EUGENE WEEKLY GUARD TH Ills DAY, JANUARY I«, lixiM
WALLACE PHILLIPS
íopyright
McCLURE,
PHILLIPS
t,
COMPANY
CHAPTER lIl-(Contlnued.)
man’s name was White, and he was a
white ntan by nature too. lie fe«l us
well and was Just as hot as us when
„ ..t there awhile looking nrmind we tokl him altout the stage driver's
■Si.’ nr’ng pebbles with his thumb.
\ 1 wMt it is. R«!.’ be -ys trick. Then we told him ubout the
find and let him In.
S^ws might as well go mining
" 'Now,' says Aggy, Tiave you got »
This is likely gravel, nnd gun?'
. rirer If thilt l,ar in front °r
" 'I have that,’ says the man. ‘My
Millxvn further In tlx» mountains dad used to l>e a duck hunter on Ches
-old have teen punched full of apeake bay. When you say "gun" I'll
It's onlv txeanse it's on the
show you a gum’ He dove lu under
i that nobody's taken the trouble
his bunk aud fetched out what I should
L what vas In It. ThH road was
say «fas a No. 1 Istre shotgun, with
.
cattle ranchers that didn’t barrels six foot long.
■ Mthtof about n fnlng. and every
•“Gentlemen,' says he, holding the
- ti.'t’« go'ie 1 ' " tbe trail had gun up ar. I patting It lovingly, if you
.... ,,.t to get further along as
ram a quarter pound of powder in
I aj possible Just like us. Do
each oue of them barrels and a hand
that little hollow running
ful of buckshot on top of that you've
s to the river? Well, you try
tloik there. I give you thnt place, got an argiment that couldn't be upset
by the supreme court. I'll guarantee
et the most probable, and you ns a
that
when you point her anywheres
Lrf.xjt In tbe business will have all
within teu feet of a mun not over a
.jock. I'll make a stab where 1 am.’
hundred yards away and let her do her
«feiL »It. It sounds queer to tell It.
duty, all the talent that that man's
11t seems queerer still to think of
of It, but I hadn't dug two fambly could employ couldn't gather
enough of him to recognlz«» him by,
■ before I come to bed rock, and
i and you won’t be In bed more’n long
, was some heavy black chunks.
euougli to heal a busted shoulder.’
Afgy.’ «ays 1» 'what's these things?'
“ ‘I hope It ain't going to be uiy pain
(winy one over to him. He caught
ful line of performance to pull the
id stared at It.
There did you get that?' says he trigger,’ says Aggy. 'I think the sight
of her would have weight with most
liaoet s whisper.
out of the hole, of course? people. When’s the stage due back?'
“ ‘Day after tomorrow, about noon.’
■ I.laughing ‘Come take a look?
" 'That gives us lots of time to stake
•g,x wasn't the kind of n man to
■ef -be handle over trifles, but when and to salt claims that can't show
Med Into that hole he turned per- cause tbelr own selves,’ says Aggy. T
f ireen. His knees give out from think we're all right.’
"The next day we worked like the
r him. nnd he sat on the ground
i man in a trance, wiping the old Harry. We had everything fixed
t ol his face with a motion like up right by nightfall, and there was
nothing to do but dig aud wait.
thine.
“Curious folks we all are, ain't we?
Rist the devil alls you?' says I,
Nied. I thought maybe I’d done I should have said my own self that if
tbin; I hadn't ought to do I’d found gold by the bucketful, I'd be
imorance of the rules and more interested la that than I would
be In getting even with a mut that had,
Jst>nj of mining,
fri.' i«ys he, dead solemn. ‘I've done me dirt, but it wasn't so. Pér
Id for twenty year a ad from old Imps it was because I hadn't paid
h
Alaska, but I never saw much attention to money all my life.
tin; that was ace high to that and I had paid the strictest attention
». Gold laying loose in chunks to the way other people used me. Liv
pi of the lied rock is too much ing where there’s so few folks ac
counts for that, I suppose.
re 1 wish Uy could see this.’
"Getting even on our esteemed
•Cui" say3 I. 'What you talking
it' What have those black hunks friend, the stage driver, was right In
your Uncle Reddy's line, and Aggy and
1» with gold?
only ar. wer he made was to our new pard. White, seemed to take
■6» one 1 had thrown to him on kindly to It, also.
