Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-12-27
narent effort Ire,v All tha nnddu shoea ana

torpor of intense fatigue, and he deyoured the
homely fare set before him with relish that
he had never before felt for victuals AS he
ate his senses awakened so that he studied his
hostess with interest Hair which the adj
vancing years, while bleaching to a snowy
white had still been unable to rob of the
curling waves of girlhood, rippled over q
broad white brow, sober but scarcely
wrinkled; large, serious but gentle gray eyes,
and small, firm mouth, filed with even
white teeth, were the salient features of a
face at once resolute, refined and womanly.
Long slender hands, small feet, covered with
coarse but well-ftting shoes, slight, erect
figure, suggestive of nervous strength, and
clad in a shapely homespun gown stamped
her as superior specimen of the class of
mountaineer women to which she belonged
"Heah's 'nuther pone, honey she said to
FORMER, as she handed both of them seq
ments Of another disk of corn bread, to re-
place that which they had ravenously de-
voured. "An' ie'me fill yer bowls agin. Hit
takes powerful sight o. bread an milk ter
do when ones rale hongry. But faint like
meat vittels We can't eat huff ter do We
harnlp
She took from its place behind the rough
stones that formed the jam of the fireplace a
ride broom, made by shaving down to near
its end long slender strips from a stick of
plant green hickory, then turning these over
the end and combining them by a band into
an exaggerated mop or brush. With this she
swept back from the hearth of uneven stones
the live Goals flung out by the fire
"fhar's some walnut sticks amongst thet
wood she said as she replaced the hearth
broom, "an' they pops awful"
From pouch like basket made Of skill
fully interviewer hickory strips, and hanging
against the wall, she took half finished
stocking and a ball of yarn. Drawing low
rocking chair up into the light, she seated
herself and began knitting.
As he neared the last of his second bowl of
milk Fortner bethought himself, and glanced
at Aunt Debby. Her work had fallen from
her nervous hands and lay idly in her lap,
while her great eyes were fixed hungrily upon
him.
They've bin fouten over ter Wildcat to-
day." he said, answering their inquiry, with
out waiting to empty his mouth.
Eyes, / heared the cannons," she said with
such gentle voice as made her dialect seem
quaint and sweet. Il elm up on Bald Rock
at the top o the mounting an lissened l
could see the smoke raisin, but couldn't tell
notbin'. Much NV a fout!"
awful big 'un. Biggest 'un sence Buner
Ulster. Ole Zollicoffer pitched his whole
army onter Kunnel Garrard's riiimint.
Some other riiimints cum up ter help Kunnel
Garrard, an both sides fit like devils fur three
Or four hours, an the dead jess lay in winrows,
am
The demands of FORMERS unappeased APP
petite here rose superior to his desire to i'm
art inf Ia CIR
last bit of corn bread and drain his bowl to
the bottom
"Yes," said Aunt Debby, inhospitably dis
regarding the exhaustion of the provender
and speaking a little more quickly than her
wont, "but which side whiptsn
"Ourn in course, said Fortner, with
nettled surprise at the question "Ou1'n, in
course. Ole Zollicoffer got ez bad a lickin' ez
ever Gineral Zach Taylor gin the Mexicans .
"Rayally?" she said. Qualification showed
| itself in little lines that coursed about her
mouth, and her eyes illumined as when a light
shines through a window.
"Yes," answered Fortner Like hounds
and run clean ter the ford, wbar they're now
a-fouten IN Strugglin' to git acrost, and
drowndin' like SO many stampeded cattle.n
"Gloryl Tank God.a said Aunt Debby.
Her earnestness expressed itself more by the
| intensity of the tone than its rise
Evidently tolerable regular attendant at
Methodist camp meetings thought Harry,
rousing little from the torpor into which he
was falling.
Her faded cheek flushed with a little confu
sion at having suffered this outburst, and pick
ing up her knitting she nervously resumed
work.
Fortner looked wistfully at the bottom OF
his emptied bowl. Aunt Debby took it away
and speedily returned with it filled She came
back with an air Of eager expectancy that
Fortner would continue his narrative But
unsatistied hunger still dominated him, and
he had thoughts and mouth only for food
She sat down and resumed her knitting with
an apparent effort at composing herself
For full minute the needles clicked indus
triously Then they stopped; the long, slen-
der fingers clenched themselves about the ball
of yarn; she faced Fortner, her eyes shining
with less brilliant but intenser light.
Jim Fortner," she said with low, measured
| dist4nc mess, 'swhy don't We go on? Is thar
sofnethin' tibet yere Altered to tell mes What
hez happened ter our folks! Don't finch from
tellin' me the wust. I'm alters willin ter bow
ter the viii o. the Lord without a murmur
Only let me know what hit is
"Why, Aunt Debby, thar hain't been
nothin' happened ter EN-" said Former,
deeply surprised. "Thar amt nothin' to tell
We bout 'em. They're all safe They're in
Kunnel Garrard's rijiment, ez We know, an
hit fit behind breastworks, an didn't lose no
body, ska'cely-leastwise none of our kim
She rose quickly from her chair. The ball
of yarn fell from her lap and rolled unheedeli
toward the glowing Goals under the forelog.
With arms outstretched, hands clasped, and
eyes directed upward in fervent appeal, there
was much to recall that Deborah from whom
she took her name-that prophecies and
priestess who, standing under the waving
palm trees of Baal-Tamar, inspired her coun-
trymen to so forth and overthrow and destroy
their Canaanitish oppressors
10 GodT she said, in low, thrilling tones,
"Thou'st aforetimes gin me much ter be
thankful fur, well ez much ter dumbly
bar when Thy rod sInote me fur reasons tibet
l couldn't understand. Thou knows how
gladly rd've gin not only my pore, nigh
spent life, but also those o. my kinsmen,
which prize much higher, fur sech a vict'ry
ez this over the inimies of Thee an Thy peo-
pie. But Thou'st gin hit free ez Thy marcy,
without AKIN blood sacrifice from any on us.
kin only praise Thee an Thy goodness all
my days"
Fortner rose and listened with bowed head
while she spoke When she finished he
snatched up the ball Of shriveling yarn and
quenched its smoking with his hand. Look
ing ixedly at this he said softly: "Aunt
Debby, honey, haint tole we all yit"
mo, JimlH
mo" said he, slowly winding up the yarn;
carter the fouten wuz thru with at the Gap
shpt down the mounting, an come in on the
r'ar Nv these fellers, an me an this ere man
drapt two on 'em'
II kinder 'spected ye would do something
NV tibet sort.
''Then we TUX short cut an overtuk 'em
agin, an we drapt another"
Aunt Debbys eyes expressed surprise OF
this continued good fortune.
can then we tux 'nuther short cut, an
saved 'nuther one
Aunt Debby waited for him to continue
cat last-jess ez they come ter the ford--I
seed our man.
''Seed kunnel Bill Pennington The great
gray eyes were blazing nov.
YES" Fortner's speech was the spiritless
drawl of the mountains, and it had now be-
come SO languid that it seemed doubtful if,
after the enunciation of each word, whether
vitality enough remained to evolve a success
sor. YES he repeated with a yawn as he
stuck the ball of yarn upon the needles and
gave the whole a toss which landed it in the
wall basket, "an' got him, tew."
20, just Cod Air ye shoreF7
@Jess ez shore ez in the last great day thar'l
be some 'un settin' in Judgment atween him
an me- | wanted him ter be jess ez shore
about me. l came out in plain sight, and