Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1925-04-17

~ INSIDE the wind howled and
the rain whittered against the
~ panes and inside the cat and
the kettle sang to the fire,
whose rudy glow, after picking out
every line and wrinkle in Granny's
handsome old face, passed on to run
in cloudy, radiant ripples up and down
the body of the old grandfather's clock,
ticking so solemnly away In the coy.
corner by the stairs. 1t was a fine
old clock, brass dialed, broad-waisted,
lofty headed, and Granny loved 1t al
most as much as she did the well-kept
fowling-piece, which with Its powder
horn hung on the opposite side to the
winking, blinking warming pan. Every
thing in Granny's house bllnked, from
the brass candlesticks standing on
each side of the china "Castle-in-
Spain" on the mantleshelf to the little
knob on the parlor door, yet nothing
there was brighter or held more fire
than did the black eyes now SO mus
ingly fixed upon the train Of sparks
leaping from the beech-log at the back
of the fire and away up the chimney
like a crowd of fiery gnats. She had
been reading the story Of the Great
Betrayal, and now, as always, 1t had
moved her to tears; indeed, one still
lay gllstening brightly on the gnarled
old hands, lying folded so lightly over
the Book, which. through all her hard
life, had meant SO much to her.
"And for so many miserable pieces
of silver he was willing to sell that
Precious Life" murmured she. "Ah,
dreary me, I'm thinking that Judas
must have had bad up-bringlng, for
boy up-brought rightly Gamma go
wrong. No, that he can't. Take daugh-
ter Mary's son, now. Could ever a lad
have had a worse father than himi-
and yet better, more God-fearlng lad
couldn't bei-always first in chapel
and lOudest at praise an prayers. Ay,
an meek too, for there was no lad
in the village could ever force our
Jonah to hght-try they never so
hard! An now he's gotten a good
place In Lunon town and sends his Old
Granny money regular so that she
shan't want FOR aught There's not
many like him-no! Mo- But it's
thy up-bringing has done 1t, Dame
says Minister; and maybe-maybe It's
so. for I did try hard and pray hard,
to be sure. Poor daughter Mary,
'twere hard on her to have to give up
life SOS that babe should come into
1t. Deary me, what night II is to be
ont in, and how the wind do come
sweeping up the Gap. l hope to good
ness 1t ain't like this In the Low Coun-
tries where our boys be-What's
that?"
A hand on the latch. a stumbling
step across the floor, and a rain-soaked.
fearful figure crouching against the
lap he had so often knelt at as little
little child, the mingled rain and sweat
/ running down his desperate white face
from the tousled red hair, drlp-drip-
dripping on the Book still lying open
across Granny's knee; and in the tense
little silence that followed his appear
ance she could distinctly hear the mad,
Wild beating of his laboring heart.
NTHnHy ne kuspeu, trhnny
You-you won't give me upY"
Give thee up, lad, give thee upi
Jonah Jonah What hast done?"
"Naught wrong. Granny, but I was
coming up through the Gap when the
soldiers, without even challenging, at.
tackled me; SO, downing one of their
fellows, I made run for home and
you, you whom / haven't seen these
two whole years."
"Dldst kill him lad, or only wound
him2'
81 don't know, but II they catch me
they'll punish me heavily whichever
way it's gone"
mo hands save mine ever punished
thee, lad, and none ever shall" re.
turned Granny, quietly.
"Wllt swear 1t, Granny?" he cried.
"Nay, lad, surely thou dost not need
more than a promise from mel Was
ever one broken l made theef Did
ever one 60 unkeptT
mo, Granny. never. And you'll tell
them-yOu'll tell them" Then check