Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-12-22

love for her friends. It bore
her through; it3made her arm steady
and tireless to batht them. What ex-
haus ed her was the sight of Bea and
comfortably flushed after taking food,
begging for the healing Of sleep at
night. f-
erful legs We're flabby. Spots OF q
~vEciously delicate pink came out on
his chest and back. His cheeks AMI
He looked frightened. His atonsye
was brown and revolving. His conn.,
dent voice dwfndled to a bewtldered
murmur, ceasele5 and racking.
Bea had stayed on her feet too long
at the beginning. THO moment Ken
tnicott had ordered her to bed che had
begun to collpase. One early eve
ming she Startled them by screaming,
in an intense abdominal pain, n
within hall an hour she RAJ in de-
lirium. Till dawn Carol was with. her,
the blackness of half-delirious pain
was 50 pitiful to Carol as. the Way
in which Miles silently peered into
the room from the top OF the narrow
stairs. Carol slept three hours next
morning, and a back. Bea was al
together delirious but. she mutteredS
nothing save. "Olaf-ve have such a
SOOu -l.. r. o.. HNI-|!"s .....r.
At ten. while Carol was preparing
an ice-bag in the Kitchen, Mites an
swered g. knock. AT the front door
| she saw Vida Sherwin, Maud Dyer,
, and Mrs. zitterel, wife Of h Baptist
pastor. They were carrying grapes,
and women's magazines, magazines
with high-colored pictures and opti-
mistic fiction.
I'VE just heard your wife was sick.
We've come to see II there isn't some-
thing we can do chirruped Vida.
Miles looked steadily at the three
women, You're too late. You can't
do hothing now. .Bea's always kind
of hoped that o folks would como
see her. She wanted to have q
chance and be friends. She used to
sit waiting for somebody to knock.
I've seen her sitting here, waiting.
Now Oh, you amt worth God
All day Carol watched .Otaf's
strength oozing. He was emaciated.
His ribs were grim clear lines. his
skin was calmmy, his pulse was
feeble but terrifying rapid. It beat-
beat-beat in a drum-roll OF death
Late that afternoon he sobbed, and
died. eg~
Bea did not know it. She was de-
lirious. Next morning, when she
went she did not know that Olaf
would no longer swing his lath. sword.
on the doorstep, no longer rule his
subjects of the cattle-yard; that
.Miles's son would not go East to col
lege.
Miles. Carol, kennicott we're silent.
They washed the bodies together,
their eyes yelled. ~
Go home now and sleep. You're
pretty tired. ] can't ever pay you
back for what you dohe," Miles whe-
pered to Carol.
''Yes. But~I'll be back here tomor-
row. Go with you to the funeral"
she said laboriously. E1
When the time for the - funeral
came, Carol was In bed, collapsed.
go. They had not told her that word
of Miles's rebuff to Vida, had spread
through town, a. cyclonic fury.
1t was only by chance that, leaning
on her elbow in bed. She glanced
through the window and saw the
funeral Of Bea and Olaf. There was
no. music, no carriages. There was
only Miles Bjornstaln, in his black
we%dding-suit, walking quite alone,
head down behind the shabby 'hearse
that bore the bodies Of his wife ard
baby. &"#7
An hour after, Hugh came into her
room crying, and when she said as
cheerily as she could. What. is it,
dear?" he besought, Mummy, / want
to go play with Olaf" -"
That afternoon Juanita Haydock
dropped in to brighten Carol She
said, Too bad about this Bea that
was your hired girl. But L don't
waste any sympathy on that man Of
hers. Everybody says he drank too
much. n treated his family awful,
and that's how they got sick"
Continued Tomorrow Evening.