Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-11-16

burrows along the northeast fence and q
little down the east side. The old man
can run two or three more, about ten
yards out, and we'll SINCE off the grass
between EN-.
"That d stop most anything, onless
thar was high wind. Most likely it
would then. Awful waste of work,
though. Take all day and tomorrow. %
"Can't help it, Palm. There were
some pretty smart blisters, last year. be-
tween this and town. I don't want any
| in nine. 81
Celebrity Bitters had been listening,
and she now remarked:
"Hank Sanders, he said he'd be over
to see me tonight. I'll git him to stop
over and help. Thar's heaps of fun
a-fghtin' fire."
The inability of Celebrity Bitters to
carry her own errand over to Crawford 8
was explained, but Marshall Hayne
made no comment on the explanation.
Palmer Bitters walked slowly away,
leaving his sister to complete her CON
farmer, who at the same time boarded
WILL dllA Cl1DlOJCu UIO D1UUClS 1dIuIly ".
! They were people whose way in life
required them to keep employers and
boarders.
"Gwine to ride by Crawfords ?'
There was an inquiring archness in the
unfinching black eyes.
"Reckon SO. Invent be out of my
way to do your errand for you.
"Well, no, [ spose not. You wouldn t
think OF stoppin i'll, now, If jimmy Craw-
ford asked ye? They do say she doesn' t
make herself the pleasantest kind of
company for them she doesn't take to"
1t may not have been said with the in
tention of sending her own " company
off to his work, but she had managed to
do it, for he answered her little
promptly:
"I'm putin in my time on my house
and my corn just now. Don't care to
have 'em burned up either. Reckon I'll
go over and take look at things"
He marched away, and the black eyes
followed him keenly.
s'He's an awful worker, he is. He
isn't SO bad lookin' either, sometimes.
Hank Sanders could lay him on the
broad of his back any day. Hank ort to
be dom somethin' with that thar land O.
his'n. It's high time thar was crop
onto it.
The eastern or any other side of a
quarter section of land, United States
measure, is half mile long, and burrows
of that length, through virgin prairie
| soil, calls for strong pulling. Marshall
Hayne had told no man that he was al
ready owner of the soil upon which Palm
i H. R-A1 Al Il
throwing away their work, that after
noon, and it was hard for them to break
"nobody's land" for some unknown new
settler.
Neither Bitters nor Crawford knew Of
his added claim to the respect of his
neighbors, when he mounted his horse
that evening, but either his landed pos
sessions, or Celerity's errand, or some
thing else, was lying heavy on his mind.
He paused for moment in front of his
new house, and again he said to himself
I" 1t will be ready by the first snow. :"
He rode onward then, with the air of
man who is willing his horse and
thoughts should take their own gait, un-
til he neared the house with the ricks be-
hind it.
CIVIL go in? Not unless she asks
me. If she does, I will And what
then? Yes, I'll do it, sure's I live [
can't stand this any longer"
1t was not from Virginia he
received his invitation to come in, but
her father, at the gate, said to him:
"What, Marsh? I to tell her all that?
Reckon not. I'd miss half on it, sure.
You jest light down off your horse, and
Tho g. l. e.
somewhat. Tell her yourself.
Marsh obeyed, and in few minutes
more the young people were sitting to-
gether in the pleasant little parlor by
themselves. To judge by the time re-
quired tor it's delivery and explanation,
the message of Celebrity Bitters must
have been long one, and very well re-
membered. 1t was an unpropitious
piece of work for Marshall Hayne, how
ever, if he had meant that any special
errand of his own should follow. The
very telling Celerity's words over and
over, to make sure of them, brought too
wildly to Virginia Crawford's mental
vision picture of her visitor in close
communion with comely maiden, who
smiled upon him unutterable things
through pair of black, brilliant eyes.
She noticed, tOo-and rebellious feel
ing rose within her as she studied it
how the willful look of set, determined
purpose grew and deepened in the strong
face before her. 1t seemed to look out
aggressively and assail her, arousing
something desperate and opposing from
the hidden depths of her heart 1t was
a fierce struggling feeling, and it swelled
until she was almost afraid of him. She
was angry with herself for that, but her
fear grew fast when her eyes told her
that mis- face was getting strangely pale,
and her ears gave her to know that his
deep bell-like voice was trembling, and
that it seemed to we'll up from away
down, down-some hidden place whence
no voice of a man had ever before come
to her. She strove not to understand it,
and not to know why her heat was beat
ing more quickly, and harder and hard
er, although as yet he was not talking
about anything in particular-land, and