Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-11-04


the hall into this somber, almost fright
full place. The old lawyer picked up
big pipe made of some kind of red
rock with a long stem, and going over
to the mantel filled and Lit it at one of
two candles burning there, and. turn
ing to the young man who stood look
ing about him, jerked his thumb in the
direction of the room they had left and
said: You see l keep the child IN
clover: Only way to manage a woman,
Snum" The old man turned about
with q shrug and took up a candle
from the mantel. Nov, here" he
said, starting toward one of the cabi-
nets. but John Earring interrupted him
with smile: ''You only believe in soft
living. then, as kind of medicine?"
he asked.
The old lawyer stopped and looked
enough for females and too good for
men. Nothing will turn a man into a
poodle so quick as a feather-tick;
snum! l believe in hard beds, hard
chairs, hard floors, and-I was going
to say-hard hearts: for l haven't had
much experience with any other kind.
in the breast of little girl in the other
sometimes, and l guess yours would
be soft enough only it's too internal
honest. Can't be honest with bowl
of jelly for a heart. you know" This
last as he pulled open the door of a
cabinet of minerals.
John Earling, standing by the old
10 =, hnh
smiled. "One has at least to be rather
in order to do right" said he.
The old mans eyes twinkled as he
held the candle up by his head and
rummaged in the cabinet. Eyes" he
said, '.being good amt exactly eating
on the other side of the black creek it
among the flowers eatin' the honey
bags of bees and drinkin' dew out of
tube-roses either. 1t might if we could
one goes to figuring on the beauty and
blessedness of the Place of Posies he
don't want to forget that humanity is
Il rotten mess. Purgatory is a necessi-
ty, it seems to me; a kind of cleanin =
up place, you know"
The old man gave a short laugh, and
drew out something from the cabinet.
Now here, for instance he began, lis
half of bomb-shell that saw knock the
brain-bowl from q poor devils shout
ders at Buena Vista. You see l have
wired into it this pure white shell,
called Lilly from the Indian
Ocean; one is the work of man, the 9TH
of IS
shells, amt they? OF course, mans
suffers little in the comparison!" and
the old lawyer broke into low bitter
kind of laugh. John EARRING took
them into his hands and stood looking
at them, while the old man tapped his
foot a little and began humming a
gruff sort of tune as he rummaged in
the cabinet again.
One of the shells was very white and
shapely and veined with crystal and
pink, and the other black and ragged
of edge, and veined with glazed blood
and some short yellow hairs. While
the young man looked at them he
heard Maun running her fingers over
the keys of the piano, fetching little
sprays and low flights of sound, and
when he handed the shells back his
eyes were wet.
The old lawyer had something else
in his hand, which, splitting quickly,
he began talking about. He went on
about the room so, discoursing of this
and that object, and presently came to
the desk between the windows, and the
candies light being thrown on the
wall above it, John Earring started
back with n cry. A long serpent's
skin was hanging there, spangled, and
striped. and glitteringssagainst the wall.
The old man laughed at the momen-
tary horror in the young mans eyes,
and gave the broad flashing hide a
stroke downward with the backs of
his crumpled fingers. He was fine
fellow" he said. Il got him in Mexico,
and come near making meal for the
creeper in the bargain. What a splen-
did belt his skin would make for the
Devil or his court Harlequin"
John EARRING smiled and shuddered;
81 hardly admire snakes enough to I'M
derstand how you can allow this thing
here" he said.
"Oh, my admiration for snakes
comes from old association, l pre-
sume,' said the old man. 81 have
been a great deal with them, for in
stance'-and he pushed the serpents
skin to one side disclosing the miniature
portrait of dark-eyed Spanish woman
hanging under it. John Earling looked
at it a moment and turned his eyes
upon the old mans face. The old law
yer let the skin swing back over the
picture and went toward the door.
Come, let's listen to the child play
Bit" he said; lit will soon be time for
l,, r
''Play us a bit, child" said the father;
''play us The Storm" And the
young girl went back to the piano at
the end of the room, with John Earl
ing's eyes feeding upon that musical
motion of hers, and flashing her exqui-
site fingers along the keys in kind of
prelude, began a low, pattering move
ment. like the soft mingling of wind
and rain, which rose slowly into del
uge of melody and crashed and ran
softly down into a signing, whispering
space that grew again into thick rain
of notes and showered and drove along
like the tempest's roar dying away in
the ringing caves of space.
When she had finished, the old man,
who had been sitting with his arms
folded and his chin drawn in, got up,
and extending his crumpled hand to
John Earring, said, in a low, husky
tone: Goodnight. sir; come often and
hear Maun play. Goodnight, daugh-
ter" and he was gone.
Maun came forward then with a
smile dimpling about her mouth and
her dusky eyes aglow. She put out
-.