Abilene weekly reflector., 1897-11-25

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.~uenrer. the husband and father
known as Cling Towson. was away of
somewhere in a government prison
serving out life sentence for killing
a deputy marshal who had come to de-
stroy bis moopliEht distillery. The
neighbors voted that as no one wa.
ever known to survive a life sentence
in Yankee prison. Mrs. Towson might
as well enter at once her season oi
widowhood; and so, whenever anyone
would ask: "Does the Widow Towsor
live here?" she would answer: "Yes.
The log house Of the Towsons was sci
at the head Of a 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 a sigh.
THAT'S hard enough. And, besides,
you can't weave"
"But I can try"
Eyes, 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.
/ "Yes," the girl replied, II know"
"Then you know what I want you to
do"
! "Yes."
"Then why don't you do it?"
Because I can't"
The woman frowned. "But you can
see me kill myself at work"
Il am compelled to see it, but il
grieves me nearly to DEATH"
"1f it did, you would seek remedy
and one is at hand. What have done
for you? l have stolen the time to give
you all the education l had-we have
hidden our books in the woods, because
your father thought they were fool
ish-"
II know all that, mother
But you don't think of it."
"Yes, do, when you are asleep. But
to save my life l can't marry that man."
The woman turned from her loom.
" 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.
tions in your head. married for love,
Ella, and what did'it mean? A life of
drudgery. And that is what love mar
riage generally amounts 10 for a wom-
an. You will at least promise me to
think over it."
"Yes, | will promise that"
The girl went 10 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
liked old Lige Coster. He was the loud
est man that had ever ridden through
the neghborhood II was his business
to ride about, buying steers. He looked
like 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 steer, Once he had fight with a
man and did not use his hands at all.
He kicked like a steer. But he made
money. he had house painted green.
with sunfowers 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 Gre
dence eevenamongwomen who knew that
his first wife had almost killed herself
with hard labor. As the neighbors ex-
pressed 1t. 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 1t was fact. stronger fact than