Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-11-25

itated moment; he could not court.
eouslY decline, he thought, besides there
was the singing of Celeste and hergreat
blue eyes, and he went homeward with
the judge.
Mrs. Bower and Celeste were sitting
in the porch, the girl, in a soft musliD
dress, looking exquisite in her clear
ness and purity, John Earring thought.
Mrs. Bower greeted him in her moth
erly way. and Celeste gave him her
hand with touch of shyness, and soon
gether. Then John Earling begged
that Celeste would sing alone for them.
| for, though he did not voice it, he
thought it pity to jar and smother so
infinitely fine voice as hers with theirs
of coarser timbre. So Celeste sang a
simple song with touching sweetness,
and the young man felt his heart move
| as it had long before in the same room
with melody of the same voice; but
when standing there with her hands
hanging down and caught together be-
fore her and her eyes lifted, she broke
into a soft bird-like Italian carol, and
following its melodious ripping up
broke and poured along and ended in
an ecstacy of passionate joyous feeling,
though he could not understand word
of it, for a moment he could have
knelt before her, she seemed so fair
and her music moved him so.
After that Judge Bower went to his
library and the three others talked on
for long time; John Earring in his
ltot int hn 81 10
of Immortality, thought and music, but
or before him. He felt that her in.
stincts were very subtitle and sweet,
and that her mind was like spring,
clear, deep and bottomless to him, but
full of light and sparkles. All! here
was soul that matched his own, a
spirit that could feed him and be fed,
but he could only half perceive it. As
he walked away through the starlight
he thought of her life and how it had
been shut away from him, and tried to
chastened and well-nigh broken; OF
before, and what had been the manner
of her life since, for he had learned that
she supported herself teaching in
what influences had been about her,
what temptations, what sorrows, what
strengthening identifying forces, that
she, though young. should have come
so far upon the lovely road of woman
hood. He saw, or rather felt, through
her songs and conversation into her
heart, and knew, without shaping il
into distinctly conscious thought,
that her maiden soul was deep and
lucent. and capable of feeling far into
the spiritual, far rs indeed no other
thing in this world save a woman's
spirit may. Thus turning over in his
mind hall consciously the things that
touched her, he came into the heart of
the town when suddenly in his rumin-
ating his blood gave a bound, for some
one on a horse pulled up in the road
and said; Earring, have you seen any
thing of Maun Woodman?"
In an instant his thoughts of Celeste
were swept away, and the young man
was by his interrogation, and saw that
it was one of the old lawyers neigh
bors. whats the matter, Mr.. Sher-
man?" he said.
white Tom has come home with
blood on him, and we can't find
Maun!' said the man, painting as if he
had been riding hard.
With thrill of indescribable feal
and horror John Earring looked
at him. ''I'll be at her fathers in
a moment" he said, and turning
about went quickly into a livery-stable.
''Give me Il horse as soon as you can"
he said to a sleepy young man, who,
tipped back in a chair in the dingv har-
ness-room. was reading dirty Police
Gazette by dirty, but not equally dirty,
lamp. The Young man yawned, took
up a half-consumed cigar from the
rough desk. and looked up at the impa-
tent speaker: wat you want 'erfur?"
he drawled.
John Earring gave him blazing
glance: Il want the horse to try and
find lost child with, 'he said. ''Please
hurry, siri
Whose young 'uns lost?" drawled
the loutish youth, leaning forward with
elbows on his knees.
For answer John Earling in his inn
patient ire caught down saddle and
bride from one of the hooks in the wall
and flashed back among the stalls and
threw the saddle on the first horse he
came to. He brought the horse out
quickly. pulling the halter from its
head and forcing the bit into its mouth
he buckled the throat-latch as the
sleepy youth came up lantern in hand.
Here, you," exclaimed that worthy,
putting out his hand toward the rein,
you don't want ter take that boss,
misteri''
Without a word John Earring in his
anger whirled about and flung the fell
low headlong against the wall, and
leapinr on the frightened horse struck
his heels into it and went flying out of
the barn and up the street.
''Gummy mud! what kind of a wild
cat fool is that?" exclaimed the slow
moving youth as he got himself and
lantern together. ''S'pose he's steal
in tn hosp" and he stood moment
with his mouth hanging open, staring
before him. Then he went grumbling
to the proprietor's house. a few doors
away, and told him the incident. That
gentleman asked who it was that got
the horse, and when the sleepy youth
said ut wus that lawyer Teller as is
with ole Woodman," he laughed and
said: ..Oh. Earring will pay for using
the horse all right. Guess you wasn't
spry enough for him"
'.N-a-w,' said the youth, ruefully,
''s'pose | WANT and he went
grumbling back to the barn and
rubbed some axle-grease on the knot
raised above his ear by his fall, and
Judging by his obtuseness he may
have not improbably rubbed some axle
grease syrnpatheticallv into the dent
left in the wall where his head struck it.
When John Earling came to the old
lawyers residence White Tom was
standing there in the light of the late
l. IL