Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1893-05-06


ing out to Kitty in his distress, but not
knowing whittier he went. After an
hour of despairing, wandering and
shouting he came upon a house, and,
having raped on the door, he found
himself face to face with his wife.
He had returned to his own house in
his bewiiderment.
When we remember that Jones had
not slept for two nights preceding this
one, on account of his mortal quarrel
with Burton, and now been beaten
against an arctic hurricane, and tramp
ing through treacherous billows of
snow for an hour, we can not wonder
that he fell over his own threshold in u
state of extreme exhaustion.
Happy for him that he did not fall
bewildered on the prairie, as many
another poor wayfarer did on that fatal
night.
As it was, his wife must needs give
up the vain little searches she had been
making in the neighborhood of the
shanty. She had now sick husband,
with frozen hands and feet and face, to
care for.
Every minute the thermometer fell
lower and lower, and all the heat the
little cook stove in Jones's shanty could
give would hardly keep them from
freezing.
Burton had stayed upon that forty
acre lot all day, waiting for chance to
shoot his old partner, Jones. He had
not heard of the arrival of Jones's wife,
and he concluded that his enemy was a
coward, and had left him in possession,
or else he meant to play him some
treacherous trick on his way home.
So Burton resolved to keep sharp
lookout. But he soon found that i'm
possible, for the storm was upon him
in all its binding fury. He tried to
follow the path, but he could not find it.
Had ne been less of frontiersman
he must have persisted there, within a
furlong of his own house. But in en-
deavoring to keep the direction of the
path he heard a smothered cry, and
then saw something rise up covered
with snow, and then fall down again.
He raised his gun to shoot it, when the
creature uttered another wailing cry, so
human, that he put down his gun and
went cautiously forward. 1t was a
child
He did not remember that there was
such child among all the settlers at
Newton. But he did not stop to ask
questions. He must, without delay,
get himself and child to place of safe
ty or bOth yyou11 ba frozan
So he took the little thing in his arms,
and started through the drifts. And
the child put its little icy fingers on
Burton's rough cheek, and muttered
Papa" And Burton held her closer,
and fought the snow more courageously
than ever.
He found the shanty at last, and
rolled the child in buffalo robe while
he made fire Then, when he got the
room little warm, he took the little
thing upon his knee, dipped her aching
fingers in cold water, and asked her
what her name was.
kitty" she said.
"Kitty," he said, land what elsel'
kitty" she answered, nor could he
find out any more.
Whose Kitty are you?"
Whose Kitty?" she said. For she
had known her father but that one
day, and now she believed that Burton
was ne.
Burton sat up all night and stuffed
wood into his impotent little stove to
keep the baby from freezing to death.
Never having had anything to do with
children, he firmly believed that Kitty,
sleeping snugly under blankets and
buffalo robes, would freeze if he should
let the fire subside in the least.
AS the storm prevailed with unabated
fury the next day, and as he dared
neither take Kitty out or leave her
alone. he stayed by her all day, and
stuffed the stove with wood, and
laughed at her droll baby talk, and fed
her on biscuit, fried bacon and coffee.
On the morning of the second day
the storm subsided. 1t was forty de.
grees cold, but knowing somebody must
be mourning Kitty for dead, he wrapped
her in skins, and, with much difficulty,
reached the nearest neighbor's house.
suffering only frost-bite on his nose
by the way.
THAT child" said the woman, to
whose house he had gone, "is Jones's I;
l seed 'em take her outen the wagon
day before yesterday"
Burton looked at Kitty moment in
perplexity. Then he rolled her up
again and started out, travelling like
mad" the woman said, as she watched
him.
When he reached Jones's he found
Jones and his wife sitting in utter
wretchedness by the fire. They were
both sick from grief, and unable to
move out of the house. Kitty they had
given up as buried under a snow
mound. They would find her when
spring should come and melt the snow
cover off.
When the exhausted Burton came in
with his bundle of buffalo skins, they
looked at him with amazement. But
when he opened it, and let out littlo
Kitty, and said, Here Jones, is this
yer kitten?" Mrs. Jones could not think
OF anything better to do than to
scream.
And Jones got up and took his old
partners hand, and said. Burton, old
fellow" and then choked up, and sat
down and cried helplessly.
And Burton said, Jones, old fellow,
you may have that forty acre patch. 1t
came mighty near making me the mur-
derer of that little Kitty's father.
an Ill L. q I