The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-22
'Good night, Miss Karline."

"karline!"
''Good night, Miss Karline."
held out my hand.
She looked at it and then at me through
her intricate lashes. Then she struck it
aside briskly, but not unkindly, said,
Quit foolin', now" as she might have
said to one of the children, and disap-
peared through the inner door. Not
knowing whether to be amused or indig-
nant, | remained silent a moment Then
took turn outside in the increasing
darkness, listened to the now hurrying
wind over the tree tops. re-entered the
cabin, closed the door, and went to bed.
But not to sleep. Perhaps the RESPONSE
bility toward these solitary children, which
Johnson had so lightly shaken off, de-
volved upon me as | lay there, for found
myself imagining dozen emergencies of
girl could scarcely grapple. There was
little to fear from depredatory man or
beast; desperadoes of the mountain trail
never stopped to ignoble burglary, bear or
panther seldom approached a cabin; but
there was the chance of sudden illness.
fire, the accidents that beset childhood, to
say nothing of the narrowing moral and
mental effect of their isolation at that ten
der age. 1t was scandalous in Johnson to
leave them alone.
In the silence found could hear quite
distinctly the sound of their voices in the
extension, and it was evident that Caroline
was putting them to bed. Suddenly a
voice was uplifted-her own She began
to sing and the others to join her.
1t was the repetition of single
verse of well-known lugubrious negro
melody. ''All the world am sad and
dreary," walled Caroline in high head
note, everywhere l roam" oh. dark
ieth," lisped the younger girl in response,
how my heart growth weary, far from
the Old folktd at h-o-o-me." This was re-
peated two or three times before the others
seemed 10 get the full swing OF it, and then
the lines rose and fell sadly and monoto-
nously in the darkness. / don't know
why, but | at once got the impression that
those motherless little creatures were I'M
der vague belief that their performance
was devotional and was really filling the
place OF an evening hymn. A brief and
lndlstnct kind of recitation, followed by
dead silence broken only by the slow
creaklng OF new timber as II the house
were stretching itself TO sleep, too. con-
hrmed my impression. Then all became
quiet again.
But was more wide awake than before.
FINALLY L rose, dressed myself, and, drag
glhg my stool 10 the fire, took s. book from
my knapsack, and by the light of sput-
terlng candle which l discovered in bot
tie In the corner of the hearth, began to
read. Presently | fell into a dose. How
long l slept | could not tell, for it seemed
TO me that dreamy consciousness of a
dog barking st last forced itself upon me
so strongly that | awoke. The barking
appeared 20 come from behind the cabin,
IN the direction of the clearing where /
had tethered Chu Chu. | opened the door
hurrledly, ran behind the cabin toward
the hollow, ana was almost at once met
ny the bulk of the frightened Chu Chu,
plunglng out OF the darkness toward me,
kept only IN check by her RATA in the
hand OF a blanketed shape slowly advanc-
ing with gun over its shoulder out of the
hollow. Before | had time to recover from
my establishment 1 was thrown into great
er confusion by recognizing the shape as
none other but Caroline
without the least embarrassment or
even seli-consciousness of her appearance.
she tossed the end of the RATA to me with
the curtest explanation as she passed by.
some proving bear or Catamount had
frightened the mule / had better tether
II before the cabin. away from the wind.
But thought wild beasts never came
so near" | said, quickly.
Mule meats mighty temptin'," said
the glFi sententlously, and passed on. |
wanted TO thank her: | wanted tn saw how
sorry was that she had been disturbed. I
wanted TO compliment her on her quiet
midnight courage. and vet warn her
against recklessness; | wanted to know
whether she had been accustomed TO
such alarms and if the gun she car
rieu was really necessity. But | could
only respect her reticence, and was turn
ing away when / was struck by more in
expiicable spectacle. As she neared the
end of the extension | distinctly saw the
tall ngure Of q man, moving with q certain