River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1895-09-26
FARMER ELPS VACATION.
by ALICE BROWN.

UDu seem dS II We q really got
round to il, does it, father?" asked
Mrs Pike.
The west was paling. and the August
insects stirred the air with their Groom
4ng chirp. Eli and his wife sat TO-
gether on the washing bench outside
the back door, waiting for the milk 10
cool before IL should be strained. She
was a large, comfortable woman, with
an ualined face. and smooth, fine au-
burn hair; he was spare and somewhat
bent, with curly irOn-gray locks, grow
ing thin. and crows feet about his deep
set gray eyes He had been smoking
the pipe Of twilight cOntentment. but
now he took il ont and laid il on the
bench beside him.
NO; it don't seem as IL twas gOin'
TO happen" he owned. 1T looked
pretty dark to me all last week. It's
good deal of an undertaken, come 10
think il all over. dunuc's I care
about goin'"
"Why, father. After you've thought
about it so many years, an Sereno's
got the tents strapped up. an all. You
must be crazy
well" said the farmer. gently, as
he arose and went to carry the milk
pals into the pantry. calling cOaXing
", as he did 50. Kitty. kitty. You
had your milk. Don't You joggle. now
Mrs Pike came ponderously to her
feet, and followed. with heavy, swav-
Ing motion Of one grown leshy and
rheumatic. She was not in the least
concerned about Els change of mood.
He was a gentle soul. and she had al
ways been able 70 guide him in paths
of he own choosing. Moreover, the
present undertaking was one iIvolv-
ing his own good fortune, AMI she
meant 10 tolerate no foolish sccuples
which might interfere with its result
For Eli, though he had wed all his
life within easy driving distance of the
ocean. mad never seen il, and ever
since his boyhood he had cherished one
darling plan some day he would go
10 the shore and camp out there for a
week This, in his starved imagina-
tion. was like "A dream of the AcrOpolis
10 an artist stricken blind, OF as noun
tain outlines To- the dweller in a lone
" plain. But the wears had fitted
past, and the dream never seemed
nearer completion There was always
planting, having and harvesting to be
considered; and though he was fairly
prosperous excursions were foreign To
his simple habit of life. But at last
his wife had stepped into the van and
organized an expedition with all the
valor OF a Francis Drake.
NOW, don't say one word, father"
she had said. We're goin' down To
the beach. Serene. an Hattie. an YOU
an ne, an were goin' To camp out"
For days before the date of the ex-
cursion Eli had been solemn and trem-
ulous. as with joy; but now. on the
eve Of the great event, he shrank back
from il, with an underlined notion that
Il was like death. and that he was not
prepared Next morning. however,
when they all rose and took their early
breakfast. preparatory u starting at
five, he showed no sign of indecision,
and even went about his outdoor tasks
with an aiacrity calculated, as his wife
apprOvingly remarked. To 'for'ard the
wye" lie had at last begun to see
his way clear. and he looked well sat
isfed when his daughter Hattie and
Serene, her husband. drove into the
yard in a wagon cheerfnlly suggestive
of a wandering life The tents and a
small hair trunk We're stored in the
back. and the huree's pail swung be-
low.
swell. father" called Hattie. her
rosy face like a flower under the large
shadehat She had trimmed for the &C.
casion. guess we're goin' To have a
good day"
He nodded from the window, where
he was patiently holding his head high
and und .rgoing strangulatiOn. while
his wife. breathing huskiiy with haste
and Importance, put ON his stock.
A. length the two teams were ready.
and Iii mounted To his place. where he
looked very slender = side his tower
ing mate. The nired man stood lean
ing on the pump. chewing a bit of
straw. and the eats rubbed against his
legs. with tails like banners.
well. good-by. Luke" Mrs. Pike
called over her shoulder; and Eli gave
the man 4 solemn nod. gathered up the
reins and drove out of the yard Just
outside Of the gate he pulled up
Whoa" he called. and Luke
1ounged forward Don't you forgit
them cats, Cit up, Dollr' And this
time they were gone.
For the first ten miles OF the way.
familiar in being the road to market,
Eli was placidly cheerful. The sense
that he was going 10 do some strange
deed. to step into an unknown country
dropped away from him. and he chat
ted, IN his intermittent, serious fash
ion, Of the crops and the lay of the
land.
pretty bad job up along here. Amt
10, father" called Serene. as they
passed sterile pasture where two
ploddiug men and woke of oxen were
redeeming the soil from its rocky
letters
There's a good deal o pastur'. in
some places. that amt Mt for nothin
but to hold the world together re
turned Xii; and then ne was silent, his
eyes fixed ON Dolls eloquent ears, his
mouth working little
We've proSpered. amt we, Maria?'
he said, at last: and his wife, uncon-
sciously following his thoughts. in the
manner of those who have lived long
together, strolSed her black silk
.visite," and answered, with a we'll
satisfied nod:
4 guess we amt got no cause to
complain"
The roadside was parched under an
August sun; tansy was dust-covered.
and ferns had grown ragged and gray.
The Jogging horses left behind their
lazy feet suffOcating cloud
My landr' cried Mrs Pike, IF that
ain't golden-rOd, l do b'lieve it comes
earlier every year. or else he seasons
are changin See them elderberrieS,
Amt they purple. You jest remember
that bush, an when We go back. We'll
nil some pals. | dunno when I've
made elderberry vine"
Like her husband, she was vaguely
excited; She began TO feel as if life
would be all holidays. At noon they
stopped under the shadow of an elm
tree which. from its foOthold in field.
completely arched the road; and there
they ate lunch of pie and doughnuts.
whJe the horses, freed from their
headstalls. placidly munched a gen
erous feed Of oats near by.
AT the lunch Eli ate sparingly. and
with preOcupied and solemn look.
Land. father exclaimed his wife
ns,-o,s afusf eat No u1nrasu a bfr.4Fsf