The weekly Shasta courier., 1873-06-07

polly VOC, but we made out to git along to-
| gether fust rate. The old man was clear grit
and so was his wife. They worked mornin'
noon, and night, and before long had as
pooty little home as any reasonable man d
| want.
They made fust rate neighbors. They
warn't our kind 'xactly, but there warn't nc
one else within two mile of us, 'cept some
Kanucks who were chopin wood further
up the mountain. Dobbiny didn't have much
to say to them, though they could jabber
| French just as good as be could. u
MY old woman went clean mad over
them children-we hadn't any babies of our
own, then, and used to have 'em down to
our house bout as much as they were to
theirn and she'd never let em 90 home
without pail O. milk or ball O. butter. or
somethin' o that kind for their ma. Some
how COTS much 'tached to EN- as if they'd
been my own flesh and blood. The fust
thing l used to do O. mornins was to look
up to see if Dobbiny's chimney was a-smokin
and it alters did me good to know that there
was other human beings up and doing in
that lonely place.
So things went on a good part O. the
summer. Dobbiny kept to hum and worked
hard. He didn't 60 much down to the Cen
tire, though it was only three miles. Some
times when Seth or I was a-goin' down, he
would get as to ask at the post office for IN,
and two or three times brought i'm letters
which Miss Prindle said was from forrin'
parts. He'd be as tickled as gal with
new bonnet, when handed him one on 'en.
One day fetched i'm two letters, one on
'em the biggest letter ever you see, all COW
cred over with forrin' stamps and marks.
and with two big seals on it. When the
old man opened it, he gave yell, and dane
ed round like wild lnjun. Then he Rugged
his wife and his children, and then darned if
he didn't hug me. warn't much used to
French ways, so as soon as could get clear
on 'em l made tracks for hum. Jest as |
stepped out O. the door who should l see
but one O. them cussed Kanucks alookin
in the window with eyes as big as saucers.
didn't think much on at the time, for |
didn't know then there was any money in
the big letter. Dobbiny must ha' spread it
out jest as left the room. When the fell
Ter see me, he walked up to the door as bold
as a sheep and said sonethin' to Miss Dob
biny. What twas I didn't hear, for 'twarn't
none O. my business.
Wa-al--I didn't think much ont again
till next mornin'. When Hooked up there
warn't no smoke comm out O. Dobbirys
chimney; and then / knowed somethin was
was wrong-knew it Jest as well as ifI'd ha'
been there. n 4l4
Il called Seth. Seth said |, git yer
gun. There's trouble up on the mountain
"' What said be, wild cats?'
"' Worsen that, said l. There amt no
smoke up to Dobbiny's'
when we'd got about half-way-there
was a beaten path all the way from our
house-we see that the door was wide open.
We hurried on, Seth a-leadin', for he'd got
as much stirred up as l was. All was still
about the house. We didn't hear no voices
nor see no pleasant faces at the door and
windows as we used to. We went inland
such another sight l hope may never have
to look on agin There lay Dobbiny on the
floor in puddle O. blood, his head all smash
ed in, and his face cut up so you wouldn't
know it. felt on i'm; he was cold and
stun dead. In the next room we found Miss
Dobbiny on the bed her head was split
open, too and on the floor lay the boy chop
u
bloody axe and Ratchet, and blood an
brains were scattered all about. Makes me
sick to think ont now.
".All this time the gal was nissin' Seth
an looked everywhere, but couldn't find
'er, and we'd about made up our minds she
had been carried of. We were jest goin'
to lock up the house an 60 down to the
Centre for help when spied pair o. big
eyes lookin' out from under the bed. There
she was, frightened most out of 'er wits.
She was so scared she didn't know US, and
I had all could do to git 'er to come to
me. i took 'er up in my arms and carried
: 'er home, she a-moanin' an a-sobbin' as if
her poor little heart would break. She took
on so thought she'd die for more'n week,
but my old woman nussed her and cOddled
her, and she finally got quieted down. But
l never see any one so scared as she was.
"Wa-al,' said Sam, after pause, "that
is how got my Sally"
"Of course, the Canadian committed the
murder? 2"
"Guess they all had hand it, Three of
EN- had been chopin on the mountain as
much as four or five months When we
went up to their cabin-Seth an me, an all
the men for five mile around--no sign of EN-
was to be found. They'd all cut stick. We
secured the country clean up to the State
line, but the cusses were too smart for u.s."
Their sole object was robbery, you
think 2" rs
" No doubt ont. We found one O. the
letters that I brought to Dobbiny the day
before. 1t was writ in French, and they had
to git Miss Timmins to read it. You re-
member Boss Timmin's darter, the school
marin, don't YET She's had the teachin O.
my Sally for ten year or more. Miss Tim
minis, she read the letter for 'em, and it
showed that some O. Dobbiny's folks in
France had writ for i'm to come hum, and
had sent some money to . bank down in
York to pay his passage. The other letter
we couldn find, but, putin this and that
together, we made out that it came from the
bank, and had money in it. % sa 30
"Did no one communicate with the rela;
tives in France in regard to it 7" ~
Letters was writ tellin' all about it, but
ncthin' ever come ont. P'r'aps they didn't
git 'em, p'r'aps they didn't care. Anyhow
they didn't write. Sally stayed to our house,
and we got to lovin' 'er better'n ever. Par
son Blake's wife wanted to adopt her-an'
guess 'twould ha' been better on some ac-
counts if they'd ha' took 'er-but my old
woman couldn't bear the idee O. partin' with
FER, SO we jes' KEEP er. She's been with us
twelve year or more, an better gal never
trod in shoe-leather. / should hate to lose
er, and sod my old woman, but what's best
is best. I've got dooty to perform, an
I'm a-goin' to do it. I'm a-goln' to find 'er
q place somewhere where she'll be happy,
an where there amt no Bill Joneses.