12
THE COURIER.
-Would I like berJM
-I it might bo; fho Sb your mother
atd that might make a difference."
Stella questioned Fgain relentlessly:
"Do you want mo togo?'"
Her father did not answer quickly
When he did 6 peak his voice was per
fectly f teady.
-That need not make any difference.
She says jou can have anything you
want. She married again, and eho is
rich. Why, Stella," he tried to put a
flimsy enthusiasm into his tonei "don't
you fcc that you can go to school. And
music! Stella, your voice!"
Stella kept herself stubbornly to her
questioning.
"Why does eho want me, did she t ay
why?"
He answered evasively.
"No that is she is your mother and
Lee is dead."
Stella's face softened.
"How did he die?" the asked gently.
"He had pneumonia,' ho would have
stopped, but he could not lie to the ees
so near his own, "he died before they
had a dector. They did not think he
was so sick."
lie felt Stella shiver on his knee and
he watched her with vague apprehen
sion, as the rose and put the cat gently
down on the steps outside the screen
door. But she came back to him direct
ly and bent down to kiss him full on the
lips.
"You must go to bed now," she said
with aulhority. "I will think and wo
can decide together.
He watched her go and stifled a sense
of disappointment in her and himself
He could not expect sher to feel as he
did. Acd.be was selfish enough to wish
that she had cot waited to decide.
In the morning when he made the fire
in the kitchen Etove, he took the letter
from his pocket and watched it burn.
-If sho read it she would not go. She
must decide for herself.'
When Stella came out they both
blushed a little. The clear dawn, the
wide, open paririe, the cool air in the
dim kitchen, the smell of fresh, ground
coffee, seemed to put things on Euch a
practical basis that they both felt awk
ward. Then Stella sang a little and her
father tipped over his coffee at the break
fast table and she burned her fingers
trj ing to wipe it up. They laughed and
afterwards both felt as if there bad been
a tacit agreement to overlook any slight
descent from the practical that may
have happened under cover of the dark
ness. After breakfast Stella went about ber
work without answering the wistful im
patience in her father's eyes. He got his
pony and drove the sheep slowly out of
the corral. . He felt irritated with them.
He was nervous when his dinner bucket
rasped against the saddle. He felt in
clined to go back and make Stella tell
him whether she was going togo or
stay. It needn't take her a week to
make up her mind even if she wae a
girl. He hadn't raised her that way.
There wasn't a keener head in the coun
try than hers. Then all of a sudden he
felt afraid cf her very keenness. She
would be sure to see that there would be
advantages in going. She wouldn't stay
with him for any sentimental reasons,
and he needn't think it. It would be
better for her to go. She bad had a
dull life, and she would not need to
work any more. She would step into
Lee's place and use his books and wtar
pretty things; he would see her sometime s
am way; he ought not to care, lie
would ltve on here.
He felt hopelessly miserable at the
thought of the little house with all of
Stella's belonging taken out. He Eaw
himielf moving around in it yar in and
year out, gettirghis own meals, washing
the dishes that Stella had been so proud
of wbf n tbey were new, wearing out
these things that she had handled and
replacing tfeem with others. Acd all
l! ....- . .- - - m, . . '- '" -
SuliDtio-Salliie; Sanitarium, Cor. Irtlx amd 3VI.
All Kinds of Baths Scientific Masseurs. A Deep Sea Pool, 50x142 feet.
Shaving Hairdressing. Drs. EVERETT, Managing Physicians.
the time Stella would bo growing away
from him and taking on the ways of her
mother, He wouldn't let her. They
had as good as killed Lee with their
ways and they should not spoil Stella,
too.
He struck the pony mercilessly with
his rawhide and then jerked at the bit.
"There, there," he paid aloud, "Stella's
not a girl to bo spoiled I guess. Per
haps she will come back. It's natural
for her to go. She's her mother."'
All day he argued back and forth
with himself and came home at night
hollow-eyed and grey-cheeked. Stella
was bright-eyed and cheerful.
