The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1921-01-28

fingers reassuringly upon her hand.
| answered never word. i
couldn't" she faltered on. my breast
was hollow; empty as gray sky.
| The lady can answer that heard
the voice of the-other man sneer.
| There was cry, and your father
sprang at him. The maids screamed.
l uncovered my eyes. expecting to look
upon death. But the-other man leaped
through the window and was gone.
Your father put the maids out of
the room and stood over me. dared
not look up. His face-it was ter
rible! Once he raised his great arm
to strike. I've prayed thousand
times he had-it would have saved me
many DEATH
| "You-! But I'll not speak the
name that belongs to you His voice
was hard; hoarse; awful And l be-
lieved you'll There's the window-still
open! Go, II you want him! I'm
through with you'll!
HE strobe out at the door and
slammed 1t after him. have never
seen him since" The Iron Gray
Woman shuddered; turned her face
toward the strong rocks above the
trees. II remember l took one step
after him. 1 knew nothing more till
| some time late in the night, when l
walked with your crying and found N.Y.
self lying face down upon the floor.
My heart grew hard as l quieted you
He probably thought to find me next
morning all tears and repentance-for
sin of which l was as innocent as
the babe at my breast l would show
him that my blood was proud as his.
Wrapping yon in your cradle clothes.
I muffied a cloak about me and stole
from the house; stole down to the riv-
er. There l loosed . skiff, whose. I
never knew. lay down In the stern and
| set 1t adrift. There was not star.
| Only the moon looked down out of the
dull sky, pale and sickly and trimmed
with red; the gray sky my bosom; the
| sickly moon my heart. rose and tried
| to row. but a faintness came over me
and I lay down again in the skiff.
THE next 1 knew l was on rude
bed in a houseboat miles down the
river, with a kindly family Of pearl
fishers. They told me had been sick
for long time. When grew strong,
I sold my jewelry, all but my wedding
ring--that 1 saved for your sake
bought this houseboat, and became q
pearl fisher. You know the rest"
The IRON Gray Woman fell silent;
rocked softly back and forth time or
two; allowed the chair to settle still.
The man reached an arm around her
shoulders and drew her head over
upon his breast. The little act of ten
derness seemed to touch her deeply.
For long time the tears flowed on
while the young man knelt and mar
veled.
"Mother," he said very gently at last,
stroking her hair. 1--WE must go back
| to him."
He felt her quiyer at the word. She
sat for long time staring down at
| the floor.
| "For your sake-we must" she an
| swered at length. But not until you
are twenty-one, or-we find the pearl
the pearl p
But l am twenty-one in June-this
| June--the TWENTIETH and this is the
thirteenth" The man was trembling
with an eagerness he could not con-
ceal 1.-THE time is so near-his name
my fathers name!"
He searched her wet eyes for the
| answer. In all his life, 1t was the first
time the curtain that hid his past had
ever raised. 1t must have been the
| fever that made her speak now. 1t
| was no light matter to unlock that
| door; to probe a wound of twenty
| years. She trembled up from her
| chair, her eyes wide and wild.
| "Your father" The young man,
| too, had risen She clutched his arm.
"Your father-p
The words seemed to choke her.
| There came torrent of coughing
| and the man gently eased her back
into the chair.
As he stopped over her, anxious to
do something to alleviate her suffer-
ing. vet not knowing what, she raised
her face in a gasp for breath, and he
saw blood upon her lips. He snatcbed
| another cup of water and knelt beside
her, but for long time she bumped
forward, her shoulders cupped in and
her arms locked as If trying to hold
back the cough, until she seemed ac-
tually to conquer it by sheer force of
will. Finally she CROPPED with one
hand for the cup; supped the cool wa
ter, straightened, and lay back In her
chair. There was no more blood on
her lips, and the man said nothing OF
the tiny fieck he had seen there.
Mother, they're getting worse,
these spells. Let me bring the doctor
down from the village"