The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-02-08


| Papa Walker Tor the damage to his cab
/ boges, and Papa Walker sued Papa
| Benedict for the value of the calf
| After that, they prosecuted each other
! for assault and battery; the younger
! members OF both houses ''sessed" each
/ other at every available opportunity;
/ Mrs Walker and Mrs Benedict did no
more ''neighborin' :" and Mort Bene-
| dict and Nellie Walker "busted up
with each other. That Is, Nellie broke
with Mort, who, for his port, had
/ wholesome contempt FOR fevds and such
| nonsense. and would fain have ignored
the state of affairs, so far as Nellie was
concerned, except for tho opposition
any overtures from him would have re-
ceived on all sides, and especially from
Nellie. So he had to grin and bear il,
leaving, however, al hostilitjeS 10 the
othera and speaking pleasantly 70 any
OF the Walkers he CHANGED TO meet,
But finally, through rash act Of his
own, he was forced into the tepd
There was husking-bee. of the good
old-fashio1ea sort, at EhonpsoH'S, one
night, and the younger mcnbors Of the
evening. Mort found q red ear in his
pile, and-he never knew what i'm
PEELED him to 90 it, unless il was that
Nellie looked so pretty and tempting
he took his former sweetheart In his
Grrns and kissed her. not once, bot
three times
As soon as It could be done without
the girls knowing of it. Bud Walker
and Harvey Free invited Mort and Pei
Homer out into the moonlit pasture,
where Bud insisted on having 1T oat"
Mort deourTed, bat IN vain, and, much
to his regret, was forced 10 lick" to a
stands15ll, not only the man he hoped
some day 10 call his bTother-in-law,
but the lztter's second as wen: Pei
HorneT being a cripple and unable to
accommodate young Free, who was
'>piuin'" on account Of his principals
defeat
That settled It Thereafter, even
tender-hearted Mrs. Wailler-wto, like
Mrs. Benedict, sincerely bat silently
regretted the trouble that kept her
apart from her old-tir1e friends these
four long years, and who had always
had pleasant greeting for all the
family, especially for Mort, who was
great favorite OF hers-cut him dead
when she happened to meet him, and
even the frigid inclin alton OF tbs head
with which Nellie had been won't to
recognize his presence on those rare oe-
cssions On which they met was now
denied him
All this cut Mort deeply, but be was
made of too tough fiber to show IT. so,
till the end of the fend, he tried TO act
rs though he did not eare-just as did
Nellie, who, however, was obliged TO
confess to herself, once N awhile. that
she did care, '.lots.
The spring OF 18s- IS a memorable
one in the history Of many portions OF
the DskotaS The amount Of rain in
the fall and the snowfall Of the winter
preceding had been very slight, in
deed. and there were no spring raiEs TO
encourage the farmers The creek
beds and coules were dry; the lake
beds and sloughs were as innocent of
water as powder magazines; and the
matted grasses and reeds standing in
the prairies Everything invited the
fire-fepd, whose work on the plains is
80 swift and thorough-Rnd he accepted
the invitation
From the wheat regions up north
came tales of his deadly work-Of ooun-
ties almost entirely laid waste, of hun
dreds made Homeless and penniless,
with nothing left even wherewith 20
wiring their bread out of the soil
In c. county and its neighb ors,
however, all felt secure; the fires were
far north of them. and being gradually
exterminated. Besides, they were IN
the Jim river valley; It is curious how
much confidence the proximity of a
river viii give TO the settler who is
threatened with prairie fires
Mort Benedict and his father were
returning from the county town one
day, having been in 70 leave mother"
for two days visit, and to have the
breaking-plow repaired For day or
two there had been rumors of fires
only twenty miles or so 70 the north,
and they were talking Of this as they
crossed the bridge, four miles from
home. As they reached the top OF the
hin on the west side of the river. Mort
elanced at the northern horizon. which
was not distant, on account Of range
of hills running east and west, and
Did his eyes deceive him, or was that
smoke, just rolling up above the line
of hills?
Look, fatherT'
Startled, the elder man did so.
Goodness, Morti She's R-comin'! |
We got t race, { save anythinrr'
And race they did, but the FIRE was
racing, too; and when they drove /
their painting horses into the door /
yard the flames were only O few
miles away and coming down at light
ninE speed.
While Tom and Roy saddled their |
ponies and rounded up the livestock. |
Mr.. Benedict and the three elder boys |
aud Bessie, in an incredibly short |
space OF time, put into the two wagons /
everything that It was posi- Die 70 save,
after which Hal and George ssddled 4
their ponies joined Tom and Roy with .
the herd. and the whole procession, /
itcs[eA ~ Atc NfTV - ~ S44o- tAAFt ~
Mort and his father, moved of ~
rapid pace toward the river.
Then. a1d only then. did Mort notice /
that there as no sign Of human life /
about the Walker place His heart .
gave lean
''Bess!' ne said. Sharply; "did-di1 .
they git away Did ys notice EN-
roOvir' '-r7yud9"