Eugene daily guard., January 10, 1908, Image 7

THK BTGEXK DAILY GUARD, FOIIDAV, JAM'ARY 10, 191)8
, .By.
HENRY WALLACE PHILLIPS
UI(Continued.)
PTE"
,hfre awhile looking around
lbfre . t, in. i.ia thumb.
, what It is. '" u " "
miRht ns well go minim:
This la likely (Travel, and
...... l front of
, ,.-lwir III ine Illuiuiuiiiia
tave"'teen imiu'hetl full of
,'onlr because It's on the
nobtiv's taken tlio trouble
t trns'l.'i Tllla road was
' -,tlp ranchers that didn't
,'nS about mining, nnd every
, rae over the troll had
i set to get further along as
possible-just line us. uu
that little hollow running
the river? Well, you try
there. I ftlve you that place.
most probable, ana you ns n
in the business will hnve all
I'll make a stab where I am.'
!ilr, It sounds queer to tell It,
mi aueerer still to think of
L 0f it, but 1 hadn't dug two
t I come to bed rock, and
Bome.ueary uiacjt tuuum.
an I. 'what's these things?
one over to him. He caught
lied at It
ktild you get tnatr says ne
I whisper.
out of the hole, of course'.'.
nulling. 'Come take a look!'
ren't the kind of a man to
handle over trifles, but when
into that hole he turned per-
Im. Ills knees give out from
la, nrt he rat on the ground
ia b a trance, wiping the
r his face with a motion like
it the devil alls you? says I,
.1 I thought maybe I'd dono
I hadn't ought to do
Ipnornnee of the rules and
id of rlnlng.
s he, 'ead solemn. 'I've
r twenty year and from old
In Alaska, but I never saw
tint was nee high to that
Ml laying loose in chunks
M lie bed rock Is too much
I Irish Ely could see this.'
Mya 1. 'What you talking
What have those black hunks
lb sold?
iuily answer he made was to
one I had thrown to him on
rork and hit her a crack with
Thtn he handed It to me.
uth! There under the b'ark
.teller. Of course if I'd
lore about the business I could
I It by the weight, but I'd
Ita a piece of g i!d fresh on
before In ray life. I hadn't
:est Men what It looked like,
Inrned afterward it all looks
Some of It shines up yellor
:rt. some of It's red, and some
jours, coated black with Iron
loo&ed at Ag, nnd Ag looked
neither one of us btflovlni
f at all for awhile. I simply
get hold of the thine I ain't
'hat matter. I expect to wake
nnd it a nine dream, nnd In
fifs I wouldn't mind If It wna.
(has so completely two men us
n that occasion One of 'em
'nine around anil holicrlnc-
-. yelling 'Hooray T and the
a i tnfco much Interest in the
't And It wasn't until
'Now I can pay that cuss-
' Of n St!l"I .Irlvnr .,,l I
' 'hat I g .it any good out of
iwisM It limne to use. When
'At a limit paying the driver.
"TUrlt so.' Then he takes a
' around. 'We can mr Mm
'. old homer he holleii nnd
' " ni0it Joyful smile on his
. he. 'i'..n'i i it.,.
-. , ituij,, line
Jl: -ord on the river for-1
' how mnnr mll.., . 1
' k-ngtb of her y
' Kyt I.
little nbinn. i, . .
,i.i, '""u. nays Aggy
iii . . togetlier,
' 'ord. and by a Judicious
, Muiuis ir various uncles
jers nn.i f-i...i.. . .
k ' ours along
' the lowlands we can fix
even bridge t
2ama "'"r can't crora our
e ay thuy ,.a.,., y
i.i.iT , 11 r-ay "No"
1 I had a gt,:,.'
ZlwV "i,y p:n !"r "t
, ..:i::ishjtt.,.
; ''"" 1 1 ! ' e v.h.-n
:ttf..!- 11 r-'1' ovcr tho
'n t'. , , ,
.t; " id cm all
fin, ,.; ' . ' :"'"!7 com-
'.b ,' '''"" lias fc.,id
('. " ' oo u a
.?nr n'';z. ltr.,1 t...
r i.
. ,wl foir.et ,n.. ,
3' nM p,,t .
