The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1885-07-26
put an end to the talk Of the ievored
and half delirious girl.

CHAPTER II.
This interview sank deep into The
memory of poor Benny. The hand.
some room, its rich Punishment, the
rich lace curtains the damask hangings
ofthe bed the white linen aud the del.
icate appointments of young girls
habltation, in the better walks of life
IL was fairy-land to the unkempt boy
whose nurture had been but little
above, in grade, that OF the wolf
cub on the mountain side
But the thing which sank
deepest into the boys heart was
the pale-flushcd cheek of the gentle
sufferer, the dove like eyes which in
their half delirium sought his own
with fullness of confidence born of
the memory of a life risked 80 gener-
ously to save her own.
Benny was covered with confusion
which increased In force the longer he
remained in the room. After some
time and several efforts to speak Ben
ny got the mastery of his voice for
long enough to say:
"Thank You Miss Edith and now
III work harder to make myself wor-
thy of you than | ever did on yon
mountain side, to make breadp |
think now Ill go home, so that you
| may sleep and get well sand before
Mrs. Green, Edith or even himself
was aware of II, Benny stopped over
the fevercd pillow of the girl and i'm
planted kiss upon her lips, with a
grace, a ooncious dignity which could
come only from lofty purpose born
of the moment and the unusual sur
roundings, walked slowly from the
room.
From that moment there came
change over our rough
mountain boy. His general
unkempt appearance gradually gave
way. Occasionally in its place came
brief glimpses of something better.
the mountain-side where he wrought
at his hard tasks. Benny's father and
mother had been dead from the time
he could first remember. He had no
relatives, and no one cared for him
beyond the amount OF work his strong
arms could do. But mighty pur-
pose had been born into that boys
life, and the changes its presence
wrought were far-reaching and i'm
mediate.
About six months after the Incl
dents we have related, Benny was in
the village and heard gentleman
talking TO some friends about his ap-
preaching departure for Texas. At
once the thought was born, "lf can
get to that new land-ifI can break
away from this old life, these old fet-
tiers ofpoverty and ignorance, perhaps
too may grow rich. Perhaps Edith's
dream and my own may be realized
lie went home with this idea Juggling
at his heart-strings. The feeling grew
so strong that it could not be battled
with, aud in few days Benny, with
his entire wardrobe and all of his
earthly possessions tied up in RED
bandanna handkerchief, on foot aud
alone, with less than ten dollars in his
pocket, left the home of his youth,
the mountains upon which he had
toiled all of his lonely, friendless days.
for the far away and unknown wilds
of Texas. How far away they seemed
to the lonely, and friendless, and igno-
rant boy!
After a few days hard tramping
ANhhhNIIV W nc iChNhths VII W.
ward Memphis. Two days from
Memphis Benny was overtaken by the
train of the gentleman whom he had
I overheard talking about Texas. The
recognition which followed was mu.
tual, and mutually satisfactory.
With a sturdy Independence born
of his early self-holpfulncss, the I'M
couth lad refused TO be hauled to
Texas, but consented to help with the
stock and about camp at night If his
bundle were hauled by day. In
this way he trudged all the
way from East Tennessee to Waco,
Texas, on foot, tired and almost rag
ged and without II dollar. he arrived
in this, then frontier village of only
about three hundred souls.
So far, reader, our tale has been a
tame enough one. There has been but
little romance in it. 1t has consisted
OF brief glimpses at the life and lowly
surroundings and purposes of an igno-
rant, poor and friendless boy, But
wait, the romance is coming; and it il
not surpassed by the romances OF tho
east about which sonorous epics have
been sung, and which have inspired
song and story, to last while the deed
OF men gild the pages of history,
Upon his arrival here, Benny did no
seek for clerkship, a postotlice, or al
easy position of any kind. The frs
brick yard was about starting, an,
, Benny sought out the owner and wa
employed at the munitlCent sum of 81
cents per day. Here he toilcd for three
four, five years, and the only advanc
~ from thn nj nt hn nnnt
, for days work, to the other pittanc
of dollar. But Benny was doing wei
, enough, and gradually the distanc
between himself and that pair of haze
{ eyes back in the old home, SCENE,
shortening. The long, weary mile
I. stretching between Waco aud P
seemed somehow TO grow shorter an
less weary; the heart did not sink 81
= low when looking back over them, an
somehow flowers seemed to spring u
q by the wayside.
Benny Trite soon began to hay
, money over and above his few an
simple wants. People came to him I
borrow. Somehow, whenever h
loaned money the bright, hazel eye
, away oil there In the dim east SCENE
to sparkle in their glee, and Benn
imagined that they were coming neal
a or and nearer Not one word ha
q passed between these two since tina
I evening when he stopped over he
pillow and kissed her half unconsciou
! lips; yet somehow they seemed I
: come closer and closer togetl
or every time the hard earne
A penny of yesterday called its har
earned fellow of to-day, to its side.
o One day Bennys employer fell sicl
r Then young Trite was Gale
/, upon to take charge of Il
N business at the mRniticent 50