The Van Buren press., 1895-06-29

"Walked.n
"Walked?'
"Yes, uaLked, Sam Wilson, walked.
what've you been a doin'P You've
| been . firtin round with that Win
Potts, totem Of her over the country
and maxim love to her till you've
broke my Lindy's heart. an she's come
home to stay" and she stirred the tea
SO vigorously it stopped over on the
stove.
Cant see Lindy?'' asked Sam.
mo, YOU can't. She told me to tell
you If you come that You could go
home and have Win Potts, that she's
through with you."
Cant see her jest minit?" plead
cd Sam.
mo, you can't and the old lady
took her cup and left the room, shut
ting the door hard after her. Sam
dropped into chair and leaned his
head on his hands; great tears ran
down his fingers and dropped off on
thu floor. His mother-in-law opened
the door. She was going to say some-
thing sharp, but the sight of him soft
ened her.
"Ill ask Lindy agin if she'll see
YOU"
A few minutes later she came back.
''She says she won't see you, and she
wants you to let her alone"
Without word Sam gotup and went
home. Get your traps together. Win,
quick as you can, and I'll get Bill
Skinner to take Won home"
''Is Lindy over to her ma's?"
Yes"
''She was jest playin' a joke on you,
wasn't she?'
"Yes."
Hes the sickest lookin' jolted man 1
ever see," she said to Bill Skinner as he
drove her home. "And I'll bet you
faint no ordinary jokin neither"
Sam tried for several days to see Lin
dy, but she refused to see him.
Tell her." he would say to her moth
er, that If she'll jest see ME l know l
can fix it all right. If she'd only jest
let me look at her 'twould do me SO
much good
Once he asked for the baby. He took
it in his arms and the tears rolled from
his eyes and dropped over it. Poor
little feller,' he said. One day he laid
five dollars down on the table. Give
that to Lindy, she might need sum-
thin he said.
He tried to go on with his work just
the same. But he couldn't plow where
he could look over at the little house
where Lindy used to be. He couldn't
stay In the rooms where he had never
lived an hour without her, and where
every little thing was made and placed
by her hands.
''I'll jest fix things up and get out O.
the country. | can't live here
So he wrote to Lindv:
"DERE LINDY: I'm a-goin' clean away wher
you won't hev to here about me never was
guide enun fur you and always moved it but
thout you liked me i'm a-goin' to start to-
day left the things at our place fur you and
you can go down and git them thout you'd
need them fur the little feller. good by
SAM"
Lindy read the note and handed it to
her mother, who read it and looked at
her. Her face was white and set.
''Shali some of us go over and tell
him not to go?" she asked
mo, ma I'd rather you wouldn't"
left the room.
Lindy was pale and quiet all day. In
the evening she put her baby to sleep
and went ont into the yard. 1t was
warm evening in the middle of May.
The moon was shining, although it was
scarcely dusk. She wandered out into
the orchard and on beyond, where she
could look across the fields toward her
own little home. She would like to
see it again just as it was when she
was so happy. Her father and mother
were going down the next day after the
things, and it would never be the same
again.
~ b'leve I'll go on over the hill and
see If l can see it," and she hurried on.
81 would like to go in and see if things
Is jest as | left 'em. l low Sans got
everything all upside down sence left. :"
She could catch faint outline now of
the house. She felt an awful home
sick, lonely feeling. Il must see it
once agin," she said to herself, and the
tears rolled down her face. "Oh, do
wish Sam was there, it looks so black
an lonesome" On she went, every lit
tie thing about the place growing
palmer and palmer in the moonlight
She came to the well-curb and leaned
against it. "Oh, if / jest could go in
an find everything like it used to be"
she sobbed. ''If Sam only was there
wouldn't care If old Win Potts was
there, too, if Sam was only there. An
Sans gone-gone clean otf-an' may be
I'll never see him again" She walked
slowly on, sobbing every breath, to the
kitchen door,. She reached out, opened
it, and stepped in. As she stood in the
doorway, the moonlight falling on her
drew her full form out in shining con-
trast to the dark room.
| Good God, Lindy, is that you?'
"Saml" she screamed, and in another
instant was close in his arms. "Oh.
Sam. SAM" she sobbed, don't 60 way.
I've been sech a fool, but don't go way.
I love you SO, Sam, but got SO jellus
of Win. Oh, don't 60 Sam she said
holding tight to him.
why, Lindy, girl, I'm not goin';
uothin' could make me leave you. |
knowed you'd come back. Lindy. l
couldn't go It'll Id seen the place agin,
an | jest come over tonight to say
good-by to it, an now you've come
back"
"Oh, Sam, was SO jellus of Win, l
jest hated her, an old Mis- Trover told
me things about you-said you he'd
your arm round her, an her head was
layin' agin your shoulder as you were
goin' to town, an jest got so mad l