13
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
I t a in ’t ever been hurt, or je rk e d .”
In the Light of the Morning
A Short Story by Elma Cadwallader.
’TIE k itch en doer banged, and Toni lips and moved them ag ain and again
dashed out blindly into the i>eaeo of before ho continued. The w ords ap
th o sp rin g m orning. He cu t across peared to be w rung from him ag ain st
h is m o th e r's flow er be la, leav in g be his will, y e t ho spoke w ith a passion
hind a tr a il of ten d er young plants, ate relief.
“ I ’ve— ”
tram p le 1 anil broken, and ran into tho
“ Go o n ,” Tom persisted, in th e grip
b a r i to where his h o rse ’s head was
th ru s t in g reetin g to him over tho bars of a fearsom e an a irresistib le curios
of a box-stall. Tom Hung both arm s ity.
“ I 'v e k illed a m a n !”
a
Tho meadow w as very still. The
— te a rs all born o f rage, hum iliation,
an d more dangerous passions. The drops horse stopped cropping the grass to
fell slowly, dropping o ff th e h o rse's listen to a tin k lin g cowbell across tho
valley. From T o m ’s m ind the fog of
cream colored inane into th e straw .
his recen t an g er vanished, leaving him
“ P a lieked me-—aw ful, th is tim e ! ’’
gasped tho boy. “ He s h a n 't do it again. in sudden, confusing lig h t. lie b ent
I ’ll— I 'll g et even. I ’ll— ” H is hand down and la re fn lly rem oved a beetle
w ent to his pocket and touched the from his overalls w ithout know ing w hat
k n ife th ere, and as his fin g ers curled he did. “ W h y !” he breathed, a t last.
B l i t th e stra n g e r only repeated. “ I ’ve
round it, th o confusion in his thoughts
H e shivered in the
cleared. Suddenly his m ind seemed killed a m a n .”
possessed o f a d efin ito resolve. He warm rays of tho sunshine, and as the
shuddered and th e tears dried q u ie tly horse moved he groped his way up till
he clung to its mane.
on hia face.
“ Did he— h it y o n i ”
Tho b ars o f tho box stall were bent
“ No. I t w a s n 't th a t. I ’vi a mad
and the horso was tax in g th e ir frail re
sigtance. A t last Tom took tho old tem per. 1 stru ck in blind, crazy rage,
bridle from a peg, b u t before he led before I knew. He w as my step fath er,
his tre a su re out into th e sunshine, he b u t h e ’d alw ays tre a te d mo square.
pressed Ids cheek, w ith a kind of fu r 'Tw as about money th a t we quarreled—
tiv o tenderness, ag ain st the warm, v el money my m other left. him. H e ’d earned
th e rig h t to it, w orkin ’ on the ranch for
v e t like nostrils.
The farm house showed w hite and m o re'n ten years, so as the m ortgage
fresh ly p ain ted a t the end of a short could he paid off. Ho done splendid
p a th , betw een tall stalk s of hollyhocks by th e old place. M aybe if I h a d n ’t
in bloom. Tom dodged around the got to care a lot fo r him— a lo t m ore'u
b a rn and made fo r th e low er meadow. i th o u g h t— I wonldn t feel like this.
H e would be o u t of call o f his m oth People d o n ’t know l.ow much th ey care
e r 's voice there. He dropped astrid e till som ething happens to show ’e m .”
Tom drew a long b reath.
a rock and allowed his horse to crop the
“ I ’ve been n in n in ' since y esterday
gTass near.
A fter a fu tile e ffo rt to recall d etails noon— seems like I 'd been ru n n in ’ for
H is hand w ent to his b are
o f his fig h t of th e previous d ay w ith w eeks.”
