The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-09-28

caused her, and his scsrIfui rejection OF
| her prudent oO1nSefs- she stree now With
all her might % draw the boy toward her,
and the more, perhaps. because she OWNED
in him the same spSEis as sssb which bad
| led her husband aStrzy. She was not q soft
woman who could speak Slibly al her sen
| tiReEts. But the dread, lie al icy hand
| clutohiag at her heart, which took posses
sion Of her as TIE Thought OF losing him re-
vealed to her how deeply she loved him.
| She would have given much to have the
! language Of Affection readily on her tongue,
| but somehow il was denied her. And il, at
| this late day, she adapted caressing ways
ana endesrina terms OF address, she feared
| the resulting awk1ardncss both on his
| part and ON hers. The tone Of intercourse
/ between thou had been es5ablished by long
habit, and strive as sae might she could
not now alter It.
Outwardly things were going along
smoothly enough. Tie widow, by dint Of
tireless energy and skill, had worked I'D
the farm until it fed them comfortably.
and she had paid of the mortgage. Her
chief concern now was TO get Gunnar
safely married, or at least engaged. He
was, to b sure, very young, but not too
JUS W IL q Pti StA D<-IAO4 Va Ills
blood at the sight of pretty girl The
great thing was to get him securely
anchored, and as an anchor for a restless
disposition she knew nothing that awaited
except wife and children.
Gunnar, though he had no suspicion Of
his mothers plans, was insenxibIy drawn
in the direction her wishes. About a mile
from his home lived Norwegian farmer
named Paul Gretna, who had daughter
named Ingerid. She YVES about Gunnar's
age, or perhaps year younger, and had
reputation for beauty. She was a soft,
dimpled little creature, with affectionate
blue eyes, q fresh infantL0e face and a rosy
complexion. 1t was dlfcult to tell from
that face what manner Of woman she
might grow to be; but IL was fair to infer
that she would make @ comfortable wife
and good mother. She was blonde and
attractive personifcation of her sex; and
that is, after all, what most men want
their wives TO be. A too distinct indi-
vidualty is often an element of disturb
ance.
Gunnar was, indeed, not the only one
who had discovered Ingerids attractive
ness. His old friend and antagonist,
Thorsten Sletten, with whom be had
fought at the prayer meeting, was fire.
quent visitor at the Gretna farm, as were
also half dozen other lads, who made no
attempt to disguise their admiration for
the daughter of the house.
They came every Sunday afternoon after
service, hung about the fences and the
walls of the outhouses, pushed and
punched each other, laughed uproariously
when somebody stumbled or fell and be-
haved with n sort Of coltish sprightliness
which Was calculated to exhibit them in a
favorable light in the eyes Of Ingerid
Gretna. Guunar, though he felt himself
above indulging in this horse play, did not
dare TO forfeit his popularity by holding
aloof. 1t flattered him to observe that be
was regarded by all as having the best
chance, and he had TO keep a steady watch
on himself, lest he should offend by betray-
ing the confidence he felt For Paul Gretna
had made more han one visit to his mother
Of late and Gunnar had a suspicion that
the matter had already been talked over
and virtually settled between them. At
all events, he imagined he detected some
thing vaguely paternal in Paul's attitude
toward him, as if he thought it unneces-
sary to feign ignorance Of his intentions
But on such occasions Gunnar drew back,
as if afraid to commit himself For in the
back ground Of his mind ne liked to keep a
little lOOphOle in case he should. after all,
conclude to start out in the world 10 quest
Of glory.
This was the condition of things at the
time when the farmer Lars Randkeven
invited his neighbors 20 celebrate his wed
ding with Karen Hoitsrud Il was large
wedding, snd both Gunnar and his mother
and ingerid and Der parents received invi-
tGtions. The pastor mar med the couple in
the church at noon, and about forty
vehicles Of Ri sorts ocompanied them TO
the bridal house. All the picturesque
customs which in Norway makes such an
occasion memorable he'd been dropped; but
n master Of ceremonies there was, who
welcomed the bride and groom and pro
posed their health at the feast that fol-
lowed. Beer flowed aSundsntly at the
table, and whisky was poured from pocket
TASKS which were passed about from hand
TO hand with = MOCK pretense of secrecy.
The pastor who sat next 10 the bride at
he head Of the taoIe was 50 deeply ab-
sOrbed in the estabies. TO which he did full
justice, that he affected not to see the dan
ge-ous bottles that circulated under his |
very nose.
As it happened Gunnar found himself |
next 10 a city clad stranger IN black broad |
cioGh, resi- iel6eut wit Q a gold watch (which |
he frequently consulted and rIngs and |
w&tch chain Of the same metal This man |
turned out 70 BE- a near relative Of the /
groom aud a prosperous grocer in Chicago /
His name YRS Hans Larsen. bat N order /
to pTOpitIate the native ear he lad clSnged |
il 20 john Lawson. And what MS more, |
lie wore a 4 ustac-ss with SD TT twist AT /
the ends. and q sDInv nix hat Hls square /
face showed ne Morse peasant type plainly |
enough. but the expression had heen sharp
eRed. showing shrewiness and wide
enterprise which are rarely found |
in the original
wv has Is yOu- name, II may ask" il
luired thia dazzling individual. addressing
himself 10 Ganuar.
"Gun1a- Marson"
Whose son are yo1s"
Il an the son Of Hans MAtson. bat he's
dead long ago
Hans Ii ,n' vsst year did he come
70 the GG.s~i -5zJesg"
In 1ss4, J t.alk
Exactly. Knew hin. He came in the
Cuasrler Liberia"
Il think re d:G Mother has mentioned
the name n = e. ship
And he l. aead, you Ssy'r
Yes
w hon did he die
A rO1t 1851 OF lS5S
Il beg your pardon. but there yo1 ara
vroEs. Tor an p-5-ty sure nss him in
Chicago n ISL"
GInnar gave start which came near
] psecsiaZ his chair lie stared a. lawson
with . peFp4exsi. incced uIol-s SAzs
"A7e-aTe yOG sure Of IT." be man aged
II last n stlrurler
Cock SUR though 7 own he va much