The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1885-10-31

cupdut. luclt Ncle ohly iVN SlhpSi'
on the hearth. He uttered an exclama-
ton and turned to the bed. Boston
made a slight motion with his head and
asked feebly.
Where's BillP"
don't know" said the doctor.
"How do you feel to-day"
Better, but l was very bad last
night" The doctor blew up the EN-.
bers, put on more wood, tucked the
blankets about Boston, and began
looking for something 10 cook, Flows
the chest and back?' he asked.
Very little pain said Boston. 81
wonder where Bill is." The doctor
was busy in the manufacture of broth
and did not hear him. He administered
some medicine and gave the patient two
applications. "The turning point is
passed." he said to his patient, you're
bound to get well now" Then he re,
turned to town, but came back in the
afternoon with Colonel Molly and a
supply of provisions. Don't tell him
about Bill" he cautioned. The next
day he called again. Colonel Molly
was sleeping in a corner and Boston
was sitting up in bed. In two days
more Molly came back to town and
Boston, pale and very weak, was walk
ing about the cabin. He had heard OF
Bills death, and turned down another
somber leaf in his book of memories.
The terrible storm had swept down the
telegraph wires, and among the de-
layed messages received by the operator
about a week after Bills death was the
following:
Bosrox, Feb, +, 1S7S.-RW Rnasanis. Dead
tCO0d: George Payson's father is dead. All
bills will be paid. Will come in the spring.
HENRY SCRANTON.
All the operator could do was to re-
turn word to Mr.. Scranton that Bill
Ragsdalc was dead. In the meantime
George Payson recovered from his con-
vaIescence and began a more earnest
and systematic life. He left the town
and secured a position in a stamp-mill
a short distance away, and the spring
found him there, grayer, with q few
premature gray threads in his beard.
Some secret hope seemed to buoy him
up, and some recollection, which could
not have been all a pain, lived with him
and kept a FIRE in his eye and q vivacity
in his speech.
, One raw April day, when the snow
lay in irregular patches over the ground
and the mist rolled slowly up the sides
of the mountains, the stage, numbering
along the muddy street, had in it two
travellers Of m unwonted type. The
loafers smoking on the veranda of the
hotel held their breaths with maze
ment as they saw q stately old gentle
mar descend and hand out, with all
the unctuous grace of the old school, a
lady so beautiful, so pensive and young,
that she seemed like one of the pale
flowers pushing its head up through the
snow in the barren woods. But the
rabid inquiries as to their identity left
the natives no wiser, and they were
obliged to sleep on the mystery. The
next morning, however, the keeper Of
the hotel came on the veranda with a
piece Of gossip. The old gentleman
had sent for him and made special in
quiries after II George Payson, who
had died in February.
No Il knew of such q man, and this
information, or rather lack of it, was
conveyed to the old stranger, who gave
his name as Henry Scranton. He
seemed greatly astonished and disap-
pointed, and later in the day hired a
team of mountain ponies and the only
wagon there was in the place and drove
out towards the mining camps. On the
way he renewed his inquiries without
success. At last, however, he hap.
pened to mention that Payson came
from Boston.
"Thar's a chap at Stevens Mill they
call Boston," said the man he I'D.
addressed. "Ireckon he'll know about
the mar you're after"
The wagon was driven to Stevens
stamp-mill, and just as the old gentle
man was assisting the young lady tc
alight his eye caught sight of a familia,
figure directing some workmen a hun,
dred feet away. He started n little,
took q long look at the man who had
attracted his attention and then turned
to the young lady with an assumed ex'
preston of nonchalance.
"My DEAR he said, "Tm afraid we
haven't been rightly informed about
this man.
"Why?" she said, dejectedly, what
makes you think SOP"
"Well, the fact Isl he replied, "it
has just occurred to me that there
might be some mistake about those
kilograms we received last winter"
''Do you mean about the date?n she
asked, "or the place9n
The old man was trembling and he
moved so that his tall form shielded her
from the group of workingmen.
mot the date nor the place." he re-
turned, laying one hand impressively
on her shoulder, .'but the man."
She let her cheek fall on the hand
upon her shoulder with the quiet pa
tience of a dumb animal.
"Tm sorry, father, if you have had
all this trip for nothing, but as for the