The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-10-21

Ter Of one Of his hardy comrades, and nom
their strange union had sprung the gentle
Martha and the largefeatured, fair-hatred
Geralda, whose Northern phlegm and endur-
ance were united with the quick Wit md In
tense passion of her Irish ancestors.
-Geralda Scott chung to the memory Of her
father With an almost sublime devotion. His
varied knowledge, certain blum polish OF
which his Wild and rowing life had
never entirely obliterated, and his feats Of
strength and bravery, which were many and
she loved to dwell upon. From
the upper windows of the rude, high fronted
"shanty" In which she and her sister lived,
they could see plainly, some Atty feet down
the red rock which bound the river, and . full
two hundred above the swiriing rapids, the
legend, In bold white letters:
LEROY TALBOT SCOTT,
RIVER PILOT.
1S43.
The girl never saw this without . secret
thrill, for her father, years before she was
born, had climbed unaided up the beetling
crag, and had hung BY one hand between
heaven and earth while he had written It.
Humph, Mart Scott!" she had said, sharp
~, to her quiet and unimpassioned sister,
" what are you made of that you can hear
these things, and yet sit there like . block l''
But Martha, with her pale Northern face and
stOlid Swede manner, cared moro for the stout
young pilot who was going to marry her than
for all the stories Of her reckless fathers ex-
ploits.
Raldy Scott was as good rs her word, and
when the little funeral procession which fol-
lowed Sim PEBBLES mother to the grave moved
away from the desolate hut, which Raldy's
strong neat hands had cleansed and purified,
Raldy, herself, with her brave, straightfor-
ward face held up dedantly to her gaping
neighbors, had led one of the sobbing babies,
ba;r fo<b
" kemPt aad tidy, walked beside the other.
Then they had come home again to the little
hut, and every day through the dreary Noyem-
Der weather Raldy Scott had tended the or
phaned children and kept the cabin o. days,
fastening home, when the little ones were
safely in bed, to Mart and her own trim
though only less humble home.
dy?" said kindly old 1umberman to her one
day. He had befriended her father, and Raldy
could not answer him CURLY.
'Talk behind my back-and experience -
said Raldy, half smiling. But Mart was to be
married at Christmas-time, so that Raldy felt
she could afford to earn less for awhile; and,
indeed, though she would not have allowed 1t
to herself, Raldy was becoming almost fond of
the life which she was leading in Sim PEBBLES
cabin.
"YOu're powerful hand to work, Raldy,"
said Sim to her one day, as he sat watching her
swift and energetic movements about his
cherries little kitchen.
Raldy stopped and squared her elbows, look
ing straight at him from under her great fore
head.
''I'm setting you an example, Sim PEBBLES, :"
she said, slowly. 'You're clever and you're
kind; you did me great service once, and
I'll never forget it; but II you had half the
work in you that I have, you needn't be so
all-possessed poor that you can't pay an hon
est woman for tending your wes bits and
cooking your venisOn."
Sim PEBBLES skunk guilty away.
A day or two later he came In with new
brightness in his face.
''Say Raldy," he began, half sheepishly-for
Sim PEBBLES had been ''raised" In semiluxury
in some Eastern State, had loafed ever since
he could remember, and hardly knew whether
the announcement which he was about to
could you get along-I mean, would you stay
and look after things here till l come back, II
l go up in the pines till springr
Raldy laugheda rather incredulous laugh.
"What are you going to do up in the pines9"
she asked, at length.
"Chop," said Sim PEBBLES, succinctly.
"Humphl they've all gone long ago"
Point next week, and strike of from there"
"You can't chop" said Raldy, contemptu-
ously.
"Weli, then, CO." Raldy spoke crustily
She would not give the peeping neighBors any
chance to acuse her of spending soft words on
Sim PEBBLES. Yet, truth to say, she no longer
pressed in the screed delivered to her gossiping
neighbors, and which her language to him
would seem to indicate. In these long, quiet
weeks since she h ID come to live in his hu m
BILE cabin, she had detected in the lonely, sad
dened man qualities which had softened her
heart toward him. He loved his children, and
though he knew little enough how to care for
them, he vet " minded" them devotedly in his
own rough way. Then sim PeebleS almost
face was yet handsome and attract
ive-when it was clean and shaver; and one
day Raldy had come unexp ,ctedly upon him
with his eyes wet with tears, gazing upon a
picture, which her quick vision noted, before
he could put it away, as likeness Of his old
mother.
" Humphp' said Raldy to herself, quite an
cry at q little secret tenderness which the
sight had evoked in her. Sim PEBBLES puts
on considerable about his mother, but notice
he didn't get her q new dress while she was
here, and II she had enough to eat it was be-
cause abe hoed the clearing and dug the po-
tatOes.n
Still, it was fact, and Raldy. in dim, un-
wAuAAS "oyS hnC" ~ eHae oAC p" ID Noiiy SIOW
ing to set anigher value upon sim reebles
than he deserved, and she felt this more defin-
itely than before when he tod her that he was
going " up in the pines" There was in her q
strange, an unreasoning aversion to having
him go, glad as she was to see him developing
something of the courage of man.
She had repelled so fiercely the young men
who, won to admiration by her spirit and good
looks, had dared to make her any overtures,
that Raldy had never yet had regular love
affair, and as is usually the case with q strong
and self-reliant woman, weakness had won
where force had failed. She could not help
acting little more tender and approachable
than her wont as the day drew near for Sim
PEBBLES to go, and Sim-poor Sim. who had
come to worship the very ground that Raldy
trod-S4m felt it but he did not dare to speak.
He was to start on Monday, and kaldy
had patched and darned his clothes till he was
fit to go. Sunday morning she went
as usual, to the little Lutheran chapel, the
only place of worship which Dearborn City af-
forded, and where her mother had been one of
the most devout attendants, and having
come home again, she got the dinner and
fed the children. Then she turned them
out to play in the clearing, and leaving
the door ajar-for 1t was one of the mildest
and pleasantest days of early winter-she went
singing about her work. Sim PEBBLES watched
her a. she moved here and there, and Raldy,
independent and imperious a. she was, stole
now and then q furtive glance at him.
"Hs's handsome" she thought, dreamily,
q she gave q casual glance at Sims waving
hair and large brown eyes; "but," coming to
herself a little chow shiftless he isl But he's