;«!ar> k and hit her a crack with
"If ever you saw three faces filled
Jifk Then he handed It to me. with Innocent glee, It was when we
l«nufh! There under the b'ark heard the wheels of tint stage coming
the rellcr
Of course if I'd —why, the uiglit before I was woke
- 1 could up by somebody laughing. Then» was
ll i It by the weight, but I'd Aggy sou.id asle«»p. sitting up hugging
r seen a piece of g >ld fresh off hinmelf in tlie moonlight.
“ ‘Oh. my! Oh. my!’ says he. •It's
hra before la ray life. I hadn't
miles!'
l.g.. -st Idea what It looked like. the only ford for
“We planted a sign in the middle of
1 ie:trned afterward it all looks
-let: Some of It shines up yeller the road with this wording on it in big
If start, some of It's red. and some letters, made with the black end of a
ours, coaled black with irou stick:
NOTICE!
This and adjoining claims nre the prop
Get down there, you fool, and make It I
I mor of the large, shapely mouth, and
quirk!’
really lx»autiful in bone and contour,
"8o the <Irl\ er walke.
the beauty of mignonette aud doves
r«v»d. lie
er said a
and gentle things.
«1 It was
Ysu could see that she was thirty-five
In the blatant candor of noon, but now,
for 4.000 t iiiles. more 01
blushed with the ¡link of* th«» setting
had remar
sun, she was still lu the days of the
iiiij eyes wid le open.
fairy prince.
> nave you other gentle-
Miss Mattle's reverie Idled over the
ind s»»e our first cleanup,
so i ci «on t think we're running in a year upon year of respectable stupidity
w Indy,' says Aggy. They wanted to that represented Ilf«» in Fairfield, while
her eyes and soul wen» in tlx» boiling
see bad, us you can Imagine, and when
they did see about fifteen pounds of gi ld of the sky glory. She sighed.
A panorama of life minced before
g d In the bottom of my old hat they
Miss Mattie's mlBil alxiut as vivid aud
talked like people that hadn’t had a
full of red corpuscles as a Greek
Christian bringing up.
frieze. Her affectionate nature was
" 'Oh, Lord!' groans one man. ‘Brig,
starved.
They vlsltwl each other, the
ham Young aixl all the prdpbets of
ladies of Fairfield—these women who
the Mormon religion! This is my
had rolled on th«» floor together as
tenth trip over this line, aud me and
babies—In their liest black or green or
Pete Hendricks playeil a game of
whatever It might lie. and gloves—
seven up right on the sjs>t where that
this though the summer sun might be
gent hit her not over a month ago,
hammering down with all his might.
when the stage broke down! Some
Aud then they sat lu a closet! room
body Just make a gn<»ss at the way I
an«! talked In a reserve«! fashion which
feel and give me on«» small drink.’!
wus entirely the property of the call.
And he put his hand to his head.
Of course one could have a moment’s
Say. Istys,’ he goes on. ‘you don't want
real talk by chance meeting, anil there
the whole blamed creek, do you? Let
were the natural griefs of life to break
us in!'
the corsets of this etiquette, although
“ ‘How's that, fell
says A g to
nie and White. We snld we was agree- in general the griefs seemed to be
long drawn out ami conventional af
able.
fairs. as If natur«» herself at last yield-
" ‘All
e«l to the system, conquere«l by the
‘There
invincible conventionality and st’jb-
But as
bornness of the ladles of Fairfield. It
his tlpti
was the uns;x>ken but firm belief of
you cockeyed whelp, i rovnd you go! each of these women that a person
Arouml you go!’ he hollers. Jamming of their circle who had no more Idea
the end of Moral Suasion Into the driv of respectability than to drop dead on
ers trap. 'Oh. and won't you go the public road would never go to
round, though!' says he. 'Listen to heaven.
me. now: if any one of your ancestors
Toor Miss Mattle! Small wonder
for twenty-four generations had ever
she dropped her hands, sat back and
done anything as decent as robbing a wondered, with another sigh. If It were
hencoop it would have conferred a
for this she was born. She did not
kind of degree of nobility upon him. It
rebel—there was no violence In her—
wouldn't be possible to find nn ornrier
but she regrette«! exceedingly, In spite
cuss than you if a man rake«l all hell of her slenderness ft was a wide
with a fine toothed comb. Now, you mother lap In which her hands rested,
stare coated, rnaugy, bandy legg»»d. an obvious cradle for little children.
mlstiegotten, outlaw coyote, fly—fly!'
