Jane Field | Page 7

a short, elderly man with shelving gray whiskers, and a wide, smiling mouth, which he was drawing down solemnly.
"Mis' Field, here's a letter I want you to look at; it come this mornin'," he said, in a low voice.
Mrs. Field took the letter. It was directed, in a fair round hand, to Mrs. Esther Maxwell; that had been her dead sister's name. She stood looking at it, her face drooping severely. "It was sent to my sister," said she.
"I s'posed so. Well, I thought I'd hand it to you."
Mrs. Field nodded gravely, and put the letter in her pocket. She was again passing out, when somebody nudged her heavily. It was Mrs. Green, a woman who lived in the next house beyond hers.
"Jest wait a minute," she said, "an' I'll go along with you."
So Mrs. Field stood back and waited, while her neighbor pushed forward to the counter. After a little she drew the letter from her pocket and studied the superscription. The post-mark was Elliot. She supposed the letter to be from her dead sister's father-in-law, who lived there.
"I may jest as well open it an' see what it is while I'm waitin'," she thought.
She tore open the envelope slowly and clumsily with her stiff fingers, and held up the letter so the light struck it. She could not read strange writing easily, and this was a nearly illegible scrawl. However, after the first few words, she seemed to absorb it by some higher faculty than reading. In a short time she had the gist of the letter. It was from a lawyer who signed himself Daniel Tuxbury. He stated formally that Thomas Maxwell was dead; that he had left a will greatly to Esther Maxwell's advantage, and that it would be advisable for her to come to Elliot at an early date if possible. Inclosed was a copy of the will. It was dated several years ago. All Thomas Maxwell's property was bequeathed without reserve to his son's widow, Esther Maxwell, should she survive him. In case of her decease before his own, the whole was to revert to his brother's daughter, Flora Maxwell.
Jane Field read the letter through twice, then she folded it, replaced it in the envelope, and stood erect by the store door. She could see Mrs. Green's broad shawled back among the customers at the calico counter. Once in a while she looked around with a beseeching and apologetic smile.
Mrs. Field thought, "I won't say a word to her about it." However, she was conscious of no evil motive; it was simply because she was naturally secretive. She looked pale and rigid.
Mrs. Green remarked it when she finally approached with her parcel of calico.
"Why, what's the matter, Mis' Field?" she exclaimed. "You ain't sick, be you?"
"No. Why?"
"Seems to me you look dreadful pale. It was too bad to keep you standin' there so long, but I couldn't get waited on before. I think Mr. Robbins had ought to have more help. It's too much for him with only two clerks, an' the post-office to tend, too. I see you got a letter." Mrs. Field nodded. The two women went down the steps into the street.
"How's Lois to-night?" Mrs. Green asked as they went along.
"I guess she's about as usual. She didn't say but what she was."
"She ain't left off her school, has she?"
"No," replied Mrs. Field, stiffly, "she ain't."
Suddenly Mrs. Green stopped and laid a heavy hand on Mrs. Field's arm. "Look here, Mis' Field, I dun'no' as you'll thank me for it, but I'm goin' to speak real plain to you, the way I'd thank anybody to if 'twas my Jenny. I'm dreadful afraid you don't realize how bad Lois is, Mis' Field."
"Mebbe I don't." Mrs. Field's voice sounded hard.
The other woman looked perplexedly at her for a moment, then she went on:
"Well, if you do, mebbe I hadn't ought to said anything; but I was dreadful afraid you didn't, an' then when you come to, perhaps when 'twas too late, you'd never forgive yourself. She hadn't ought to teach school another day, Mis' Field."
"I dun'no how it's goin' to be helped," Mrs. Field said again, in her hard voice.
"Mis' Field, I know it ain't any of my business, an' I don't know but you'll think I'm interferin'; but I can't help it nohow when I think of--my Abby, an' how--she went down. Ain't you got anybody that could help you a little while till she gets better an' able to work?"
"I dun'no' of anybody."
"Wouldn't your sister's husband's father? Ain't he got considerable property?"
Mrs. Field turned suddenly, her voice sharpened, "I've asked him all I'm ever goin' to--there! I let Esther's husband have fifteen hundred dollars that my poor husband saved out of his hard earnin's, an' he lost it in his business;