Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1893-02-10
The young mans sensitive face

THANK heaven for woman's vision,
then. / don't believe in impossible
ties. l have done too many impossible
things while people stood by to tell me
I couldn't When I say pledge my
life and brains and might to the doing
of thing. that thing will be done"
II know" said Pink. with enthusi-
asm; you're the bravest girl in the
world"
Not at all. I'm n great baby who
loves her brothers and is afraid of
snakes. But if ! made up my mind, p"
said India, stretching her fsted arm
before her, "to take a rattler around
the --r'c ard e--1-giz !. TO death,
should do IT if it covered me with bites
and killed me"
Il believe youT" said Pink, with a
start as if he had been electrified.
where's my clip and pencil? l must
get to work. You're a howler, Lady
Macbeth"
You're a fine-strung poet. Johnny
Keats. Haul the barrel and table over
this way. want to know everything
you put in that first page article"
They consulted together, India start
ing the theme Pink produced deeorat-
ed thoughts. She took out his ad-
iectives and reduced his sentences Jo
called for copy. India took it to him,
and distributed locals before the other
printer.
Don't you want to dress up your adj
vertisements now while / set type for
you?" she said TO her younger brother,
who at once washed his hands, ran
them through dark curly hair like his
sisters. and took his ruddy face away
to pore sturdily over her desk.
When the sun hung just above the
horizon, casting long shadows east
ward. India went home, stopping at
one of the wooden groceries for pro-
visions The whole town was COM
posed of yellow pine excrescences,
from the first gigantic hotel to the tint
est land office.
As India approached her unfenced
house on path which cut across hum
mocl1s of wiry grass, she was looking
forward, as the thrifty assistant wom-
an always does, to that time when the
boys would run their firmly established
paper alone, and she could devote her
self to the residence. lined with pic
lures, glittering with silver, full of
comforts, which would take the place
of this three-room nest. The prairie
did not bound her ambitions.
But wherever one stands" re-
marked India, opening the door, ''the
center of the earth is always exactly
beneath him, and the center of the
heavens exactly over his head"
''Well-nurtured girls in various cit
les" said India to herself, ''are now
sitting down to dinner, and talking
about next months trip out of town.
But the assistant OH the Rolling City
Chronicle must light a fire and get the
boys supper, not neglecting to darn
those last two pairs of socks while the
people are gathering"
She followed them back to the office
about dusk A rising sweetness was
abroad, and the air so clear that it cut
out every object with sharp edges.
The town herder was driving home
the cows from their free pasture up the
ridge A freight-train far off on the
western road trailed into sight, and
p..-ts of smoke on the northern horizon
denoted some approach along that line.
The prairie was like a mountain-pla-
teau in giving one a sense of nearness
to the sky. The hemisphere of many
shaded green's pressed sharply against
the melting west.
At the Office India hurried tn finish
whatever was behind on the weeks is
sue, while the rest of the establish
ment set type. When the ten o'clock
passenger whizzed by, their weeks
work was done 10 and the foreman
We're printing off the papers. The
rumble of the presses followed India
and Pink downstairs.
Climbing upward in the night, :"
she quoted, taking hold of his arm as
they stumbled past stores where the
kerosene lamps were being put out.
II wonder if l shall turn out a mere
monkey. agile in climbing? I've al
ways been undertaking something
Pink, look at the consultations. Don't
they seem ready to prick us, they are
so near with their sharp points? What
a grand thing it is to accomplish in
this world If we die tonight, our
weeks work is well done; it's always
wise to be prepared for accidents"
''But what does it amount to when It
is done?'' shifted Pink. THAT other
man will run us out. l haven't any
head for practical matters, India"
Your whimpering is passed over
without notice. Did you ever think
practical matters are just like piano
keys; If you don't touch them with
knowledge, you make discords- We
can't have piano for about four years
yet But when we get home, Iii take
down the banjo and plunlz you tune. "
"And if we succeed in making 4 pa
per here, what outlook does it give us?"
Honor, influence, home. a seat in
the senate for you or 10 if you hit the
popular need, and care for it In time
a trip to Europe. All the time, ex-
change of prods with other minds, and
a chance to push what is good and pun
ish what is mean. At summer resorts
the well-nurtured young lady may now
be entering grand hop, but | am go
ing home with ink on my finger. and
the assurance in my soul that in some
vast future larger battles will be given
me to fight, and shall come off victor.
Past midnight, however, the assist
ant saw her former victories crumble
before her eyes. Pink's shouting
struck her through the ear like n dag
ger. She crossed a great change while
leaping over the side of her bed The
Office was on fire, but 10 was not in it,
for 10 had walked Pink and run off to
others for help.
India passed through nightmare of
throwing clothing on, finding every
thing inside out or upside down. She
was running across the open prairie
with her brother, the streets rang with
cries of fire, and all the inhabitants of
town so slightly built turned out
with terror A crowd was already
passing pals of water from hand to
hand.
1t was too late to do anything but
confine the fire, if possible, to the one
crum bling block. There was at the
time no wind, and the pals were made
to do vigorous duty. In went the roof,
sending up a constellation which put
out half the stars.
This is too bad, sis, amt it now?'
said human voice through the tumult
to India's ears Mr.. Bonebrake, the
stock farmer, was there, his whip in
hand ready for driving home.
~ was settin' up with hogs to ship
to-night.'' he shouted, land was one of
the first to see the fire. 1t bust ont all
at once full blaze"
'I'm afraid you won't get vour Daper