The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1890-09-04

sss All S8 sss
certain magnetism about; Der, that
drew forth what few fine- Qualities
there We're III her uncouth scholars.
Pete, the ploW-boy, wass one OF
the most ardent adoreys at her
plain transformations temple;
and as he sat there, laboring
industrlously to produce az few intel
llglble lines on his slate. his eyes
We're raised at times to, catch a
glimpse OF her fine face. A.myriad Of
hopes, ambitious desires, and forlorn
failures followed each other in rapid
succession before his vision. The
teacher sat there, behindlher rough
desk. looking down upon, him with
Watclfiul eyes wondering what Fate
could have in store for such a noble.
generous man as he. Now she pitied
him in his Ignorance; now she hoped
that g bright CLEAN Of knowledge
would light his pathway in life.
Much as she would have liked to ia
vor him, she was prevented from do
ing 50 by sense Of justice to the
other pupils. Occasionally she al
lowed him to escort her home, and,
at such times, offered him every en-
couragement. Itwas on the evening
that Pete was firstt permitted to es-
cort her home that the dawn of q
new and brighter. day broke upon
him.
AS the evening session drew to a.
close, Pete grew, sorrowful, for he
knew that Joshua Banks, q hated
rival, would be the favored one that
night. The closing exercise at an end,
all arose and prepared to again en-
counter the storm. Joshua Banks
stepped forward and assisted Miss
LoWrey in donning her wraps. while
Pete fingered by the hearth intently
waching each. and every moment of
the couple. All save the three had
now departed, and Pete was obliged
to leave the hearth and proceed to
the door, closely followed byJoshua
and the fair Miss Lowrey. At the
door he halted. The wind was blow
ing q furious gale, making even the
logs IN the solid little structure creak
under the strain. Pete paused but a
moment. yet that moment was the
turning-point in his life. Miss Low
rey, who was eagerly watching his
movements and wondering what
meaning could be attached to his
strange actions, resolved, in her own
peculiar way, to put him to the test.
just as Pete was about to slide the
bolt, hewas stopped short by the
voice Of Miss Lowrey, saying:
storm
Pete turned and looked her full in
the face. An angry flush suffused his
countenance, while his voice was
fierce to demonstrate to her the tact
thathe was in earnest in what he said,
and wicked enough to make Joshua
Banks tremble perceptibly.
"Miss Lowrey," he said, Il beg par
don for remaining in your presence
SO long. Perhaps I'm acoward; per-
haps not. You can reckon on not
being troubled with me for some
time Turning to Joshua, he con-
tinued. "Josh, you are a brave man,
and can take good care of Miss Low
rey. You'll see me again
The door opened, he cast a defiant
look at the astonished couple, and
then disappeared in the darkness.
The next morning he was missing,
and only two knew the cause of his
strange disappearance, and for some
reason or other they did not men
ton the fact to any one.
The war with England was then
being waged with undated fury and
enthusiasm. Early in April, 1918,
work was begun on Fort Stephenson
on the Sandusky river One morn
ing, about a week after the ground
had been broken, a stranger present.
ed himself, and asked to be either en-
rolled in the regular service or AL
lowed to assist in the construction of
the fort Able-bodied men were badly
needed, and work was Immediately
furnished the stranger. At first he
declined to give his name or address,
but finally yielded, and told the off,
Ger in command that he was 'Pete,
the plow-boy" from Nantucket.
He was at first looked up
on as species of simpleton,
but when he became generally known,
and had proved himself to be worth
two men at manual labor, he be-
came a fayorite. The fort completed,
he entered the regular service. The
uniform Of private made a decided
! change for the better in his personal
1 appearance, He was but a raw re-
cruit, yet in this he was not alone,
| for the one hundred and sixty men
that comprised the little garrison
were inexperienced soldiers, hurriedly
gathered together.
| Along toward the middle OFF uly,
a young man arrived at the fort,
oandwas pressed into the service He
gave his name as Albert Wright, and
claimed Boston as his home. His
gentle, polished manners contrasted
greatly with his shabby attire, but,
after he had been in the fort few
| 4 :, ~ L., II