The Red Cloud chief., 1885-07-10
CHAPTER XIII.
usrTlN0 MINES.

MI. AnOelSey > visits 10 tneif 1dtueT y
cottage ceased with the departure of
Jennie and Lucy. and John P.r-ons was
thus left without means OF obtaining
frequent or reliable information o! the
progress Of work at the mines.
He was at the landing every day or
two with produce for shipment. and
always inquired Of such Is he met il
they had any news from Gravel Hill.
but received no Information of a pos
tive character such as he had been ac-
customed TO obtain from Mr.. Annelsey.
He had. in fact. questioned that young
gentleman so often aud so infinitely
that he fel. as il be knew the mines.
and all the deta l. Of the work OF prep
aration for working them. a. pcrfec "
a. If he had located them and superin-
tended the labor Of the men himself;
but nov he only heard rumors. those Of
today being contradictei by those Of
tomorrow. OF late, too. he had frequent
IL been answered impaticntly, almost
rudely, BIZ those whom he was in the
habit of questioning about The nine
They felt no especial interest N the at
fairs Of the mining company them
Sc yes, and could see 10 reason for his
solicitude. and were growing weary Of
his constant ard persistent inquiries.
II was known. oi course. that he son
OF one Of the largest stakeholder, had
been somewhat intimate wsth his
daughter, and there were found gossips
who intimated that the old mans q =
sire for information from the mines was
really "A desire Tor information Of a GER
tain young man who had made his
headquarters there during the time be
was not roaming over the country.
flirting with such young girls a, were
foolish enough to permit III
And then the moral vultures. from
which even country neighbJrhoods
are not always free. fluttcred their
wings and INDUCED IN another little
flight of fancy.
The pretensc Of n return TO school
was only a blind" they said. '.Lucy's
parents had found it necessary to send
her from home for a time, and her
elder sister accompanied her as a nurse
and to prevent any suspicion of the true
cause Of her going"
No one who knew the family well
gave any heed to these tales. but there
were those who did believe them, and
who looked upon the changed appear
ancc of John Parsons as confirmation
of them: for there was no denying that
there was a change in him. Among his
neighDors and at the landing he had
been noted for the hearty with
which he greeted everybody. whether
boy or man. and for 4 iovial expression
of ~coun.enance that gave an instant
impression of a prosperous and con
tent ID man. as well as the p~osseSsor of
n kindly heart. But now his who,e ex-
preston and was changed.
Often ut the landing he passed men
whom he knew, without appearing 10
see them. and looked at strangers W tn
out speaking. but in a which
seemed to question them of their pur-
pose Of coming 10 the locality. All the
jollity had left him. and his greetings,
even To his best friends. had lost taeir
hearty cordially. and he inquired less
frequent after their health and more
and more often if they had any news
from the mines. until even hes began
10 wond r if there m ght not be some
thing in the rumors which had reached
their ears, and n day when he had
seemed particularly downcast. n neigh
Dor in reply to his usual inquiries for
news from Gravel Hill. said:
See here. Parsons. l know it isn't
any Of my business. but if | were you
! believe l would go up to the mines
and see Mr.. Annelsey. Young men are
sometimes a little wild without being
really bad at heart. and NAV be if YOU
see him yourself and talk to him with
out showing temper he'll do the square
thing
The square thing" that John Par
sons wanted done was 10 leave him and
his in undistarbed possess on OF their
home. with It's vineyards and orchards.
It's plot of ground where the turkeys
and chickens and ducks wandered and
nes:ed and raised their young; the rose
bush over the cottage porch; the vege-
table garden at tn SIDE; the fields for
pas urage and grain stretching away
on every side.
He thought of Mr.. Annelsey only in
connection with the nine whose wash
ings might flood his ranch and destroy
all that Martha and he had labored So
hard 10 accumulate aud leave them in
their old age 70 begin all over again.
( And what use to begin again Il this
place, too. should be wrested from
them? He would have no heart. no
faith to 90 farther or do more. He
should feel that God was out of the uni
verse: that the SUI had set in eternal
night. il forced again TO take his loved
ones and flee into the wilderness.
Not the fainteSt iDtimatiou OF the
meaning of the ~neighbors words
reached his mind. Had it done so. had
he known ;hst the kindly words of his
friend implied a stain upon the charsc-
ter Of Lis daughter. he would have re-
sented it in a to prevent its
repetition. AT least in his presence: but
he saw only y suggestion that he should
90 personally to the mines. see with his
own ewes how great the cause for alarm
really was. take advantage of his &C.
quain,ance with Mr.. Annelsey in the
work of securing information. and in
case he found the danger imminent. to
induce the young nan to use his infu-
enc TO avert it
Inc EeiSnUot ; aIiuSiou W auuc1SeS
as wild he did not notice; or. il he
did. supposed that the speaker intended
to convey the thought that the COM
pany might no, be inclined to give
much weight. in matters Of business. tn
the advice Of SO young \ man; regard
ing him Is ineSper enced. and conse-
quently wild in his judgment. But the
suggestion Of visiting the mines and
seeing for himself the whole situation
struck him rs q good one. and he re-
solved at once To 90.
The next morning af breakfast he an
nounced his intention Of 60 NJ TO Gravel
Hill. He made no mention OF his pur-
pose in going. AID Meth r his wife nor