Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-02-11

| NV 1Au t~cuty. h0dullmt Tue OppOS-
ing lawyer advertised for the legal heirs
of the late Babylonia Heatherclough.
have told you of the hate of two old
people. 1t is left me now to speak of
the love of two young people.
|
Il was late in November. The two old
enemies had been sleeping quietly in
their graves for three months. The law
yer had at length found an heir to the
estates of Babylonia Heatherclough
The said heir was nephew of the de-
ceased lady. His mother had been her
youngest sister. His father had been a
cousin of the deceased lady's husband,
and his name was Heatherclough too.
He was coming in person to take pos
session, be wrote. The news had been
formally announced to Mariana.
Mariana took it quietly enough In
the afternoon-the pale November af-
| ternoon-she walked out to the tiny lake
| in the middle of the Bone" She had
not been there before since the time her
grandfather and Dame Heatherclough
had quarreled so furiously. 1t was chilly,
and Mariana forgot she was in mourn
| ing so far as to wrap scarlet shawl
about her firm, plump shoulders. She
was always forgetting the most impor-
tant matters in life-like the improperly
| of putting on a scarlet shawl over mourn
ing, for instance
She was melancholy, on the whole
She really did not know whether she
meant to fight for her rights or not. She
carried in her hand a newspaper, in
which she had just been reading a soul
discouraging story of a strike and sick.
ening fight among the iron-workers in
Wales. That made her blue, too. 1t did
not sound much like the universal prog
ress Of all humanity, really. This cynical
young lady sage was so wrapped in her
contemplation of the depravity of the
human species that she did not at all
notice the tall specimen OF the masculine
human species which was approaching
her with the long, free, independent
stride of one that owned at least half the
world. The masculine specimen saw
her, though, and marked even the brill
liant scarlet shawl
"Humphp' said he, in his odd, blunt
way. Red light; danger ahead"
He went nearer My enemy reads
newspapers, then Sensible grip said
he, again.
Still the cynical young lady sage did
not see him, but went incoming on with
her doleful wisdom so far as to remark,
aloud: " Pity that mortal man can't see
outside of his stomachr'
Fright you are, Miss" answered a
deep, hearty voice at her very ear.
She looked up instantly and saw
what? A tall, solid, strong man, with
cheek as red-broWn as an autumn leaf, a
bold black eye which looked at her clear
and straight, just as the man would have
looked at an equal and one of his own
fearless, merry comrades. He didn't un-
derstand carpet-knight politeness, you
see. He touched his cap, though, as she
looked up.
MY name is Wolf Heatherclough,
Miss" he said.
Then the two pairs of eyes, one black,
the other blue, looked in each other and
measured each other, and one glance was
just as firm, fearless and decided as the
other.
"Im civil engineer, and civil sort
of fellow generally, hope, I've been
surveying Northern railroads and I've
hardly seen lady for ten years. Con-
CaCuop+1u - bo I,oor+,r
strong young man, 81 don't know very
well how to behave to lady. The law
yer tells that you and I are deadly enc
mics, though we never heard of each
other before in our lives. We've each
had grudge bequeathed US by will and
we are to set to and scalp each other
like Grow and Blackfeet. 1t seems
odd to thrash fellow when he never did
you any HARM" said the solid young
man, musingly.
eyes, Mr.. Heatherclough.' 1
81 don't know who's in the right of it,
I'm sure" said Wolf. "But when fell
low has spent ten years surveying rail
roads and farms so big that it was two
days journey to cross 'em, twenty acres
look like avery contemplate little patch.
AS to that little frying-pan full of water
with the minnows in it"-jerking his
thumb over his shoulder toward the fish
pond-"I know lakes out yonder so big
and beautiful that whenever you see
them your heart aches with the wonder
and admiration which you can't put into
words" He looked thoughtfully at the
ground moment and then added, as if
it was an afterthought: "And, Miss,
when man sleeps half the time under
the open stars, and has not living soul |
who cares much for him, except the good |
God who cares for US all, is it likely that
he will miss an old house that he never |
lived in, even though it was the home of |
his ancestors? Miss Clough, don't care |
two cents for Heatherton Park, with the |
whole Gown of Heatherton thrown in. |
surrender to you all the rights of the |
Heathercloughs, if they ever had any, in
this Dropertv and Won are 10 take II on6 |