Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-20

dead now.
| mo. no-pore child,-but 1 wishl jist
wish. Arizony-but no! Ye c'udn' nuver
| think on me like We onct did-afore Nose
coined eriong-c'u'd We? Seems like i
wants ter take kyur on We wusn ever now"
Her eyes opened wide. a flush darted to
| her face. then she drew back, with dripping
hands extended warningly.
| mo. Lem kimbro! I'm a-fearin' hits too
late.-everlas ingly too late fer sech CT that
now. Yore preacher; yore lukd up to.
| md the good Lord hev blessed ye-bit-me?
What am I? I've made my bed nd I mus
| lie In It, Dom we tempt me. Dom We do
| yoresef sech a onjestice. Let me live on
| hyur-erlone. I've bro't hit on myself md
| / dom desarve no better. Let 'em talk err
| bout me. md wonner md 'spishin-they
won't think wus of me than 1 do of my
| se'f. Bit ez fur you. Lem, tho I used We
bad onct I'm too good q frien' ter ye ter
let We saddle yorese'f with sech wreck ez
| 1 hev gotter be now"
His protestations could not shake her res
| olution; but, though he went away SORROW
| ing, he championed her cause in the ears OF
| Choogaloo. until Choogaloo turned its bat
| terry Of tattle upon himself. His own church
| members began to regard him doubtfully,
though, out of respect. none for a while
| ventured to speak to him of the question
able nature Of his position.
| Gossip-lIke a rolling snowball-gathers
| venom from the very strength Of the repu-
| tations II assails The Parson had looked
after poor Pack for years; this must have
| been subtly reprehensible all along. though
|
Now he evidently looked after them both
he a single man and a minister. This was
doubly wrong. though Gossip cautiously
| failed to see that 1t might be worse to let
| them both starve.
Arizony-in her seclusion-soon had a
hint as to how the tide was setting. One
| day the Parson ran over, after one Of his
monthly trips to Short Bark. with q sack
of meal which. said he:
| THE bruthern jest made me kerry or.
| tho I've got more grist now on hand than
| 1 kin use afore hit sours."
Arizony looked at the sack on the floor
| at him-and began to silently wiring her
hands. finally bursting weakly into tears.
"Ye mus'n't-ye mustn't" she at length
sobbed forth. Does you think / don't
know what hit all costs We, ter be a-keerin'
fer me nd Pack-not in money erlone but
| in sumpin' durer ner money-yore own good
| name and kerrecter. done ye one bad
| turn onct. when / wus young md foolish.
| bit Lord furbid ez I sh'u'd do ye ernother
oner'
"what do ye mean. Arizonyy"
why, thur a-tellin hit up md down
Choogaloo that in lukin' after me nd Pack.
We air a-doin' wrong. They SEE wus n
| that; nd tho 1 vain a-keerin' fur myself,
| CANT STAN hit on yore ercount. Me md
Pack hev gotter shift fur ourselves"
She spoke doggedly. having ceased crying.
though her moist eyes regarded him ten
derby. as a mother might have looked upon
| a dear though maynard child. The Parson
drew a long deep breath. then stepped for
| W6fQ auu SfaSpeu nef nanC, InOuS1 she
strove feebly to hinder him.
Antony" he said earnestly. Il hev
| prayed ter God night after night ter keep
US both in the strait path. / knows yore
else eroun' hyur knows 'em; nd while God
| hewitt show'd me that I'm a-doin' wrong
In hopin' you a bit, hev his word ter tell
me / w'u'dn' be a-doin' right ter leave We
| In yore trouble. II my bruthern see yuth-
erwise-thats thur lukout-not mine God
He knows my heart. nd YOU knows how
| feels towards We: so don't let what they
alls sec erbout me poster ye, Arizonyr'
Il CANT hope It'll CANT hope bein' pes
tered erbout ye." She sighed-looking SO
wan, frail and pitiful that his eyes grew
dim as he replied ene.getically:
Thars jest one right way ter put a stop
ter all this yer tale beerin' nd folly nd on
kindness. Git yore bunnit, Arixony, md
we'uns IL ride over to Squire Gamble
| Thars no minister nur hyur, bit he'll do
When We gifts back. we'uns II see IL my
nabors hahn got respects ernuf fur thur
preacher ter hole thur tongues erbout his
wife,
She saw he was thoroughly in earnest
and for moment she yielded to the sweet
renef OF contemplating such a haven for
herself. yet only to realize. by the after
pang OF Remuneration, how dearly she now
loved this faithful friend Of her youth.
mo. no.? she cried at length. For yofe
| own sake don't We tempt me. I'm NOT
worthy Of ye-I didn' do right by We cnct
| nd I've ben punished-Fm a-bein' punished
now: hit air right fer it ter be so. md ]
won't burden ye with the wreck OF my
pore life 'Tw'ud surely be ernuther sin
| ergin ye.''
She turned and fed out of the house
leaving him there. baffied yet not defeated
| In purpose. A neighbor passing by called
to her and tossed a letter over the fence
She picked 1t up. opened it. more as a relief
| to her feeling than from curiosity, and be-
gan to read. Parson Kimbro. watching her
as he slowly followed, was surprised to see
her look up presently and turn back with
| smiles Frightening through her tears
1 Il druther see We laugh than cry, Ari-
s sony, . ne said quantity: as he grasped her
Read that thar" she replied, giving him
| the letter.
AS he bent over It her whole face kindled
and a glow Of color again touched her
cheeks. 1t seemed as though Arizony were
growing younger all at once.
The letter was from a lawyer in Waco
Offering Mrs. Adkins 5000 for a piece o.
her deceased husband.
You nuver sed nuthin erbout this" said
| he. looking up inquiringly.
| why, the place wuz so poor me md Nose
1ist starved out on II, tho hit wuz powerful
nur the town. We lef IL yurs ergo. md
thin" my
The Parson reflected. Arizony would
now be quite well off, according to ths
primitive ideas OF Choogaloo He himself
was poor IN comparison. If she had de-
| clined his offer before-though on generous
self-abnegative principles-was il likely She
| would want to marry him now? He was
old. gray-headed. rich only in an eternal
hope not Of this world. He drew gently
back. and his face saddened, though no,
unkindly.
Wal. Arizony," he said I'm powerful
glad OF thish yer-fur yore sake-'nd Wit
He hesitatcd. How could he give up this
sweet revival Of his youthful hope-this
fresh reminding of his early and only
earthly love? Arizony-watching him
seemed to divine his thoughts. She stepped
forward and stretched out her hand.
| Lem" she said. then looked down IN
sweet confusion. Withdrawing her hand and
twisting her fingers together awkwardly
| Perhaps / won't be such a burden to ye
now. after all-ef-ef-"
"Arizony," he cried and eazed upon he,
| as one fearing yet striving to understand
With another swift movement she buried
her face In her hands for an instant, Their
looked at him. All! the eyes of these sad
| faced mountain womeni Though all else
about them Is trite and commonplace q
touch Of the haven they YEARLY sigh for
often glasses itself there at moments like
these.
The Parson read his dumb answer truly
and held out his arms. Arizony nestled
there shrinkingly. yet fondly. and felt that
the rest she had so long despaired of had
come to her at last.
Late that afternoon two of the deacons
Of the Choogaloo Baptist Church. coming
up the road. saw Parson Kimbro and Ari-
.A 1lw~<- .