The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1876-01-28

| HouiuuG OS any DOuyS OusluesS IL we
did live under the same roof"
Mrs. Morrison, poor woman, was not
in the least "strong- minded" or she
might have freed herself from his en-
circling arm and stoutIy answered that
it wasn't any of the neighbors' business
about her personal affairs, and she
couldn't see as she was under any obli-
CATION to commit matrimony and en-
dure the consequences to please them,
unless she felt like it. AS it was, the
terror of being "talked about" overcame
every rational scruple.
"People never have talked, Mr.. An
drews. 1 don't see why they should be-
gin now," and the widow made weak
endeavor to remove the stroug arm
from its resting-place, and shake off the
spell that was rapidly gaining complete
mastery over her senses.
"But they've been talkin' already"
was the comforting assurance. ~ was
over to Pete Anderson's the day afore
yesterday, an Pete says to me, JASON
says he, don't We think it's yer duty to
marry that widow an purtect her from
scandal p what widow q says I, pur-
tendin' I didn't understand. Pete
laughed hearty like, an says, says he,
Jason, by George, that's a joke! Just
as if my folks an Squire Tooley's an
all the rest of 'em haven't been sayin'
that you an the widow Morrison ort to
marry l confess l felt puzzled. We
want our children to grow up respecta-
BILE, an be somebody. This country's
goiu' to be rich an pop'lous some day,
an they Ort to be leaders in it. If your
good name should be lost, though, the
jig would be up; for it amt just the
ticket for two to live and travel to-
gether as we do unless they're husband
an wife, ye know"
Mrs. Morrison clasped both hands
tightly over her eyes and pondered.
Again that strong arm clasped her
waist, and again sweet words of endear-
ment to which she had not listened for
oh! so many years, rang in her ears and
echoed down in her heart.
"Be my own precious wife, an I'll
love ye as man never loved a woman
afore. I'll see that ye want for nothin',
an Pll shield ye from every danger.
Say Yes darlin', do"
Afterward Mrs. Morrison fancied that
she must have been, for the time being,
insane.
With her sad eyes, through which
strange light cleaned, intensely riveted
upon the plodding cattle, she timidly
returned the pressure of his ardent
hand-clasping, and hesitatingly whis-
pered:
"YesH ~
"Is my mile up? ?" queried Harry,
again bringing the oxen to a halt.
Suddenly surprised in their love-mak-
ing, the self-condemned couple grew
apparently Indifferent to each other.
And Harry, being young and inexperi-
enced, was naturally obtuse, so he no.
ticed nothing new or strange in the
va Ills Ut uET GOu-
panion.
The day wore on until the evening,
and the travellers then encamped for the
night beside a pebbly brooklet, and
pitched their tent upon rising lawn,
overlooking a lovely vale, with noun
tains, snOw-crowned and majestic, in
the shimmering distance; dark belts of
evergreen forest intersecting the
prairies; and the river, cleaning like a
silver thread, threw back the limpid
rays of the full harvest moon, making a
picture that might well inspire poet
or a painter with its beauty aud its
magnitude.
The supper was over, and arrange
ments made for lodging for the night,
and yet it was too early for Mrs. Morri-
son to retire to the shades of her wagon
for solitary rest. Wandering away
from the camp, she sat upon the roots
of great tree, and resting her chin
upon her hand, gazed abroad over the
earth, with her mind in bewilderment
of doubt, hope, anxiety, and fear. Her
past life, and the strange vicissitudes
that had thrown her, in her maturer
years, adrift upon the bosom of her Oc-
cidental home; the lonely years of her
widOwhOod; the faces and voices of her
children; her ceaseless efforts to make
the best of untoward circumstances; all
these facts and many fancies mingled
themselves in strange confusion in her
busy brain. She did not notice the ap-
proach of Jason Andrews until he stood
before her. Rising suddenly to her feet,
with reproof upon her tongue, which
she bit her lip to withhold, the widow
said, dreamily:
"What a beautiful evening! And
what lovely countryr
"a very nice country to look at, but
it wouldn't sprout BEANS" said the
practical suitor.
Mrs. Morrison curled her lip and
turned away in disgust.
~ think the whole country is fertile"
she said, looking away toward the
mountains. "The wild grass is like a
meadow, and the soil is black and
loamy."
Jason did not argue the point. In