Jit . , " hole..
j aythla. r "1,r'''" nobody
"f river. Tb.
led Saunders
J
fc COMPANY
man's name was, White, and he was "a
white man by nature too. lie fed us I
well and was Just as hot as us when i
we told liliu about tho stage driver's j
trick. Thou we told him about tho
find and let him in. I
" 'Now,' says Aggy, 'have you got a
gnuV
" 'I have that,' says the man. '.My
uud iiM:u to be a uiicu hunierou t hes
apeaUe bay. When you say "gun" I'll
show you a gun.' He dove in under
his bunk ml fetched out what I should
say was u -No. 1 bote shotgun, with
barrels six foot long.
" 'Gentlemen.' enys he, holding the
gun up UI-.1 patting It lovingly, 'if you
ram a quarter pound of powder In
each one of them barrels and u hand
ful of buckshot on top of that y'ou'vo
got an urgjuieut that couldn't be upset
by tho supreme court. I'll guarantee
that when you point her anywheres
within ten fect of a man not over a
hundred yards away and let her do her
duty, all the talent that that man's
fambly could employ couldn't gather
enough of blm to recognize him by,
and you won't be In bed more'n long
enough to heal a busted shoulder.'
" 'I hope It ain't going to be my pain
ful line of performance to pull the
trigger,' says Aggy. 'I think the sight
of her would have weight with most
people. When's the stage due back?'
" 'Day ni'ter tomorrow, about noon.'
" 'That gives us lots of time to stake
and to salt claims that can't show
j cause their own selves,' Bays Aggy. '1
think we're all right.'
"The next day we worked like the
old Harry. We had everything flxed
up right by nightfall, nnd there was
nothing to do but dig aud wait
"Curious folks we all are, ain't we?
I should have said my own self that If
I'd found gold by tho bucketful, I'd bo
more Interested In that than 1 would
be In getting even with n nmt that had
done me dirt, but It wasn't so. Per
haps it was because I hadn't paid
much attention to money all my life,
and I had paid the strictest attention
to the way other people used me. Liv
ing where there's so few folks ac
counts for that, I suppose.
I "Getting even on our esteemed
friend, tho stage driver, was right In
your Uncle Iteddy's line, and Aggy and
I our new pard, White, seemed to take
. kindly to It, also:
I "If ever you hiiw three faces filled
with Innocent glee, It was when we
heard the wheels of that stage coming
why, the night before I was woke
up by somebody laughing. There was
Aggy sound asleep, sitting up hugging
himself In the moonlight.
" 'Oh, my! Ob, my!' says he. 'It's
tho only ford for 4.000 miles!'
"Wve plunted a sign In the middle of
tho road with this wording on It In big
letters, mnde with the black end of a
stick:
NOTICE! '
This and adjoining claims are the prop
erty of Affnmemnon O. Jones. Rvd Saun
ders, John Henry White, et al.
Trespassing done at your own risk,
(owners will not be responsible for the
lemalna.
"There was a stretch of about a mllo
n the level before us. When the stage
ome In plain sight Aggy proceeds to
".IroimiJ iou o'i" lie hnUcr.
load up 'Old Moral Ptmsl.m,' as b
ailed her. so that the f lks could se
there v.M3 no nttrr.'.;-t at lUvcptlnn.
They c.imo pretty fairly slow after
that. At lift- yards. As hollers 'Halt!'
The team sat right down on their
tail?.
"'Now. Mr. Snlck'umfrltz.' says Ag
gy. 'yon that drives. I n.eau, come hero
and read this little sign.'
"Suppose I dir.rt :' says the fci:er,
trying to be smart before the passen
gers. '"It's ft horrible upposltlon,' sny
.?gy. 'and the Innocent will have to
surfer with the guilty.' Then he corks
the g'.m.
' 'God snkesl Don't sho.4' yells on
of the passengers. 'M.inPou ought to
bare more sens than to try and pick
his put of a crowd with a shotsuuj
IB
I f f Iff
Get down there, you fool, and make It '
quick!"
"So the driver walked our way aud
road. He never said a word. 1 r(Jk
on he realized it was the only ford ,
for 4 .Oft') miles, more or less, as Agpy
had remarked. There ho stood, with
his mouth and eyes wldo open. ,
; " 'I'd like to have you other gentle- i
men come up and see our Ilrst cle;mp,
so you won't think we're running In a
windy,' says Aggy. They wanted to
see bad, as you fan imagine, aud when
they did Bee about fifteen pounds of ;
gold In the bottom of my old hat they '
talked like people that hadn't had a
' Christian bringing up.
