The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1885-09-18
LITTLE KATE ANDL.

1iE-
. naments, or thousand dollar bonds
for wedding presents. ] was simply q
. brakeman on the Eastern Michigan
railway, a long and lonely stretch o.
rails over desolate marshes, steep
mountain grades, and solitary sweeps
of prairie land; she was the bright-eyed
waitress III one of the restaurants
along the line. But when ] fell from
the platform when the great accident
happened, you heard of the great ac-
cident, / suppose, when there was such
a shocking loss of life-it was Hates
care and nothing else that brought me
back into the world / had SO nearly
quilted for good and all!
~ would have done it for anybody,
Mark!' said she, when tried to thank
her.
Would your said T.. "But it isn't
everybody that would have done it
for me, Katei"
So / asked her to marry me, and she
said yes. And / took a little cottage
on the edge of the Swampseott woods,
and furnished it as well as Icould,
with a red carpet, cheesecIoth curtains
at the windows, a real Connecticut
clock, and a set Of walnut chairs that
/ made myself, with seats of rushes,
woven in by old Billy, theTndian, who
carried his baskets and mats around
the country, and Mrs. Perkins, the
parsons wife, madeus O. weddingcake,
and so we were married. Pretty soon
| found out that Kate was pining g
little.
"Wha is it, sweetheart?n said i.
Remember, it was a contract between
us that we were to havesno secrets
from each other! Areyou notperfectly
happy"
ooh, yes, yes!' cried Kate, hiding
her face on my shoulder. "But it's
my mother, Mark. She's getting old,
and if / could only 60 East to see her,
just once before the Lord takes her
awayl"
1t was then I felt the sting of my
poverty most. If / had only been a
rich man to have handed her out q
check, and said: go at oncel" l
think / could have been quite happy
Never mind, sweetheart said 1
stroking down her hair. tsWe'H lay
up a few dollars from monthte month,
and you shall 60 out and see her be-
fore she diesl'
And with that little Kate was forced
to be content. But there was a hum
CRY homesick lookuponh her face which
went to my heart to see.
eff / was RIGHT" / kept saying to my
self. ooh, if / was only rich!"
One stormy autumn night we we're
belated on the road, for the wind was
terrible, shaking the century old pines
and oaks, rs if they werenothing more
than tall swamp grasses, and driving
through the ravines with a shrek and
a howl like a whole pack OF hungry
wolves. And the heavy rains had
raised she streams SO that we were
compelled to 60 carefully and slowly
over the bridges and keep a long look
ahead for fear of accidents.
was standing at my post, in front
of the second passenger car, stamping
my feet on the platform to keep them
warm, and hoping little Kate would
not be perturbed at my long absence,
when the news agent came chraekling
out:
We're to stop at Stampville sta
ton" said he.
Nonsense said /, 81 know better.
This train never stops short of Wau-
kensha city, least of all when we are
running to make up for lost time, as
we are tonight
ooh, but this is an exceptional oc-
casion," said Johnny Mills (which was
the news agents name. Were go
ing to put an old woman off. She has
lost her ticket, she SAYS. More likely
she never had one. Goes on astholgh
she had her pocket picked
its most a pity, isn't il, 20 put one
of tonight" said /. Least of all at
such a lonely place as Stumpville sta
ton, where there are only two houses
and a blacksmith shop"
Eyes, know" said Mills, adjusting
the newspapers that he carried in a
rubber case under his arm. but the
superintendent OF the roadnas got out
a new set of instructions, and he's
that particular that Jones wouldn't
dare overlook acaseliket this. There's
been so many confidence games play
ed on the road lately"
(which is the one?' said j, turning
to look at the end window of the car
which was at the rear.
Don't you see? The old party at
the back of the two fat women in the
red shawls. She's haranguing Jones
now"
81. see,v said T. 1t was a little old
woman in a black silk poke bonnet, a
respectable cloth cloak, bordered with
ancient fur, and a long, green veil, who
was earnestly talking and gesticulatine
with the conductor. But he shookhi s