The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1897-11-25

lion. From time to time she reached
back into a corner and drew forth
sticks of brushwood to feed the fire.
The night was warm, the door was
| open, but the fire was needed to throw
| light upon the loom, the candles were
so dull. The woman was known as
the Widow Towson; the girl was her
daughter. The husband and father,
known as Cling Towson, was away off
| somewhere in a government prison,
serving out life sentence for killing
| deputy marshal who had come to de-
stroy his moonlight distillery. The
neighbors voted that as no one was
ever known to survive life sentence
in Yankee prison, Mrs. Towson might
as well enter at once her season of
widowhood; and so, whenever anyone
would ask: "Does the Widow Towson
live here?" she would answer: Eyes"
The log house Of the Towsons was set
at the head of rock-ribbed, an oak
studded and vine-laced ravine. The
county road that led over the mountain
was not far away, and many time
in the dark nights before the final down
fall came the girl had often listened in
her bed to hear the enemy's horse beat
ing upon the hard "pike" and had
looked up to see her father sitting near
the door with his gun lying across his
knees.
'"Let me weave now, mother" said
the girl. "You are worn out"
"You attend to the fire." the woman
replied, looking round with sigh.
l'Tbat's hard enough. And. besides,
you can't weave" .-..
'".But cartry." ~
""Yes, and while you are trying the
work will be going to waste. If you
would only do as beg of YOU"
An appealing look from the girl
checked her. you know what mean"
she said. "# .' &
J, 'Yes," the girl replied, .'''I know"
Then you know what want you to
do'' s.2sl II =
; Eyes" .,'.s s..
''Then why don't you do it2" :,
Because I can't" s.s7 -.
The woman frowped. "But4you can
see me kill myself at work.
Il am compelled TO see it, but it.
grieves me nearly to death"
''If it did, you would seek a remedy,
and one is at hand. What have done
for you? ] have stolen tire time to give
you all the education had-we have
hidden our books in the woods, because
your father thought they were fool
ish-"
Il know all that, mother"
But you don't think of it."
'Yes, do, when you are asleep. But
to save my life can't marry that man"
The woman turned from her loom.
81 suppose you are going to be foolish
enough to say that you don't love him.
81 don't love him.
''Ah, thought SO But you could re-
spect him. ..,
81 might, but couldn't respect my
SELF
"Your father must have been right.
Our books were silly, to put such no.
tons in your head. l married for love,
Ella, and what did it mean? A life of
drudgery. And that is what love mar
riage generally amounts to for wom-
an. You will at least promise me to
think over it,
Eyes, l will promise that"
The girl went to bed and she kept her
promise to think over it. The mother
was soon asleep, and the girl could hear
her sigh in her troubled dreams. But
the more she thought the more she dis
~ No %ho 1rr,I.
est man that had ever ridden, through
the neighborhood. 1t was his business
to ride about, buying steers. He looked
like a red steer. His red hair Che, was
bald except on the sides Of his head)
stuck up like the horns of steer. He
had laugh that sounded like the low
of a. steer. Once he. had a fight with
man and did not use his hands at all.
He kicked like steer. But he made
money, he had house painted green,
with sunflowers in the yard, but with
steers lowing in the back lot. He had
said that his wife would not have to
work, and this statement found ere
dence even among W omen who knew that
his first wife had almost killed herself
with hard labor. As the neighbors ex-
pressed it, he had made dead set at
Ella. He had laughed, or lowed, when
she had kindly told him to go his way.
He said that he would but that he
would come back again; and he did,
not only once, but many times. He had
thought that Sam Mayfeld, the wag-
gish school-teacher, stood in his way.
And It was a fact, q stronger fact than
he supposed, but Mayfeld could
promise her nothing better than life
Of hard work.
| EARLY the next morning the teacher
stopped at the Towson house on his
way to school. The girl met him at the
fence. Looking back she caught sight
Of her mothers angry face.
'"The postmaster says that you are
writing letters to the government"
said the girl. ''What are you doing that
for?"