" 'Oh, Lord!' groans one man. 'Brig.
ham Young aud all the prophets of
I the Mormon religion! This is my
tenth trip over this line, nnd mo and
Pete Hendricks played a game of
seven tip right on the spot where that
gent hit her not over a mouth ago,
when the stage broke down! Some
body Just make a guess at the way I
feel and give me one small drink.'
And he puI his hand to his iieiul.
'Say, boys.' he goes on, 'you don't want
the whole blamed iTee!;. do yon? Let
us In!'
"'How's t'mt. fellerc?' says Ag to
me and White. We said we was agree
able. " 'All r!;;'.it. In you to: to!' rays Aggy.
'There ain't no h' g n' out our firm.
But as for you.' sa; s he. walking on
his tiptoes up to the driver -as for you,
you cockeyed wheln. around you go!
Around you go!' he hollers, jamming
the cud of Moral Suasion Into the driv
er's trap. 'Oh, and won't you go
round, though!' says ho. 'Listen to
mo, now: If any one of your ancestors
for twenty-four generations had ever
done anything as decent as robbing a
hencoop It would have conferred a
kind of degree of nobility upon him. It
wouldn't be possible to find an ornrler
cuss than you If a man raked all bell
with a fine toothed comb. Now, you
stare coated, mangy, 'bandy legged,
misbegotten, outlaw coyote, fly fly!'
whoops Aggy, Jumping four foot in the
air, 'before I squirt enough lead Into
your system to make It a paying Job
to melt you down!'
"The stage driver acted according to
orders. Tbreevwlde steps nnd he was
In tho wagon, and with one' screech
like a p'lzened bobcat he fairly lifted
the cayuses over the first ridge. No
body never saw blm any more, and no
body wanted to.
"So that's the way I hit my stake,
son, Just ns I'd always expected by
not knowing what I was doing any
part of the time and now, there
comes my Iron horse coughing up the
track! I'll write you sure, boy. and you
let old Keddy know what's going on
nnd on your life don't forget to give
It to the lads straight why I sneaked
off on the quiet! I've got ten years
older in the last six months. Well,
here we go quite fresh, nnd d d If
I altogether want to neither. Too
late to argue though. By-by, son!"
CHAPTER IV.
ISS MATTIB sat on her little
front porch, faclug the setting
sun. Across the road, now an
kle deep in June dust, was the
1
wreck of the Peters place back
broken roof, crumbling chimneys, shut
ters banking down like broken wings,
the old house had fie pathetic appeal
of shipwrecked gentility. A house
without people lu lt. even when lt Is
In repair. Is as forlorn ns a dog who
has lost his master.
Up the road were more houses of the
nondescript village pattern, made nei
ther for comfort nor looks. God
knows why they built such houses!
Perhaps It was In accordance with the
old Puritan idea that any kind of
physical perfection Is blasphemy. Some
of these were kept In paint and win
dow glass, but there were enougj poor
relations to spoil (he effect.
Down the road between the arches at
The weeping willows came flint the
brook, with the stone bridge this
broken as to coping and threadbare
In general then mi the hither side of
the way some three or four neigh
bors' houses and opposite the black
smith's shop aud postoi'ice, the latter
of course In a store, wnere you could
buy anything from stalu groceries to
shingles.
In short, Kalrlield was an eastern
village whose cause had departed, a
community drained of the mnle prin
ciple, leaving only a few queer men.
the blacksmith nnd some hallllug boy
I to give tone to the background of doz
ens of old maids.
An unsympathetic Btranger would
have felt that nothing was left to tho
Fnlrfieidlaiis but memory, and the
sooner they lost that the lietter.
Tnke a wlneglassful of raspberry
vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of sugar,
half a cup each of boneset and rhu
bard. a good full cup of the milk of
human kindness, dilute In a gallon of
water nnd yon have the flavor of
I'nlrfield. There was Just euougli of
: each Ingredient to spoil the taste of
a the rest.
