills-Sarah and a child,
a little stray boy, whom she had
found and befriended as she had once
befriended Allen. And she was dying.
"She didn't get your letter, | guess, "
the old man said, =" bout gettin mar
ried. She come today, so sick she
couldn't hold her head up. | see she
didn't know nothin' bout your doin's.
] didn't let her know. | just drove in,
like split, to tell you, when the doctor
went He says she can't-she won't
till mornin'. l thought" he
apologized wistfully, eyed want to
know anyways, so JUS drove in"
"That was all right" Allen said.
"You done right, Jacob.
HtU ne SbOOu BULL lOI a
looking down at the bright figures on
the carpet. Jacob lived twelve miles
back in the hills
How'd you comet" Allen asked him
briefly.
owe got the new cutter" the old
man answered, with touch OF eager
pride. "Ill drive ye"
Then some one in the parlor caught
sight of the bridegroom and they all
called to him and came where he was,
then besieging him with good-natured,
trivial talk. The old man waited,
looking out the window into the
dark. He had known them all since
they were children, and their merry
making did not impress him as wholly
real Neither, for that matter, did
Aliens wedding. Besides, his own
sister was dying-somehow putting AN
end to the time when he and she had
been at home together That was all
he had thought of during his drive to
town, and hardly at all of Allen and
his wedding, He waited patiently now
while Allen got the wedding guests
back to the parlor, and then slipped
away from them and came through the
dining room to the stair door.
"Stay there a minute" Allen babe
him shortly, and went back to the upper
floor and to Chris door again.
1t was her mother who answered his
summons this time, and Aliens manner
and face checked her words. Before he
had done telling her what had hap
pened, Chris herself was on the TIRES
hold, already in sober brown, as one
who has put aside rainbows and en-
tered on life. She had little brown
hat in one hand, and for the other hand
he groped out and held it while he told
her, as well as he could.
IL guess I've got to go, Chrissie,
he ended miserably. 49,,
She met his eyes, her own soft witt
sympathy for the plight OF the Other
woman.
"Well, yes" she said quietly, 20
course we've got to 60" :, :,
"You!". he cried. "You couldn''
90, dear. Twelve miles out in Gale
donia, cold as it is tonight. You =
In spite of her sympathy, she laughed
at him then. go,
ibid you honestly think l wouldn't
she asked, in kind Of wonder.
"Wen, Pm sure -" began he
mother. But the two bridesmaid
manifestly heard the word again, TO
thew talked with her both at once.
1Not with Jacob, though" Chm
was saying, decisively "You he'll
father and the boys get out our cutter
Allen"
Allen strobe past the mother an