And instinctively It would come to you
whoops Aggy, jumping four foot In the as you looked nt her that there could
air, 'before I squirt enough lead Into
tie no more comfortable place for a
your system to muke it a paying job tire«! man to come home to than a
to melt you down!’
household presided over by this slow
"The stage driver acted according to
moving, gentle woman.
orders. Three wide steps and lie was
There was nothing old maldlsh about
lu the wagon, and with one screech
Miss Mattie but tlx» tale of her years.
like a p'izenod liobent he fairly lifted
She hail had offers, such as Fairfield
the cayuses over the first ridge, No-
and vicinity could boast, and declined
btsly never saw him any more, and no
them with tact and the utmost grati
body wanted to.
tude to the suitor for the compliment,
"So that's the way I hit my stake,
but her “no," though mild, was firm,
son. Just as I'd always expected—by
for there lay within lier a certain quiet
not knowing what I was doing any
valiant spirit which would rather en
part of the time—and now. there
dure the fatigue and loneliness of old
comes my Iron horse coughing up the
age In her little house than to take a
track! I'll write you sure, boy, nnd you
larger life from any but the man who
let old Reddy know what's going on—
was all—a commonplace In fiction. In
and on your life don't forget to give
real life sometimes quite a strain.
It to the lads straight why I sneaked | The sun distorted himself Into n Rug
off on the «juiet! I've got teu years
by football and hurried down ns though
older lu the last six months. Well,
to lie through with Fairfield as soon
here we g»> quite fresh, nnd <1----- d if
as possible. It was a most mngnlflcent
I altogelher wnnt to neither.
T<x) sunset, flaming, gorgeous, wild lie-
late to argue though. By-by, son!"
yond the management of the women of
Fairfield and Miss Mattle stared Into
_____
CHAPTER IV.
thebeart of It with a longing fur some
MATTIE sat on her little thing to happen. Then the thought
front porch, facing the setting came. “What cotil«! happen?"
She
sun. Across the road, now an sighed again. nn<1. with eyes blinded
kle deep in June dust, was the by heaven shine, glanced down the vil
wreck of tlie Peters place—back lage street.
broken roof, crumbling chimneys, shut
She thought she saw she rubbed her
ters hanging down like broken wings, eyes and looked again she did se >. and
th»? ol«l hot » had the pathetic ap|x»:tl surely never a stranger sight was be
of shipwrocl ed gentility.
A house held on Fairfield's street! Had a Roy
without ; <»ople i i i;. even when it is al Bengal tiger come alouchlng through
In repair. Is as forlorn ns a dog who the dust it could not have been more
has lost his master.
unusual. The spectacle was a man; a
Up the road were more houses of the very large and mighty shouldered man,
nondescript village pattern, made nei who looked about him with a bold. Im
Goti perious, keep the change regard. There
ther for comfort nor looks.
knows why they built such houses! was something In the swing of him
Perhaps It was In accordance with the that suggested tlx» Bengal tiger, ne
old Puritan idea that any kind of wore high heeled boots outside of bls
physical perfection Is blasphemy. Some trousers, a flannel shirt with a yellow
of these were kept In paint and wln- silk kerchief around his neck, and on
«low glass, but there were enough poor his head sat a white hat which seemed
relations to spoil the effect.
to Mlsa Mattle to be nt least a yard In
Down the road between the arches of diameter. Under the hnt was r re
I looked at Ag. and Ag looked erty of Agamemnon <5 Jones. Red Saun
It" neither one of us brtievlng ders. John Henry White, et al.
Trespassing done at your own risk.
I®-: at all for awhile. I simply
•tel get hold of the thing—I ain't Owners will not be responsible for the
remains.