Miss Mattle rested her elbow on the
' railing, her chin In her band, and
gazed iliDiiditfiilly about her. As a
matter of fad. she was the most In
Fplrlng thing In view. At a distune"
of tlftv yards (die was still n tall, slen
der girl.' Her body retained the bahlt
ns well ns the lines of youth, n trick
of gliding Into miexi'C'ti'iI. pii'asiiiK at
tltudps, which vouid have N-cii awk
ward but for the suppleness, of llnih
to which they testified ami the iineon
rcionsness uud ease of their Irregular
ity. Her face was n child's fai-e In the
ennobling sense of the word. The rec
ord of the years written upon It seem
ed a masquerade the face of ( clear
eyed girl of fourteen made up to rep
resent her own.iunt at a fancy dress
party: a face drawn a trifle tine, a lit
tle ascetic, but bnlnuced by the hu
mor of the large, shapely mouth, and
really beautiful in bone and contour,
the beauty of mignonette aud doves
and gentle things.
You could see that she was thirty-five
tn the blatant candor of noon, but now,
blushed with the pink of the setting
sun, she was still In the days of tho
fairy prince.
Miss Mattle's reverie idled over the
year upon year of resiwtable stupidity
that represented life In Fairfield, while
her eyes and soul were lu tho (wiling
gold of the sky glory. She Blghed.
A panorama of life minced before
Miss Mattle's mind about as vivid and
full of red corpuscles as a Greek
frieze. Her affectionate nature was
starved. They visited each other, the
ladles of Fulrfleld these women who
had rolled on the floor together ns
babies in their best black or green or
whatever lt might be, and gloves
this though the summer sun might be
hammering down with all his might.
And then they sat In a closed room
and talked In a reserved fashion which
was entirely the property of the call.
Of course one could hnve a moment's
real talk by chance meeting, and there
were the natural griefs of life to break
the corsets of this etiquette, although
lu general the griefs seemed to be
long drawn out nnd conventional af
fairs, as If nature herself at last yield
ed to the system, conquered by the
Invincible conventionality nnd stub
bornness of the Indies of Fairfield, it
was the unspoken but firm belief of
each of these women that a person
of their circle who had no more Idea
of respectability than to drop dead on
the public road would never go to
heaven. ,
Poor Miss Mattle! Small wonder
she dropped her hands, sat back and
wondered, with another sigh. If It were
for this she was born. She did not
rebel there was no Tiolence In her
but she regretted exceedingly. In spite
of her Blenderness lt was a wide
mother lap In which her hands rested,
an obvious cradle for little children.
And Instinctively lt would come to you
as you looked at her that there could
be no more comfortable place for a
tired man to come home to than a
household presided ovcr by this slow
moving, gentle woman.
There was nothing old maldlsh about
Miss Mattle but the tale of her years.
She had bad offers, such as Fairfield
and vicinity could boast, and declined
them with tact and the utmost grati
tude to the suitor for the compliment,
but her "no." though mild, was firm,
for there lny within her a certain quiet
valiant spirit which would rather en
dure the fatigue nnd loneliness of old
age In her little house than to tnke a
larger life from any but the man who
was all a commonplace In fiction, in
real life sometimes quite a strain.
The sun distorted himself Into a Rug
by football and hurried down as though
to be through with Fnlrfleld ns soon
as possible. It was a most magnificent
sunset, flaming, gorgeous, wild be
yond the management of the women of
Fairfield nnd Miss Mattle stnred Into
the heart of It with a longing for some
thing to happen. Then the thought
came, "What could happen?" She
sighed again, nnd. with eyes blinded
by beaven shine, glanced down the vil
lage 'street.
She thought she saw she rubbed her
eyes and looked again she did see, and
surely never a stranger sight was be
held on Fairfield's street!. Had a P.oy
al Bengal tiger come slouching through
the dust It could not have been mora
unusual. The spectacle was a mnn; a
very large aud mighty shouldered mnn,
who looked about blm with a bold. Im
perious, keep the change regard. There
was something In the swing of him
that suggested the Bengal tiger. He
wore high heeled boots outside of his
trousers, n flannel shirt with a yellow
silk kerchief around his neck, nnd on
his head snt a white hat which seemed
to Miss Mattle to be at least a yattl In
diameter. Under the tint was t ro
ffiarkablc bend of hair. It hung below
the man's shoulders In n silky mass of
dark scarlet llecked with brown gold.
