The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1857-03-26

two admirers, for whom there had often, OF IaIe, peeh
a struggle between her affection and her prize.
.Janson Williams was a country merchant, a smart
looking Young man, who had recently gone into busl-
ness for himself. He was always dressed in broad
cloth, stood behind the counter with the pohest DOW
and smile imaginable, and was vsted at the winter
SINGING school the 9 greatest catch" IN town.
Then there was Seth Peters, the miller-away down
in the stiffness of Letty's heart was q voice that plead
for him as it never did for the merchant. Seth was
certainly good looking and intelligent, while O nobler
heart never beat for the woman it loved; but then his
bow wasn't to be compared with Jason's, and he wore
blue gray oyeralls, which were busted over with flour
from Monday morning to Saturday night. except
when he visited Lefty. It was certainly q great con-
trast, and the girl felt it keenly Gas any maiden of
twenty would) when she rode past the old mill and
saw its young owner in his powdered clothes, lifting
up the great bags of wheat by the rope that dangled
from the front windoTT, or pouring the corn into the
large trough, under which the great wheel FLASHED
and groaned in the stream all day; it was, as we
said, a great contrast to go on a few rods farther to
the new store, with its green shutters and large sign,
and see Jason standing in the store, dressed better
than the minister and receive one of his inimitable
bows.
Then it would make such a conquest, and all the
girls would envy her so. She would be ss.Mrs. WI
Ham's, the merhGnt's avfe 20 1t sounded exceedingly
well, and yet, when she thought of it, that low voice
would rise up and speak for the miller again. Poor
Lefty no wonder it was so severe a struggle between
her affections and her pride.
She looked out of the window, and the full moon
was shining down on the bare earth, and whitening
the naked branches of the tall trees. The sweet,
pensfve light stole softly into the girls heart, and
drew her towards it.
81 guess I'll run down to the grove. If anybody
comes, you can talk to 'em, mother, till [ get back.
for l won't be gone long," was her sudden conclu-
sion.
The girl had not been absent for moro than five
minutes, when there was a knock at the door, fol-
lowed by the entrance of Jason Williams. He took
q seat by the great fireplace, and chartered a few
moments with the old woman about the new meeting
house, and the prospects of an early spring, when
suddenly there was another light tap at the door, and
in answer to widow Pease's 8 come in,'' the miller
made his appearance.
1t was not so remarkable a coincidence, after all,
that the young men should both visit Lefty this eve
ming, for it was bright enough with it's balmy air, and
large round moon, to WOO any man to visit the woman
OF his seeking. Of course the merchant and the
miller could not have regarded each other with pecu-
liarly complacent feelings; and probably each wished
the other a thousand miles off, Notwithstanding they
met quite as cordially as rivals could be expected to
do.
But somehow the conversation Jagged exceedingly,
and at last Jason proposed to Seth that they should
go down to the grove in search of Lefty, to which the
latter gladly consented.
She did look like a picture as she knelt there, piling
up the dead, old tree boughs, while the shadows and
the moonbeans danced r~estlessly over her figure, as
restless as they.
The young men came suddenly upon her, and she
sprang up with a little shrek and a bounding Of the
blood into her cheeks-but her laugh, oh, that was
like all sorts Of sweet sounds, as it ran dripping off
to the echoes of Burberry hill
well, you've come, and now I shall set you
straight to work, young gentlemen" said the girl,
with that dainty, f~uttering motion Of the head, so
natural to, and so graceful in some women.
"Of course you will. We're ready to obey orders,
Lefty was the simultaneous response of the young
men; and the dainty merchant and the handsome
miller, set themselves vigorously to work; and the
voices OF the trio mingled loudly and merrily, as they
piled up the branches of pine, and birch, and hem
lock. LettV aflrmInp that the Su oar hOl line 1iEolu |
to be the easiest she ever tended, now all the trouble
OF gathering the frewood would be over.
"Hark <! ~ didn't you hear strange kind of noise %
around her.
It's nothing, Lefty, only the sap dropping into
the tubs" answered Jason, as he added a fresh
handful OF boughs to the rapidly increasing pile.
N it isn't the sap. There, I hear it again. It's
o rustling among the branches
They all heard it now ; it was q strange, stealthy,
mysterious sound, that, heard in the woods, and at
night, is perhaps more startling than any other.
A faint shrek suddenly broke from Lefty, which
drew the gaze of both the young men to her. She
was standing a few PAGES from them, her face white
and rigid, as though death had struck suddenly at
her heart. There was something in that stony face
that chilled both the young men; and they sprang
eagerly toward her, crying {" Lefty what is the the
matter 20
They saw what it was then, and the faces of those
two strong men grew white as the girls; for there
peering out with their wild, glaring, hunger-lighted
eyes, from the low underbrush, were two large bears,
crouched down ready to spring upon them.
The young mems question broke the spellof horror
which had transfxed Lefty Pease. With a low shrek
she sprang past her companions, and with a cry,
fearful In its rage and hunger, the animals rushed
Jason Williams followed her, for the men had no
weapons-those beasts were wild, savage, hungry
mad, and the love of life was strong within him-no
v onder that he soon Outstripped the girl, whose trem-
bling limbs were a poor match against her pursuers.
Lit was a fearful rice. They gained upon her in the
few rods. g God of Heaven help her % groaned
the white lips of Seth Peters. And God heard that
prayer, moaned out in that terrible agony. There
CLEANED out suddenly upon him from among the gray
grass of the last year, O. large axe, which
Enoch had ground sharp, three days before, to make
IN incision in the maple trunks, and thrown down
here in haste or forgetfullness.
Seth caught it up eagerly, and with a loud shout
ne bounded forward. Lefty was nearly half across
he lot, but it was not a large one, and in her blind
bears had followed, so the distance between Seth and
hem Was only a few rods. He shouted to Lefty to
turn into the meadow; it was strange that she heard
lim, but she did, and instinctively obeyed.
A run of a few yards, which the young man. ac-
complished quicker than our pen has written it,
brought Seth face to face with the wild animals. 1t
required a stout heart to confront those two raging,
animals, but Seth Peters thought only that
leath was close to the woman that he loved
A moment more and it had reached her. The hot
,reath of the beasts drifted almost across her flying
as the miller rushed by her; for in turning
oward the meadow she had shortened the distance
BIN and herself; indeed, at the farthest it