Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-03-24

it was strange with what anger John
beheld her. He could have broken
forth in curses; he could have stood
there lilo q mortified tramp, and
shaken mis- fist and vented his gaii
upon her by the hour--or so he
thought; and the next moment his
heart bled for tire girl. "Poor crea-
ture, it's little she knows!" he sighed.
"Let her enjoy herself while she
camp But was it possible, when
Flora used to smile at him on the
Braid ponds, she could have looked so
fulsome to a sick-hearted bystanderP
The thought of one quarry, in his
frozen wits, suggested another; and
he plodded Off toward Craig Leith.
A wind had sprung up out OF the
northwest; it was cruel, keen, it dried
him like a fire and racked his finger
joints. 1t brought clouds, too; pale,
swift, hurrying clouds, that blotted
heaven and shed gloom upon the
earth. He scrambled up among
the hazeled rubbish heaps that sur
rounded the cauldron of the quarry,
and lay fat upon the stones. The
wind searched close along the earth,
the stones were cutting and icy the
bare hazels walled about him; and
soon the air of the afternoon began TO
be vocal with those strange and dis
NAL harpings that herald snow. Pain
and misery turned in Johns limbs to
narrowing impotence and blind de-
cd of oh hn N
his harsh lair, and when the flints
abraded him, was almost pleased;
now he would crawl to the edge OF
the huge pit and look dizzily down.
He saw the spiral of the descending
roadway, the steep crags, the cling
ing bushes, the peppering of snow
wreaths, and far down in the bottom
the diminished crane. Here, nc
doubt, was way to end it But it
somehow did not take his fancy,
And suddenly he was aware that he
was hungry; ay even through the tor
lures of the cold. even through the
frost of despair, gross, desperate
longing for food, no matter what, nc
matter how, began TO wake and spur
him. Suppose he pawned his watch
But no, on Christmas day-this was
Christmas day!-the pawnshop would
be closed. Suppose he wenr to the
public house close by at Blackhall
and offered the watch, which wa.
worth ten pounds, in payment for 9
meal of bread and cheese? The in
congruity was too remarkable; the
good folks would either put him tC
the door, or only let him in to send
for the police. He turned his pockets
out one after another; some San Fran
cisco tram-car checks, one cigar, ne
| lights, the pass-key to his fathers
house, a pocket-handkerchiei, with
just touch of scent; no, money
could be raised on none OF these
There was nothing for it but to starve
and after all, what mattered it? Thai
also was door of exit.
He crept close among the bushes
the wind playing around him like {
| lash, his clothes seemed thin a
paper; his joints burned, his Skin
curdled on his bones. He had a Wis
ion of high-lying cattle-drive il
California, and the he'd OF DRIED
stream with one muddy pool, by
which the vaqueros had encamped
splendid sun over all, the big bonfr,
blazing, the strips OF COW browning
| and smoking on the skewer of wood
how warm it was, how savory the
steam of scorching meat! And ther
again he remembered his manifold
calamities, and burrowed and wal
lowed in the sense OF his disgrace anC
shame. And next he was entering
Franks restaurant in Montgomer,
street, San Franchises; he had ordered
a pan stew of venison chops, OF which
he was immoderately fond, and as h
sat waiting, Monroe, the good at
tendant, brought him a whisky punch
he saw the strawberries float on TIT
delectable cup, he heard the ice chinl
about the straws. And then he WOKE
again to his detested fate, and foun'
himself sitting bumped together in {
windy coinbe of quarry refuse-dark
ness thick about him, thin snow flake
flying here and there like rags Of paper
and the strong shudderings OF his bod.
clashing his teeth like q hiccough.
TTo BIB CONTINUED.