After supper she brought him pen and
ink and a letter sealed and stamped
ready for the address.
"I wrote it. to her- all by myself," she
answered playfully.
He took the pen and wrote the address.
How could Stella be so o heart
less. She stood behind his chair and
watched him write. Then sbe put her
palms along bis cheeks and turned his
head back until she could 6ee his eyes.
"Don't you want to know what's in
it?" she asked tantalizingly.
She caught her breath when she saw
a quick spasm pass over her father's
face.
Don't look like that,' 6he faid with
quick remorse. "It's all right. I won't
go. I can't. I told her that sometime
I would, but not now, becausa of jou."
Perhaps sbe cried a little after that
At least they kissed each other again
although the lamp was burning on the
table before them, and they bad tacitly
agreed to forget sentimentality.
ANNIE PKET.
AMEN.
He
stays upon the threshold there must
dwell,
Who, in fm thought, the Eternal reign di
vides, Allowing that the ill for aye abides,
Or that God"s rule is lost in lowest hell.
Prince of the-powers-of-air who now be
strides Our world of fear and passion, all is well!
Thou hast some freedom, but Who grants
it guides,
And service to salvation doth compel.
Thus is it graven on each stone of life;
Albeit present pain begetteth doubt,
Albeit nerveless arms drop in the strife,
Though faith be chill'd, and weak become
the stout
Why hast thou me forsaken? from his
cross
Sobbed forth the dying Christ, count men
that death as loss?
IDYLA.
Dick I see that another large party
of Greek patriots are off.
Harry Yes, 'way off.
BRUSH, COLORADO.
This bit of information is printed for convenience about
answering the numerous inquiries now coming in concerning
Brush, Colorado, and surrounding country.
I BRUSH has about 'wo hundred inhabitants.
2 A splendid, commodious school building, with all "high school" facilities.
3 Located in the Platte and Beaver valley, eighty miles east of Denver, in the
midst of a large area of fine, arable land, covered by . irrigation ditches, and
only waiting judicious farming to develop wealth.
4 The climate is adapted to all sorts of .crops grown in the North Temperate
zono.
5 Excellent water can be had at depth varying from 30 to CO feet, the lower
strata furnishing the purest mountain water attainable.
6 Fine building stone adjacent to t'ue town, can ba bad at from $3.75 to $1.00
per cord, thus making: it cheaper to build of stone than lumber.
7 Three crop3 of alfalfa are grown in the season, yielding as a rule six tons per
acre as the product, while wild hay on tho higher land grows well and always
brings a big price. The rich yield of hay makes it pre-eminently a country in
which to raise cattle and hogs to the feeding stage when it is easy to drive
them to the. cheap corn of Nebraska.
8 Small fruits and vegetalbea of all kinds can be developed to any extent al
most the real conditions when told seem almost fabulous.
9 Steam threshers in work of 1896 show average of wheat in this vicinity to be
forty bushels per acre, oats fifty bushels.
10 Entire absence of contagious diseases of both man and beast; the atmos
phere is a regular daily life giver.
11 The county of Morgan, in which Brush is located, is free of debt and taxes
low. are
There is now excellent opening for a first class grist mill,
one hundred barrel capacity, one good hardware store, one
good drug store.
Get on tlie Burlington Cars
and look the situation over.
T. J Thorpe dte Co.,
GENERAL BICYCLE BEPAIREB8
In a branches. -
Repairing done as Neat and CompleU as from th FactoriM at hard tlaa
All kinds of Bicycle Sundries. 320 S. 1ITH ST.
Ifacninist and General Repair Work. LINCOLN.
(Pfc
Flour et 1.
Lots of people think a dollar is enough
vto pay for a sack of good flour.
We sell a Minnesota patent flour at
this price try a sack; if it is not as good
as guaranteed we will return your
money.
JFZ3
-TDlie FoL-rmer's Grocery Co.
226-234 no. Tenth street.
gsssii