Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1892-01-13
HER PERFECT LOVER.
THE DIAMOND RING.

Talking of buried treasures" said
Joe Danbury, as he threw husk after
husk from the yellow corn, "did
ever tell you of that affair on Mobile
Point ?"
NO." replied Warren Lester
Tell us good story, Joe, and you
shall kiss the prettiest girl in the
ROOM"
"That depends said Joe, gravely,
as he looked about IL am not one of
the kissing Sort" and just then his
eye met Hetty Washburn's, and his
swarthy cheek grew red.
Hetty had just found Il red ear,
but nobody SAVIOR she thought so,
so she slyly slipped it under her
apron.
The husking took place generally at
Jim Goldbeater's great frame house.
James was an old-fashioned man, who
kept little private room of his own,
full of relics. 1t was one of the
pleasures Of his life to show these
things, and see folks wonder at them.
There were dainty little shoes over
hundred years old; and pink satin
bodices, worn by departed bellies
and yards of faded ribbons that were
new in the year 1900; and old-fash-
toned whalebone corsets that would
have shocked the members Of any
health committee; and stuffed petit
coats and linsey woosey gowns.
Jim was a staunch advocate Of old
fashions. He had suit of his grand
fathers in which he sometimes array
ed himself in all the glory of yellow
buckskin breeches, and red velvet
smalls, and blue plush waist-coat.
The girls and boys always liked to
go to Stone End, as the place was
called. There was large liviDg-rooms,
just the thing for games and fun;
plenty of odd hooks and corners, and
It's browning glory, a great chimney.
place, where logs roared, and mighty
flames went singing up the chimney
of winter nights. They always had
the corn shucked in that room, and
all Maryville was there, generally.
Joe Danbury was rather looked up
to by the villagers, because he had
been wounded in the war. He car
ried about with him bit of cold lead,
not because he particularly liked to,
but because it was lodged somewhere
in his shoulder bone and could not be
got at by all the surgeons who had
tried their skill upon it.
Joe was an independent, odd sort of
genius, homely, but good,-"good as
gold," people were in the habit of
saying, and very successful as a bust.
ness man. He ran mill, and was
making money rapidly, but he kept
very much to himself, and was seldom
seen in the society of ladies. Not
that he did not like them, but he was
very bashful, and was conscious that
his awkwardness was sometimes the
theme of ridicule. But every body
respected him, even the widest and
sauciest of our village girls, and that
was Hetty Washburn.
But to return to Joe and his wait
ing group.
"You know that / was in the Signal
Corps, boys, and we were often mount
ed. When we were ordered to Mobile
Point, I thought we had got to the
worlds end A more barren, sandy
place, it would be hard to find. The
officers of the old forts there had left
in a hurry, and we were put to it to
secure provisions for ourselves and
horses. 1t is sandy, desolate, for
saken region, and ! owe it particu-
lar spite because there / took the
fever.
Zone day, a fellow we call Johnny
Mush, on account of his Partially to
that kind of food, came over to my
tent,
Look here said he, in great ex-
element, and put piece of paper in
my hand.
"Where did you get it?' asked /.
"Just down there in the sand
saw the end of it sticking up, and I've
been there, you'd better believe
"The paper seemed to have been
from a small blank book, and ON it
were these lines
buried the box at IL. Sixteen
PAGES from broken palm, due north
Johnny chucked me under the
chin.
"'You understand, he said, there's
treasures there; plate, family jewels
aud what notf ] went over aud
found the spot. / ran my sabre down
twenty times. l know just the length
of that box. It's so long, and he
measured off three feet.
"Now there we're great many
poor fellows buried under the sand,
their graves ornamented with pieces of
pine board, some with names cut 10