The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1889-09-06
THE RUNAWAY.
An Aged Pilgrim from "Old New
England"

"Would they put her in the asylum"
she wondered. III they caught herr
Folks would surely think she was
crazy.
She stopped at the stone wall to rest,
and looked back timorously at the old
famil M scene.
Far behind her stretched the meadow,
Il symphony Of olive and green in the
late ia... Here and there by a sunken
powder stood so.dierly golden-rod, or
berry bushes clothed now in scarlet
and gold. At intervals in the long
slope stood solitary trees, where hut-
trring. brittle leaves fell in the gentle
chill, air. In summer time she rcnem-
nrrrd well the hay-makers rested in
the shade, and the jug with ginger
water she made for the men was kept
thor" to he cool.
She seemed, AS she sat there, to re-
m"mbrr every thing, The house was
nil right. she was sure Of that; the key
was .lnlcr the Kitchen door-mat, the
fire wa ont in the stove, and the cat
lu,.E n in the barn.
>l, held her work-hardcned hand to
l,, .,do. uonttny a little. for it wns a
@ooi hil Of a walk across the meadow,
and -ho VIII, rirbty years old on her
last birthday. Tb,cow, feeding looked
luYa-IfiIe and pleasant.
.GooI-bva CRITTERS" She said. aloud;
many, the time I've druv ye home
u,' ,niu,rl GO. an | alIus let We eat bv
fines ,a,. nor never hurried W rs the
bow. Jan.."
VIVA , farewell rIanrr she went on
a..,fn. smoothing as she walked the
.r,,,roI look, of or,v hair falling
nader the ugmpkin hood, and keeping
l..,, -,.nt hrari Gown out Of the reach
olrriar-, Acros, another field, then
ru rnrongh 4 Ioafy lane whore the
w,.,d WAS hauled in winter. then out
+hrnYrh Il can IN a stump fence, with
it, rr,at branching arms like a pctri-
t.i or,oDu-. 10 the dusty hirh-road.
Nnt = souI in ,jrht in the coming
,wi,nrbt. John. the children and the
.ruIdfur wife who made her so unhap-
r. Womb not be home for an hour vet,
trr Ea,, Mills was a long drive.
Down the steep hill went the brave
N,,l.. fr,,rr. followed Nv an odd shadow
O., i,-rlf in the waning light, and by
tj9y stones that rolled 50 swiftly they
,.,.-,ri her often and made her look be-
hind with a start to see if a pursuer
v,,, comfar.
"Thny'd pvt me- in an asylum, sure"
sn. murmprcd wildly as she trudged
aInu.,
Al the foot Of the hill she sat down
upon an old log and waited for the
train
Across the road. guarded by n biz
sior "L,ooI5 ont for the Engine" ran
two parallel iron rails, that were to be
her road when the biz monster should
rumn pontinr around the curve.
At last the dull rumble sounded, a
shrfI, whistle. and She hurried TO the
track, waving her shaw! to signal.
This in the conductors, vernacular,
w,. , rross-roods station. where he
was used to watch for people waving
articles franticaIly. The train stopped,
and this passenger was helped aboard.
Ne noticed she was a frightened old
lady, very neat and precise.
GLOW fur?" he asked.
"Ro,ttn"
.Git there in the mornin'," he said
Kindly, waili-g for the money, as she
opened A ouccr f1ttle riticule, where,
under her knitting, wrapped in a
c,cau cotton handkerchief, was her
nurso with her savings of long years
The little sums Sam had sent when he
first began to prosper in the West, and
some money she had earned herself by
knitting ana berrv-picking.
At A crossroads, as they went swift
~ on she saw the old sorrel horse,
the rafting wagon, and John with his
fnnilv driving homeward. She drew
hack with little cry, fearing he might
sec her and stop the train, but they
went on 50 fast that could not be, and