Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-11-13
"lIY JOHN"
A Story Of Prairie Fires and Pa
rental Forgiveness.
~ think it is smoke"

II think IL IS SMOKE.
"And l think you are wrong"
The first speaker was young woman
with sweet face, expressive of much
silent resoluteness and great self-con-
troll. The second speaker was an old
man, whose faded brown eyes had a
startled look as if suspecting that peo-
pie were about to bring him trouble, or
else asserting that they had already
brought it.
The old man was known among the
ranchmen as old John Blasland. He
owned great ranch. The young woman
was called Hannah. 81 don't know
what her t'other name is" the old man
would have told a questioner. "She
came from the East somewhere, wanted
to help my housekeeper, Mrs. Tuth-
erly, and 1 didn't care. That's all 1
know about it. don't care what her
name is. am leetle 'spishus of what
she wants; they all want som thing"
1t was the mystery enwrapping Han
nah like an atmosphere, and it was the
old mans suspicion of her motives and
purposes, that made her presence an
annoyance to him in spite of any words
to the contrary. When he now had told
her that any sign of smoke about the
prairie-region was mistake, she simply
replied: IF young John were here, he
could tell u.s."
The faded brown eyes began to flash.
The husky voice trembled with petu-
lance. young John!' he snarled. 81
guess if old John don't know, you won't
pick up any information from that young
man"
1t might have seemed as if he were
angry with young John" No-with
the young woman who mentioned his
name.
Il know, l know!" he silently said, as
he turned away. ''She cares more for
young John than old John. Too much
going on between those young people.
Next thing there will be marriage. 1
don't want her meddlin' with that
young man."
This other young person, like Han
nah, came from the East, had proved
very acceptable to the old ranchman,
and was great favorite with him. The
ranchmen in the neigh borhood, to dis
tinguish the two, called one Old John
and the other Young John. People
sometimes thought they were father
and son. No, there was a son at the
East who had offended his father, and
had been forbidden to come or even to
write to him. The old man wondered
sometimes whether he did not trace
familiar features in this young ad-
venturer from the East. Any fancied
resemblance was not pleasant to the
old ranchman. He drove it from his
thoughts as he would drive cloud of
mosquitoes from his house.
And Hannah, she still fingered back
of the barn, watching that smoky stain
on the blue of the sky. 1t was Sunday
morning. The great prairie was always
still and always secluded, though in
reality any thing but shut in. 1t had
such an openness to the wide, wide sky.
There was no semblance of fence or wall
in any direction until, in the west, one
saw fold of blush color along the
prairie's rim. That meant the Rocky
Mountains
II think it is growingr' she muir
INJURED. That smoke-cloud is rolling
up bigger. What if it should come this
way, and sweep over the ranchl And
yet he does not think it is smoke. l
wish John were herel When will be
Gomez He said he would be home on
his pony early this morning and go
with US to church"
Hannah" 1t was old John calling
"Comei Mrs. Tutherly says if we are
a-goin' to church, we ought to be gittin'
ready. Comet Watchin' that sky won't
git you ready"
Hannah made no reply. It was of no
use to notice all his fault-fnding or any
of 1t. She had shown rare self-contro1
in her steadfast silence. She now
turned and went into the house, while
the old ranchman shufaed feebly to the
barn and began to harness the horse
into the wagon.
II have horses in abundance, but they
are all of with the men watchin' the
cattle" he murmured, 'and so, Jim,
you must pull US to church. Humphl l
s'pose she will say we can't go-that
there is fire out on the prairie. Non
sensei If my John was here, he could
tell about that smoker
He dropped the harness as If hand
Ling the coils of snake. What had he
saidP my JohnI" That was the name
also of the offending son IN the East
Inc father never knowingly mentioned
this form Of name. Ny John" Lift
ing the harness again, he now arrayed
Jim in It
What dol smell9" he asked.
Young John would have told him
Smoke" but no was not willing to
smell any thing Of the kind.
In the meantime Hannah had given
occasional chances at the suspicious
northern sky. From q window she
CHANGED to look toward the east In
alarm, astonishment terrolt she dropped
a bonnet whose green trimming would
have set off her fair face even as an
apple trees emerald foliG,ge sets of its
pinkish white blossoms.
Un-On-On! L ala not look that
way at all, and here it is right upon usl
The wind must have shifted, she ex-
claimed
Over at the right was large, tower
ing cloud of dun brown color, with
Esgged. llmy edges compact IN the