U t that matter. I expect to wake
“There was a stretch of about a mile
!«J Snd it a pipe dream, and In
*' nr» I wouldn't mind if It was. »n the level before us. When the stsge
••»r «<» so completely two men as :oms In plain sight Aggy proceeds to
n that occasion. One of 'em
J'ppihg around anil hollering
the weeping willows came first the
-
yelling ‘Hooray? ajid the
brixik. with the stone bridge—this
•t' -lnttake much Interest In the
broken as to coping and threadbare
all. And it wasn’t until
In general—then on tlx» hither side of
""-k Now I can pay that cuss-
the way some three or four nelgu-
drlver what I
lx>rs' hous«»s and opposite the black
’ - that 1 ir •! .■i:.v go<xl out of
smith's shop nnd postotfice, the latter
Bntln-j'jt ft home to me. When
of course In a store, where you could
**tij
about paying the driver,
buy anything from stale groceries to
to*. Th.it so.' Then lie takes a
shingles.
rroiui i ‘B'e can pay him
In short, Fairfield was an eastern
t(*>. old horse? he hollers, nnd
village whom» cause had departed, a
’■» a most Joyful smile on bls
community drahnxl of the male prin
ciple, leaving only a few queer men.
' on know tills
the blacksmith and s«ane halfling boys
; ’rl “ i Hie river for—1
to give tone to the background of doz
'
many infles— iierhaps
ens of old maids.
I5" ‘ Hgth of her?'
An unsympathetic stranger would
«js I.
have felt that nothing was left to the
J'» placer claim.* says Aggy
Fairfleldlans but memory, and the
his bands together,
sxxiner
they lost that the twitter.
krn, , ri'' an'’ *’? a Judicious
Take a wlneglaswful of raspberry
IbtwL" ' a,ni" f'* various uncles
vinegar, two tableepoonfuls of sugar,
»i? frtend«
«urs along
half a cup each of ixjneset an«! rhu-
ij.
lowlands we can fix
banl. a good full cop of the milk *
■5» r■J”"’ '‘T',n
it-’
human
kin«In«»ss. dilute in a gallon of
rnean they can't ernes our
water and you have the flavor of
-
"».v they can’t?
Fairfield. There whs Just enough of
•M
AKgy' ‘There's
each Ingredient to spoil the taste of
te i,!l* ,aw to say “No"
all the rest.
^•5 in
1 ,ia<1 Q ifUn-’
Miss Mattle rested her elbow on the
totBny K11n f,,r
"Around you go!" he hnllcrt.
« 'Irfver.'
railing, her chin In her hand, nnd
h,
b,rt
pns- load up •Old Moral Suasion.' as be gazed thoughtfully about her. As a
I
" no telling how ex- ..•ailed her. so that the folks could see matter of fact, she was the most in
, Pagers W IT be when there was no attempt at d««»eption. spiring thin; In view. At n dlstnn«»
Kot
°vpr
They come pretty fairly slow after of fifty yards she was still a tall, slen
4 ■anting ’
that At fifty yards. Ag hollers 'Halt. der girl. Her Ixxly retaiixxl the habit
H
*°tn* to 8en<> 'em all The team sat right down on their as well as the lln«»s of youth, a trick
of gliding Into unexpected, pleasing at
tails.
hek
1 ’In'
Anybody com-
“•Now. Mr. Snlck'umfrltz.' says Ag titudes. which would have lawn awk
> i W k —
'»Ittcitigs has gold gy. -yon that drives. I mean, come here ward but for the «U[>plene«s of limb
to which they testified and the uncon
Ir w,,n’t hurt 'em and read this little sign.
“'Suppose I don't?' says the f*' er, sciousness an<l ease of tbelr Irregular
*’
,tlat stage
i
•ore
that w°n't 'to It a trying to be smart before the passen ity
Her face was a child's fan» In the
«1 ¿n"> *'°n’ Hed L*’’* gers.
«• *l h*" the shack up
“ -It's n horrible supposition.' wya ennobling sense of the word. The rec-
hie,
n**'1 something to eat, Aggy. 'and the Innocent will have to ord of the years written upon It seem
*>’» ..
K ' a L'
If he's a suffer with the guilty.’ Then be cocks ed a masquerade-the fees of a clear
eyed girl of fourteen made up to rep
A V t —*"
let him In on a the gun.
St
mlnd about the hole.
“ ‘God sakes! Don't shoot? yells one resent her own aunt at n fancy drew»
* «»tr»>< *■’ *n<1 there's nobody of the passengers. 'Man. you ought to party; a fs«»e drawn a trifle tine, a lit
have more sense than to try and pick tle ascetic, Ixit balanced by the bu-
*•»< op th. it
UUt put of a crowd with a
I
markable head of hair. It hung below
the man's shoulders in a silky mass of
dark scarlet flecked with brown gold.
