Rosas Quest | Page 7

is something I want to tell you."
Mechanically she obeyed, weighted beneath the feeling that something
dreadful was about to happen. The trembling of the tiny hands and
twitching of the delicate face betrayed a heart suffering which a child
of her tender years should never know.

The odor of the steak, while being broiled, had given Rosa an appetite,
for her dinner had consisted only of boiled potatoes. Now, however,
that mother apparently did not relish her supper, it seemed that every
mouthful would choke her.
With a feeling of relief, the supper things at last were cleared away, and
Rosa sat down by the sufferer, taking her hot thin hand within her own.
"You need not talk, mother, if you do not feel like it, but I do so want to
know about the moving, and you won't go without me, will you? But
oh, I have such good news, I must tell you the very first thing! Mebbe it
will change your plans and make it easier to know what to do.
"I saw a lovely lady today, and she told me about a beautiful land some
place, where folks never cough no more, and they don't have to pay
rent, and they have all they want to eat. And she said, too, that it don't
cost nothing to go, nor after you get there, 'cause Jesus paid all the fare
a long time ago. I wish I knew where to find Jesus, so He could explain
all about it. I had to leave the car before the lady could tell me the way.
I think He must be so good to pay the fare for everybody. There's no
mistake, 'cause she said something about God so loving the world. I
don't know what she meant, but it was so pretty. I know I'd love Jesus
so, if I could only find Him, and He'd tell us how to go, I'm sure He
would.
"Oh, mother, why do you cry so much? Don't feel so, for I'll try my
very best to find out the way, then we'll both go. It will be so nice,
won't it, for you not to have a cough no more? And mebbe we can
manage to get off before the rent is due again."
The anxious little nurse, old beyond her years, tenderly kissed the
pallid brow, repeating soothingly the assurance that in some way she
would find out how to reach this beautiful land.
"O God," at last the invalid faltered after several minutes of silence,
"forgive me and take me to that beautiful land, for Jesus' sake, and care
for my darling!

"Rosa dear, my breath is growing very short, but I must tell you
something. You are too young to know what it all means now, but try
to remember, and sometime you will understand.
"Just ten years ago today I was married to your father, Harold
Browning; and you are so like him, precious.
"I was left an orphan at the age of fourteen, and from that time till the
day of marriage, made my living by clerking in a down-town store.
Your father, too, was alone in the world, and how we loved each other!
"We rented a small furnished flat, which to me was a paradise. Your
father was a bookkeeper on a comfortable salary, and for a time all
went well. At the end of the second year you were born, and then our
joy knew no bounds. Every evening while holding you in his arms, we
would plan for the future, you being the center of everything. There
was not a shadow over our lives, till one morning he was not able to go
to work. In a few hours he became so very ill that in great alarm I
summoned the doctor. Then followed weeks of suspense, the days
being divided between hope and fear, till at last all thought of his
recovery was given up. My anguish was too deep for tears. I went
around as one stunned, not knowing at times what I was about. Your
dear father tried to comfort me, pointing me to Jesus whom he loved
intensely, but who I said was cruel to allow our little home nest thus
ruthlessly to be broken up.
"What happened the last days of his life to me is a blank, for I myself
was very ill. When I recovered and paid all the bills, there was not one
cent left for us. I could hold the flat no longer, so moved here on
Burton street, making our living, as you know, darling, by the day's
work. It has been very hard, for often I have felt unable to be out of bed;
but then I could not let my Rosa suffer."