Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1875-06-29

After an hour of despairing, wandering
and shouting he came upon house, and
having raped upon the door he found
himself face to face with his wife. He
had returned to his own house in his
bewilderment.
When we remember that Jones had
not slept for two nights proceeding this
one, on account of his mortal quarrel
with Burton, and had now been beating
against the Arctic hurricane, and tramp
ing through the treacherous pillows of
snow for an hour, we cannot wonder
that he fell over his own threshold in
state of extreme exhaustion.
AS it was his wife must needs give up
the vain search she had been making in
the neighborhood of the shanty. She
had a sick husband, with frozen hands
and feet and face, 10 care for. Every
minute the thermometer fell lower and
lower. and all the heat the little cook
stove in Jones' shanty could give would
badly keep them from freezing.
Burton had stayed upon the forty acre
lot all day, waiting for chance to shoot
his old partner, Jones. He had not
heard of the arrival of Jones wife, and
he concluded his enemy was a coward,
and had left him in possession, or else
meant to play him some treacherous
trick on his way home. So Burton re-
| solved to keep a sharp look out, but he
soon found that impossible, for the
storm was upon him in its binding fury.
| He tried to follow the path but he could
not find it.
Had he been less a frontiersman he
must have persisted there, within 1ur-
| long of his own hut. But endeavoring
| TO keep the direction of the path he
heard a smothered cry, and then some
| thing rose up covered with snow, and
| fell down again. He raised his gun to
shoot il, when the creature uttered an
other wailing cry, so human, that he put
down his gun and went cautiously for
ward. 1t was child
He did not remember that there was
such child among all the settlers at
Newton. But he did not stop to ask
questions. He must without delay get
himself and the child, too, TO place OF
safety or both would be frozen. So he
took the little thing in his arms and
started through the drifts. And the
child put its fingers on Burton rough
cheek, muttering "papa !" And Bur-
ton held her closely and fought the show
more courageously than ever.
He found the shanty at last, and rolled
the child in a buffalo-robe while he made
fire. Then when he got the room a
little warm he took the little thing upon
his knees, dipping her aching fingers in
cold water, and asked what her name
was.
"Kitty," said she.
'Kitty," he said "and what else."
"Kitty," she answered, nor could he
find out any more.
"Whose Kitty are you ?"
"Your Kitty" she said. For she had
known her father but that one day, and
now she believed that Burton was he.
Burton sat up all night and stuffed
wood into his impotent little stove to
keep the baby from freezing to death.
Never having anything to do with chill
dren, he firmly believed that Kitty sleep
ing snugly under blankets and buffalo
robes would freeze if he should let the
fire subside in the least.
AS the storm prevailed with undated
fury the next day, and as he dared Meth
er to take Kitty out nor leave her alone,
stove, and laughed at her droll baby
Ldlh. dIu leu uSL Ou UlSCults IItCO DdCOu
and coffee.
On the morning of the second day the
storm subsidized. 1t was cold, but know
| ing somebody must be mourning Kitty
| for dead, he raped her in skins, and
with much difficulty reached the nearest
neighbours house, suffering only frost
bite on his nose by the way.
"That child, said the woman to whose
house he had gone, sis Jones's; | seed
'em take her outen the wagon day be-
fore yesterday"
Burton looked at Kitty moment in
perplexity. Then he rolled her up again
and started out, ''traveling like mad, y
the woman said as she watched him.
When he reached Jones he found
Jones and his wife sitting in utter
wretchedness by the fire. They were
both sick from grief, and unable TO move
out of the house. Kitty they had given
up for buried under some snow-m mound
They would find her when spring should
come and melt the snow-cover off.
When the exhausted Burton came in
with his buffalo skins, they looked at
him in amazement. But he opened it
and let out little Kitty and said:
''Here, Jones' is this your pet kitten ?"
And Jones got up and took his OLD
partners hand and said, Burton, old
fellow !" and then choaked up and sat
down and cried helplessly.
And Burton said ''JOnes old fell
low, you may have that forty acre patch.
1t came mighty near maxim me the MUIR
derer of that little Kitty's father"
"No!" you shall take il yourself, y
cried Jones, ''if have 10 go TO law to
make you !" And Jones actually decided
his interest in the forty acres to Burton.
But Burton transferred it all to Kitty.
This is why this part of Newton is
called "Kitty's Forty"