The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-02-04

worked their poor, tired hands in hard
knots for my sake. l actually began
to see that they eat with their knives
and d,dn't care whether they had a
napkin or not!
When / come to that state, l thought
At was time left. An so one Sunday
afternoon | packed up my close. and
told mother | was goin' to New York.
/ don't like to think about the way
her wrinkled face looked when | told
her-it was sudden and unexpected We
see, to her, for / kept my feelin's
pretty much TO myself. She didn't
try TO argy with me not to go-it
want that. but it was the way she
said goodbye"
Father want so hard-he was a
man, and after givin' me some good
advice. the thing was done.
Then | went to tell KeZiah | was off.
l hadn't no sentiment about that. /
only had a feelin' that it oughter be
done, and so / did it. | came across
her at the pasture bars a-drivin' home
the cows.
''rm off to New York TO make my
fortune" says /, gay and easy, $50
wish me good luck.'
She stood still for a mint there in
the shaddcr of the NAPLES. holdin'
on TO the post, and lookin' up as if she
didn't understand.
"Ain't you glad?" says /, wonderful
why her eyes made me feel so sorter
uneasy.
"Why, yes" she makes answer in a
hesitatiug way, "but amt it dretful
sudden?"
''Maybe it's to some, but faint to
me. I've been thinkin' of it these two
months. / hev place in Jim Bankers
uncle's store-and I'm goin' TO take
it."
She took out the top bar slow like
and patted Brindle's head.
"What'll the old folks do?" she says
and then | knew partly why her eyes
made me uneasy. But / wouldn't own
to her ! knew-a slip of girl as had
never been to the city in her life and
didn't know how horse car looked!
/ spoke up loud and confident: "Oh,
they'll do all right. and besides. a
mans first duty is 10 himself. He's
got ter make jest as much outer him
self as he ken-and I'm goin' to
begin"
had heard that sentiment at a per-
litical meetin' and it had sounded first
rate, but somehow here in the fields
with them gray eye. lookin' at me, it
didn't seem TO have the same ring.
MAY be you're right. Isr'el, may be
you're right. l don't know much
about such things. But any way, /
wish you luck an'-an'-all happi-
ness!'
With that she turned and hurried
up to the house aleavin' the cows
starin' over the bars in perfect mud
die O. 'mazement. Dunn fool that
didn't see any thing in that, but /
didn't! | druv the cows home myself
and then cut across the fields into the
village.
The next day l was in the city, a
free and independent citizen, but
somehow it wa mt half the satisfaction
/ expected it to be. Jim Barker's
uncle's store was one O. them they sell
things at wholesale in, and my part o.
the work was to tumble round bags
and boxes and SIGH things. 1t want
exactly what I'd looked for from Jim's
account, and / didn't relish it.
As the weeks went by came to rel
ish it even less. The men worked
with was freer and Independence in
their words than any thing else. Be-
tween dust and oaths | was pretty
nigh choked to death. And the noise
at night was worse'n a Methodist re-
vival in full swing. / couldn't deaden
it down under the bedclothes, cause
there want enough o. them, and /
couldn't groan out against it, cause
the man in the next room threw things
at the wall if / did. Boardin' house
biscuits want even second cousins to
homemade biscuit and boardin' house
girls-well. | got over my notion that
all girls was Keziahs in pretty short
time.
/ begun TO think there want so
much room in cities as had imagined.
/ come to hev dreams O. rock pastures
and naples and hemlocks, and along
o. them come Keziah's face. sweet and
still as it had looked that afternoon.
OWN to dust and not relishin' my
vittals, a scratchy kind O. cough fast
ened onto me and some fever with it o
nights. / was lonesome | tell ye, and
finally / couldn't stand it no longer. /
says to myself. ''may be this is the