The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1891-12-25


y birds nest among the pines and cedars
OH Rocky Ridge, Milton Fisher was
breathing his last.
Three persons stood by the bedside of
the dying mantle old gray haired
doctor from over in the valley and True
and Ivy, Fishers motherless children.
True was robust, manly looking boy
of fourteen, while his sister, two years
younger, was a sweet, earnest faced
child, with eyes like the violets bloom
ing in the canyon, and hair like the
warmest sunbeams gliding the crests Of
the Rockies. The old doctors eyes were
moist when they rested pityingly upon
the children, so soon to be left orphans
indeed, as they knelt and tearfully lis
tened to their fathers last words
''True," the dying man said, placing
his thin hand on the lads brown curls,
''you and Ivy stick to each other and
stick to the little claim in the canyon.
Try not to feel too lonesome when your
dads gone. Your Uncle Jim will come
as soon as lie hears the word. The doc
tor has given me his promise to write to
Jim, and know he'll come back and
look after you. Remember to stick to
the claim, for, mind l tell you, you'll
find yaller dirt there some time. Stay
here in the cabin till Jim comes; then
he'll go to work on the claim. He'll find
the gold, for it's therer
And with his old faith in the valuable
ness of the claim in the canyon strong
as ever. Milton Fisher passed away.
It was hard struggle for those lonely
children to fight LIES battle without
father or mother. Bnt they went bravely
to work to make the most of their cir
cumstances.
The Fishers were very poor. Two
years before Milton Fisher, whose foot
steps hard luck had always seemed to
dog with remorseless persistency, had
joined an emigrant train, starting from
Missouri to Colorado. They had-brought
nothing but themselves and few house
hold goods in q dilapidated looking COW
cred wagon, drawn by one mule and a
stout Indian pony.
After the fathers death some of the
settlers in the valley tried to persuade
Ivy to leave the isolated old cabin on
Rocky Ridge. But she would not 60
When urged to do SO she always said:
mo, True and must stick together
cause pap said to. know we're mighty
poor, but we can work, and know we'll
get along some way till Uncle jim
comes"
True had intended to rent a piece of
land in the valley and put in a small
crop: but the mule fell from the cliff and
broke its neck, SO he was forced to do
something else. He hired himself to a
farmer three miles distant to help clear
out some irrigating bitches. He did not
receive mans wages for his services,
and considering the cost of living in that
part of the west his earnings amounted
to mere pittance.
But Ivy was little household econo-
mist, and they managed to ;,et along
much better than might have been
imagined until True met with an acct
dent.
While helping the farmer to split some
timbers the AK had slipped, cutting his
foot so badly as to lay him up for several
weeks. Ivy was his faithful little nurse,
and was ever ready to cheer him up when
his patience showed signs of giving out.
1t was in the fall of the year when
True cut his foot. The deciduous trees
began to shed their foliage, but Uncle
Jim had not come yet.
The doctor had written three letters,
addressing them to frontier postoffice
in Wyoming where Jim Fisher had been
last heard from.
But no answer came back, and as Jim
was kind of rover, spending his time in
hunting, trapping and mining, it was
likely that he did not receive the letters
Now that True was disabled the lonely
young jewellers on Rocky Ridge felt their
isolation and orphanage more keenly,
and longed for the presence of Uncle
Jim.
Autumn gave place to winter chill,
but brought no tidings OF the wanderer.
True's foot proved more obstinate
about healing than had at first been pre-
dicted. A heavy cold added to his trou-
BILE. and Christmas eve found him still
confined to the cabin.
"Oh, dearp he sighed dolefully. "To-
morrow's Christmas, and here am of no
account yet. | hoped all along I'd be
able to work before this and make nice
Christmas for you. 1t won't seem a bit
like Christmas to be housed up this way.
i meant to make 1t seem like old times
to You, Ivy"
1t was hard for the energetic boy to be
there SO helpless, and there was some
thing very pathetic in one of his years
calling up 'old times" Ivy realized this
in vague kind of way, but resolutely
depressing the tears she returned gently:
Try not to mind. True. Well make
it as happy Christmas as we can.
When Uncle Jim gets back we'll make
up to you all you've missed by lying here
20 long,"
II don't believe that Uncle Jim is ever
coming back. Ivy"