The Osceola times., 1888-10-13

montns. She went of TO Ioway wild
some white folks, who wanted her for
nuss, and oats de las | ebber heered
oil my ole oman till to-day. Use roam.
ed round heap sence den, but haini
nebber come across Mandy. nor foun
anybody dat knowed whar she was. An
to tink dat Use foun' her after all desc
years-hit jes' seems too good to be
truem
at seems that she has found you,
Uncle Ike" l said, ''for there is moth
ing about the letter to tell where il
came from. SO, you see, you don't
know where she is living, after ALL"
Uncle Ike's countenance fell.
'ls dat SOP" he exclaimed in tone
OF keen disappointment "But hit don't
matter long as she's comm, he added,
his face Frightening again.
'Of course not" | said, quickly, see
ing that he was eager to be gone. Il
shall run down to the cabin tomorrow,
and help you fix up things"
"Tank you, Miss Lucy. You nebber
forgits ole Ike, an when Mandy comes,
you'll find her mighty good hand to
help about de house Der amt any
ting undor de sun dat oman can't don
and, with chuckle of delight, Uncle
Ike went off down the lane.
That night, when told Brother Rob.
ert about the letter, and Uncle 1ke's
plan for having every thing in order
before Mandy's arrival, he agreed to
join me in helping to fix up the little
cabin.
81 hope Mandy will prove a good
cook" he said, "for am tired of see
ing you In the kitchen so much, and
you really need some one to help you"
Early the next morning l heard
somebody singing, and looking out of
my bedroom window, saw Uncle Ike,
going in and out Of the little cabin,
bringing out glass and putty to mend
the broken window, yet pausing n mo-
ment to take look at the little square
flower-bed he had made in the corner
OF the fence, or to trim branch of the
maple tree that shaded the house, al
ways hulnming song as he worked,
with an occasional furtive look down
the lane, as II he half expected to see
MANDY coming AT noon | heard the
twnng oi his banjo, as he rested for
little while In the doorway. In the
evening be came shufiiing to the kitchen
door, and asked TO SEQ mo
"NIiss Lucy, would We min givin' me
a few hollyhock seods, an some OBJ dat
larkspur an rweet mint in de gyarden2
! nebbcr had no idee OBJ maxim flower
bed till now, but know Mandy II want
a little gyarden oh her own to work in
when she haint got nothin' else to do"
Take any thing you want, Uncle
Ike, and make your garden as pretty as
you cam said. 81 shall give you a
curtain for your window, and If you care
to use it you may have the little stove
in the wood-sbed. Don't stop to thank
me-" added, smiling at the quaint
courtesy he gave me, but plant your
flowers at once, for who knows but that
Mandy may come to-day"
For a week afterward Uncle Ike's face
beamed with happiness and hope. And
as had no particular need OF him Just
then, | allowed him 70 spend the greater
part of his time down at the cabin,
where he busted himself making things
nice and comfortable against Mandys
arrival. Every day; when the train
stopped at The station half-mile away,
he would mount his old gray mule and
ride down the road to meet his 'ole
oman" who he was "sartin" would
come on that very train; and if he
always came back crestfallen and dis
appointed, 1t would be only to brighten
up again the next day. And so for
many weeks he worked on, always pa
tlent and uncompiaining, and seldom
expressing Il doubt as to Mandy's final
coming. But knew that he was be-
ginning to lose hope, and when found
him doing something that he confessed
to have Just remembered, ! was sure he
was only working to drive away his
gloomy thoughts.
The summer came, and with the
warm, sweet days Uncle Ike grew
moody and restless, and noticed that
he no longer sang at his work. Only
at night would he take his banjo, and,
sitting in the cabin door, play softly
the quaint melodies that were his only
solace in his loneliness. Sometimes
Robert and | would find him sitting un-
der the maple-tree, his banjo by his
side, his face buried in his hands, while
he rocked himself from side to side as
if in bodily pain. And every day /
took the soiled yellow envelope and
studied the blurred post-mark, hoping
to be able to read il, so could find
some means of communicating with
Mandy, but always without success.
One evening in June, Robert and l
walked down to the cabin just as the
moon began to shed soft, silvery light
over the quiet valley. Uncle Ike had
complained of feeling sick. and as he
had not been up to the house to finish
his daily chores, we were little un-
easy about him. We found him lean
ing idly over the little gate, looking
straight before him, and on his black
face a tear glittered in the moonlight.
His weary attitude and the sight of
that tear, gave me feeling of in
describable sadness. had never be-
foro soon ono of his race weep, except