Miss Mattle bad Been red hair, but she
remembered no such color ns till*, nor
could she recall ever liavlug seen hair
a foot and a half long on a man. That
hair would have made a fortune on the
head of nn actress, but Miss Mattle
was Ignorant of the possibilities of the
profession.
The face of the man wns a fine tnn,
against which eyes, teeth nnd »mus
tache came out In brink relief. The
mustache avoided the troplenl tint of
the upper hair and was content with
a modest brown. The owner came
right along, wnlktng with a stiff,
strong, straddling gait, like a man
not used to that way of traveling.
Miss Mattle eyed him In some fear,
ne would lx» by her house directly,
aixl it was hardly iixslest to alt ag
gressively on one's front porch while
a strang»» man wont by, particularly
snob a very strange man as this, Yet
n thrill of curiosity held her for the
moment, and then ft was too late, for
the man stopp«xl and asked little Ed
die Newell, who was playing placidly
In the dost—all the children playe«l
placidly In Fairfield- ask««) Eddie In
a voice which ron«hed Miss Mattle
plainly, although the own«»r evidently
made no attempt to rats«» It. If he knew
where Mlsa Mattle Saunders lived?
Fiddle had not n<>tlc»xl the large
man's approach and nearly fell over
In a fright, but welng. with a child's
Intuition, thnt there wns no danger
In this fierce looking person be plp«»d
up Instantly.
“Y-y-yes«lr. I k!n tel! yer whore she
llvee- yessir! She lives right down
there tn that little house
I kin go
dow n with you Jes' »wen 's not! Why.
then» site Is now. on the stoop!”
"Thankre. sonny.” snld the big voles
"Here's far miggles.” an«! Ml«s Mattfe
caught the sparkle of a coin ns It
flew Into the gritny flats of Eddie.
"Much obllg«»«!!” yelled Eddie and
vamped up the street.
It
Miss Mattie sat transfixed,
breath came In swallows, nt
>v-
heart beat irreinibi I y Here »•
elty with a veitse n< '
•s CJ >n
turned
I
Sb.'
her. 1
tlced v h
eyes w e
In
As he Itti Vî ed M
agltatio: ) u
>ns
l.l it
band on hei bri .1
Wliat
mean?
o|teue<l and the strati
The gat«»
ger strode up th, cinder walk to the
porch, lie, stopped a whole minute
ami hxiked at her. At last!
“Well. Mattle!" lie said, “don't yon
know im»?'
A flood of the wildest hypotheses
flashed through Miss Mattle's mint
without enllghteniug her. Who was
this pk-turesque giant who stepped
out of the past with so familiar a sal
utatlon? Although the porch was a
foot high, and Miss Mattle a fairly
tall woman, their eyes were almost on
a level as she looked at him In won
der.
Then he laughed and showed h!«
white teeth. "No use to bother and
worry you, Mattie," said he. “You
couldn't call it In ten years. Well. I'm
your half uncle Fred's boy Bill, and I
hope you're a quarter as glad to see
me as I am to see you ”
“What!" she cried. "Not little Willy
who ran away?’
"The same little Willy,” he replied
in a time that made Miss Mattle laugh
a little, nervously, "and what 1 want
to know Is. are you glad to sw me?”
"Why, of course! But, Will—I sup
pose I should call you Will? I am so
flustered—not ex|>ectlng you- ami It's
lieen so warm today. Won't you come
In and take a chair?" wound up Miss
Mattle lu desperation and fury at her
self for saying things so different from
what she meant to say.
There was a twinkle in the man's
eyeB as he replied in an Injured tone:
“Why, good Lord, Mattle! I’ve come
2.000 miles or more to see you. and
you ask me to i take a chair Just as If
I'd stepped in from across the way!
Can't j ou give > a man a little warmer
welcome than that ?"
“What shall I do?" asked poor Miss
Mattle.
“Well, you might kiss me for a
start,” snld he.
Miss Mattle was all abroad, Still
one’s half cousin, who has come such
a distance and been received so very
oddly, Is entitled to consideration, Sho
raise«! her agitated face and for the
first time In her life realized the pleas
ure of wearing a mustache.
Then Red Saunders, late of the
Chanta Seecliee ranch. North Dakota,
sat him down.
