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of the house the matter was not referred to
again, unless in teasing remarks by Frank to
his sister.

Life flowed on uneventfully for the Maybrick
family through the busy summer days,
until the middle of August. One evening
husband and wife were sitting on the west
porch talking and resting, and looking over
their wheat fields, with full ripe grain standing
in the shock, waiting to be drawn into
the barn on the morrow. Anxiously the
farmer looked towards the setting sun for
indications of the weather for the following
day, and certainly all seemed to promise as
be wished. Not a cloud to be seen as Old
Sol disappeared in his crimson glory int he
West. "Marian, I think the weather will
be fine and we can get that field of wheat in
tomorrow. I told Frank to get a couple
of men from the village to help, he has
gone there now. "Yes," replied his wife,
"Hester went with him. I was glad for her
to get a drive this lovely evening after
heat of the day. It will do them both good:
but who is this riding so fast?" As she
spoke the rider whom she had been watching
coming down the road, turned in at their
gate, and rode rapidly up the lane. Mr.
Maybrick walked out to meet him, recognizing
him as a messenger from the nearest
railway station. Mrs. Maybrick saw the man
take a telegram from his pocket and hand it
to her husband. Hurrying forward with a
prayer he could open it, which he did with
strong hands trembing in spite of himself,
and together they read, "Your son Percy is

6

dying. Come at once." "Oh, my boy, God
help us," sobbed the poor mother, and the
father, with face almost as white as her own,
and echoing her cry to God for help, put his
arm round his wife to support her as they
walked into the house. It was she who first
roused herself to think what must be done,
and to say, "Henry, how soon can we go?"
"Not till morning, my poor Marian: there
is a train leaving D. (a town twelve miles
away) at five in the morning. Frank must
drive us there, and if we make good connections
I think we can get through and be with
Percy the following morning. God only
knows whether he will be living, or not,
though," he groaned. "Oh, I don't believe
God will let our boy die before we have
kissed him good-by. Oh, my Percy, my firstborn,
God spare him to me," she said, sinking
into a chair and covering her face with
her hands.

At that moment the sound of wheels was
heard, and she started up. "The children,
poor things, how will they bear it?" "I
will go out and tell them," said her husband,
with unusual thought for her; and going out
he reached the buggy just as Hester, with
a gay laugh at something they had been talking
of, took her brother's hand to spring
out. In a few words their father told them
the sad news, and that he and their mother
must go to Percy as quickly as steam could
carry them. Hester, struggling to keep her
own grief out of sight, flew into the house
to her mother, and when the father and
brother came in an hour later, after making
all arrangements for the early morning's

7