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i~Zelda Dameron
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MEREDITH NICHOLSON
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4B
CHAPTER II
((?«M>tl*ged.)
"Who's afraid?" she said, and laugh-
id again.
"I'll be back In a moment." he said,
and he went up stairs returning pre»-
sntly. carrying a small basket filled
with keys
'These are yours. my daughter." he
said, and waved his hand «'h a little
touch of manner.
"Oh. so many!" Hhe pour»d ths keys
upon the table
Th«r* ««re half •
hundred of them, of matn kinds and
els>*s; and they were all tagged with
little bite of ivory, on which their sev
eral us*-a were written clearly In ink
"Your mother was very methodical —
Very painstaking———"
lie shook his head and turned to the
lire, as though to hide ihw ahor of
feeling.
Zelda was turning the keys over In
her hand, and ah* <t d not
nt him
A mist had •■■me lain li«r eyes
Hh«
remembered the dark woman who hud
been so gentle and patient with her
childhood
They used to walk togeth
•r In the old pasture, and they carried
lh«lr books to a seat that had been
built under a great bee, h where her
mother read ths quaint tales and »Id
ballads that were her delluht. These
were th* only happy memories
she
had irpt of bor mother the •lines gg
der ■
with »hi h h-r father
was not a«««« laird.
"Cm sure It * your tlm* to go to bed
You mustn't let me break In
father
•n your ways** Zelda walked over Io
him and put her hands on his shout-
dera. "I want to be very «••<«1 to you.
father, and I know well live here very
happily
You won't mind me much—
When you get used to me!"
Hhe touched hie forehead with h*r
lips
"Thank you. thank you' —and there
was a helpless note In hie voice.
Hhe turned away from him quickly,
restored the k«y* *'• *!*•' basket an 1
ran w ith It. to her room
The nest morning she was down Io
his 7 o'clock breakfast In the cold, for
bidding dining-room
Hhe was very
gay and mad* him talk a great deal to
her
lie had t>e»n up for an hour at
work In th* barn, where he cared for
his own horse. 11« carrted the morn
ing newspaper to the table, as he had
done for years
"This will never do. father!
You
must talk to me and help me to l>.<rn
th* American breakfast habit
I'll !>»•
lonesome If you read at ths table"
he
HI* thought* seemed far away;
had long l>e«n out of practic* In the
amenities and graces, and the morning
had brought him on-« more face to
far* with this change In his life
Th«
place across the table hid l»«rn «mpt«
for so many years that h* resented th«
appearance there of this slender dark
Stlrl. pouring hl* coff«* with an ease
that pussled and even touched him
Tb*rs had been another girl Ilk* her.
in th* long ago. and this was her
child Ths resemblanc* t>*tw**n moth
•r and daught*r was so marked that
he grew uneasy as h* pondered it: he
made a pretense of holding up hl*
new*pa|>er to shut out th* girl, and
when h* dropped it Zelda was waiting
for him. h*r elbow* on the tabla, her
hand* clasped under her chin
“Oh, pardon me!" h* exclaimed, ris
ing hastily.
A* sh* helped him Into his overcoat
her hand touched a hammer he car
ried In his pocket with a miscellaneous
assortment of nails, for use in repair
ing the small properties he owned In
many parts «if town, and she drew th*
implement forth and Inspected It nt
arm's length
is
"Why. father!
What on earth
tt -
The nails jingled, and sh* mid-
dive Into th* pocket and drew forth
handful
'•Why. you've forgotten to
empty
your ¡«M-kets'
You mustn't go about
with this hardware In your clothe*'
11« renched for th* thing*, a little
shamrfn« •■•lly.
' You don't understand I need them
to make trifling repairs, you know."
Ils smiled, ami she put the things back
into his pockets, still laughing at him
I must go alKJut with you
I can
carry th* hammer M»»t» yon will let
me drtv* a nail one* In a while. If I
am good."
Ife drew out a faded silk handker
chief and began twisting It about hl*
throat, hut Zelda took It from him and
adjusted tt cwrefully under hi* coot
Collar; and she brushed hl* old brown
«terby hat with a whisk broom that
lay on the hall tabl*.
He suffered her ministrations with
hl* pattern smile. Into which he tried
to throw something of a look of pride;
nnd when she had a«t the hat square-
|y on his head, she drew back and re
garded him critically ami then klaaed
him on th* chrek.
horns
to
"Now l-e sure to com*
You didn't coma
luncheon always.
yesterday and It was lonely, I must
get Polly to show ma the way to the
grocery, I don't Intend to let her be
I'm euro she's been abusing
th* bo**
you all the** year*."
