The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1874-10-30
MY HEROINE.

Let me introduce her. Miss Ella
flaming, good reader. You have never
en- her and SO; as I have made a
1ueroine of her, I suppose ought to de-
scribe her a perfect houri tell of her
classic brow, dreamy, thoughtful eyes,
queenly carriage, and SO on through the
long list of attractions of which we
story-writers always keep a bountiful
supply and, as 'tgiving doth not I'M
poverish us, nor Withholding enrich
rs" we generally bestow them with
lavish hand. But for once Will picture
her as she is simply because like her
best so.
a plump, pretty, mischievous, brown
eyed, brown haired little lassie, and you
have her and didn't give you time to
skip this paragraph before getting ac
quainted with her, either. You don't
see how I can possibly make a heroine
of her :? Well, just let your fancy ram
bic with me away down to this ranch IN
the southern portion of our Golden
State, while I tell the story, and then
judge for yourself.
Six months before the time on which
my story opens, Robert Lewis came to
the little town of S. to recover, amid its
balmy breezes and sparkling sunshine,
the health and vigor he had SO reckless
1y expended during the excitement and
rivalry of the completion of long col
legiate course. The change from the
freezing, numbing climate of the East
to our continual spring, and from close
confinement and hard labor to complete
relaxation and sea-beach strolls, soon
did its work; but still Robert fingered,
10th to leave the genial climate, he
eyes of Ella Tanning the magnetic
power that detained him. Certain it
was that he seemed perfectly contented
to remain under her fathers roof, where
chance had first led him to select his
location, and that his friends In the
East were surprised, to say the least,
when he announced his determination
to pursue the study of law for some
time under the guidance of Judge E.,
a resident of the little village.
But, whatever success attended his
efforts in this direction, his wooiDg
seemed to lag for Miss Ella led him
frowns to-day for fear of having be-
slowed too many smiles yesterday in
short, keeping kind Of debt-and-credit
running account which she balanced
regularly, and which, let him try his
utmost, he never found sufficiently in
his favor to permit him to draw on for
any considerable amount. Yet he was
very far from being discouraged Tor
something that he once or twice saw
away down in the depths of the little
maiden's brown eyes told that, after
all, she might care for him more than
she was willing to make known. This
care" however, had not progressed
further than delightful little strols on
the beach,.sor an occasional boating,
when an incident happened which ma
teriaay changed what Yankee would
term g this state of fix" and which is
the cause Of this little sketch ever being
written.
Not far from the ranch of Mr.. Fam
ming family of Mexicans lived occupy
ing a low, dirty looking adobe cabin,
subsisting in kind of shiftless, uncer-
tain way, and strongly suspected OF
preyirg upon the focks and granarles
of their more enterprising neighbors.
1t consisted of an old wrinkled hag,
almost ready to blow away, and two
beetle browed' brothers-suppescd to be
either sons, grandsons or great-grand--
sons of the old woman. 1t happened
that Robert, while rambling, gun IN
hand, in search of game one day. came
suddenly upon the younger OF these
brothers, engaged III cutting up and Sc