“I'm obliged to you, Mattle,” he said
In all seriousness. “To tell you the
truth, I felt In need of a little comfort
ing—here I've come all this distance—
and. of course. I henrd about father
and mother—but I couldn't believe It
was true. Seemed as If they must be
waiting nt the old place for me to
come back, and when I saw it all gone
So ruin— Well, then I set out to find
somebody, and do you know, of all the
family there's only you and me left?
That's all. Mattle, Just us two! While
1 "as growing up out west I kind of
expected things to be standing still
back here and be Just the same as I
left them—hum— Well, how are
anyhow ?"
"I'm well. Will, and”—laying
hntid upon Ills, "don't think I’m
glad to see you—please don't. I’m so
glad. Will. I can't tell you but I'm ail
confused so little happens here."
“I shouldn't gue < It was the liveliest
place In the world, by the hx>k of It.”
snld Rod. “And as far as that's con
cerned. I kinder don't know what to
say myself. There's such a heap to
talk about It's hard to tell where to
l>egln. But we've got to be friends,
though, Mattle—we’ve Just got to be
friends. Good Lord. We're all there’s
left! Funny I never thought of such
n thing! Well, blast It! That's enxugh
of such talk. I've brought you a pres
ent. Mattle." He stretched out a leg
tnat reached lieyond tlx» limits of the
from oorch mid dove Into Ids trousers
pocket, bringing out a buckskin sack.
He fumbled at tlx- knot a minute and
then passed it over, saying, “You un
tie It—your fingers ar«» soopller than
mine."
Miss Mattle's fingers were
shaking, but tlx* knots finally came un
done, and from the sack she brought
forth a chain of rich, dull yellow lumps
fashioned Into a necklace. It weighed
a pound. She spread It out and looked
at It astounded. "Gracious, Will! Is
that gold?" she asked.
"That's what,” he replied. "The real
article. Just ns it came out of the
ground; I dug It myself. That’S the
1
reason I'm here. I'd never got money
enough to go anywhere farther than
a horse could carry me if I hadn't
taken a fly at placer mining ami bit
her to beat h— er the very mischief.”
Miss Mattle look<*d first at the bar
baric, splendid necklace and then at
the bariatric, splendid man. Tilings
grew confuse«! before her in trying to
realize that it was real. What two
planets so separated lu tbelr orbits ns
her world and bls? She had the Im
agination that Is usually lacking in
small communities, anil the fe«»lliig of
a fairy story come true possessed her.
"And now, Mattle." sal«! be, "1 don't
know what's manners in this part of
the country, but I II make free enough
on the cousin part of It to tell you
that I could look nt some supper with
out flinching. I've walked a heap to
day, and I ain't us«»«l to walking.”
Miss Mattle sprang up. herself again
at the chance to offer hospitality.
"Why, you |>oor man!” said she. "Of
course you're starved! It must I«
nearly 8 o'clock, I alnuwt forget about
eating, lb Ing here alone
You shall
have sup|>er directly. Will you COM
In or alt a spell outsider’
"Reckon I'll come In,” Mid Red.
"Don't wsut to 1« joo sight of you now
t
that I've found you."
It was some time since Miss Mattle
hud felt that any one had cared enough
for bet- not to want to lose sight of
her. and a delicate warm bloom went
over her i beeks. She hurried into the
little kitchen.
“Mattie!" «ailed Red.
"What is it. Will?" she answered,
coming to the door.
“Can I siuoke In this little house?’
“t'er talt.iy. Sit right down ami make
yourself comfortable. Don't you re-
member what a smoker father was?"
Red tried tlie different chairs with
hts hand. They were not a stalwart
lot. Finally ho spied the homemade
rocker in th«» corner. "There's the lad
for me," lit» said, drawing It out. “Got
to Is» kinder careful how you throw
250 pounds around."
“Mercy!" cri«>«l Miss Mattle, pan tn
hand. “Do you weigh as much as
that. Will?'
"I do." return«»«! Red. with much sat-
Is tact Ion. “And there Isn’t over two
pounds of it fat at that."
"What a great tuau you have grown
up to l>e. Will?'
Red took tn a deep drnft of tobacco
and scut the vapor cleur across the
little room.
“On the hay scales, yes,” he answer
e«l. with a sort of Joking earnestness,
"but otherwise I don't know."