Ted C u th tra l, in the school y a rd —he th ro at. “ I was afra id o f th e woods.
could rem em ber n othing b u t thuds and The face w as w ith me, his face and the
blood an d dust, then being shown the eyes, a fte r I 'd stru ck . I was afra id of
brick he had hurled a fte r T e d 's re th e shadows under tho trees in the
tr e a tin g form —he fell to considering woods, and— tho nights, and th e wind
fo r th e th o u san d th tim e C h u b ’s fin e in th e canyons. I c a n ’t stay alone. I t ’s
points. A b e tte r mood touched him. aw ful to bo alono w ith thonghts. I
I t n eu tralized his passion, tem porarily, had to come b aek —to see people. Y et
passion th a t was lik e physical pain. I'm a fra id to ta ik a g ain st my will, as
W a s n ’t he th e ow ner of th e b e st horse I ’m d o in ’ now. I ’r- a fra id to see men
in th e county! A herse th a t was cornin’ to tak e me, and tho w om en's
sw ifter, sounder, sm arter th an an y of seared faces, and children fo llo w in ’ to
w hich he had ev er read or heard! Was w atch. W hen I saw you and your
th ere ever snch a slender, arched neck, horse I cam e out. P erh ap s he ’ll help
w hen it w as raised lik e th a t ; and the me g et aw ay, I th o u g h t.”
ears pricked. Then Tom saw w hat the
Tom brushed his clean s ir t sleeve
horse had been q uicker to notice. A across his evos and clam m y forehead,
young man had crep t through th e and under th e sh irt he fe lt a ehill
bashes bord erin g th e creek, stum bled creeping and persp iratio u b u rstin g out
over arms, and neck, and body. “ H elp
fo rw a rd and stopped.
All th e m orning w as peace, y e t the you get a w a y ,” ho echoed slowly.
m a n ’s face showed h aggard and d ark ,
“ T h at '8 i t
I g o tta.
The horso
w ith eyes th a t gleam ed like th e eyes m ight—yon see I ’m w e a k .”
A flash
o f a trap p ed anim al. H is h a ir was seemed to pass over th e d ark face, and
black, ragged, dam p w ith dew. and the th e black eyes w avered and sh ifted
w hole of him ap peared drenched and from T o m 's w h ite f-.c e .
to rn as if w ith heavy storms.
T here was a silence, th en th e boy
Tom came suddenly to his feet. p u t his arm s around 4 ’h o b ’s noek and
“ W h at d ’ you w a n t ! ” he stam m ered. held it pressed ag ain st his c a rt, which
“ W here— w here d ’ you come f r o m l”
was thum p:ng hard. " Y o n mean you
T h ere w as no answ er. The d ark face w an t th e Ioan of my h o rs e !” he cried.
quivered, and th ere w as such o v e r “ B u t you s h a n 't have him— n et to run
w helm ing te rro r in th e eyes th a t Tom aw ay! W hy— why d o n ’t yon go b a c k !
You ought to go b a c k .”
I t w as a
fo rg o t his own.
“ A re you sick —h u r t! Is somebody th ought th a t shook th e n both, and they
a fte r y o v f”
Tom approached a step sta re d into each o th e r ’s e y ta fo r a
long, frig h ten ed , speechless h a lf min
o r tw o n earer th e stran g er.
“ No. N o b o d y ’s a fte r me— not th a t ute.
“ Go b a c k ! ” th e young man w his
I know of. ’ ’ The words w ere u ttered
u n certain ly , heavily, as from a mind pered in a dull key o f uneom prehen-
bending under a burden beyond its sion. He tu rn ed his head aside, then
stren g th . The young man sw ayed a suddenly hid his face in his hands.
Tom stood m otionless. W hen th e
little , b u t stead ied him self again by a
hand on th e h o rse ’s flan k . All the faco was raised it had changed. “ I ’d
ragged length of him denoted m uscular not th o u g h t o f i t , ” be said, w ith all a
pow er, y e t he w as b en t, and moved as c h ild 's sim plicity. “ I f I go back I
can rest.
I t will be good to rest—
an old m an moves.
“ Sit down here,” the boy said, anyw here— not to be a fra id
Yes, I ’ll
go b a c k .”
lie m ade th e an n o u n ce
qniekly compassionate.
