Weekly Calaveras chronicle., 1867-03-02
MOKELUMNE HILL CALAVERAs COUNTY. CAL

IN passion Of pain, chow shall / eror
forgive myself =
Ransom Dart went and stood beside
his pes for an Instant. | could got y.a
lis taoa, Ho came back presently.
ut aaD't be lelped,n be said "aa5
the next thing ia TO get you TO the
house. Would yoE mind being Ise.
alone 3 bis"
''t0r answer, burst iA@o tears.
He stood q moment ss though puzzled
what 20 DO next, and ask8d;
''Could yon walk if helped yoa p
The PAIN ot tie oroAaa arm IL max
ing the a!feInpt TO rlse was SO axcruciat-
ing theo / nearly tainted, and seeing
that, before / suspected what he was
about to do, ne mad lifted ne il his
strong arms, and WAS stridiug aaay
homeward with me.
The nearest dootor YVES mica away,
and Ransom Dart laughed at the nea
OF waiting for hin.
"Yonr am; will be- SO infamed before
he can get hsrs," be said, "that ne will
be more likely 20 cut it oG than set i.
| will set il fo- yol, st once, if yuG #ill
let me-"
"Yon?"
He smiled.
"You don't think oan ?"
"You may try," [ said, decidedly,
though iuwardly quaking.
He smiled again.
"You doubt my ability, but Won need
not" be said, quietly.
IN fittean minutes the arm was set,
and the first admiling glance had ever
got from this proyokingly unconscious
rustic, gos at the conclusion Of this
bone-setlipg operation, during which he
Uas ploased to say had behaved bea1-
tifully.
That was the real beginning Of my
9irtatiop. With Ransom DaEg. From bdat
DAY he suooumhed.
Ali the weeks that I louDged upon
the sofa With my bandoged ann, ] vas
the last on8 h6 spoke TO ere Us qui5ted
the h0nse !oI farm duties, o. Ii Il wero
still asleep when lie LEFT, he would maize
al errand back to see how was. at
noon 0e at night, when Re oaalo in, his
bold: GrU step strobe straight through
tho kitchen to me, before be dii any
thing else, nnd in the l0ng summcr ev-
enings ne would sit rocking slowly to
and fro in Tia mothers parior easy chair
nnd talking ID pleasan5 uHdef5one as
the twilight fell, and long after, I found
shat he knew 3 great deal more than 7,
(Which ~ aot saying much, but DC kne1g
a great deal more thau / tho't he did J
He talked very differently from the men
] had been IL the habit Of flirting with,
and when it was toe dark to see that his
annentiop&blcs we're too short, and his
coa5 cheokosod abirt, it mas no5 dill
cult to imagine lin knight os high
aesrea.
IIa had crazy old violin tbas sound
ed just Ike :5lookoa IL anYbodYs l-anda
but his; in his il was veritsbia Gre
moan, wonder thet walled, largbe,i,
talked to you ike human voice, and
always sweetor than lhas. When ho
was tired Of taking ne would drop aho
bow upon that violin, and tel the a1en-
ing s,ours Of with golden hursts of usa.
SIC :llat were worth all kha 0poras I had
ever heard in ny life.
! humored him. Whatever b chose
to sslb 2t95t aa5 profoundly interest
al Ia; In TACT, I lid Ike il all--the
talking and the violin, the gradual
yss!diog 50 lny sway Of 3 naeare 50 king
ike II many respects. spared moth
ing 10 at-eug5he1 tha charm, but Il
spite q all, ! was more thoroughly hap
~ myself than / WIS accustomed to b..
! really enjoyed what / wss n 1ha habit
oE pretending TO enjoy.
Finally, having suffered Ransom Dart
to talk Of everything else without let or
it was nol easy stopping him
wteo lie bsgaa 10 talk sentiment, e Z
had wished 10; 2ao really he talked Ii
50 much better than anybody else thst !
rather liked that tee.
/ meant, however, 70 stop before Il
was 100 late. l never meant that he
should IL 40 nlauy words ask ne to be
lis wife, AoFover much ne might look
tie question. to which Z vas to reply
wiih that silence which is a lorer's
sweetest Ian,alus. BIT I bssed ny
calculations on past experiences; l made
Insufficient -ll0Waloe &cf Lhe mastarly
stIaightGcrwa-dness Of .hi3 man, ard one
eight he ooafcunded nle by putting the
plain question.
Positively, l was so frightened I
could sot speak Ii the presence Of
miud Usually nipe deserted mo il q
fash. I could think Of none of the lit
tie hall witty irapsr:i-anoes with which
I vas wont to receive such supplicantsI
Is he, / could no more have laughed
in that MAJ s lace as | lad IN SONS 9th
ers' than I could have gone to tbs moon
on Azsh Of lightning.
I edged slowly toward the door while
he was talking, aud at tho fEst pause
darted through it up stars to my own
chamber. and locked myselfin l spent
tie night in altelaat5 Weeping and
packing. though wba. I cried aboas !
an sure I did nos know. Ore thing
I should neger d4Ee to face Ransom
Dart again. I t8It that one fash oil
those bronze eyes would annihilate ny
cowardly soui. I Kept my chamber till
saw hin 20 away to the fields, and
then went down aud told Mrs. Dart