Miss Mattie had seen rod hair, but she
remembered no such color as this; nor
could sl.c recall ever having seen hair
a foot anil a half long nn n man. That
hair would have made a fortune on the
bead of an nrlivss, but Mbs Mattle
I was Ignorant of the possibilities of the
' profession.
The face of the man was a lino tan,
; against which eyes, teeth nine nius
. tacbe came out lu brisk relief. The
' mustache avoided the tropical tint of
the upper hair and was content with
; a modest brown. The owner came
right along, walking with a stiff,
strong, straddling gait, like a man
not used to that way of traveling.
Miss Mattle eyed him In some fear.
lie would bo by her house directly,
I and lt was hardly modest to sit ag
j prcssiveiy on one's front porch while
: a strange man went by, particularly
' such n very strange man ns this. Yet
: n thrill of curiosity held her for the
1 moment, nnd then It was too late, for
! the mnn stopped and nsked little Ed
' die Newell, who was playing pbtrhHy
I In the dust-all the children played
, placidly In Fnlrfleld- asked Kdille In
n voice which reached Miss Mattle
! ptiiliitv, although the owner evidently
made no attempt to rnlse It, If be knew
whore Miss Mattle Saunders lived?
Fddio had not noticed the large
man's atiproacb nnd nearly fell over
In a fright, but sis. Inc. with a child's
' Intuition, that there was no danger
In this fieri p looking person bo piped
up Instantly.
"Y-y yesslr. I l;ln tell yer where, she
lives ycsslr! She !i's right down
there In that little house. I kin go
down with you Jos' swell 's not! Why,
there she Is n.v, nn the stuopr'
Thankee, sonny," said Hip big voice.
"Here's for mlggles." and Miss Mattle
caught the sparkle "f a coin as It
flew Into the grimy fists of Kddlo.
I "Much obllgedr yelled Eddla and
j vanished u(h street.
Miss Mattle sat transfixed. Her
breath came In swallows, and her
heart beat Irregularly. Hose was nov
elty with a vengeance! The big man
turned and fastened his eyes upon
her. There was no retreat. 'h no
ticed with some reassurance that his
eyes were grave and h bully. O
As he advanced Miss Mattle rose In
ngltation, unconsciously putting her
baud on her throat. What could It
mean?
The gnto was opened and the stran
ger atrodc up the cinder walk to the
porch. He stopped a whole minute
and looked at her. At last!
"Well, Mattle!" he said, "don't you
know nii'?"
A flood of the wildest hypotheses
flashed through Miss Mattle's mind
without enlightening her. Who was
this picturesque giant who stepped
out of the past with so familiar a sal
utation? Although the porch was a
foot high, and Miss Mattle a fairly
tali woman, their eyes were almost
a icvei as sue 1001,0,1 ai mm wu.i- 1
Then he laughed nnd fiutwed bis
white teeth.- "No u;e to bother and
worry you, Mattle." said he. "Von
couldn't call it in ten years. Well. I'm
your half uucie Fred's boy BIH, and I
hope you're a quarter as glad to seo
me ns I am to see yon."
"What!" she cried. "Not little Willy
who ran away!"
"The same little Willy," he replied
In a tone that made Miss Mattle laugh
0 little, nervously, "nnd what 1 want
to know Is, are you glad to see me?"
"Why, of course! But, Will 1 sup
pose I flhould call you Will? I um bo
flustered not expecting you nnd It's
been so warm today. Won't you come
1 1a .tak,e a h"!rr Tmi1 WPS!1
i""u V,
BYIL 1U1 DMJ IUg , " " ' H DU UIH, ' I", . 1 VJli.
what ahe meant to aay.
There was a twinkle In the man's
eyes 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 take a chair just as If
I'd stepped In from ncroBS the way!
Can't you give a man a little warmer
welcome than that?"
"What shall I do?" asked poor Mlas
Mattie.
"Well, you might kiss mo for a
start." said he.
Miss Mattle was all abroad. Still
one'B bnlf cousin, who hns come Buch
a distance aud been received so very
oddly, is entitled to consideration. She
raised her agitated face and for tho
first time In her life realized the pleas
ure of wearing a mustache.
Then lied Saunders, late of the
Chanta Seechee ranch. North Dakota,
sat blm down.
