Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-09-12
On Quart.

On a..ra: :
"Forty whole dollarsi" Alice said,
looking at the crisp, fresh. banknotes
lying in AIMS lap "You never can
spend it all, Ann. =Youe can buy; you q
watch and q pink silk dress and-O,
1.-The f1iie1l o. mo in: a pink silk
dress!" said 4nn.ss "No, it's better
than that I'll do with it.. Itb land I'll
be buying; A,quarter section maybe. :"
:'What d. YOU vast Of -land1'
Johnny questioned, az Alice nodded
her head till every curl danced. '<Yon
don't want togo and live BY yourself,
';Of course. 5he doesn't, said Alice {;
"she'll havaa house, and big Dennis
will live with her. Won't he, Ann}O
Its no big Dennis, I want, said
Ann, lookings rather guilty. ::'' Why
shouldn't live bymysllf, thin,"
But you youldn't xantto go away
from us, wodm you7" Alice asked re.
preachfully; .'After you've been here
SO long, and al %" - s."
"No, I wouldn't thin,' said Ann.
:" But there's no harm in having-the
land. It can't break nor he stolen like
as if I put it IN bank. There it II be
the same aSmoney any day: an I'll
have m estate to myself, an my own
hands to thanh for5it." !
"Maybe you'll fnd another calf and
sell that" Jehhy said. :.
INo o,,ol, l,,nL - oo:5 A.: *
..Now IN go and sput this away with
the rest. It's near milking time.
"Let me come, too" Alice said, fol,
lowing on to AIMS room, opening
from the kitchen and overlooking the
orchard.
Ann took an old family Bible from
her closet and laid each bill carefully
between the leaves; puttingit back:on
the top shelf. :. :
eff thieves was as thick as blackber.
r1es, which they isn't" she said, "not
one O. them would open a book to find
money, let alone q Bible"
g. Tbat's 50, ," JOHNNY said, confidently
they don't like to have much to do
with a Bible, I guess"
Nobody saw two eyes which looked
eagerly in for q moment and then dis.
appeared as Ann lent into the kitchen,
and the children returned to their play
in the barn. Nor did they notice the
faint rustic in the csw-house, or feel
that the same sharpeyes watched them
between the boards of the old stall al
the very end where straw was piled in
for the cows bedding. Mr.. Carte,
came up from the field presently, az
the first bell rang for supper, and
stopped for moment as he passed the
barn. w. -
Yes, fit is pleasant to-morrrow. ~
Alice heard him say in answer to some
question from Winthrop, and ran out
at once.
30 papa! are you going. to take "a
all2 Ann and everybody" |"S> (
"All but one, who must stay to keep
house," Mr. Carter answered. "You
did last time, Alice, SO it is Johnny's
urn now"
80, dear! wish houses could keen
themselves, papa" Johnny groaned.
lyon won't be gone all day, win you o.
Till late afternoon, my boy. We
must get in our winter supplies, for
soon the creek will be so swollen We
cannot cross the ford. You shall 90
next day when we shall haul them
home" Johnny frightened up Ut once.
and began to plan what should be done
in the hours she would spend alone ::
and the family. went in. Milklne.tiloe
passed, the great barn doors were shut.
and nobody saw the dark figure which
later in the evening dropped from q
little window of the stable aud skulled
away through the orchard, mutterinR,
All alone all day! Couldn't have
come round better" =
Now forty dollars will not seem verv
much to you. but it was great deal to
Ann, who worked hard for all she earn
ed in Mr.. Carters family, and to whom
this was just so much clear beyond her
yearly income, And, -thi. is how Il
came to her. ThTee'years before an
em1grant wagon, bound still further
West, camped all night on the great
Illinois prairie, in the midst of which
was MIR: Carriers section of land. Tie
vermllilon river ran close by, a stream
full OF rapids and deep holes and
treacherous quicksands. Supposin-
the ford perfectly safe, the owner of
the formost COW did not unite the COW
following behind, bat drove in care.
lessly, to find his horses, in moment.
on their feet and struggling in the
swift current. How they got across Mt
last he could not have told. bnt vhen
the screaming children we're safe on
the other side, the poor COW was found
to be dead, strangled by the ROM,
which had wound about her neck. 'rk.,
calf, only a day. old, had been l;ftc6
into wagon behind, and the owner
discouraged at the loss of the mother
went on next morning, leaving the little
thing by the campfire. Here 1nn fonnI
IL IN the afternoon, almost dead, and
III i'er own strong arms took il home
ana led it with warm milk. Nobody
thought it could live; but AIMS baby.
as Alice called it, after a month or two
wherein it seemed daily dying, turned
about and grew as if to make IN for lost
time. In u year there was no finer
heller among all Mr.. Carter's cattle
and when 10y and by she
began to give milk, the neig6bors all
declared it was as good az their creona
Farmers calne to see her, and Ann in
time found that her nurslinn was a 10.
Won, aud worth more than INV aow in
the nclghborheod. The calves were in
q 'inand all about, and the money Won
know about was the second fortv dol
lars Ann had received and laid ownv
IN the Old Bible. Big Dennis. the
mead man ON the farm, looked upon
ner az an heiress, and was ready at anv
Time to begin housekeeping in the way
talked Of by Alice but Ann, like MANI
another heiress, was afraid he loved
Aer money better than herself, and still |
leld back from answering his ques-
ion.
Johnny rode with. them. next morning
IS far as the ford, and watched tie |
wagon safely through, wondering mean. |