Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-02-25

very near adding other words to the
name that our short acquaintance would
not justify. After that / spent most of
my evenings with Nellie, and sometimes
of an afternoon we took delicious little
rambles together on the mountain sides
and into the heavy timber lining the
valley or cannon of the Uncompahgre.
One evening, as we were returning home,
we stopped to rest on the rock crested
summit of Mineral point. A few hun
dred feet below us lay the little mining
camp, its log cabins looking doubly pic
turesque in the gathering cleaning
The blue smoke was curling from dozen
chimneys as the men prepared their even
ing meals; and here and there, over the
various trails, blue-shirted miner, with
pick and drills across his shoulder, came
striding home. The sun sinking behind
the Wasatch mountains, one hundred and
sixty-fve miles distant, cast great long
shadows across the surrounding peaks,
and yelled the ravines and gulches in
deepening darkness.
Nellie sat on the groupings of vein
of quartz and [ lay stretched out at her
feet, watching her pretty, tender eyes as
they wandered about the horizon, drink
ing In the beauty and the grandeur of the
scene. She had some light, heecy ar
| rangement-a nubia, / believe it is call
ed-wrapped loosely about her head and
shoulders, and her hair, in whose meshes
the sunbeams seemed to have caught,
peeped from beneath, helped to frame
| face stamped with innocence and purity.
Young people always get sentimental in
| the evening, when surrounded by quiet,
and was no exception to the rule, and
| almost before knew it Twas toying with
the little hand, SO white and soft, lying
carelessly on the fiinty quartz.
| "Nellie,' / said, after few moments,
"dOn't you ever long to leave this rough
place and 60 back to the east %
"Not now," she said, slowly, "though
might under some circumstances. ~
"Why not now ?" i'~.
"Oh, because-because-I don't want
to leave papa.
els that the real reason 2" 1 asked,
| her shyness and evident avoidance of
my eyes giving me hopes that set my
heart beating with quicker pulsations.
Let us go down, she said, quickly,
as she arose.
emo, not until you answer me" and
caught again the little hand
She drew it from my grasp, and, with
a saucy "Come," started down the trail
and fastened to follow. Imade sever
al attempts to renew the conversation on
the way, but Nellie always turned it off
| from the subject nearest my heart; and
yet when [ left her at her fathers door
| she shyly extended her hand, and /
thought [ detected soft pressure as I
took it in mine. A moment, and shehad
vanished, and [ noticed rosy flush on
her pretty cheeks and an unusual light
In her tender eyes. L went back to my
little cabin with strange admixtulre of
certainty and doubt in my feelings, and a
quickening of pulse that made me oblivi-
Gus to my rough surroundings.
After supper [ Lit my pipe and sat
upon my roughly-hewn door step. The
sun had gone down, but yet there was
light enough for me to see her cabin and
notice her father standing in the doorway
chatting with Mineral Bob, the best
prospector IN camp and the third owner
with Stacy and myself in the Ajax. [
turned my head and saw the lights In
the shaft-house of the Big Giant mine on
Red mountain cleaning way in the dis
lance; l heard the changing blows of the
blacksmith at his forge as he sharpened
| the tools for the mornings work, and the
deep boom of the blast in the Little
Emily mine came floating through the
still night air. Then my eyes wandered
back to the cabin which held Nellie.
Bob was still there, his tall figure and
broad shoulders contrasting greatly with
the little old man in the doorway. What
was he doing there so long, I thought
and [ pulled my pipe viciously as [ saw
night settled down and the cabins faded
by the lights shining through the little
square windows or the sparks streaming
out Of the stone and mud chimneys. It
was getting cool, too, and 1 knocked the
| ashes out Of my pipe and re-entered my
/ little home and stirred up the shoulder
ing embers on the hearth. An hour went
by and the moon sent its beams across
my little table, with its tin plates and
cups; across my earthern and rocky floor,
touching lightly my books on shelf at
the head of my bed and resting softly on
the rolled-up coat that served me for
pillow. I turned on my stool and glanc-
ed out of the window. The top of the
surrounding timber were silYered by the
moonlight; and the cabins stood out
against the dark background of the tall
spruces. The sound of singing came up
from the saloon, and the wind sighed fit
| fully now and then. And so I fell into a
| sombre reverie, and Nellie was the cen
ter about which all my thoughts revelv-
ed. Presently there was a knocking at
my door, and at my invitation Mineral
| Bob entered.
+ "Hello Philadelphia, he said, CT
kinder thought you wasn't in. " j. lGs
"Why?" I asked, rather sorry of the
| interruption, though Bobwas good COM
pany, and no one could look into his
merry, blue eyes and pleasant face, cov-
cred all over with luxuriant, rich
brown beard, without feeling better and
less out of spirits.
ooh, I sort of calculated you'd be
somewhere around the girl. How's
your chances, partner? Good, eh?"