The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1885-12-18

llCbOll III OIhGI W 6lllJ lOL IllllSGil III
strange lands. Born with a restless
spirit of adventure, his relations had
looked upon him rather obviously,
as though fearful that he might be q
changeling, andsOme Ofthem lived in q
state of apprehension lest he should
bring disgrace o sorrow upon the
family, it was so unnatural that one
Of them shOuldgO wandering about the
world like any ~vagabond, a~ssociating
with all sorts of strangers who could
not but corrupt him. They were all
fully imbued with the New England
creed, that all who live outside the
limits of that section are foreigners,
and all foreigners barbarians, more or
less, who may be cautiously pitied and
must be su~spiCiOusly doubted. Every
time that Jack came home, turningup
smiling from Mexico or Alaska, Mani
tOba or California, he was liOniZed as
o sort of hero, who had braved hard
ship and danger by flood and field, and
at last returned to rest on his laurels
and pursue the acquisition of grand
children to whom he might tell his
strange adventures, and be to them q
sort of glorified combination of his
tory and geography in a convenient
form for reference. Jack, though, per-
versely and persistently refused to
take that view of the matter. On each
visit, when greeted with, ooh, Jack,
have you really come home to live at
last?" he would respond with an ear
nest denial, so empathic as to be al
most offensive. If any one suspected
that he preferred the broad world to
the narrow New England life, they
simply shuddered at the thought and
refused to give it CredenCe.
This absence of ten years had been
Jacks longest, and the quiet of his
home seemed to him restful and sopor-
iic after so long a struggle with ranch
ing, mining, and other laborious pur-
suits peculiar to wild and far-away re-
gions. Civilization was pleasant to
him as a recreation, and he fairly en-
joyed his fears of outraging the pro-
prieties by stepping out too boldly or
talking too wildly for the home con
ventIonalities. He found his sister
grown into a young woman, and his
brothers married, and he set himself
to work to make the acquaintance of
the-to him-new members of the
amily circle.
Now, when the Prodigal Son twas
yet a great way off, his father saw
him, and had compassion, and ran
and fell on his neck and kissed him."
and said to the servents, Bring forth
the best robe and put it on him, and
put a ring on his hand, and shoes on
his feet; and bring hither the fatted
calf and kill it, and let US eat, drink,
and bemerry." This was much Jacks
case, for even his sister-in-law fell
down and worshiped him; but he was
a modest fellow withal, and he knew
himself too we'll to attribute all this
adulation to anything but the Joy of
seeing him once more alive, clothed,
and in his right mind. His principal
fault was a disposition to chaff unmer-
cifully his female relations, but this he
did so mildly and goodnaturedly that
they could not take offense. One Of
his favorite methods was to take Sc
riously anything they might say, and
act upon 1T accordingly, until they
were in a continuous state of terror
as the consequences of his frank &C
ton.
OF course, Jack had not been longin
the bosom of the family before he be-
came aware of the scandal which was
worrying away their good temper and
peace of mind, and he inquired into
it's details, but his mother and sister,
forearmed against his rash disposition
to take hold of and arrange matters,
positively refused to enlighten him.
Every WE'LL" responded MI. Jack:
"I shall have a serious talk with
George about it,"
"You shall do no such thing. If you
do, / will never speak to you again."
"But, my dear sister, / feel it to be
my duty as a family representative to
regulate this matter, which seems to
be too much for any of YOU"
"My son." said Mrs. Warburton,
~ shall be seriously annoyed if you
meddle in this affair, and / forbid you
to do So"
Every well, mother, your win is law;
but / really think / ought to. You
see, ! have had experience in such
matters"
"Why, John, how could your"
ooh, a man shot at me once for re-
monstrating with him for beating his
wife"
"Shot at you! Oh, Jack; And what
was done to the man?"
s'The vigilantes escorted him out of
town the next morning with instruc-
tions never to show his face in the
camp again. And the tool woman
meekly followed the brute. It was in
a little mining camp in southern
Utah."
Jack pondered over the great a.
DIAL for some days. He grew grave
and thoughtful, seemed preoccupied,
and commenced taking long, solitary
walks. He cultivated Miss Omissions
ooo;afu aooidnouoly and ir+orocfaI