"I'm obliged to you, Mattle," be 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 heard about father
and mother but I couldn't believe lt
was true. Seemed ns If they must be
waiting nt the oid place for me to
come back, and when I saw lt all gone
k ruin Well, then I set out to find
somebody, and do you know, of all the
family there's only you nnd mo left? :
That's all. Mattle, Just us tw'o! Whllo
1 was growing up out west I kind of
expected things to be standing still
back here and be Just the same ns I
left them hum Well, how are you,
anyhow?"
"I'm well, Will, and" laying her
hand upon his, "don't think I'm not
glad to see yon please don't. I'm so
glad. Will. I can't tell you but I'm all
confused so little happens here."
"i shouldn't guess It was the liveliest
place In the world, by tho look of it,"
said lied. "And as far as thnt'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
begin. Hut we've got to be friends,
though, Mattle we've just got to be
friends. Good Lord. We're all there's
left! Fnnny I never thought of such I
a thing! Weil, blast lt! That's enn'.igit j
of such talk. I've brought you a pres
ent, Mattle." He stretched out n leg
tnat reached beyond the limits of the
from tiorch and dove Into bis trousers
pocket, Jiiiuglng out a buckskin sack.
He fumbled at the knot a minute ami
then passed It over, saying, "You un
tie lt your lingers tire sonpller than
mine." Miss Mattle's lingers were,
shaking, but the knots finally came nil-.
done, and from the sack she brought
forth a chain of rich, dull yellow lumps
fashioned into n necklace. It weighed
a pound. She spread it out and hsiked
at it astounded. "Gracious, Willi Is
that gold?" she asked. i
"That's what," he replied. "The real '
nrtlcle. Just ns It came out nf tho
ground; I dug It myself. That' tlio ,
reason I'm here. I'd never got money
enough to go anywhere farther than
a horse could carry too If I hadn't
taken a fly at placer mining and hit
her to beat h er the very mischief."
MIsa Mattle looked first nt tho Imr-
barfc. splendid necklace and then at
the bar! hi lie. splendid man. T hings
grew confused before her In trying to
renllc that It was real. What two
planets ho separated lu their orbits as
her world and his? She had the im
agination that is usually lacking in
Hiuall communities, 11 rid the feeling of
a fairy story come true possessed her.
"And now, Mattle," said be, "1 don't
know what's manners In this part of
the country, but I'll make free enough
on tho cousin part of It to tell 3 on
that 1 could looi; at some supper with
out flinching. I've walked a heap to
day, and 1 ain't Ufcl to walking."
Miss Mnttlo spiling up, herself again
at the chance to offer hospitality.
"Why, ye! poor man!" said site. "Of
course you're nwrved! It must 1o
nearly ft o'clock. I allium! forget nlxuit
patlmr. Ilvlne here nlolic. You ahull
have supicr directly. Will you com
In or Bit a iell outside?"
"lteckon I'll come In," said Red.
"Don't wag to lose sight of you now
thiit I've found you."
It was somtt time since Miss Mattle
had felt that any one had caQd euougli
for her not to want to lose sight of
her, and a delicate warm blmi went
over her cheeks. She hurried Into tho
Uttlo kitchen.
"Mattle!" culled lied. '
"What is It, Will?" she answered, :
coming to tin door.
"t'nu I smoke lu this little bouse?"
"t'er-tniiiiy. 11 right down and make
yourself comfortable. Ikm't you re-!
meiulier what a smoker father waB?"
lied tried the different chairs with '
his band. They wore not a stalwart '
lot. Finally he spied the homemade
rocker In the corner. "There's the lad
for me," ho said, drawing lt out "Got :
to bo kinder careful how vou throw :
! 2S0 pounds around." j
j "Mercy!" fried Miss Matile, pan In j
: hand. "Ho you weigh bb much ns
1 that. Will?"
I "1 do," returned lied, with much sat
isfaction. "And there Isn't over two
pounds of it fat at that."
: "i uai a great man you navo grown
; up to be. Will!"
j lied took In a deep draft of tobacco
I and Bent tho vapor clear across the
I little room.
"On the hay sen lea, yes," ho iiuswer
ed, with a sort of Joking earnestness,
"but otherwise I don't know,"
The return to the old homo hud
touched the big inau deeply, and as he
leaned back lu his chair there waa a
shade of melancholy on his face that
became lt well.
