The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1889-06-27

fellO' no show. shes bOund Iur 10
rule ur ruin; an she'll never agree
10 a. our getlIn' married, Maggie,
nor let your mother agree 20 II,
nuther.. IL she gets a suit up, we'll
be worse friends than ever" he
added gloOmily.
"Rosana N never get over It."
"TheB, what's the use o. waitin' ?"
he asked, taking her slim fingers In
his brawny palm. Lets 90 an git
married unbekn0wnst; they kin say
what they like afterward."
"Oh, no, no, Bob" protested Mar
garet, drawing back In alright. 81
couldn't; mother'd take 10 awful
hard, an ROsana's allus been good
& me. She never said q cross werd
to me about anything but goiB' with
you. An, Bob" she added timidly,
shell never give up farmin'; she
won't let you have the place; she
said she wouldn't"
81 don't want IT," exclaimed Rob
Indignantly. "ROsABa needn't think
I'm sneakin' roun' after this farm,
fur kin git dozen jist rs good fur
askin'. don't say but what It'd be
nice fur Us both q be 80 near my
friends an yOurn; an II ROsRna list
thought so, she could live 'tIiout
work, an welcome. But j amt
a-goin & asst fur favors from nobody.
I've got enough to start on, Maggie,
already; an II yo'll jist say the
word"
Poor Margaret; there were tears
In her blue eyes, but she shook her
head. wait" she urged wait q
little while, an mebby somethin' III
turn up"
Meanwhile the moon had come
up, grandly flooding the heavens
with n silveTy radiance in which the
few stars paled and throbbed. The
steep, rugged hills were transformed
-idealiZed In the white glamour OF
the mOOnbeams. No wind stirred:
the trees and shrubbery cast long,
mOtionless shadows. and the door
yard with Its white-washed adorn-
ments CLEANED pallid aud uncanny
a. q graveyard In the gloom. The
lovers paused for a last GOOD
night" in the dark shade OF the
maple by the gate; and once more
Margaret tremulOusly besought him
To have patience.
"There, now I lowed that'd be
the next thing. This = purity. bus
mess. I don't know what n the
name q sense ais yO' 4 go prancIn'
an teeterin' along a. risky as a
two-year-Old, yO' old Ounce yo'."
The big, angular brown mare thus
apOstrOphiZed, looked tractable
enough, a. she stood quite still,
meekly surveying the PROSTATE
sack, alternately moving her slen-
der, fleXile ears back and forth with
what appeared to lie n perfectly in
telligent appreciation OF the stu
alton. Rusana clasped her hands
with an exasperated gesture. 81
might a. well try & lift the anvil, as
that bag" she pursued sharply.
"I'll hev 4 wait till somebody
comes alOng-An' land knows when
that'Il be-
The long, narrow valley slmmered
in the hot yellow glare which filled
the heavens, and beat upon the
earth with all the splendid, relent-
less feryoT of a July sun ROsana
Branch drew n long breath Of dis
may at the prospect. ar I've got q
" ait here all afternoon" she said,
seating herself on the sack, and put
ANAiE NJ liit
herbivOFOus tendencies 10y Slipping
her arm through the rein, "there'll
not he n speck a. color left in this
dress. ] wouldn't he'd this calico &c
I'd a knOwed ID was goin' q bleach
like dish-rag" She spread her
dark gipgharI apron as well as pos
sible over her gown, aud pinned the
corners Of her sun-bOnnet beneath
her chin.
How hot Il was! II was ridiculous to
la he sitting there in the middle of the
road, and ROsana was particularly
sensitive Ia Tidicule. She would
have been glad to have seen even
the Major; hut there was no sign of
life about the big house, dilapidated
and disorganiZed, encnmpassed by
shruhhery aud evergreens as dilapi-
dated and di-nrganized rs itself.
II was a phenomenal structure for |
ChillcOtt's HOllOw-a three-stOried |
frame building, with pillared pOr-
ticO aud flimsy balconies and steep |
roof surmOuntel by shattered Gu
pOla. II had an unfinished appear
ance, a. IL the wnrkmen had thrown |
down their tools aud suddenly dis
banded. The exterior was grimly |
many of the win
dnws were boarded up: there was no |
fence, aud the sumac and |
laurel aud blackberry vines grew
close Ia the damp walls aud rOitlng
puTchPs.
Because Of its ostentatious pro-
portions, al oddly incOngruOus with |
its baIren surroundings and I'M
kempt, pOVerty-stricken aspect, 10 |
had been facetiOusly denominated
The Castle. The Major had found |
its erection costly expert |
ment. Every cent of his inner
tied fortune had gone into this
fortune In love a. we'll.
Something very like mist suf-
fused the wuman's dark eyes as they |
fingered over the bare ruin with |
abrupt realization Of Its tragic de-
tails. IL hBd ali happened so long
ago; and hers had been a busy life. /
OF late she had felt terribly harried
and driven by cara and OverwOrk. |
There was Margaret's trouble, too;
and now coming up here today, for
he first time la the year she was sud /
denly assaulted by the poignant an
guish Of memories that she had
thought were long since stilled.
She realized vaguely that she had
never fully understood him. She
was al intensely thrifty, practical,
and energetic that the slow, easy-gO-
Ing, visionary man, content with n
pipe aud a book, had seemed to her
merely idle and shiftless. Perhaps
The had been hard and selfish.
Would life have been easier aud
happier 10 they had helped each
Ither: 10 had never before occurred
20 her tai doubt or question; she had
always been ~ sure Of herself; she
Iad taken such pride aud satisfac-
ION In her work, her independence,
Ier prosperous existence.
at wasn't him bein' queer and
she sOliloguiZed, going
,veT the old argument, striving to
'eassure herself. 81 could a put
~ with that IL he hadn't a took &
'uildin' that fOOl-hpuse, an heyin'
he whole country Iaughin' aud
eerin' at him. EVERYBODY lowed he
al lated on marryin' a rich wife,
md that's what I couldn't abide. |
vas bound he wasn't gnin' q git
,ap's hard-arn't savin's, list fur the
skin, an spread 'em round In out
andish fonlery like that. An III
lidu't e Toun' the bush about tellin' /
lin, 'ithcr. An he fiared up mad
never knowed he had sich
emper 'afOre. An, says I, I'll
lever set a foot inside that there
IL live fur q thOusan'
ears an he says he, I'll never asst ,
~ IL yo' live two thousan'.' An
Ice next day he turned Oft the