Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-10-29

| Gghtfully warm feeling to his heart that
| It is no wonder he laughed. or that the
laugh was just trifie hysterical.
What terrible mistake there had
been What wretch he was for not
having spoken up when Annelsey first
came counting Lucy, and so have saved
| all this suffering.
How tender his heart grew, thinking
of her vino had suffered so-who must
have suffered so terribly all this time.
Such were the thoughts that passed
| walked rapidly towards his boarding
place.
But what if Uncle John was mis-
| taken?
He was halfway to the house when
this thought came to him, and he
| stopped and stood perfectly still for
some seconds, but not stiller than his
| heart seemed to have become.
''At any rate I'll know the truth"
he said aloud, and then mentally: II
played the coward once, I'll not do it
again. Uncle John certainly meant
me to understand that Lucy loved me
well enough to be my wife, and would
| be a craven indeed not to ask herself
now
| Going directly to the shed where the
roam horse stood, he groomed him
carefully, then went to the house and
| to the low room upstairs where he
| slept.
| Here he bathed and changed into his
| best suit, being careful to see that the
| few dollars in money which he pos
sessed were in his pocket-book and in
his pocket
Meantime Mr.. johnson had left the
| ditch and gone to the little patch of
ground quarter of mile away, which
his wife cultivated as a garden, where
he knew her to be at work.
When told that Erastus was going on
| visit to his old home and would start
at once, Mrs. johnson hurried to the
house and began preparing a meal be-
tore he should 60.
Neither of them asked the young man
any questions as to the cause of his sud-
den going, but both guessed that it was in
some way connected with love affair
| and were anxious to assist him in every
| way possible. Mr.. johnson offered to
loan him all the money he had, which
was less than two dollars, and Mrs.
johnson fiuttered around, trying to get
something a little extra for him to eat,
| helping him with his necktie, and offer
ing to do dozen other things as if he
had suddenly become q child, or what
appeared more likely-was going to see
his sweetheart, if not. indeed, to get
| married. And all the time she was try
ing not to say anything that would
show how very anxious she was to have
him confide in her, yet hoping greatly
that he would do so.
Erastus, in the first flush Of his new
found Joy. was only restrained from
showing Mr.. Parsons letter and making
| clean breast of the whole affair by a
lingering fear that Uncle John might
be mi taken.
1t was really very hard for him to
keep from telling. Mr.. and Mrs. John
son were the best friends he had here
at the Slough, and he knew they
thought good deal Off him, and he
wanted to tell them what G lovely girl
Lucy was, but could not quite bring
himself to do so even when Mrs. John
son remarked. as she fixed his necktie,
that she supposed he would soon have
some one else to do it for him now"
and so he left them wholly in doubt,
and mounting the roam, rode away in
the direction of the foothills of the
Sierras.
He curbed his own impotence and
the desire of the spirited roam at the
start, well knowing that time would be
lost and not gained by fast riding for
the first hour or two.
The sun had long since set, when,
having put thirty-five miles between
himself and his starting-place, he dis
mounted, tethered his animal in spot
of wild oats little off the road, rubbed
him down with dry leaves and grass,
and rolling himself in blanket lay
down upon the ground.
If his body was weary he was not
aware of it, for his heart was filled
with the sweetest hopes; and what sus-
tains the physical powers like hope?
As he lay looking up at the stars, and
watching the full moon coming slowly
up from behind the distant hills and
climb NO sky that had not known
cloud for weeks and weeks, he recalled
every incident of his life from the time
when Mr.. and Mrs. Parsons had taken
him, poor, outcast boy, to their home
and their hearts
He thought upon every act of Lucy's
which appeared in any degree to indi-
cate her feelings toward himself, and
tried to place one against another, the
unfavoraIle against the favorable, in
such way as to enable him to strike a
balance and determine just what his
chances were. But in this he was con-
scious of failing, for there were many
little instanceS-actS or words-the
meaning of which he was utterly I'M
able TO determine, which he yet felt GER
tain had meaning if only he knew
upon which side of his love account to
place them Besides, it was so very
pleasant to fancy that the favorable
ones outnumbered the others, if indeed
there were any others, that he could
not avoid going off into blissful waking
dreams of the future, when he should
have got his place at the Slough irri-
gated, and set in fruits, and have q cot
tage built.
He would have cottage just like the
one in the foothills, where they had all
spent so many pleasant days, he |
thought; the cottage now abandoned |
and Ding to decay. Lucy would be by
his side always. and Uncle John and |
Aunt Martha should bring Johnny and |
live with them, their honored and be- |
loved guests, and all the misunder- |
standings and suffering of the past
should be forgotten.
And thus he lay and drew bright pict-
ures of sweet days to come, until from
waking dreams he passed to dreams
which came in sleep, but they did not |
greatly differ from each other; the
music and the words were lust the
same were love and Lucy; love and
Lucy.
Although the sun was not vet up,
there was no dew upon his blanket or
h 70 bnf,. i,,. al ~,