Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-11-09

u. r.
found himself alone in a plainly furnished
lifting room confronting the open door
lending 10 another apartment Al which
the hIure % woman, preceded hastily
10y thrown dlshclOth, had Just appeared.
IL was Mrs NCkiustry: her sleeves were
rolled up over her red but stu shADely
arms, aud as ehe stood there wipinq them
on her apron, with her elbows advanced
and her closed hands raised alternately In
the air, there was IN odd puglisLc sugpes
ton in her attitude. j. Was not leyseued
On her sudden discovery Of the master hy
her retreating backward with her hand3
NJ and her elbows stlll well forward as If
warily retiring to an imaginary Corner"
Mr. Ford at once tactfuliy stepped back
from tue doorway. 81 beg your pardon >,
he said, delicately addressing the opposite
wall, but founu The door open and |
folio We, the dog
That's just one of his pizenous tricks"
responded Mrs. McKinstry dolefuuy from
within. "On'v last week he let in q
Chluamhn, and in the uat'ra hustliu' that
lollered he managed TO help himself outer
the pork bari. There amt no shade %
cu-sedness that Urinary hound ANT up
to- Yet Notwithstanding this omiuoua
comparison she presently made her APP
pearance with her sleeves turned down.
her black woolleu dress studied"
and "A smile of fatigued but not unkindly
welcome and protection on her face Dust-
ing char with her apron and placing it
peiOIe Iut ul@Sltr' she continued mater
nally Nov that you're here set We
right down and make Yourself to home.
My men folks are al ont o door, but
some Of ems sure to happen in sof n for
suthin' that day amt yet created that
they don't come huntin' up Mammv Nc
kiustry every five minutes for this thing
or that"
The glow Of a certain hard pride burned
through the careworn lauguor of her
brown cheek. What she had said wa,
strangely true. This raw-boned woman
before him, although scarcely middle
aged, had for years occupied self-im.
p )sed maternal and protecting relation, not
only 10 her husband and brothers, but to
the thsee or four men, who as partners, or
hired hands, lived at the ranch. An in
nerted and trained sympathy with what
she called her boys" and her men
folks" and their needs had partly uDsex-
ed her. she was fair type of a class not
uncommon on the southwestern frontier
women who were ruder help-mates OF
their rude husbands and brothers. who
had shared their privations and sufferngs
with surly, masculine endurance, rather
than feminine patience women who had
sent their loved ones to hopeless adveu.
lures, or terrible vendettas as a matter of
course, or with partisan fury who had
devotedly nursed the wounded to keep
alive the feud, or had received back their
dead dry-eyed and revengeful. Small
wonder that Cressy McKinstry had de-
veloped strangely under this seXless rela-
tionship Looking at the mother-alpe.t
not without certain respect-Mr. Ford
found himself contrasting her with the
daughters graceful femninity and Won
dering where in Cressy's youthful contour
the possibility of the grim figure before
him was even now hidden.
Hiram allowed to 20 over 10 the school
house and see you this mornin'," said Mrs.
Mcknstry, after a pause "but | reckon
ez how he mad to look up stock on the riv-
err The cattle are that wild this time o.
year. huntin' water, and hangn' round
the tules, that my men are nigh Worried
out O their butes with 'em. Hank and
jim amt been off their mustangs since
sun up and Hiram, what with patrollen'
the West Boundary all night, watchin'
stakes whar them low down Harrisons
hey been espassin'-hasn't put his feet
to the ground in fourteen hours. Mebbe
You noticed Hiram ez you KEN along.
| Eff so, We didn't remember what kind O.
shootin' irons he had with him see his
rifle over yon. Like ez not he'z only got
his siX-shooter, and them Harrisons are
mean enough to lay for him at long range.
But" she added, returning to the less
important topic, 81 s'pose Cressy came all
right"
Yes" said the master hopelessly.
81 reckon she looked So" continued
Mrs. Mckinstry, with tolerant abstrac-
ton. "She allowed to do herself credit il
one of them new store gounds that she got
at Sacramento. At least that S what some
of our men said. Late years | amt kept
tech with the fashions myself" She
passed her fingers eXplanatorily down the
folds Of her own coarse gown, but without
regret or apology.
"She seemed well prepared with her les
sons" said the master, abandoning for
the moment that criticism of his pupils
dress, which he saw was utterly futile,
but am | to understand that she is COM
ing regularly TO school-that she is now
perfectly free to give her entire attention
to her studles-that-that
ment Is broken off ?''
"Why, didn't she tell We p echoed Mrs.
Mckinstry in languid surprise,
'She certainly did" said the master
with slight embarrassment, but" -
"Et she said So" interrupted Mrs. Nc
kinstry abstractedly, "she oughter know,
and you kin tie to what she says"
But as Pm responsible to parents and
not to scholars for the discipline of my
school,, returned the young man little
stiifly, u thought it my duty to hear it
from UOu,"
That's so, said Mrs. McKinstry med
ltatively, then | reckon you Id better see
Hiram. That ar Seth Davis engagement
was matter of hern and her fathers, and
not ID my line. | 'spose that Hiram nat
rally allows to set the thing square to you
aud euquirin friends"
81 hope you understand said the mas
that my reasons for inquiring about the
permanency of your daughters attend
ance WAS simply because it might be nee
essary to arrange her studies in way
more suitable to her years perhaps, even
to suggest to yOu that a young ladies'
seminary might be more satisfactory
"Sartaiu, sartain,' interrupted Mrs Nc
knStry hurredly, but whether from eva
sion of annoying suggestion, or WEAKNESS
of the topic the master could not dete,
mine. "YOn'ld better speak TO Hiram
about it. O'ny,' she hesitated slightly.
"es he's got now sorte: set and pinteC
towards your school, and is a tritie wor
rited with stock and them Harrsons ye
might tech it lightly. He Oughter be along
yer now. | can't think wha. keeps him.
Her eye wandered again with troubled
prescription TO the corner where her
husbands Sharpe rifle stood. suddenly
she saised her voice as if forgetful of Nh
Ford : presence.
"Oh Greasy ~
"Oh nav -
The response came from the iuuei
room. The next moment Greasy appeared
at the door with an odd alflszy defiance
in her manner, which the master could
not understand, except upon the hypo.
thesis that she had been listening. She