Year: 1874

Her son igaiu. L OF IOuT IuOuLuS oOnu WAS
imprisoned. Doubtless those four months
seemed long to the solitary woman. She
had not much opportunity to indulge in
elancholy fancies she spent much OF her
time in pulling brush and wood out of the
snow and breaking it up with an AK, so as
to adapt it to the size OF her stove.
The neighbors tried to be kind, and Of
ten took commissions from her to the store
and the grist-mill in the valley; "But af-
ter ALL )" said Pete Searless. one of Johns
friends, in speaking of the matter after.
ward, what could ineighbors amount to,
when the nearest of them lived mile
away, and all of them were plain to say
that they believed she was the mother OF
a mnrderer?''


But the neighbOrs said the woman did
not seem to mind the solitude and the
rough work. Morning, noon, and night
she was out in the snow or the storm at
the little hovel of barn back of the house
taking care of two cows few sheep which
were hers and Johns. At other times
travellers upon the Wilderness road would
see her gaunt, angular figure clambering
down rocky ridge, dragging poles to the
house to be cut up for fuel


She received two letters from John in
the course of the winter. The first told
her that he was imprisoned, and awaiting
his trial in Montreal, and the next one
said that his trial had been set down for
an early day in March.


This correspondence was all information
the mother had of her son (; for the lake
was frozen during the winter. so that boats
did not run, and no news could come
from Canada by the boatmen.


| When March came and passed away
without intelligence from John, it was
taken by the dwellers upon the lake shore
and along the Wilderness road as sure
indication that he had been convicted of
the crime. A letter or ne ewspaper announc-
ing the iact was confidently looked for by
the neighbors whenever they went to the
distant post-office for their weekly mail.


AS March went out, and spring days
and sunshine came, it was noticed that
the face of Johns mother looked sharp
and !white. but she went about the same
daily duties as before, without seeming to
| feel i'll or weak.


she stood on the rocky ridge back of the
house. looking down upon the lake. A
few birds had come back and were twitter-
ing about the clearing. Although the
snow still fingered in patches upon the
highlands, the valley looked warm below,
and the first boats of the season were dot
ting the wide, distant mirror Of '.old
Champlin." A man came slowly up the
muddy line of road, through the gate,
and around the house; then first the wom-
an saw him. A slight spasm passed over
her face. There was little pitiful quiver
of the muscles about the mouth. and, then
she walked slowly down the ridge 10
where the stood. She struggled little
with herself before she said, ''Well, John,
| am glad to see you back"


John tried to be cool also, but nature
was too much for him. He could not
raise his eyes to hers, and his simple re-
sponse, "Yes. mother" was chokingly ut
tered.


The two walked into the house together
in the old familiar way the woman with
out a word began to spread the table, and
her son went out and prepared fuel, and
bringing it in replenished the fire. Then
he sat down in his accustomed place by
the stove, with a pleasant remark about
how we'll the fire burned, and how good
it seemed to be home again. And the
woman spoke few kind, motherly words


1t was the way they had always done
when John came back, but now there was
a great sadness in it, for he had come
from prison." Jupiter seemed fully to
realize the situation. He exhibited none
of that friskiness which characterized the
welcome he had usually given but when
John was seated the old dog came slowly
up to him, laid his fore paws and his head
in his masters lap. and looked sadly in
his face.


As they sat down to supper, John began
to tell of his fare in the jail at Montreal.
and to speak freely of his life there. "Will
you have to go back ?" said his mother
with that quiver about the mouth again.
mo, mother,n said John, lit is finished,
and l am discharged"


After supper the story was told over,
how well Johns counsel had worked for
him, and how the Judge had said there
was not sufficient evidence to convict OF
so great crime.


John continued from this time on
through the spring to live at home. He
while, as he said, he himself rested. The
his mother had carried fearful weight,
and now, when it was lifted by his return,
that the resources of her life were ex-
hausted. The change, not yet apparent
to other eyes, was clear to his vision. So
it is that these silent spirits read each
other.


As the warm weather advanced, the
strong woman became weak and as the
June flowers began to bloom, she ceased
to move about much, and sat the most of
each day in a chair by the open door.
John managed the house and talked with
his mother. Her mind changed with the
relaxation of her physical frame. She no
longer strove to hide her tears, but, like a
tired infant, would weep without restraint
or concealment, rs she told her son of the
early loves and romance of her girlhood
life in warm valley of the West. He
learned more his mothers heart in those
June days than he had surmised from all
he had known Of her before. And he un-
derstood what this predicted. He felt
that the heart nearest his own was count
ing over the treasures Of life ere il sur
rendered them forever


There was great scene when The wo-
man died. 1t was at evening, Just as the
July ievers were coming on. She had
wept much in the morning. As the day
grew warm she became very weak and