Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-12-05

Kate set to work washing up the plates,
cups, ETC., and putting away the remains of
the feast. After she had finished, Tom,
with comical smile upon his face, took up
his fiddle. and standing in the middle of the
room cried out: '.All as has blood in their
veins, get upl Any as is a man and not a
mouse, get upl Take the love Of yer heart
and dance with her! Or, if she isn't will
ing, take somebody else's, perhaps it will do
just as well. But get up, men, get upp'
And to this soulstirring appeal he added
the further entreaty of a lively country Jig
on his fiddle, that set the girls eyes to
twinkling and their feet to beating time.
But the men all stood still and looked
sheepish. Tom, taking no notice Of this,
played on perseveringly, and at last by
sort of mutual inspiration, without a word
being spoken on either side, one of tha
young men and one of the young girls stood
up together. This bold move won a nod o!
approval from Tom. 'That's It'll Now an
other pair of sparks, and the fre'n begin.
Ned-Maryi here, you two-what's come to
yer2' Thus exhorted, Ned and Mary got
up and faced the other couple. Slowly
stiffy-their feet began to move, carrying
them backwards and forwards in a monot-
onous little track. Suddenly Tom snapped
another speck till yer dance! Come now
wake up-go it livelyl turn yer partner
there now-that's it'll That's more like"
And stamping and playing, and swaying
and shouting, he seemed to infuse life into
the four wooden images like an electric
shock. How they dancedl How their feet
fewl How their eyes shonel and how all
the room grew excited and wild with theml
Oh, there's nothing in the world more glad
fun runs riot-where every nerve and
muscle is brought into play, and where one
laughs like child through sheer deli ht,
without a grain of the intellect in it'll There's
nothing in the world so joyous as a laugh
just because one is happy. And happiness
is holy thing-a glimpse Of the other world
even if you come by it through the strains
Of a worldly fiddle. That dancei Ali how
glad, merry and rollicking it was. All stood
up and danced. Even sober old Mother
Bansom's eyes shone, and her feet kept
time. And as for the young folks! If ever
there was good, downright wholesome en-
joyment for them, it was there that night,
in that old log house.
At last they had to stop for q breathing
spell, and Tom. triumphant, shining with
enthusiasm, rested his beloved fiddle for q
moment on his knee. "Let's have some
ciderP' he cried
"And where's the nuts and the corn to
pop9" said Mrs. Ellery.
I'LL fetch 'em," said their hostess with
pardonable pride, bringing forth bounti-
full store. And then-the laughter, the fun,
the popping of the corn, the sweetness of
the cider, the red apples, the redder cheeks
of the girls, the bright eyes, the nonsense
| the breeze of enjoyment that was in that old
| house that night Right in the height OF
the fun and merriment Uncle Aaron quietly
left the room and went outside. Strange
| to say, inside he felt lonely. He went out
side, all unmissed, and seated himself on &
fallen log, under the shadow of tall pine
tree. He was without hat, and his strong
face was sharply outlined by the clear
| light OF the room. The valley beneath
looked like a painters dream-and he felt
| Its beauty. He heaved a sigh Of unconscious
pleasure and looked all around. Just then
| small, white, childish face came up out of
| the shadows, and Jacob, taking q seat upon
the log beside him, said softly: ssFather. u
He was not in the way. Another would
have been. The man reached out his hand.
| and pointing to the beautiful shimmerine
moonlit picture beneath, said under his
breath: Lad, that ere is pretty"
For answer the boy sided up to his knee,
sat on it, reached up his arms, put them
| around his neck and laid his head down on
his breast The big man just stroked his
hair and said nothing. Just then q woman's
| voice called out: "Aaroni Aaroni Where
be vert We want some more ciderw
ITO BE CONTINUED