Tho w ild eyes sh ifted to th e rock an m ent w ith th e b lank, un reaso n in g yield
in s ta n t, th en retu rn ed to T o m 's sym pa ¡ng of an exhausted child. “ I ’d w alk
th e tic face and stay ed th ere. “ I c a n ’t back, only I 'm w eak— i t ’ll ta.’ e a long
r e s t,’’ he m uttered. “ I ’m b e a t out, tim e .”
b u t I c a n 't rest. I ’ve w alked from
A suspicion o f the m a n 's good fa ith
F u lto n , w here I live. I t ’s tw e n ty five flashed b efo re T o m 's m ind, th en he put
m iles— over th a t m ountain a t th e end of it from him w ith sham e and a fine
th e valley, b u t I c a n 't sleep nor r e s t.” pride, and led th e horse np close to
“ I f so m eth in g 's th o u b lin ’ yon, it th e roek. “ You can have him ” be
m ig h t help— to te ll,” Tom urged. “ I said, “ fo r today. N obody a i n ’t ever
tell my horse things. I k n o w .”
rid d en h im ” — he choked over the
“ I d id n 't w an t to tell. I d id n 't words, all th a t they m eant to him —
th in k to ta lk to you, b u t m aybe I ’d b e t “ b u t me. H e ’ll c a rry you over the
te r. F eels like I 'd go m a l if I d id n 't m ountain by noon, th en you can turn
— tell some o n e.”
He seem ed driven him loose and h e 'll cornu home, ’cause
to speech by a g re a t need, y et held h e 's aw ful fond of me. I raised him.
back by some g re a t fear. H is b reath No one can catch him , e ith e r, when
•hook him as he stood, as though he ! he *s loose, but me. T h a t's it— leave the
had been running, and be m oistened his I reins easy, ’cause hia m o u th ’s tender.
i
M
“ I t ’s good o f y o n ,” the young man
faltered , “ and i t ’s aw ful good of you
to— tru s t m e.”
Tom made a gesture of dissent. He
c o u ld n ’t speak ju s t then.
The horso sta rte d forw ard. The man
did no t look back, b u t Tom heard him
sobbing, firs t in g ro at fu g itiv e gasps,
th en more g en tly till he had le ft the
meadow and tu rn ed th e bend in the
road tow ard tho old stone bridge.
A t sundown, a sihall figure, dishev
ek'd and d ust-stained, sat liuudl d in
tho d itch by th e roadside. T om 's
knees were draw n up and his arm s
locked round them , end th e blue eves,
softened, but dulled w ith w atching,
stared tow ard an expanse of county
I road in the distance. All his defiance
and anger of th e m orning, th e bravado
and sw aggering self assurance of him.
were gone u tterly . II is chin trem bled
occasionally as he noted th e shadows
deepening, tu rn in g day Burely into
n ig h t under th e g re a t oaks.
T hen a horse appeared.
I t w as
dim ly outlined a g ain st th e lig h t patch
o f road, but it w as riderless and coni
iug in his direction. Tom lifted bis
head. C rab! I t m ust be— it w as Chub,
bis own horse! He did not shout, or
w histle, or throw his straw h at np in
the air. In stead he rolled over on the
grass, faco dow nw ard, and hid his eyes
in the bend of his arm. H e was t a s t
ing of the b ittern ess of re|w ntanee
mixed w ith his g re a t joy. H is fa th e r
had praised him th a t day. and the word»
seemed to be pricking th eir way now,
like hod hot needles, into his heart.
In th e m idst of it all there eame the
dark, wild face of tho young man. w ith
its forever u n fo rg etta b le m arks ef s u f
fering.
Tom fe lt suddenly humbled,
and very ten d er tow ard every person in
his small world. He was grasping some-
thing of the m eaning of the b ro th er
hood of man, since tem p tatio n had, for
a while, found him, too, ca p itu la tin g to
ila call.
Head and ret» on statem ent« made b » ear
id vert l »era.
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Call on tho
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P ortland, Oregon.
W e are A lw ays a t
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My folding Bath Tub haa taken the enuntrj
Ä
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as"?
Jn
tv :.: vai
Si«
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[OW ITI
TWO SA L E S A D A T — S300 A MONTH
U
b efore -
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013 F actories B ld g , Toledo, O.
L ittle eapital
peede«i I grant cre
dit— Help jo u oat —
o® ap Dun t donbt-—
> Den I bold bark —
iae. My other men are
boffding boti ara, bank aeeooota. bo can yoa.
quirk SE N D NO MONEY jaat name oa
penny post card for free tab offer H ustle I
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312 Pan*™» Bonding.
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