Arizona republican., 1893-01-04
BY THE FIRELIGHT.

ullO lut NNA'sr bAut gray SKY L ne shy
6nt, but colder, b!uer. harder in tone,
was repeated in the limo Of mountains
stretching away to the south. Among
the shifting heaps Of fallen leaves shone
CLEANS of color, but themoss had turned
t. brown, and in the cold, windy even
nc the lately dcnuded trees seemed to
ghiver.
a woman came out of pasture with
a pail of milk in her hand. A slight
wisp of a creature, her cotton gown
hung Imply about her thin form. She
covered as the wind struck her and
Coughed painfully, yet she fingered. She
was too much child of nature to ex-
Piain how the autumn days made her
feel both forlorn and expeciant, and yet
was perhaps tho more affected by the
moods of the great mother not attempt
ing to translate them into human needs.
The clatter Of hoOfs made her turn
slowly. One glance and her heart gave
n leap, sending the warm color to her
check. BY tho time the horseman had
reached her the color was gone.
''Good evening. Does Uncle Billy
Grimes live hcre"
ayes, sir
SDo you suppose he would be willing
10 put me up tonight?
II reckon. Light an III take your
mag"
The gentleman hesitated as If his gal
hntry would not permit him TO allow a
woman to put up his horse, but, seeming
g. think better of it, THANKED her, and
baking his saddlebags. turned toward
the house.
AT the door he was ihst by an old
woman, who, learning his wish, cordial
Il made him welcome, Offering him a
seat by the side OF tho hoarth, ON which
great fire was burning HS tilted back
On the short legged chair with the feel.
ing of warmth and well being which
follow long, cold ride, and coon found
himself gently slipping into the mood
he had been trying all day to cultivate.
This had been his home. aud after half
a hfetime spent away he had returned to
the land of his childhood only to find
the Carolina mountains less grand than
others he had seen, and the simple life
Of the people, which i'll moments of SEN
6ment ne had remembered as idyllic,
rough, uncoUth and cheerless. He was
too far removed from their life for sym
Pathy, too close TO fGDl the picturesque
interest and pleasure of real stranger.
Ehese people were more or less nearly
related to him, yet they seemed another
race of beings.
lie had left hismuuntajn home q mere
hoy and had gone west, where a new
life opened for him. Something in his
nature always made him reject what
WAS coarse and vulgar, and when he be-
came suddenly rich hisnatiye gentleness
and simplicity Of manner stood him in
stead Of breeding and education, dis
arIning criticism, till. with the quick
perception and initiative faculty which
were his birthright, he had largely re-
paired the deficiencies of his early train
ing, acquiring much Of the manner and
tone Of people of culture. Now he had
come back and was = stranger in his
own land,
But the bright freight dancing on the
wall iilumined the rough interior of the
farmhouse kitchen, and he began to feel
less remote, less offended by the mean
tess Of his surroundings. Memories Of
his childhood rose before him as he
watched the young woman in her prep
sTations for supper. She had mixed up
the corn bread, and now knelt on the
floor beside the hearth mDlding it into
lOaves and putting themintOa large iron
skillet. Tho freight flashed on the tin
pan gave a ruddy glow 70 thin face,
and turned her Gull, yellOwish hair 10
red gold. As the stranger watched her
something rose in lis throat.
"Naucym
She turned suddCnly.
Chris"
II did not know yo1 ct FIRST"
Il reckon I've changed" she said
sadly.
'Not so much. 10 was rather dark.
Il takes the freight 10 make you look
natural But how came you here?'
"Uucle B.lly married my aunt, al
she wanted somebody ter help her, al /
hadn't no hoiue."
"Not married."
"No" She picked up her pan and left
the room.
sit cannot be shc has waited all these
years for me- he thought. "Of course
not; such coustancy is not to be found
among women Of her sort. How faded
she isl These mountain folks, particu-
Iarly the women, grow old early, Poor
thing! | suppose she has had to work
hard, and she never was very strong.
Why, she can't be much older than Lois
Ellison lie shuddered at the con-
trast Miss Ellison was his partners
sister. They were ihe best Of friends.
He had proposed TO her annually for the
last five years, and yet they still re-
manned friends. She treated him kindly
and without coquetry and pleaded a
prior attachment. AS the other man
was dead Chris waited and hoped.
Sometimes he had been tempted to
doubt her reason for refusing him, but
it only gave him pain, and be had al
ways made it rule never 10 doubt a
1,Jy'.5 ,,.,rl (Iirrityuutopcaa had now