The return to the old home had
touched the big man deeply, ami as he
leaned back In bls chair ther«» was a
shade of melancholy on his face that
became It well.
Miss Mattie took tn the mass of him
stretched out at his ease, his legs
crossed, and the patrician cut of his
face, to which the upturned mustache
gave a cavalier touch. They were goo«!
stock, the Saunders, and the breed
had not decline«! in the only two ex
tant.
“He's my own cousin." she whlsper-
e«l to herself in the safety . of the
kitchen. "And such a splendid looking
man!" She felt a pride of possession
she had never known lx»fore. Nobody
in Fairfield or vicinity had such n
cousia as that. And Miss Mattle went
on Joyfully fulfilling au Inherlte«! In
stinct to minister to the wants of
some man. Stie said to herself there
was some satisfaction In oxtklng for
somebody else. But alack-a day, Miss
Mattie's Ideas of the wants of some
body else had suffered a Fairfield
change. Nothing was done on a large
scale In Fairfield. But she sat the lit
tle cakes lucky that she had made
them yesterday and the fried mush
and the small pitcher of milk and the
cold ham and the cold biscuit on the
table with a pride In the appearance
of the feast.
“Supper’s ready. Will," she said.
Red responded lnstatiler. II«» took a
look at the Is,ard and understood, lio
Tfiere wasn't anything in that town
high enough for me. What put gut
ters into your head?"
“I I suppose! ¡x»ople did that when
they were like that."
“1 wouldn't «aste my money <m
whisky If that’s all the Inspiration I
got out of It," r«»pli«xl lted.
"Well, of cours«» I don't know about
those things, but I wish you'd promise
me on«» thing."
“Don*»!" cii.xl Re*!. “What is It?'
"I wish you'd promise me not to
touch whisky again."
“Phew! That's a pretty big order?"
He stopixs! and thought a minute. "If
you'll muke that "never touch it when
It ain't needed,’ leaving when If«
n«xxl«>*! to what's my Idea of the square
thing on a promise, 1'11 go you, Mattle.
Tbi»r>''s my hand."
"Oh. 1 shouldu't have said anything
at all. Will. I have no right, but It
■eerned such a pity such a splendid
You mustn't
man—I mean—1 think
promise me anything. Will,” i eta mm er
e<l Mlsa Mattie. aho*Uied at ber own
daring.
kid!
“Here!” he cried. "I'm no little
1
When I promise I mean it! ! As for
your not having any right, ain’t we all
there Is? You've got to tie mother and
sister and aunt and everything to me.
I ain’t as young ns I have b«»*‘n. Mattie,
and I miss she-wavs terrible at times.
Now, put out your fin like a good pard-
tier, and here goes for no more rhine-
«»alxxw for ChHnta S»»ech«'e lted—time
I quit drinking, anyhow,” he slipped
a ring off Ills little finger. "Here, hold
out your hand.” said he. “I’ll put thia
on for luck aud the sake of the prom
ise—by the same token. I’ve got a
noose on you now, and you're my prop
erty."
This of course was only Cousin
Will’s Joking, but Miss Mattle noticed
with a sudden hot flush that he had
chosen the engng»»ment Auger In all
ignorance, she felt sure.
The last
thing she could do would be to call
his attention to the fact or run the
risk of hurting his feelings by trans
ferring the ring; besides, it was a pret
ty ring, a rough ruby In a plain gold
band—and l<x>ked very well where It
was.
Then they s«»ttl»xl down for what
Red called a good medicine talk. Miss
Mattle found hers*»lf liolilly speaking
of little fancies nnd notions that had
remained In the inner shrine of her
soul for years, shrinking from the mat
ter-of-fact eye of Fairfield: yet this
big. ferocious kxiklng Cousin Will
seemed to find them Ixith sane and In
teresting. nnd as her self n«apect went
up In tlx* arithmetical her admiration
for Cousin Will weut up lu the geo
metrical ratio. He frankly admitted
weaknesses an«l fears that the males
of Fntrfield would have rejected
scornfully.
Miss Mattle spoke of sleeping up-
stairs, liecause she could not rii]
herself of the fear of somebody com-
ing lu.
“I know Just how you feel about
thnt." said Red. "My hair used to be
on Its feet most of the time when we
were In the hay camp at the lake Ixxla.
Gee whiz! Tlx* rattlers! We put hair
ropes around but them rattlers liked
to squirm over hair ropes for exercise.