"Oh. In tlm* you will coms to It
you
Folly will do very well.
and
such
oughtn't to be bothered with
thing*, I—t usually buy the groceries
myself. Ono of my tenants Is a gro-
c*r and -and—h* do«-* a little better
for me I"
"Oh. to b* sure. You must do tt tn
your own way. father " There was a
seta a< dlsappointmoat tn her voice.
/
and h* would have liked to eon«*d*
something to her. but h* did not know
how.
Hh* roamed Idly *t>out the ho use.
going Anally to the kitchen, where the
colored woman told her that order*
for th* remaining meal* of th* dsv
had been given by her father.
Folly
viewed Zelda with admiration, but «he
did not ask advice, and Z«nda contin
ued her wanderings going finally to
th* attic with the key-basket
Th* place was pitch dark when she
threw open lhe door, and as there was
no way of lighting It. sn* went down
and brought *«veral ••Id «-andlesth k*
from the parlor Th* sttl« was a great
low room extending over th* whole
of the house It was unplaslered Hos
es and barrels abounded
Hum h«s of
herbs, long dried, and garden
tools
hung her* and there; In a corner an
old saddle was su*pend»d by one stlr-
rup
Fleces of furniture covered wlih
cloths w«re distributed under th"
eavvs. their draper!«* heavy with dust
and th* light nt the candle* gav* them
a spectral appearance
There were several trunks of her
mother's clothing »nd Zelda ¡reared In
to the** bravely. Her mother had er
ranged them thus shortly t-efore bar
death, Th* girl was touched by their
nice order; they were folded many
times In tlasu* paper and wer* sweet
with lavender
On* flat packet ha<t
been crowded Into the top, and th* lui
th*
paper
had crushed It. so that
It held a
wrapping had fallen aside
small address book. la»und In red leath
er; and Zelda ran the leaves through
her fingers, noting the name* of per
sons who were her mother's friend*
Margaret l»ameron" was written on
one of the fly leaves. The b««»k hid
been Intended as a register of visits
licgun at the threshold of her married
Ilf*: but. from appearance*, 11 had
been abandoned soon as an addrea»
book. At th* back, where the Ink was
fresher and of a different kind, som«
of th«- pag«-* were filled
The girl «Tar
ried the book close to th* shrtsud« >
tabl* where her candles sto«>d
and
opened IL
'This Is to you, Julia or
Rodney
Th«y have told me to-day that I am
going to die. but I have known It for
a long time
The end Is nearer than
th*> Chit k It to; and I am *■■••* I• Wi
down here an appeal that I can not
bring myself to make to either of you
Il Is about Zelda.
1 think
directly,
sh* will be like us. God grant It mty
b* so. I know what I hope her future
My
may be; but I dare not plan It.
own—you know that I planned mv
own. •
• • Hava her. as you tried
to save mo from myself. If It should
Hhe Is very dear and
!>• necessary
pride
gentle; but she has our pride
I can
see it growing day by day
They say
that we Merriams are hard and proud'
I Hi for
hut shs will never be hard.
her what you would have done for m<-
Do not let him kill the sweetness and
Keep her
awa>
gentleness In her.
from him If you can; l.ut do not let
her know what 1 have suffered from
him
I have arranged for him to car«
for the property I have to leave her.
so that she may never feel that I did
not trust him.
He will surely guar I
what belongs to her safely.
Perhaps I was unjust to him: It may
have been my fault, but If she can re
spect or love him I wish It to tte so “
Zelda read on. There were only a
few |>agea of tills appeal,
but
the
words sank Into
her consciousness
8he was to
with the weight of lead
be saved from her father. It need be.
by her aunt and uncle, but she must
not know what this dead woman, her
mother, had suffered at
his hand«
Thera was the heart ache of years In
th* lines; they had not been written to
her. but fate had brought them und«r
her «yea. Hh* closed the book. clasp
Ing it In her hands, and stared Into th«
■lark area beyond lhe candlelight Iler
mind was busily reconstructing the Ilf»
of her mother, of whom she knew »<■
little
The book that she held, with
Its pitiful plea for her own security
and happiness, opened a new world to
her; her mother's words brought the
past before her vividly and sent her
thoughts Into th* future with a flerc*
haste of transition.
This was her home-coming and this
was horn«! She forget for the moment
that she had friends anywhere; she
felt herself a stranger In her native
city. In the house where she was born,
Iler heart went out to her mother,
across a distance that was vaster than
any gulf of time, for there was added
the greater void that sympathy and
love would have filled If muther an<1
child might have touched hands to-
day.
