The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-10-03
CHAPTER XVIII.

Kenyon's luck, as he said to himself,
had turned. The second year was even
more prosperous than the first, and
the third as successful as the second.
lie had steady market for his mineral,
and, besides, he had the great advantage
IF knowing the rogues to avoid Some
new swindles, he had encountered dur
ing his first years experience, hal
taught him lessons that he profited by
in the second and third He liked his
home in the wilderness, and he liked the.
rough people among whom he found
himself. =
Notwithstanding his remuneration of
London, however. there would, now and
then, come yearning for the big city,
and he promised himself trip there at
the end Of the third year, Wentworth
had been threatening, month after
month, to. come out and see him, but
something had always interfered.
Taking it all in all, John liked it bet
ter in winter than in tile summer, in
spite of the extreme cold. The cold
was steady, and could be depend
4 ed upon;" moreover, it was health
full and invigorating. In summer John
never became accustomed to the raw
ages Of the black fly, the mosquito and
other insect pests of that season. His
first interview with the black fly left
hls face in such condition that he was
glad he lived in wilderness!
At the beginning of the second win
tel John treated himself to luxury.
he bought natty little French Cana
dian horse that was very quick and ac-
customed to the ice. because the ice of
the river formed the highway by which,
he reached Burntpine from the mine.
TO supplement the horse, he also got
u comfortable little cutter, ard with
this turnout he made his frequent jour
neys between the mine and Burntpinc
with comfort and speed. wrapped
snugly in buffalo robes.
If London often reverted to his mind,
there was another subject that OBJ
truded itself even more frequently. His
increased prosperity had something to
do with this. He saw that, il he was
to have third of the receipts of the
mine, he was not to remain poor man
for very long, and this fact gave him a
certain courage which had been lacking
l.efore. He wondered If she remen-
bered him. Wentworth had said very
little about her in his letters, and KEN
yon. in spite of the confession he had
made when his case seemed hopeless,
was 10th to write and ask his friend any
thing about her, 4
One day, on a clear, sharp, frosty
winter morning, Kenyon had his little
pony harnessed for his weekly journey
to Burntpipe. After the rougher part
Of the journey between the mine aud
the river had been left behind and the
pony got down to her work on the ice,
with the two white banks of snow on
either. side of the smooth track. John
gave himself up to thinking about the
subject which now SO often engrossed
his mind. Wrapped closely in his furs,
with the cutter skimming along the ice,
these thoughts found a pleasant accom-
paniment in the silvery tink!e of TIE
bells which jingled around his horses
neck. AS a general thing he met no
one on the icy road from the mine to the
village. Sometimes there was a pre-
cession Of sleighs bearing supplies fer
his own mine and those beyond, and
when this procession was seen, Ken
yop had to look out for some place by
the side of the track where he could
pull up his horse and cutter and allow
the teams to pass. The snow on ench
side of the cutting was so deep that
these bays were shoveled out here and
there to permit teams to get past each
other. He had gone half way to the
village when he saw ahead OF MIN