One morning I woke up and there was
a crawler on m.V chest. 'For God's
sake, Pete!' sjys I to Antelopo Pete,
who was rolled up next me. 'come tak*
my friend away? and I didn't holl»«r
very loud neither. I’c’e was chain
lightning In pants, nnd he grabs Mr.
Rattler by the tall and snaps Ills neck,
hut I felt lonesome In my Inside till
dinner time. You lx»t! I know Just
how you feel exactly. I didn't have a
man's slsed night's rest while we was
In that part of the country."
It struck Miss Mattle that the cases
were hardly parallel. "A rattlesnake
on your chest. Will!" she cried, with
her hunda clasped In terror.
“oh. It «vnsn't as bad as It sounds.
Fie was asleep, «»oiled up there to get
warm sharpish nights on th«» prairie
"Uc'i my own counln," h I ic whimpered to In August but darn it. Mattie," wrin
litri« If.
kling up his nose in disgust, “I bate
the night of the brutes?’
ate the little cakes ami biscuit and
“But you wouldn’t lie afraid of a
Bald they were the durned lest he
man. Will!"
ever tasted. He also took some pot
“Well, no,” ndmittcxl he. "I’ve nev
rheese under a ml;appr* ¡x-lision, swal
er Ixx'ii troubled much that way. Yo»i
lowed it anil said to himself that he
bad been through worse things than see. everybody has a different fear to
throw a crimp in tln-iu. Mine's rattle
that. Then, when his apiwtlte bud
snakes and these little bugs with forty
Just lxgun to develop, tlx» Inroads <iu
million pairs of legs. I pass right out
the provisions «earned him that it «as
when I see one of them tilings. They
time to stop,
Mianivhlle they ha«l
give nn» a feeling ns If my stummlcs
ranged the fields of old times nt ran
hail melted."
dom, arxl as Red took In Miss Mattle,
“Weren’t the Indians terrible out
pink with excitement and sparkling as
to eyes, he thought, “Blast the supper! there, t<x>?” aske«l Miss Mattle. “I’m
It's a square meal Just to look at her. ‘“•»•e they must have been.”
If she ain't pretty g<s>l people, I miss
my guess."
(Continued Next Week.)
It was a merry meal, He had such
a way of telling things! Mias Mattle
hadn't laughed so much for years, and
she felt that ther»» was no one that
she had known so long and so well oa
There came near being violence at
Cousin Will. There was only one Jar the Cottage Grove council meeting
ring note—Red spoke of the vigorous last Monday. Councilman
Porter
celebration that had Icon followed by wanted to remove the new sidewalk
the fludlng of gold, It was certainly built by Messrs. Lurch and Lewis in
well told, but Miss Mattle asked In front of their property on Fifth street
soft horror when hi* had finished. while others thought the proposed ac
tion drastic.
Recorder King call'd
"You didn't get—Intoxicated—Will?"
the attention of the council to the
"Did I?' said he, lost In memory and fact that there Is not a uniformity of
not noticing the tone. "Well, I put sidewalk on Main street, some belng
my haixl down the thr«ait of that 12 feet wide, other stretches eight
man's town and turned her Inside out! feet, and down to a few Inches over
It was like as If Christmas nini Eourthr the regulation five feet four inches,
of July hail happen«*! on the same and that there seemed to be stub-
bornaess and prejudice involved. This
day ”
"Oh, Will," cried Miss Mattle, "I was vehemently resented by Council
can't think of you like that- rolling in man Porter, and only but for the con
the gutter!"
Iler voice shook and stant. even temper of Recorder King
there would have been scrapping on
broke off. Her knowledge of the ef-
the spot.
Mayor Jones protnp;ly
feet of stimulants wns limited to Fair called the speaker to order.
Later
field's one dninknrd-old Tommy Me- the dispute was compromised and
K«*e, a disreputable old Irishman but good feeling verbally restored.—
drunkenness was the worst vice In her Western Oregon.
world.
"Rolling In the gutter?’ cried R»»d In
■stonlshmeot “Why. girl, what for
O
TOTvXA.
would I roll in the gutter? What'B the
Tht Kind Yu Ha* unar
fuu In that? Jim lay Christmas! I Baan th»
*
•
lifuttn
wanted to walk*' ' «•
of
•
I