The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1876-02-25
DOCTOR 10.

10 was tired of border life al las. He
was a sort of free and easy seape-grace
| may a well tell YOU At once II you
meet young man OIL the border who :
not there for speculation, who Is not in
search Of a home, who Is not dabbling
in Indian affairs-whose occupation, IN
short, will not sufficiently account for
his presence-you may pretty safely SET
him down as one to whom civilization
does not youchsafe as much freedom a.
suits him. | leave due margin fortkose
whom the heroines in the newspaper
stories tilt and send West, and then wish
they hadn't.
The simple fact concerning Jo was
this he had quarreled with MS father.
a comfortable Pennsylvania farmer,
who had set his heart upon a thrifty in
crease Of his property in the hands Of
his son when he himself should finally
be laid on the shelf. jos bias was quite
otherwise. and the whole affair ended
in his giving up his own pet plan and
crushing that Of his father al one stroke.
For one day he cut loose from the old
home mornings. and was carried, ike a
piece Of drift. Westward. Whereupon
Fate. 10 whom he committed himself.
shuttled him back and forth from Ne
braSka 10 Texas and from Texas TO Kan
sas, with occasional side ventures which
carried him out on the plains. so he
lad been "A nomad for two years. |
have called him a scape--race. but, af-
ter all, il might have been a great deal
worse.
And he was tired Of border life at
last: 20 il came into his head to turn
his back upon it once for all. He had
acquired enough money 70 show for his
time, and more luggage than he could
have imagined himself 10 have before
essaying to pack it up Then there
were the Sparselv scattered shantles of
the settlers To visit before going-shan-
ties to which JOS resistless boHhOmte
insured his fr~ee-and-easy access. He
never found a latch-string in; and so it
came about in one Of his parting visits
that the nerve Of his old desire was un-
expectealy set a-tingling. For what
visitor but 10 would, on that day, have
peen welcome at Mrs. Whites? The
two beds in the only room of the dwell
ing Were, apparently, full Of children,
who cried or shook or tossed In fever,
as the several stages of the generic
ague fit overlook them Mr..
White himself was in the
trembling act Of surrender to the
same archenemy, while the implements
u his fruitless warfare-teacups, bot
ties, spoons, hot irons, etc.-were scat
tered about on the hearth AZ his feet.
Now and then he yentured upon a chat
tering Jest with the CHEEKY neighbor
woman who had GOMEZ in to lend a hand,
or exchanged notes with his sallow
spouse with whom il happened to be an
of day for chills. Thus did 10 lind the
household. Instantly the situation fired
him. An old passion famed anew in his
heart. He felt the thrill Of an instinct
which had been the beckoning spirit Of
his former dreams. Turing him on TO OPP
pose his will to that OF MS father. IL
vas the instinct for relieving physical
~suffering-the prime prerequisite Of the
good physician. His eyes snapped al
the present chance. How he longed 10
hound that ague down. But the slen-
der knowledge, the poor resources, AT
hand were giants in his way; 50 he
merely sat and looked on while Mrs.
White poured the inevitable white pow
der on D bit Of dried apple in a spoon,
and capped the whole mass with anoth-
er piece u apple designed to conceal the
medicine. On his way home he dropped
sis head and ruminated more than was
his wont. ssBlamed if ! dOn'tgn he
ierked out at last, as he kicked into "A
bunch 81 fallen cottonwood leaves in
his path, and sent lis parts flying in
every direction.
After that he lost no time. The next
morning he might have been in his
sunday best. whatever that was. seated
Dy the side ~ d teamster. who was driv-
ing him 10 the nearest railroad station.
II had been raining, and they must
needs travel slowly. It seemed to 10
that they fairly crept through all that
long day, and he ground his teeth, if
not worse. when they drove up TO the
station at sunset, and saw in the dis
lance the smoke Of the departing last
l0uud train.