Her fingers came upon ths broken
wrapper that had fallen from the lit
tle book Hh* lifted |t t» the light and
read:
"Private.
For brother Rodney or
sister Julia."
CHAPTER IH.
The front d<>or-be|l rang -it was an
old-fashioned contrivance, on a wire.
Zelda
and pealed censoriously—and
thrust the book back Into the trunk
and ran to the second-floor landing to
listen. Folly, the colored mald-of-all-
work, admitted Mrs. Forrest warily.
Wei -
"Good morning. Aunt Julia!
Come
coms to your ancestral hornet
on up!" Zelda called from the top of
the stalra.
What sa earth are you doing. Zee e ■
___________
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H mm O rM.wbwairr.
A llttl* machin.- that will b* highly
appreciated In th« kitchen is the pea
This
»belief invented by a t'lah man
handy little de
vice will shell a
peck of peas In
the time It would
take the cook to
Shell a dosen by
It coo-
hand
•1st* of a bop-
per-llke arrange-
ment clamped to
the table by an
upright,
aa«u
Iron
A!>o*e th* hopper a pair of roller bear
Ings studded wttb
blunt, pyratnMial
A handle
teeth ar* In rlose relation
turns the»* rollers, wbll* th* mouth
of the hopper opens over the table,
where a dish can be placed beneath tt.
The pod* ar< Inserted between th*
A* th* roller*
rollers end foremost
are turned th* teeth engage the differ
ent shvlla of th* ¡>ods and rip them
ope#, allowing the ¡>eas to roll down
Into th* bowl
The sheila are then
of the
tossed
out lhe
other Side
"wringer." Of rourse. the two rollers
ar* not close enough together to crush
th* peas, but just close enough to en
gage the ¡ords.
Adjaatabl*
Mirp
for
I.adder.
a ttawflaa *»f K-eowomy,
It 1» natural for *v*ry man to want
to get th* best possible when h* goes
In to bring out som* new farm ma-
chine, Thia often brings a fellow to
grief, however, sine* th* dealr* to
poasibl*
a*
spend a* llttl* money
sometimes causes the purchaser
to
lake th* cheap machine. If confront
ed with a proposition to take a sulky
plow, for instance, that will last fiv*
years for 825. or another that will
last ten year» for 835. which on*
would you take* Which on* would It
pay you to take? This Is about th*
sum and substance of buying a cheap
farm Implement.
It may not *eem
that *»/ In th* warehous*
when
each tool looks gaudy with paint, th*
cheaper on* looking even the mors
gaudy but In actual work. In the
rough and tumble of the ranch. this
Is about the way it always turns out.
- Denver Field and Farm
lire»
««««tag
of
•*
Milk.
V
Th* best results in keeping mtlk
highest
sweet and
maintaining the
quality of cream are obtalni-d by set
ting the cans In cold water. The box
as shown should be near to the pumt
and Ire house.
“Oh. he does, does he? Well, he has
Hous* painting la very easily done
had a goul many meal« alone and thr
by painters having their own scaffolds,
•h<* k wouldn't kill him “
The Average Farmer.
“lie’s perfectly Splendid*
He’S just 1 but a person desiring to do hl* own
Farms
In the United States pro
as kind «nd thoughtful as ran he
I work will have only a ladder to take
didn’t know
that anybody's father ¡■lace of a scaffold. To paint and stand duced I8,760,000,000 In 190». Hut did
rould l*e so nice.’*
on the rung« of a ladder all day will the farmer get bls share of It? We
Mrs. Forrest rose «nd swept th* gnr« ’ tire one’s feat As the writer had to read a whole lot about the American
ret disapprovingly with h*r lorgnette,!
do some painting and a ladder was farmer being king and we are told
and there may have i»ern «n rice»» < f
th* only thing obtainable to climb up- of the farmers sporting automobiles
dlaappnn al Ih it w
nu'-i fit f- r n ’n< -
on, a flat detachable step was made to and sending their children to college
thing else.
Forrret wm a w«>m-
•
•en11merit, for there are put upon the rungs of the ladder to or to Europe If they have been given
such in lhe world
The lumbor-^oom stand op the same as a scatfold. The the college course, but It Is the one
did not Interrof her. and Rhe wai am* step can be adjusted to any part of best bet that the average farmer is
ioua to rrt out Into th«* aunHitht. Hh« the ladder for the painter to stand no plutocrat.
