The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1879-05-17

be careful"
What a strange life for a youne
man" said Mary. For you, Joseph!5
herded my cattle, drove them t.
market, cooked, studied, wrote and in
dulged in a mixture of misanthropy anc
rifle practice. By the time [ had en-
tered on the second summer in the
mountains l felt quite at home and wa!
getting rich. After all, the life had it.
charms. A man can not quite tire of il
when he is but few years out of hi:
teens"
"And the girl-wife."
| am coming to her. Having had
time to forget my ill-usage, a reaction
set in, you see, and thought, after all,
must ride to Wallamet to see after INV
girl. But | was not in the hurry over il
that had been before. This is all very
dull, you will say, but there'n be some
stir presently"
1t is not at all dull"
Gone Sunday afternoon lHow did
know it was Sunday you ask. Because
| had kept count of the days all along;
kept my diary regularly )-one Sunday
afternoon [ was sitting outside writing,
when shadow fell across the paper, and
looking up, beheld a skeleton standing
there before me. Accustomed as I was
to lonely encounters with strange men OF
all kinds, my hair stood on end as
stared at the specter. He was the merest
boy in years, pretty and delicate by ma
ture, and evidently reduced to this
shadowy state by starvation. His story
was soon told. He had left Boston on
board vessel bound for the northwest
coast, had been wrecked at the mouth OF
the Umpaqua, and been wandering about
| in the mountains ever since, subsistine
on roots and berries"
"He was"
"No, l assure you," interrupted
Joseph, with an amused look at my wife
"the boy was not a young woman in
disguise, ii that's what you re thinking
He was just poor, weak, half starved
lad named Edwards. | fed and nursed
him until l got Sam Chong Sung to lei
him take up claim alongside Chinese
camp, promising to favor the Chinaman
in beef contract if he would be good
to the boy. / still continued to see a
great deal of him."
"And did Edwards succeed?"
Yes; he got on. One day two China.
men stole some of Sam Chong Sung's
horses, and he offered four hundred dol
lars to Edwards if he would go after the
thieves and track them. Edwards asked
my advice, and l encouraged him to go
telling him where l fancied he would
find the men. So he started in pursuit
and l confess l missed him.
Again Joseph paused. We did not in.
terrupt him.
I" A man came to my fort one day who
was naked and starving. He was a bad.
looking fellow, very: but you will say
man naturally does look bad when his
clothes are nowhere and his bones pro-
trude through his skin. | clothed him.
fed him, cared for him kindly until he
was able to travel, and then he went
away. The next Sunday l was sitting
outside my fort, as was my customary
on that leisure day, reading some trans
lations from the Greek poets-ftr l dare
say you remember | was never much oil
a hand at the original-when, CHANGING
to look offmy book, beheld vision"
A whatp'
GA vision. A vision of a lovely
woman. She was riding up the approach
to my fort on fine horse, riding grace
fully and slowly, as if to give me time
to get over my surprise; and believe ]
needed it. The picture she made is in
my mind now; see the very flicker OF
the shadow and the sunlight across the
road, and the glitter of some steel that
fastened her horses trappings as he
arched his neck in Impotence of her re-
straining hand. Are you tired, old
friendW
Never less so in my life"
That vision, breaking in suddenly
as it did, upon my solitude, gave me the
queerest sensation. | was just spell,
bound. Not so she. Refining in hen
horse at my gate, she squared round in
her saddle and looked at me, silently
asking my assistance to dismount.
helped her down-what else could | do
and then, at her request, gently pre-.
ferred, went to put up and feed hel
horse. Had she dropped from the
clouds? | did not know"
"WellT'
"If you believe me, when turned in
doors, my guest had got her habit off
Evidently she meant to make herself al
home. A tall, young, beautiful, well.
dressed woman! Her eyes were large
black and melting; her hair was superb
her manner easy. She was hungry, she
said; wonld | give her something to eat
And while was making preparations to
give her of my best she read aloud one
of the Greek translations, an ode to
Diana, commenting upon it herself. That
she was woman of culture and educa.
ton, whatever might have brought her
into her present strange position, was
| obvious. Well, now" continued Joseph
''you can guess whether q young man
isolated on the mountains, ruined by the
grasshoppers and Tilted by the girl of the
Wallamet valley, was bewildered or not
Entertaining goddesses was not in my
line"
Glow long did she stay?
Wait bit. What with reading and
eating, our acquaintance improved fast
She offered to sing a song, and gave me
Kate Kearney. might have lost my
head to her perhaps, to say nothing OF
my heart, but for certain inward latent
doubt. L did not care that my girl
should ride about, elegantly attired, on
prancing horse, and drop down unex
pectedly on hermits. Still, it was 6
pleasant feeling to find ones self neal
her, and certainly novel one. | asked
her history and she told it to me. She
was of a good New England family
reared in affluence, well educated and
accomplished, but by a freak of fortune
she had become reduced to poverty and
exiled from home"
"What was it, JosephF'
All! what indeed? The old story,