Miss Mattle took In tho mass of him
stretched out at his case, his legs
crossed, and tho patrician cut of bis
face, to which the upturned mustacho
-v a a wnwfltf at -i unoh ThiiTJ vtarA nruw1
! stock, the Saunders.- and the breed
had not declined In tho only two ex-
tent
"He's my own cousin," she whisper
ed to herself In the safety of the
kitchen. "And such a Bplcndld looking
manr She felt a pride of possession
she had never known lieforo. Nobody
In Fnlrfleld or vicinity had such a
cons to as that. And Miss Mattle went
on joyfully fulfilling an Inherited In
stinct to minister to the wants of
some man. She said to herself there
was some satisfaction in cooking for
somebody else. But alack-a-day, Miss
Mattle's Ideas of the wants of some
body else bad Buffered a Fairfield
change. Nothing was douo on a largo
scale In Fnlrfleld. But she sat tho lit
tle cakes lucky that ue had mada
them yesterday and the fried mush
and tho small pitcher of milk and the
cold bam and the cold biscuit on the
table with a prldo In the appcaranco
of the feast.
"Supper's ready. Will," she said,
lied responded Instnuter. lie took a
look at the board and understood. Ha
"c's my own conWn.' 1.1 c 1W1 lnjicrctl to
ate tiie little cakes and biscuit and
said they were the dt:rued best be
ever lasted. lie al:--o tool; some pot
hiei-'e under a i;J.:;iiiprohension, swal
lowed It and raid to himself that ho
had been through woie things than
(but. Then, when bis appetite had
Just begun lo dovoldii, the inroads on
the provisions warned blm that lt was
time to stop. Meanwhile they hud
ranged the Ilel'ls of old times at ran
dom, and as Ked took lu Miss Mattle,
pink with excitement and sparkling us
to eyes, he thought, "I'dast tho snpiterl
It's n square meal Just to look at her.
If sbo ulu't pretty good people, I miss
my guess."
It was a merry nienl. Ho had such
a way of telling things! Miss Mnttlo
hadn't laughed so much for years, and
tho felt that there was no one that
she had known so long and so well ns
Cousin Will. There was only one Jar
ring note lied spoke of the vigorous
celebratt
that had been followed by
the finding of 1:
It as certainly
sell told, but y.
soft horror win
"You didn't get I
SH
Matlie asked lit
be had finished,
toxIcated-WIII?"
"Ill I IV" said he. lost In Memory and
not noticing the lone. "Well, I put
my hand down the throat of that
mail's town and tinned her inside out!
It v. as like as IT f 'hrlstinaH and Fourth
of July bad haiqs'tied 011 tho snme
day."
"Oh. Will." erict Miss Mattle, "1
can't think of you like that -rolling tn
tho guiter!" Her voice shook nnd
broke off. Her knowledge tf ibe ef
fect of stimulants was limited to Fair
field's one drimlmrd old Tommy Me
Ivee, a disreputable old Irishman but
dninkeniicMH was the worst vlco In ber
world.
"Hulling In the glitter."" cried Bed In
astonishment. "Why, girl, what for
would I roll In the gutter? What's the
fun In that? .Ilmlny (Tirlatmaal 1
Wfllttk-(1 tl Wfiltf P - - .' .
1 a
281
roTKri I II
Tliero wasn't anything lu tbnt town
high enough for me. What put gut
ters Into your head?"
"I I supposed peoplo did that when
they wcre- like that."
"I wouldn't waste my money on
whisky If that's all tho inspiration I
got out of lt," replied lied.
"Well, of course 1 don't know about
those things, but I wish you'd protnfee
me c.lo thing."
-Doner cried lied. "What is ItT
"1 wish you'd promise mo not to
touch whisky again."
"Phew! That's a pretty big order r
Ho stopied nnd thought a minute. "If
you'll miiko thut 'never touch It when
It ain't needed,' leaving when Jt'a
needed to whnt's my Idea of tho square
thing ou a promise, I'll go you, Mattle.
There's my hand."
"Oh, I shouldn't hnve said anything
at all, Will. I hnvo no right, but It
seemed such a pity such a splendid
man I mean 1 think Yon mustn't
promise me anything. Will." stuuimer
cd Miss. Mattie, thocked nt her own
daring.
"Here!" be cried. "I'm no little kid!
When 1 promise 1 menu lt! As for
your not laving any right, ain't wo all
there is? You've got to bo mother nnd
sister and aunt and everything 1 mo.
