Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-06-08

streaming around them. She did not
blush or return my gaze coyly, as young
girls are wont to do in country places,
but looked over and beyond me in
pitiful, vacant, meaningless way. !
don't know whether she wore pink, or
blue, or lavender. TWAS cloudy, filmy
sort of dress, admirably suited to her
large gray eyes and rings of yellow hair.
Her bonnet was sweet little thing, tied
up with white ribbon. Her chin was
like alabaster, her cheek was scarcely
less pale.
I fingered In the church porch after
the congregation had trooped out and
the sexton had suffered up the gloomy
little edifce. / had stupidity missed her
in the throng, or she had gone out at the
choir entrance. / had forgotten the In
cident directly, and remembered it now
only as young Jansen, the brawny Nor
wegian, spoke of his wife and baby.
"There was rather pretty young
lady there three years ago." / said, bit
ing bit of raw straw. and looking over
the pollard window at the church steeple.
GA pale, white girl, in straw bonnet. "
An indescribable flush mounted to his
swarthy cheek and stained his brow. He
dropped the hammer with a sharp clang,
and let his iron cool while he Looked at
me tIlreateningly for an instant. The
tigerish green faded from his eye and left
dull, red glare.
:" She was considered handsome then.
L know who you mean.
81 hope she is pretty still That was
face thought man might SEQ over
his tea urn everyday for a lifetime and
not tire"
EDO you think so, verify" said JAN
sen, sending up shower of sparks. SIT
be all owing to how the face looks at you.
Ii it be with dead, cold eyes and icy lips
why man, death itself at times could
not match it. It was a sweet face to
hang in locket."
With great simplicity he had expressed
my thought.
"Now, your wife, said in banter
ing way; 6 [ dare say she is smart girl,
given to teasing you, and coming to meet
you with your son on her back, and then
you three romp away home again"
A sigh of anguish burst from the hon
est fellows bosom, and for the first time
it dawned on me that in some way was
blunderingly torturing him. I began to
talk of other things, and strolled away
with my bride on my arm until L
reached little gritty stone-yard, where
gritty fellow with dusty eye-lashes
used to sing at his work of making
grave-stones. He was at it still, evolv-
ing a Roman-nosed angel in a smock
frock from block of granite. He was
by all odds the merriest fellow in Blooms
bury, and the gossip of the county.
He had many things to tell relative to
his trade, and many inquiries to make
relative to the rascals it was my business
to hunt down. He declared himself very
sorry that circumstances had made a
stone-breaker of one whom fate clearly
meant for detective. He had pair of
pinkish eyes, deeply set under shaggy
brows, and a face brim full of duplicity
and conceit. He could climb like cat,
he told me, and could scale hchened
wall like lizard.
Presently he said that he had seen me
talk to man for whom he had a great
contemplate blacksmith. This was
very droI. [ foresaw that the stone
breaker must have at some time injured
the Norwegian. sfg
He told me at great length long
scandal in which Jansen had mixed him
self up. He had married a half-idiot
girl and fathered her child, whose father
no one had ever seen or heard of, and
carried around with him a ponderous
threat to kill any man, woman or child
who should speak lightly of his wife.
All that L say makes him a great ass
this blacksmith-the more so because
he is poor man and keeps his idiot
Like lady, with white ripged fingers
and In stuff gowns instead of linsev; and,
bless you, he has given up all his ways,
dropped all his pipes and drinks at the
public house for the sake Of wench who
utters nothing but signs. This Norwe-
glan OF yours is prime calf, Mr.. Detec-
tive"
This Norwegian was a lord. demi-
god, a philosopher, humanitarian,
whose bulk overshadowed puny men,
such as the grave-stone-makera and [, as
a great tree would overtop sumac.
Now could understand all the mean
little daggers had driven into his heart
while ago-this great, splendid fellow,
who wore his heart in his sleeve for
jackdaws to pick at Bit by bit during
the next two days [ gathered the whole
sad history OF his marriage. There had
been no courtship at all. The poor
girls people had cast her off, being puri-
tans who wore gray gowns and slept in
n1ghtcaps. She had not friend in the
world, and was III a sore strait, being in
urgent need of women friends and medi-
cine. Ugel Jansen went to her with the
smoke and grim of the forge on his face
and hands, and spoke very feelingly and
simply to her. She went with him to
the minister, and Ugel's sister with
much horror, but wholesome fear of
Jansen, took charge until all was over.
Daily and hourly Ugel watched by her,
asking nothing in return, and by and by
he gave the baby whom all hated his
big brown finger to hold, and the little
fellow slept in peace
All this made Ugel the sport of the
village and furnished the town an ever
lively scandal, but it was talked of in a