Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1893-10-02
man, how could We ever make bold
enough to ask her?h

man, how could ye ever make bold
enough to ask her?"
For though Jake had hardly 80 much
as seen q white woman's face in all his
life, an innate chivalry and masculine
modesty within him made him realize
at once the full terror and difficulty of
that awful ordeal.
Tom looked at the fire and at the new
couch-it had run to q couch with
horsehair covering and answered
slowly: 1t was pull, Jake, but
managed 1t, somever; I spoke up and
managed it."
Jake felt in his soul a deeper admira-
ton for Toms abilities than he ever
had felt in his life before. To think
that that silent, untutored man could
and induced her in only five weeks
clear time to promise to marry him!
CHAPTER II.
All through the rest of that winter
Tom and Jake were busy with plans
for this great revolution in their do
mestic arrangements no less
than Tom, and almost even more So
and as soon as spring set in they put
them into execution, working together
in concert with q rare goodwill at
them. They had cut down logs to build
new room for their expected guest,
while the snow was on the ground, and
after the first thaw they piled them all
up and plastered them we'll into o neat
and commodious bridal chamber. Jake
felt the necessity for "a little more
style about the house now we're goin'
to have q lady of our own to take care
OF u.s." and he went so far as to send
<y~S,c T11t
down to the store at Portage, on the
for the nving-room, which he insisted
thenceforth upon describing as athe
parlor." He would have called it a
drawing-room, probably, if it were not
for Tom, 80 deep was his respect for
white woman's dignity. He even talked
about building kitchen, distinct from
the parlor, as being more appropriate
for the lady's use, had not Tom dis
suaded him by saying that Lucy-he
actually dared to describe her by her
Christian name alone as Lucy-would
only find it an extra fire to light and
tend, Tor, of course, they must have q
fire in the iving-room anyway. Wood,
to be sure, wasn't dear; they would
have that for the cutting, but he didn't
want to give Lucy any extra trouble.
Jake smiled grimly to himself at that.
Extra trouble, indeed! Before the
white lady should dream of lighting
the fires herself he'd be up and about
but there, no matter. It would be
easier for her, perhaps, to keep things
tidy in three rooms than in four, and
ladies do love to keep things tidy.
At last the preparations were all
completes; the little log hut was swept
and garnished; the paper on the wall
was further adorned by couple of old
London News acknowledgements; and
Tom set out once more, and once more
alone, to make his wedding trip to and
from Toronto.
Jake was all in flutter of bashful fear
and blissful expectation. Had he made
everything right as it ought to be for
a lady? Was the bouquet Of wild how-
ers in the mug on the mantelpiece
strictly appropriate? Were the pots
and pans all brightly secured enough
to meet the eye Of female critic?
Would Toms wife be very contemptu-
GUS and very hard on a rough traEper
fellow? Was she really as young and
pretty as Tom had pretended? Or was
Tom only trying to magnify his own
prowess-as he sometimes did with the
game he just missed-by making out
he had attacked and captured a real
young white woman Of SURPRISING
beauty? All these questions Jake
asked himself time and again, in de-
lightful doubt, as he sat there waiting,
in his clean flannel shirt and store coat,
by the smudge fire, for the advent OF
the happy pair on their honeymoon.
The last seventy miles or SO were to
be performed on horseback borrowed,
of course) along the Toronto trail or
path through the woods; and at last
the sound OF horses hoofs on the forest
soil made Jake start, and blush, and
look at himself furtively with tremor
of shame, in the looking-glass that now
graced the parlor mantelpiece.
In two minutes more they were at |
the door, and Tom was wringing his |
friends hand hard, and Jake, looking |
up, all red-faced confusion, beheld be- |
fore him, in q neat brown dress, a thing
of beauty such as he had never before |
either seen or dreamed OF.
He could only look and cry out, ooh,
Toni" and bow before the lady with !
awkward politeness. The pretty speech |
he had carefully composed and learnt !