Manchester Democrat., 1919-03-19

i or her own. / toll her was gOin' t0
take 1t back In day er two but after
It had been in the house three days ye
couldn't "a pulled 1t away from hel
with a windlass.
1--WE brought him up an he was al.
wuss a good boy. We called him
Enoch-Enoch Rone-did We ever hear
the namer
":No.'
II didn't think twas likely but I'm
alwuss hopin'.
"Early that fall Kate got better an
left the poOrhouse afoot. Went away
omewheres-nobody knew where.
Some said she'd crossed the Lake an
gone away over into York state, some
said she'd drowned herself. By'm by
we heard that she'd gone way over
into st. Lawrence county where Silas
Wright lives an where young Grim
shaw had settled down after he got
married.
"Wal, bout five year ago The squire
buried his second wife-there It's over
! in there back o. Kate's with the little
speckled angel on 1t. Nobody had seen
the squire outside O. his house for
years until the funeral-he was Grip
pied so with rheumatic. After that he
lived all lone in the big house with Oh
Tom Linney an his wife, who've
worked there for bout forty year,
guess.
oval, Sir, fust we knew Kate was
there in the house livin' with her IA
ther. We wouldn't "a knowed 1t, then,
II It hadn't been that Tom .Linney
come over one day an said he guessed
the OIL squire wanted to see me-no,
sir, we wouldn't-fer the squire amt
sociable an the neighbors never dark
en- his door. She must "a come in the
night, jest as she went-nobody see
her 60 an nobody see her come. an
that's fact. Wal, one day las fall
after the leaves was Off an they could
see corner O. my house through the
bushes, Tom was walkin' the Of man
round the room. All to once he
stopped an p'inted at my house
through the winder an KEEP p'intin'.
Tom come over an said he callated
the squire wanted to see me. So I
went there. Kate met me at the doom
Gosh! How old an kind o. broke down
she lookedl But knew her the min
ute I set my eyes on her-uh huh-an'
she knew me-yis, sir r-she smiled an
tears come to her eyes an she patted
my hand like she wanted to tell me
that she hadn't forgot, but she never
said a word-not q word. The Of
squire had the palsy. so t he couldn't
use his hands an his throat was para.
lyxed-couldn't speak nor nothin,,
Where do ye suppose he was when I
found him1'
''In bed7" I asked.
"No, sir-no. street He was In hell
that's where he was-reglar Of fash
toned. down-east hell, burnin' with IRE
an brimstun. that he'd had the agency
for an had recommended to every sim
ner in the neighborhood. He was set.
tin In his room. God g Isr'ell You
orto "a seen the motions he made With
his hands an the way he tried to
speak when I went In there, but all I
could hear was Jest long yell an a
kind Of rattle in his throat. Heavens
an airthl how desperit he tried to
spit out the thing that was gnawin'
his vitals. Ag'in an ag'ln he'd try to
tell me. Lord God! how he did work."
All to once 1t come acrost me what
he wanted-quick as We could say scat.
He wanted to have Kate's headstun
took down an put away-that's what
he wanted. The stun was kind o. lay
in on his stummick an painin' OF him
day an night. He couldn't stan 1t.
He knew that he was goin' to die purity
soon an that Kate would come here
an see 1t an that everybody would
see her standin' here by her own grave,
an it worried him. It was kind o like
q fire In his belly.
II guess, too, he couldn't bear the
idee of layin' down fer his las sleep
beside that hell hole he'd dug fer Kate
mo, sirl
"Wal, We know, mister. jes' shook
my head an never let on that knew
what he meant an let him wiggle an
twist like worm on hot griddle, an
beller like q cut bull til he fell back in
q swoon.
"Damn himi 1t don't give him no
rest. He tries to tell everybody he
sees-that's what they say. He bel
lers day an night an if you 60 down
there he'll beller to you an you'll know
what it's about, but the others don't.
''You an me are the only ones that
knows the secret, guess. Some day.
fore he dies, I'm goin' to take up that
headstun an hide 1t, but hen never
know. it's done-no, sir-nOt til he
gifts to the judgment seat, anyway"
The old man rose and Strengthened
himself and blew out his breath and
brushed his hands upon his trousers
by way Of stepping down into this
world again out Of the close and dusty
loft of his memory. But called him
back.
"What has become Of Enochf" !
asked.
"Wal, sir, Enoch started off West
bout three year ago an We amt heard
a word from him since that day-nary
a word, mister. suppose we will some
time. He grew into a good man, but
there was a kind of queer streak In
the blood, as ye might say, on both
sides kind o.. We've wrote letters out
to Wisconsin, where he was pintin'