The farmer Is consld-
wai* to*» Indolent by nature to bavs upon and paint a surface within <-asy cred lucky If he can keep the Interest
much ♦ urh.Ait) »he
not a woman reach
Two Iron* are bent V shaped. ¡■aid up on the mortgage, and If final
«I t* •! « nt all her mlrn -H>e |.or1n<
ly, after years of hard labor, he owns
over
rndrr■ w <-ntc<| trifleg and we*»p-
his place clear of all Indebtedness he
uhc
%«r id hdi« 7«
Sh«- Mi -* ? orn In
Is considered well off
The American
• * ' 1 *
• »♦
! ah ■ "I
ft|
fanner is a long way from being the
-» bill ' . ! «' .V • « •
on
-■«•«•’ »fit
H» z ■ thr-r a f.«'i de « re
real ruler of the country.—Field and
now fort» foot Iota, through whl<h
Farm
•
What Meeoniea of the Corn.
that had
built up
thickly
al
People often wouder, particularly
41 out were of ■» formal urban type
The Mt-rh-im hom<at«ad wns to Jul.a
those who hate traveled for hundreds
Forreat merely an old. ahabby and un-
of miles through the corn belt, what
<
!»■ liHuiit'
whoae
plumbing
become* of corn which Is grown every
wae doubtleaa highly unsanitary. Hha
year
In the year 1908. when the to
had been married ther*. her fath r
tal crop was
2,666,000.000
bushels,
and mother had
there, but the
211.000,000 bushels were consumed In
plate meant nothing to her beyond th«
flour and grist mill products. 8,000,000
fact that it was now her niece « horn««.
bushels In the manufacture of starch,
It occurred to her that ahe outfht to
tee Zelda ■ room, to t>* sure the girl
».iwtO.OOO bushels for malt liquors, 17,-
was comfortable. but Zeids did not In-
000,000 bushels In the production of
cite her in when the» resched the esc
distilled liquors. 40.000.000 bushels for
ond it oar.
glucose, 190.000.000 bushels for export
"Tha letter« were
and 13,000,000 bushels for seed, niak-
wrote lovely letters In those <
Ing a total of S18.0OO.0o0 bushels, or
Zelda persisted Ironically
"I w
19 3 per cent of lhe entire crop. The
could have some halt as nice .“
remaining 80 7 per cent, or 2,11«,-
IM get your things. Zee. It's
liti. AiUlfliABlI WTBF
000.000 bushels, seem* to have twee
outdoors and the outing will
used almost entirely for feeding.
good."
as lllusli a ted, each end having a
"I’m very sorry, but I can't
rircle to fit over the rungs of the
Death imttaf ( hick«.
morning.
I have a lot to do. I II l»a
ter.
Two boles are drilled In
The trouble which causes the death
freer after a little.
When top angle In which to put bolts for of many young chicks Is commonly
"You're foolish, very foolish
fastening the step. The step ran be known as white diarrhea
shall 1 see you. then?"
Different
"I'll i-e along late In the afternoon quickly changed from one position to breeders have different theories as to
some time."
another
A person will feel as safe the cause of this trouble, among them
on the step as If he were on a stag being a lack of vitality of breeding
"And then stop to dinner-------
"Very s.-rry; but father wilt *xp*«t ing
Popular Mechanics
stock. Improper feeding and poor ven
me. It doesn't seem quite kind to for
tilation
Lark of sunlight and lni|>er-
Mlle Qwog for Italry.
sake him—when he's so nice to me."
of
Milo can take the place of corn In feet sanitation cause the death
"I suppose not. but bring him along.
We're all an unsociable lot. They say feeding dairy cows, and wtl) yield an many chicks The diet should contain
the Merriams and their connections average of twice as much grain an a sufficient quantity of animal food
are queer I don't like the word Your acre as corn In dry regions In seasons and the chicks fed often and not al
uncle and I want you to raise the fal so dry that corn will be a total failure lowed to get so hungry that they will
len reputation of the family
l»o i>e
mllo will usually yield fifteen bushels devour large quantities at times and
conventional, whatever you do'"
then fast for long Intervals—South
■f grain or mote an acre
"Oh. I shall be that commonplace
Dakota Farmer.
The heads of mllo may be snapped
even."
from the stalks and fed to cows giv
"Don't come down In those clothes'"
Stahl* trntlUtor,
This Is an economical way
Mrs Forrest was descending the stalra, ing milk
to
feed
this
grain,
as
a
cow
has
to
"All right. Aunt Julia. <Jood-by!"
W hen the front door had closed. Zel chew a head a considerable time be
da sat down on the stairs and laugh'd fore she la satisfied to swallow It. and
3s
softly to herself.
ths more she chews It the better It
"Oh. Polly," she calleci
will digest.
