Omaha daily bee., 1921-08-21

put on the paper-perhaps theS
reached Edna's heart just the same
The long years of her waiting had
10. been easy for Edna. Her father
lad never ceased his reviling OF Lon
and ugly comments upon her foolish
ness. AS time went on his anger be-
came constant and harassing. Al
first Edna, living in her own world
OF happy dreams, heard him md'iteir'
emily. She spent her spare hours II
preparing against her bridal days thc
dainty things no real girl will give
up. She pieced quilts, sewed carpet
rags, she saved feathers for her pill.
lows and bed: with her mothers aid
she, accumulated bed and table linen
Gradually her trunk and box were
TILED to overfowing.
After the third year her father In
sisted that he woui,l have no more
OF this nonsense. Here's Lem Ran.
dali ready TO marry ye 1t the word
He's got 500 acres as good land a:
there is in the state Of Iowa.. and /
give him another quartz: when you
are married. You take him and gil
into home OF your, own, tell you
Lem thinks lot more about tha,
quarter section OF land than he does
about me-" Edna retorted "You can
give him the land il you want to
but Pm not prize package to &c
with it."
\, He swore at her. why amt you
sensible like Milly and Grace? Look
at Mily. Ed Beeson has just bought
new farm-that makes him hull
section-nigh all clear. He'll be a
rich man before many years"
"Ycs. And look at Millyl What
good does his land do her? He won,
even buy her a washing machine
She's an old woman at 49," Edna re-
sponded with spirit.
"And what do you think you'll be-
shaving for man without cent?!
Lon will never be as mean TO NE
as Ed is to sister. He will never let
me milk 10 cows" ...-
In the strength of her sure love
and hope it had been easy to defend
her lover and herself. Her fathers
most savage attacks, the sneers OF
her sisters, the questioning or pity
ing glances Of her girl friends, all
passed her by. But as the years
slipped away it was only the, deep
strong current OF her love and the
steadfastness Of heh nature that held
Edna up under the hardness OF her
life.
Goodrich, when he found that
Edna would not consider Randall,
nor accept the attentions of other
men tentatively offered, declared;
''Well, if you think I am going to
keep on supporting you in idleness
until Lon Baxter can make enough,
to feed two mouths ye're mistaken.
Hatty can go and you can do her
work." -..
"But, pa" Mrs. Goodrich pleaded
anxiously, 1t takes all three OF US to
feed and clean after four men, and
take care O the milk, and the chick
ems, and the garden, to say nothin'
bout feedin' pigs and calves. We all
O us-Edna does morn her share
by rights now--we all O US work
lard the better part O IA hours a
cav"
Yet, though "Ma Goodrich" by
ker weight and her rheumatism, and
ker long years of service, was en-
titled to relief rather than new bur-
.de:,s. her husband carried out his
ythreat. Hetty, who had helped
since Edna was a mere child, was
dismissed. Mother and daughter
were compelled to the drudgery that
eats the vitality out of the most ro-
bust body and the most hopeful soul,
Lon had no suspicion of what life
had come to be to the overburdened
and much harried girl. She had been
pretty and popular, had sung in the
choir of the Baptist church, and been
counted in for all merry makings.
He thought Of her still as the village
heile, before whom he had trembled
He was still wondering how she had
ever come to favor the big, awkward
lout he felt himself to be. -,
In her own heart of late Edna had
found herself fearing that bon had
changed-that he no longer wanted
her. II was in despair that she had
determined not to answer his last
hurried note. She would put him to
this test: il he did not speak she
would admit that it had all been a
blunder and try to gather up her lite
and make something OF what was
left, after she had torn her one love
out of her heart. Day after day
passed with no letter. II was the
feverish. hurrying time Of harvest
and she had few spare moments-nor
had Lon. she told herself. Yet. with
slowly dying faith, she waited and
feared and tried to hope,
One night her father. with con-
temptuous snort, tossed her a letter
he had brought from town. Pears
like your man amt in no hurry about
writin' these days. he observed
acidly.
She made no answer. She waited
until she was in her own room, a,
the end of a scoring days work
Her lips were white as she slipped
the sheet from the envelope and read
the words that had corae from Ions
Heart.
She read the letter over again with
quickly responding spirit. But the
sparkle and glow OF loves FIRST hap.
py hours had been sorely dimmed
BY toll and disappointment.
Once more, with new season, the
resurrecting, force of spring pulsed