Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-30


Michel found himself the
richest farmer in his part
Of the country. He had his own
land. and that of Tienette. his wife.
He had the share Of his twin brother
Sidore and the portion of his two
nephews who had been killed in the
war. And added to these were the
pieces which he had bought during
his long lifetime. He said to his wife !:
What will you do with all this
property when I am dead?'
He kept on repeating this question.
But he wasn't in earnest. He asked
it only to conceal his malice. for he
had no idea of dying hrst. He had
never doubted that he would bury his
wife. some day OF other. II you want
ed to irritate him you had only to
say:
well. She is never sick. She will live
to be q hundred"
Then he looked her over thoroughly
to discover some signs Of weakness.
some promise Of serious Illness. He
cold and rheumatism. You ask me.
perhaps. for whom he was zmassing
all this property-he who was already
sixty years old and had neither sons
nor daughters, neither nephews nor
nieces For whom? For himself
Of regarding 1t, of walking over it
The land-it gets its grip on you. But
this old mans love Of the land was
| too passionate. The older he grew
| the more fiercely jealous he was Of his
| possessions.
| YOU could see that when he had his
first stroke. Trienette looked aft
er him and took the greatest trouble
to make him comfortable. But he. Al.
ways peevish and snarling. kept dou
, bling her burdens. do this! DOM
do that" He never left her a mo-
ment's peace. When she had almost
broken her back nursing him In the
daytime ne did everything he could
to prevent her sleeping at, nixht
When he saw her close her eyes he
aroused her to ask her some trivia
question.
| Pull up the covers. I'm cold. Take
on the spread, I'm too warm. Rear
range my pillows. my back is sore. Dc
you want me to be carried OF the
more quickly that you leave the door
open?"
! Sometimes he shouted:
You are dying to see me 60 out
| feet hrst, 30 that you will have every
thing" -,
When she took down q piece OF
f! kftchenware to scour 1t or looked in
the closet for linen, he said:
| Don't take that down. Don't touch
that. It's mine. I'm not dead
enough yet for you to rife the house =
| She made no reply. She couldn't
/ And the old man remained obsessed
| with his IDEA:
II may die Of this stroke and she
will have all my property"
He thought only Of that. You could
| read 1t in his little narrow eyes. lie
could have accommodated himself 10
| the thought Of no longer owning the
! land. since even the most avaricious
person knows that ne can't carry the
fields with him into the next world
Hut to see some one there beside him
who was going to replace him when
] acquire all his rights-that was too
much for him. And tho more that
| thought possessed him the angrier he
| grew. Certainly he had never loved
any one in all his life. But he had
never detested any one as much.as he
detested Tienette when he realized
! that he might die and that she would
| be his sole inheritor
People amused themselves at his
expense, as was natural. More item
| one in the village had a grudga
| against him. for he had always been
| an oppressor Of the poor. They took
pleasure in batting him. -,
| You don't need to worry .l'ere
Michel II YOU st she should die thing:
has good iudsment and courage and
health. IF she Cart do evEfythinS,