Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-09-07

with q stiff, short dark beard over his
face, and as villainous a cOuntenance
as / ever beheld. Suse blushed and
hung her head when l questioned her
about him, remaining silent, and |
applied for enlightenment to my cook
oh she said with a laugh. ''he amt
bin log orn de mountain. He come
fOm way off yonder some where Or
mother. He done took up at the Max
eys an folks say he waitin' ON Suse. :"
/ The courtShip was Il brief one. A
few weeks after this one Of the ser
wants came running in great excite
ment to call me to the front door to
look at Suse Maxey, who was gwine
down de mountain to git married.
She was dressed in q smart pink cali
co, poor young creature, with a freshly
laundried bonnet tied under her pretty
chin and walked ahead with her be-
trOthed. while Mrs. MaXey and Pete.
also in gala attire, followed behind. In
some way the sight Of her. in her holi-
day dress. suggested to my mind q
beribboned sacrifcial lamb on its way
to the altar. They walked twelve
miles to Il Magistrates office that
morning. where they We're married
return Ig in the afternoon Suse look
ing worn and exhausted by the trip.
her bonnet falling back upon her
shoulders and her rough shoes tied
together by their leAthern strings and
swung. in rustic fashion. over her arm
She smiled at me as I sat upon the
porch, however, and clasped her COM
paniOn's hand as if to announce their
altered relations.
For some time after her marriage
she continued to bring me daily in
Stalments of fresh eggs. vegetables and
poultry. At first she was accompanied
by her husband-surlier of aspect. more
felOniOus of cOuntenance on nearer in
spection than 7 had supposed him to
be. Then she began to come alone
About this time. too. I detected a
notwithstanding droOp about the
corners of her mouth and an express
sion Of mute appeal in her eyes more
eloquent than words. like the look of
"a dumb animal in pain After this
her visits ceased and her mother came
instead.
You see," she confided to me on the
occasion Of her first visit, Il ain'l
never had the trial of what Suse is
goin' through with. Her pap was a
mighty aforementioned man, an
Pete's jes' like i'm, but Bill Summers
he's powerful i'll. 1t looks like nobody
can't please i'm, an sence he's took to
+p IL In,
He drinks, them | said.
She laughed, if Il sound so utterly
devoid of merriment might be so de
Scribed. We'll, | reckon he does" she
said. EFF he's drawed sober breath
sence two weeks after they was mar
ried I don't know it.
Summer deepened into autumn. The
fields had long ago turned from green
to golden and the crops We're all gat-
hered in. One morning [ rode over to
the MaXeys and was glad to find Suse
alone in the cabin. The rest We're all
up i'll the orchard ''getherin' apples"
she told me. | had taken occasion
when opportunity offered-for we had
often little talks during her daily Wis
it's to me-to instill into her mind the
rudiments of religion, some crude no
tons of which she had received from
the preaching heard from time to time
at Il church some miles distant
''Suse," | said as 1 was bidding her
goodby that morning, Il will be going
away now in week or two, and l
want you to have something to wear
that has belonged to me-" Then
drew from my pocket a small gold
cross, surmOunted by a crown. and eX
planning to her it's meaning, fastened it
about her neck That was the last time
/ ever saw her. A report came to me
through the servants that her husband
and herself had left the mountains
and gone off somewhere or mother
to live with his people, and few days
before my departure Mrs. MaXey came
to tell me about it.
1T pestered me powerful she said,
ito see Suse 60 off with Summers, but
what was ! to do, they was married,
and he had the best right to her? /
tried to talk i'm out Of it, but it looked
like he was jes sot and determined Orn
it, and it 'peared to anger I'm every
time | named it over. Lawyer would
foller 'em, all we could do, an Bill he
tried to drive i'm back; but, you see
Suse had raised i'm from a pup, and
he thought the world of 'er. That was
Friday, and Saturday the dog came
| back, and it was curious to see the
sense that cretur had, pullin' at Pete
and me, and runnin off and comm
back again, tryin' to get us to go after
Suse and fetch 'er back, but, lor,' it
want no use, cause, of coarse, they
was married, and the law give Bill the
right to err
That summer in the mountains and
a winter in the South had warded off
the evil which we dreaded, ana when
we returned next year to our country
home, Robert no longer came in the
character of an invalid. We had bought
tract of land some miles from the
house which we occupied, supposed to
be rich in minerals, and in the autumn
we had a party of engineers up to
prospect for them.
1t was one of those gusty nights in
the early fall when the wind goes sob
bing and bowling and moaning through
! the trees as though all the spirits of
the lost were abroad: and. our friends
tired out with a long days tramp
through the mountains, joined us in
the family sitting room, where we
gathered about a wood fire.
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