The Hack woman shuffled slowly In-
The whole heads may be ground
to the hall and looked up gravely at without threshing,
, •
and
the small
the girl.
stems that hold the seeds form, when
"Polly. I wish to hrs the footman
ground, a good material for diluting
the moment he returns to the house.
the meal and making li more easily
And the butler's work is very unsatis
factory; I shall have to let him go. dlgeated.
ara-bLATEa itself .
The threshed grain may be ground
And please say to the cook that ther-y
This ventilator 1* always In work
It does not pay to
will be pie for dinner until further no before feeding
tic»—apple-pie with cheese. And th* feed tinground threshed grain, as the ing order as the hinged doors are kept
peasants—they will be received by My cow chews the whole grain but little clewed on the windward aide and at
Majesty on the lawn at $ as usual, and before swallowing It. and a large pro th* same time the connecting Ixtnrd
largess will
distributed. Will yo-j portion passes Into the manure undi presses open the door on the op|>ualte
execute these commissions at once. gested.
side. The cord and pulley enable th*
Polly? Htand not on th* order of your
run netting board to be lifted to th*
She laughed down at the
going—' •
t.reew »'«»«*4 for < kicks.
dotted line when both doors will 8»
amased colored woman and then ran
Growing chicks demand green food, main closed.
swiftly up stairs.
and by all means give them plenty of
Hhe did not pause until shs reached
*
New Hsrvsatlsg Maehls*.
grass range if you have It; If not.
the candle-lighted table In the garret
A new harvesting msi-blti* has beau
supply
them
with
an
equivalent,
such
and knelt before It, with
her
face
against her mother's Ulti* t-ook. and as lettuce, cabbage, weeds, clover, al Introduced in Nebraska, Th* harvester
heart
sobbed as though her
would falfa; they relish It and will thrive Is propelled by Its own p«vwer and It
on It. Provide chicks with shade and followed by a truck-carrying gasollo*
break.
(To be continued.)
where a cool breeie can fan them In engine, which operates the harvesting
warm weather.
This should be sup- mechanism of th* machine
This It
piled, even If a temporary board roof used mainly In wet fields, where tb*
Every failure teaches a <n*n
is the only thing that can be Kir- power of th* harvester la not sufficient
thing. If be will tear a.—Charles
Slaked
to mats headway
en»
«
a
-
‘
•<!,-. sn.'-.l M-. I
•
,r »ring ■*
I ■ r skirt» st 1 '■• .
I - *» r»L
"I'm «leaning h»
a little"
"My «tear Ze« this will t ■ v«r d*'"
■ And Mrs Forrest, but Ing retched tb*
Second floor, survejed her hive* with
disapproval.
"Do y«»u mean th* ctoth»«*" ask-d
Zelda. putting her hand to her turlxtn.
"I tiaf ■ ! i
thM I toeksfl rath
er well
I'm exploring the garret I'm
not really doing anything but
hut
¡ him *
about, and It's great fun. raking tn
th* dust of th* past a very remote
tCM»'“
"Thia m a horriM*
muii v«> rUrht do« n *
wm al*rin*
frowningly
A trunk
«1 within th«* nr<- of th»»
randla*« flam««
It war nil<*«l with olj
and Utter«, and Ze!«la flun<
up lhe fid to pique b*r aunt « rorloaity
You must burn all the»«? old thing«
Your grandfather ne\er d*»tro»et! any«
thing, and >our mother kept all ha left,
old letter» ought never to be kept;
they're dangerous. I'm atjout »ettled
tnj«<»lf
I came in to •*•«> how ymTre
getting on. Zea.*
‘I m going to see what I ran do with
thl» old furniture ”
•’Youd t»etter buy what you need
new
| never had any |Mitlrn<» with
thl» lil*« of Fathering up <b| rubVIah
juat bevauae lt‘a <» l
And then there a
the microbe theory; it a«*und» r<'uaon«
able and there» proi«ably a good deal
in If
"llorroH*
Th*
garret** probably
full
Perhaps there are some in thoev
love• letters ”
Zelda
laughed.
her
mirth was seemingly spontaneous, and
bubbled up Irrelevantly
If there*» anything of mine up her*
for heaven’s sake burn It right away.
And n«»w clean yourwelf up and <ome
<»ut with me
You meet »how youraeif
or people won't know you're In town
And come home to luncheon with m*
afterward **
•*I*d like to. Aunt Julia, but I really
mustn't. Father comes home to lunch«
eon.“
A
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-
* * r
’ Î*»
5
♦