I ain't as young ns I have been, Mattle,
and I miss she-ways terrible nt times.
Now, put out your fin like a good pard
ner, nnd here goes for no more rhlne
csIkkw for Chanta Seechee lied tima
I quit drinking, anyhow," he slipped
a ring off bis little finger. "Here, hold
out your hand," said he. "I'll put tbls
on for luck and the sako of the prom
iseby the same token, I've got a
nooso on you now, and you're my prop
erty." This of course was only Cousin
Will's joking, but Mlsa Mattle noticed
with a sudden not flush that he had
chosen the engagement finger In all
ignorance, ahe felt sure. The last
thins she could do would be to calt
his attention to the fact or run the
risk of hurting his feelings by trans
ferring the ring; besldea. It was a pret
ty ring, a rough ruby In a plain gold
band and looked very well where lt
was.
Then they settled down for -what
Bed called a good medicine talk. Miss ,
Mattle found herself 'boldly speaking
of little fancies and notions that bad
remained In the inner shrine of bar
soul for years, shrinking from the matter-of-fact
eye of Fairfield; yet this
big, ferocious looking Cousin Will
seemed to find them both sane and In
teresting, and as her self respect went
up In the arithmetical her admiration
fur Cousin Will went up in the geo
metrical ratio. He frankly admitted
weaknesses and fears that the males
of Fnlrfleld would have rejected
scornfully.
Miss Matlie spoke of sleeping ep
stnlrs, because she could not rid
herself of tho fear of somebody com
ing lu.
"I know Just how you feel about
that," said lied. "My balr used to be
ou Its feet most of the time when we
were In tho hay camp at the lake beds.
Gee whir.! The rattlei-s! We put hair
ropes around but them rattlers liked
to squirm ovcr hair ropes for exorcise.
One morning I woke up nnd there wis
a crawler ou my chest. 'For God'a
sako, Pete!' says 1 to Antelojie Pete,
who was rolled up r.et me. 'cometnlo
my friend away!' and I didn't boiler
very loud neither. Pete was chain
lightning lu pants, nnd ho grabs Mr.
Battler by the tall aud maps his neck,
but I felt lonesome lu my Inside till
dinner time. You bet! I know Just
how you feel exactly. 1 didn't hav a
man's sized night's rest whllo we waa
In that part of the country,"
It struck Miss Mattle that the case
were hardly parallel. "A rattlesnake
on your chest, Will!" she cried, with
her hands clasped In terror.
"oh. It wasn't ns bad as It sonndn.
Ho was asleep, colled up there to get
wnrm-shnrpirh nights on tho prnlrin
lu August but darn It, Mattle," trrlii-
I kllug up his nose In disgust, "I buto
j tea ight of ihe bnitesi"
i "But you wouldn't be afraid of a
i man. Will!"
j "Well, no" admit toil hp. "I've nev
er been troubled much that way. You
i ec, everybody has 11 different fear to
1 throw 11 crimp in tlieui. Mine's ratth!
I snakes an 1 these llttlo bugs with forty
million pairs of legs. I pass right out
' when I seo ono of them things. They
j glvo me 11 feeling as If my stuinmlo
had melted."
"Weren't tho Indians terrible out
there, loo" aKked Miss Mattle. "I'm
1 ? they must have been."
(Cominuod Next Friday.)
F.l tJKNM PltOFKrtTV
WILI GUOW VALl'AHLU
Blnlr street addl'lnn property l
sure to double In value within th 1
next two years. Two electric rail
ways are coming up Hie valley fre--i
Portland and both of them must en
t"r the city from the west, and Ire
line that will tap tht Slusiaw coun
try ran not go out In any other di
rection, As mire as wntr runs dowi
hill, Kugene must build down t!i
valb-y because tho business Is
ther".
There are both acreage tracts and
large lo's in this addition, only a
mile from the business center and
throe blocks from thu Geary public
school.
Prices are very reasonable and you
may mnke your own terms, a small
eaynii'tit down and monthly Install
ments If you desire.
Sen tho Oregon Land Co. at 412
Willamette street, or write thom for
particulars and prices. tf
Good music at tho t'lidnrwoot
Ulnk every evening. Come and on
Joy yourself, f
CASTOIi XA.
8 jri th M '' H7 "WW k'VW
o