Morris tribune., 1895-10-02

Perhaps Gabriel was troubled with a
consciousness that he had not altogether
done his duty by her. Anyhow, he had
never heard her express herself so strong
~ as she did now.
''Why, Marie" he ventured at
length, and without looking up, what
has made ye become so perticklar all o
suddin? I reminders the time when
ye used to laugh when ye heard O. the
way we'd give the p'lice the slip y
Then he continued in somewhat lower
tone, and not without a certain twinkle
in his eye, "And p'rhaps some o. the
p'lice themsel's are not SO very perticklar
as to whether they catch us or not
surely that sergeant who comes over
now and agen from Willow Creek has
not bin putin eny nonsense into your
head?'
To do the man justice, as has been
said, he only looked upon her as child
and did not dream for an instant that
what he said would have the slightest
significance for her. He was tying the
end of the hoop together again and did
not see her face as he spoke. She had
started slightly, and indeed her face
had paled for an instant before the
warm blood had mounted into it. Her
lips had closed on each other, and her
eyes had looked fxedly away down the
creek bottom as If they were watching
the flight of a covey of prairie chickens
At length she spoke.
ST hardly understand you, dad when
you talk about some one putting non
sense into my head. You forget the ser
geant is a gentleman, and it was not diff
ficult to see that last time he was here
he meant well by you, for, you remem-
Der, he mentioned, as if by accident,
something about that extra patrol along
the boundary line which they had be-
gun. It wasn't difficult to see he felt
miserably i'll at ease lest we should
guess the motives that led him to speak
of it. For, Of course, he meant it as
warning to you, which few men would
have DONE Otherwise he would have
told you in q very different fashion. As
for the corruption-there is only one
name for it-you hint at, am sure he
is above anything like that. .
And now that maidenly spirit Of re-
serve, as she spoke, had entirely left her
she held her head almost proudly, and
there was fuller touch Of color in he
cheek. There was that air of nobility !
about her that glorifies beautiful wom
an when she is championing the absent.
Not that the absent was anything to
her, for loyalty in a noble minded WON
an is a comprehensive and catholic vir
tue.
Eyes, Marie, said Gabriel, who
still did not seem to notice her aroused
interest, II dropped as to how he meant
it. He's chap as II do his duty, and
gives him credit for thet same, and I'll
give him wide berth. But there's
Jeanette. Now I'm just a-goin to run
the horses into the c'ral, for it'll soon
be dark. hope it won't snow afore
git back, but it's gittin late in the fall.
I must start tomorrow, honey. guess
I'll be back in less n ten days time. I'll
just give ye call on my way back to
the Hat and see tibet ye're all snug.
The p'lice were yere On Monday, SO
don't s'pose they'll be back for mother
fortnight, and by tibet time I'll be yere
agen. Come, Marie!" And, suddenly
throwing away the hoop, he put his
arm around her and drew her into the
house. Then he reappeared with his
bride over his arm to fetch the horses
up. He had been anxious to put an emo
to the conversation; it was a much
more unpleasant one for him than he
had cared to admit.
And now the profound and solemn
stiffness that broods over that vast and
lonely rolling prairie seemed to deepen.
The prairie chickens and other birds
had drunk at the feebly flowing creek
and had gone back to the sheltering
edge of the scrub for the night The
great cinnamon bear, which at this sea-
son of the year leaves the sheltering
pine forests and wanders down the
oOulee and creek bottoms to fossick out !.
roots and feast on the luscious wild
Berries. rose from his lair amid the
thick, long grass and thicker under
growth and came boldly out on to the
oare hillside to have look around. A
keen black frost set in; one could hear
5ho crackle OF the growing covering OF
ICE ON the beaver dam and the more
startling rending Of the dead cotton ,
wood trees up the coulee as Jack Frost ,
them in his icy grip. The stars ,
cleaned out more sharply and clearly
n the dusk Of the heavens, and toward ,
he arctic circle the aurora borealis.
hat dance of the spirits, az the In j
lians call it, suddenly burst into life {
md light, it's quivering shafts Of pearly !
md silvery fire darting from one sida (
o another. crossing and recrossing, /
Feating living halo and glory around I
he throne of the great ice king. Now 6
he Ioghouse and other buildings showed {
lack as jet against it. From the little t
windows poured mellow Z
sxeams Of light into the cold. crisp air 4
md showed right chcerily indeed It d
vas coy and pretty picture truly, this 4
my speck Of civilization in the lonely a
wilderness when these unwinking eyes 4
( fire looked out boldly into the gloom, d
q if rejoicing over the fuller lifeWithin. "a
&. VI / 4