St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1892-08-20
And he sank back among the corn
.4oI-, = +r;Ao oaoiar in his mind


porch, smoking, when she returned.
Betsey was stirring mush in a kettle.
Both were rather deaf, and Jacquellna
easily distracted few articles from the
milk-room-a yellow pitcher OF butter,
milk, the tub-end of loaf OF bread, ana
some dyspeptic-looking odds and ends;
ard it was easy to take suit OF her old
grandfathers ginger-colorcd, homcspuns
clothes from the press under the stairs
and creep silently away.
ats good thing I'm going away to-
morning." thought JacqucIlna.
"But tho very first money l earn I'll pay
Grandfather Gordon for these things
YES, and with interest, too.
She fed the poor, escaped wretch, ana
gave him clothes to wear, and ended by
sharing with him her financial all. Ono
bright silver dollar she kept; the other
she gave to him.
And now" said she, "mind you take
a new start in the world "
'rll do my best,o said he, eagerly
drinking the cool buttcrmilk, and swal-
lowing the dry bread and leathery ginger
cookies in great gulps. "And II every
body ID been as good to me as you nave,
never ID "a been where be now"
''Humph - muttered old Betsey, 1.-THE
Gals wus'n a seven years famine i. Three
ginger snaps an half squash pie gone,
besides what she eat at suppertlme we
should be ruined if she stayed here
long"
''She's a nice-loolSin' gall" said old
Grandfather Gordon. "lf [ wasn't so
ALFRED poor, I should most like to keep
her"
In the middle of the night, Jacquelina,
who slept the sleep Of youth and health,
quite undisturbed by any suspicion OF
the ghost, was reused by an awful crash,
a binding blaze that seemed to scorch
her very eyes.
The old house was struck by lightning.
The chimney had settled into a shapclcss
mass of ruins. Here and there the time
dried side-shingling was ablaze, in spite
of the sheets of rain that descended with
a rushing sound like the waves OF tho
sea.
Old Betsey, with a patchwork bed
quilt wrapped around her, was hobbllng
away as fast as she could.
"Betsey Betseym screamed Jacquelina
from the window. Where's grand
father p
II don't know" croaked the beldame.
''D'ye s'pose I'm goin' to stay and be
burned to death?"
And it was Jacquelina who CROPPED her
way to the old mans room, helped him
to dress, explaining the while what had
happened, and led him down to the old
ice house, the nearest place of shelter,
until the storm was over.
Nor were they any too soon. They had
scarcely got clear of the old house before
the charred beams fell in, and only a
framework of fire remained, luridly out
lined against the ink black sky.
With morning light the terrible tenn
pest past; but there lay the smoking
heap of ruins where the hundred-year-old
Gordon homestead had stood in the red
shine of sunset.
"We'L build it up ag'in, Jacquelina-
we'll build it up" said the old man,
feeblv. ats the place where | was born,
and the place where | calculate to die
where should ha' died last night, JAG
ouelina, if it hadn't been for you. Where
YOU been my girl? Your shoes are soaked
with the wet grass, and you look as white
as death"
"Only to the barn. said Jacquelina,
"to see if all was right there The pony
is safe, and the little calf and all. Now,
grandfather, good by? The stage goes at
six, YOU know. and
'Well, let it go!" said Grandfather
Gordon "You amt goin' You stood
by me when Betsey Poole would a left
the old man to die like roasted rat in a
trap. You saved my life. Dye think
I'm goin' to let you 90 now2'
ooh, grandfather, then-then you
want me after all 2" sobbed Jacquelina.
Eyes, | do want you. An mean to
keep you always. I've got more money
in the bank than folks know anything
about, an | guess we can build up the
old house nice and comfortable, and live
there an be happy, you an |.
"But grandfather, | must tell you
first"
A full confession was trembling on
Jacquelina's lips, when one of the neigh
bors came running up the hill.
Heard the news?N said he. "There's
been bic landslide down over the rail
road at Cooper's Bend, and the express
would "a been wrecked, sure as guns, if
it hadn't been signaled with red silk
hangkecher tied round a lantern, and the
lanterns your old barn light, Squire
Gordon! An the Teller that signaled it
an saved all the lives in the train was
that runaway chap from Cazanova jail !;
an, as it happened, the warden hlsself
was on the train, an he says it'll be a
queer thing if they don't get the gov
ernor to sign a pardon for him. For he
might a took to his heels an run away
but he got recaptured savin' the express
train. An he saved it, too-yes, he
didr'
"From Cazanova jail y repeated Grand
father Gordon. "What runaway chap?'
And then Jacquelina took fresh cour-
age and told him all the simple story.
my girl" said he, stroking her red
brown hair, "you done right. You're a
good girl, Jacquelina. Amt there
Something in the Bible about him that
is ready to perish?' Yes, Jacquelina, l
want you more than ever now"
And so, in the storm of that May night,
a new career was opened alike to limo
cent Jacquelina Gordon and the guilty
wretch who had been condemned to Cas-
anova jail for forgery.
Truly there was yet a place in the
world for them They were both ''want-
ed."-[Saturday Night.