South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1874-04-03
KITTY'S FORTY.
By EDWARD EeoLEsroS.

live only with meu, are proverbially0 half
bear sort Of people. Frontiersmen soften
down when women add children come
but l forget myself, it IS the story you
want
Burton and JONES lived ia a sbanty
By themselves. JONES was married man,
but fudiog it bard to support his wife in
down East village, he had emisrated to
Nprthern Minnesota, leaving bic wife uu-
der her f4ther's roof, until We Should be a.
bic to "make a start" He aud DUaroY
had gone into partnership and had "pre-
empted a town site" of three hundred and
twenty acres.
There were perhaps twenty families scat
tered sparsely over this town site at the
time my story begins and ends, FOR it ends
in the same week in which it begins.
The partners had disagreed, guarded
nDd divided their interests. The land was
all shared between them except one valua-
bic forty acre piece. Each of them claim
ed that piece of land, aud the quarrel had
gone so high between them that the neigh
bors expected them to "shoot at sight,
In f.cl it was Understood that BURTON was
on the forty acre piece, determined to shoot
JONES if he came, and JONES had sworn to
20 cut there and shoot Burton, when the
fight was postponed by the respected ar.
rival of JONES wife aud child.
JONES shsnty was not foished, and be
was forced to forego the luxury of fighting
his old partner, in his exerli)ns TO make
wife aud baby comfortable for the night
F0r the winter sun was surrounded by
"sun'does." I1stead of one sun there
were four, an occurrence not uncommon in
this latitude, but one which always BODIES
a terrible storm.
Ia his endeaVor to care for his wife and
child, JONES was Modified a little, and
half regretted that he had been so violent
about the piece Of land But he was de-
termined not to back down, aud he would
certainly have to shoot BURTON or be shot
bimseIf.
When be thought of the chance of being
killed BY his old partner, the p,ospec, was
not pleasant. He boxed wistfully at KIT
TY, his two gears oil child, and dreaded
that she should be left fatherless. Never
thcless, he wouldn't be backed down. lie
would shoot or DO shot.
while father was busy cutting wood, and
the mother was busy otherwise, litile KIT.
TY managed to get the shanty door open.
There was no latch as yet, and her pry ing
Il'tla fingers easily swung it back A gust
Of cold cir almost took away her breath,
but she caught sight of the brown grass
Without, and the new world seemed so biz
that the little feet we're fAiu to try aud ex
pl,re it.
She pushed GU. through the door, caught
her h.. ''b again, and started away down
a path oorlerei by sere grass and the dead
stalks Of The wild auufower.
How often she had longcd to escape from
restraint aud paddle out into The world a.
lone 81 out into the world she went, re-
J'iclog IN her liborty in the blue sky above
snd the rusty prairie beneath She would
hrd out where the path went to, and what
there was at the cEd of the world What
dId she care II her nose was blue with cold q,
aud hfr chubby hands red as beets. Now
and then she paused to turn her head away
tom rude blast, forerunuer Of the storm ::
but having glsped moment she quickly
renewed Der brave march in search of the
great unknown.
The mother missed her, and supposed
that JONES, who could not get enough Of
tho chi'd's society, had taken the little pet
out with lin
JONES, poor fellow, sure that enc darling
vas safe within, chopped away until that
awful storm broke upon him, and at last
drove him, hslf-smothered by snow aud
ha.t-trozen with cold into the house
w hen hero was nothing left but retreat,
be had seized an armlu Of wood aud carried
% into the house with him, 90 make sure
ot having enough 20 keep bis wife and KIT
TY from freezing in tho coming awfulncss
Of the night which now settled down upon
Toe storm beaten anl sn5w-biioded world
IL was tho beginning Of that horrible
storm no which so many people were frozen
To- death, and JONES bad Aed none too soon
W ben once tho wood was stacked by the
stove, JONES looked around for K1rrY.-
10 bad not more than inquired Tor her.
when Der father and mother each read in
zoe others face the fact that she was lost
N this Wild, dashing storm Of snow.
So il.t did tho snow fsll and SO dark was
tbo hight, that JONES could not SEQ three
feet ohcad Of bin u endoavored 20 FOL.
low tho path, which be thought KrrrY
might have taken, but it was buried 10
snow drifts, and be soon lost himself.
lie stumbled through the drifts calling
out 90 KITTY in distress, but not KNOWING
whittier BIO went Alter an hour Of de-
spairiuq wandering and shouting, ao eamo
upon a house, aud having rapbed ON 49,
door, ho found himself face to face with bic
wife ''-
He bad returned to bis own bouso Ia be-
WiIderment.
w hen We remember that Joygs had not
s.ep' ior Two nights preceding this one, on
account OF bis mortal quarrel Uith BuRTov.