Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-08-09
THE RUNAWAY.


booked back timorously At the old familiar
~ene.
Far behind Der stretched the meadow,
symphony Of olive and green in the lats fall
Here and there by a sunken bowlder Rood
soiiiery golden rod, or berry bushes clothed
now In scarlet and gold At intervals In the
long slope stood solitary trees. where hutter-
ing, brittle leaves fell in the gentle chill air
In summer time she remembered well the
hay makers rested in the shade, and the Jug
with ginger water slls INA de for the men was
kept there to be cool
She seemed As she sat there. to remember
everything. The house was all right, she
was sure Of that; the key was under the hitch
en- door mat, the fire was out in the stove.
and the cat locked in the barn
She held her work hardened hand TO her
side. painting q little, for IL was good bit OF
a walk across the meadow, and she was ~
years old on her last birthday The cows
fessiing looked homelike and pleasant.
.Good-by, critters" she said, aloud.
''n,eny's the time I've druv ys home an
MIXED ye, an | allus let ye eat By the way,
nor never hurried ye a. the boys done
With a farewell glance she went on again,
smoothing Us she walked the scattered locks
Of gray hair falling under the pumpkin
hood, and keeping her scant black gown out
of the reach Of briers. Across another field,
then on through a leafy lane where the wood
was hauled In winter, then out through a
zap in a stump fence, with its great branch
ing arms like petrified octopus, to the dusty
high road.
Not a soul in sight in the coming twilight
John, the children, and the scolding wife
who made her 50 unhappy would not be home
for an hour yet, for East Mills was a long
drive
Down the steep hill went the brave little
figure. followed by an odd shadow Of itself in
the waning light, aud by tiny stones that
rolled so swiftly they passed her often and
made her look behind with a start to see If
pursuer were coming.
They'd put me in the asylum, sure" she
muttered wildly as she trudged along.
At the foot Of the hill she sat down upon an
old log and waited for the train.
Across the road guarded by big sign,
Look out for the engine, ran two parallel
iron rails that were to be her road when the
big monster should come painting around the
curve
At last the dull rumble sounded. shrill
whistle and she hurried to the track. waving
her shawl to signal.
This, in the conductors vernacular. was n
cross roads station, where he was used TO
watch for people waving articles frantically.
The train stopped, and this passenger was
helped aboard He noticed she was bright
eyed old lady, very neat and precise,
How furi" he asked.
"Bostin."
"Gt there in the mornin'." be said kindly,
little reticulc, where. under her knitting,
wrapped in clean cotton handkerchief, was
her purse with her savings of long years-the
little sums Sam had sent her when he first
began To prosper III tbs west, and some money
shy had earned herself by knitting and berry
picking.
At a cross roads, as they went swiftly on,
she saw the old sorrel horse, the rafting
wagon and John with his family driving
homeward She drew back with little cry,
fearing he might see her and stop the train,
but they went on so fast that could not be,
and the old horse logged into the woods, and
John never thought his Old Aunt Hannah,
his charge for twenty long years, was run
ming away,
At Boston a kindly conductor bought her
a through ticket for Denver
IT'S long journey for an old lady like
you" he said
But I'm peart for my age" she said anx-
iously; Il never bel a day sickness since
was gal"
"Going all the way aloner'
with Providence" she answered brightly,
alert and eager to help herself, but silent and
thoughtful as the train took her into strange
Landscapes where the miles went so swiftly it
seemed like the past years of her life as She
looked back on them.
THY work is marvellous" she murmured
often sitting with her hands folded. and few
idle days had there been in her world where
she had sat and rested so long
In the day coach the people were kind and
generous, sharing their bash with her and
seeing siir changed cars right and her carpet
bag wa s.ife She was like any one Of the
dear old grandnas in eastern homes, or TO
grizzled men and weary women, like the
memory Of dead mother as faint and far
away as the scent Of wild roses in a hillside
country ground She tended babies for tired
women and talked to the men of farming and
crops, or told the children Bible stories; but
never a word she said Of herself, not one.
On again guided by kindly hands through
the great bewldering city by the lake, and
now through yet stranger land. Tired and
worn by nights in the uncomfortable seats,
her brave spirit began to fail little. As the
wide, level plains, lonely and drear. dawned
on her sight she sighed often
"It's a dre'ful big wurld." she said to .
gray bearded old farmer near her, 80 big
feel eenmost lost in it, but" hopefully,
across them deserts like this long ago Prov
idence sent star to guide them wise men
Of the east. an haint't lost my faith"
But as the day wore On, and still tie long,
monotonous land showed no human habita-
ton, no oasis Of green, her eyes dimmed,
something like a sob rose under the black
kerchief on the bowed shoulders, and the
spectaeles were taken Off with trembling
hand and put away carefully In the worn tin
casa
'Be ye goin' fur. motherl" said the old
farmer.
He had brought her cup of coffee at the
last station, and had pointed out on the way
things he thought might interest her
ITO Denver"
wal, wal. you're from New England, I'll
be boundf'
From Maine,r she answered, and then she
grew communicative, for she was always .
chatty old lady, and she had possessed her
soul in silence so long and it was a relief to
tell the story Of her weary years Of waiting
TO kindly listener
She told him all the relations she had were
two grandnephevs and their families. That
twenty years ago Sam for she had brought
them up when their parents died Of consump-
ton. that kills so many of our folks, went
out west. He WAS always adventurous, and
for ten years she did not hear from MIN; but
John was different and steady and when he
came Of age she had given him her farm,
with the provision she should always have q
home, otherwise he would have gone away,
too. Well. for Eve years they were happy,
then John married. and his wife had grown
to think her burden as the years went ON,
and the children when they grew big did not
care for her. she felt she had lived too long.
II growed 30 lonesome" she said patheti-
cally, lit seems couldn't take up heart to
live day by day. an yit | knowed our folks
was long lived Ten years back. when Sam
wrote he was doiS fair an sent me money,
begun to think Of him; fur he was allus
generous an kind, an the gratefulest boy,
an % ! begun to save to go TO him, fur
knowed could work my board fur good
meny years to come Fur three year he amt
hardly wrote, but laid that to the wild ken
try he lived in | said bars an Injuns don't
skeer me none, fur when | was a gal up in
Aroostuk kentry there was plenty OF both,
an a. fur buffalers them horned cattle don't
akeer me none, fur I've been used to farm
allux But the ionesumness Of these meiders
has sorter upset ME an made me think every
day Sam was further OF than ever cal
c'lated on
Blu. what will you 10 il Sam amt in Den
verr asked the farmer
Il hev put my faith in Providence she