Passaic City record., 1892-07-23

lot, n finally concluded th't I'd hev t
90 summers else, eff ever got fore
handed; so, one day, we says goodbye,
daown in the medder lot, an pulled
out fer Californy.
..Sence then I've ben knockin' round
all over the tn kentry, tryin' one thing
n mother. Purity hard luck, most O. tn
time, tew-but jes' fore come hyar, |
located claim, mel mother feller, over
in Colorado, an worked it some. 1t
didn't pan out none, SO we he'd try
somethin' else, an hyar | come, leavln
Peters t. keep up work on tn claim, him
havin' a job clus by. Wa-al, tn other
day, Peters he sold aout tew Boston
comp'ny fer twenty-five thaousan'-an'
nv half's what went t Brownsville fer.
That's all.
Hen filled his pipe, said ''Good night, "
and went out, whistling softly.
sBy Jovel" SAID the boss,- 'sto hear
him tell it, in that easy way of his, with
the cowboy lingo and the occasional
Yankee twang, you'd think it very
common place affair. l don't know
what you think of it, but think it de-
cidedly romantic, and I'm glad it's turn
ing out so we'll. Hens an honest chap,
and deserves all the luck in the world.
The girl must be plucky one, too.
Hum! hump Aud the boss looked at
the ceiling and blew smoke rings in
pensive way he sometimes had.
There wasn't a man on the ranch who
didn't hate to see Hen go, and who
wasn't honestly glad at his good fortune.
Even the misanthropic Posey evinced
not a little regret as he said good-by to
him, when, the morning after Thanks
giving, Hen sat on his bronco all ready
to start for Jersey, the railroad town to
the east of US.
1t was, beautiful morning. almost
like spring, and Hen couldn't have
wished tor better day to start on. The
last good-by said, he Strengthened up,
shifted the cool breeze, looked to see that
everything waas all right, and with an
sAdios, boys" was off, waving his hand
in acknowledgment of the rousing cheer
we gave him as he reached the top OF the
hill across the creek.
Jersey was only twenty odd miles
away, and Hen expected to arrive there
at noon, in time to get his dinner, dis
pose of his bronco and make the 2
o'clock train East. There was plenty of
time, so he let his horse take its own
gait, and gave himself up to his
thoughts.
Going home! Homel How sweet
the word sounded Five years only
five, but they seemed twice aa many. He
wondered how he had ever managed to
live through them. The first two had
not been so hard. He had been full of
hope and vigor and had told himself it
was only a little while-only little
while. Then when the reward for all
his toll seemed to be no less distant than
at first, it was hard. Sometimes he had
thought he would give it up and go
home to confess himself beaten; then the
picture of the little brown eyed girl who
had cried so hard that day in the meadow
lot-the little girl who, through her
tears, had told him to be brave and pa
tient and all would be well-would come
before him and he would set his teeth
hard and "pitch" in again. Maybe it
had soured him bit. He wondered If
sometimes he had not been rather unso-
ciable, and rather poor company for his
companions, and concluded he had.
His thoughts turned again to Molly.
How pretty and sad she had looked with
the tears on her pink cheeks that day
(for somehow he couldn't for the life of
him think of her except as she looked
when he saw her last). He remembered
how conscious he had been that she was
watching him as he went down the road,
and how he dared not look back for fear
his courage would give out. And just to
think! Only few days more, and
"Hullo! Wa-al, Ill be teetotally dog
gonedp
The wind had shifted around into the
north; dull gray clouds hid the blue and
gold that had made the early day SO fair;
two or three flakes of snow were visible
now and then. 1t was one of these
striking Hen on the cheek that caused
him to rein up his horse so suddenly and
make the above inelegant remark.
Not living creature was in sight on
all the broad plain. Hen and his horse
were as much alone as if they had been
on the open sea. Human habitation, be-
tween the 81 bar" and Jersey, there
were none. Hen dismounted and laid
his ear to the ground, and listened in
tently for few seconds. Yes-there it
was-that dull, Whispering, indistinct
roar, which the plainsman knows and
fears-the voice of the coming blizzard.