The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1880-02-04

doubly picturesque in the gathering
cleaning The blue smoke was curling
from dozen chimneys as the men pre-
pared their evening 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 noun
tains, one hundred and sixty-five miles
distant, cast great long shadows across
the surrounding peaks, and yelled the
ravines and gulches in deepening dark
ness.
Nellie sat on the groupings of a 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, feecy ar
rangement-a nubia, l believe it is called
= wrapped loosely about her head and
shoulders, and her hair, in whose meshes
the sunbeams seemed to have caught,
peeped from beneath, helping to frame
a face stamped with innocence and pur-
ity. Young people always get senti-
mental in the evening, when surrounded
by quiet, and was no exception to the
rule, and almost before knew il was
toying with the little hand, so white
and soft, lying carclessly on the flinty
quartz.
"Nelie," said, after a few moments,
"don't you ever long to leave this rough
place and go back to the Eastp"
Not now" she said, slowly, "though
might under some circumstances"
Why not nowP"
"Oh, because-because-I don't want
to leave papa"
Is that the real reasonP" l asked,
her shyness and evident avoidance of
my eyes giving me hopes that set my
heart beating with quicker pulsations
g Let us go down" she said, quickly,
as she arose.
No, 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 hastened to follow made
several attempts to renew the conversa-
tion 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 l thought l detected a soft
pressure as l took it in mine. A mo-
ment, and she had vanished, and Ino-
Liced a rosy flush on her pretty checks
and an unusual light in her tender eyes.
went back to my little cabin with a
strange admixture of certainty and
doubt in my feelings, and quickening
OF pulse that made me oblivious to my
rough surroundings.
After supper l 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
away in the distance; heard the clang-
ing blows of the blacksmith az his forge
as he sharpened the tools for the morn
ing's work, and the deep boom of the
blast in the Little Emily mine came
floating through the still night air. Then
my eyess wandered back to the cabin
Which held Nellie. Bob was still there,
his tall figure and broad shoulders con-
trasting greatly with the little old man
in the doorway. What was he doing
there so long, thought, and / pulled
my pipe viciously as saw Nellie mo-
ment later join the two. The night set
tied down and the cabins faded from
view, their presence only revealed by
the lights shining through the little
square windows or the sparks streaming
out of the stone and mud chimneys, 1t
was getting cool, too, and / knocked
the ashes out of my pipe and r,-entered
my little home and stirred up the.
smouldering 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 earthen
and rocky floor, touching lightly my
books on a shelf at the head of my bed
and resting softly on the rolled-up coat
that served me for a pillow. l turned
on my stool and glanced out of the
window. The tops of the surrounding
timber were silvered 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 fitfllly now
and then. And so l fell into sombre
reverie, and Nellie was the center about
which all my thoughts Tevolved. Pres
emily there was a knocking at my door,
and at my invitation Mineral Bob en-
tered.
Hello! Philadelphia" he said, ''I
kinder thought you wasn't in"
% Whyp" / asked, rather sorry of the
interruption, though Bob was good
company, and no one could look into
his merry, blue eyes and pleasant face,
covered all over with luxuriant, rich
brown beard, without feeling better and
less out of spirits.
"Oh, l sort of calculated you'd be
somewhere around the girl. How's
your chances, partnerP Good, ehP"
"Come in, RR1R and stop your nom
sense. Here, 1 your pipe and sit
down" -
Bob laughed good-humoredly and.
pulling up a stool, sat down near the
fire and, as he filled his pipe, said:
I've dropped in on little business
about the Sunshine, you know" allud-
ing to mine of his and one of the best
in the camp. You know I'm obliged
to sink-ain't got no chance to tunnel,
and the surface water is getting she best
of me. Must have pump, if want to
do anything-this bailing water out by
the bucketful when she's coming in near