The age-herald., 1897-09-05
CHAPTER II.

For the next few days the course of events ran smoothly on the surface. Dick Bufford, with loquaeious urbanity, soon made himself a general fayorite. At the stillhouse a knot of admirers usually gathered round him at leisure hours, while many of his offhand say ings became as current conversational coin to be Tipped from tongue to tongue, accompanied by slow horseplay of bu- collie wit and laughter.
 Bic Teeters, the proprietor of the stillhouse, s lowed that Dick Bufford had more sense in tho holler side of his noddle than all tho. balance of Uncle Sam's gaugers rolled inter one. He's p'intedly got sense enuff ter let whisky alone. Just dram now and then, noth- i'll more. and bar'ls of hit a-settin round. Oh, he's master manl'
 The fact that man could be gauger and not a drunkard presented to MT. Teeters' imagination the juxtaposition of qualities humanly recognizable only on the score of superlative abilities Jim Check was so carried away by Dicks transcendant oleverness that
  gested boarding with him during tho brief time his official duties rendered his stay imperative our honest black smith assented at once.
 Don't ye bring him here, p said. Darthuly to her husband that night when he announced that Bufford would bring his traps up ''termorrer.
 Jim gazed at his wife in mild eyed astonishment and noticed that she look ed pale and worried.
 ''Thar now, Darthuly, ye do look pes- tered, but hit won't be for more nor a week. Moneys money these yer hard times, and I'll help ye when I can git outen the shop"
 Don't ye bring him here," she said pleadingly, placing her hands on his shoulders and looking earnestly at him. He totally failed to comprehend the na- ture of her disapproval and said mildly
 Hits already agreed on. can t very we'll back down now. But don't see why ye should be so postered about hit, Darthuly."
 She withdrew her hands, and her great, dark eyes blazed petulantly as she replied:
 Elf that thar feller comes here, Jim Cheek, and anything wrong comes of hit -'member, I've warned ye."
 She withdrew abruptly to the kitchen, leaving Jim to look after her regretful- ly, as he scratched his head and &C., knowledged to himself that "wolnen were powerful cur'ous. A man can't jest never tell which side of the fence they re a-goin ter lean ag'in.'
 Bufford soon made himself quite as much at home there as he had elsewhere. Darthuly avoided him, seldom speaking to him except when necessary-a state of things which he ignored by treating her with systematic difference and po- likeness. This became grateful to her, in it's very contrast to the ,boorish absence of courtesy prevalent among the moun- taineers. Even Jim, with the kindest of hearts, had few of the minor urbani- ties of manner that so smooth social in- tercourse under unfavorable circum- stances. He was loving and true, yet he never handed her chair or offered to get water or deferred gracefully to her varied whim as Bufford constantly did, regardless of her cold Indifference or studied ignoring of his civilities.
 "Why, Darthuly," said Jim one day, when they two were alone, "I reely can't see what ye mean by snubbin the gauger so, like yer allays a-doin. ,"
 Her only reply was to raise to his, her wonderful eyes, their clear depths trou- bled by sadness now habitual to them. As he looked, slight blush appeared on her cheek and she withdrew her gaze, but said nothing. Indeed she moved, ,das she herself felt, like one in dream, dreading to awake, yet palsied by the helplessness that was upon her. egH
 Dick petted the spoiled baby, allowing 1t to pull his hair and slobber over him with jovial placidity that caused Mrs. Cheek to eye him furtively when she was not observed. He said no more to her of their mysterious past, and she felt grateful for his forbearance. Yet one morning, while Jim was clinking away at the shop, as he sat playing with the child, he looked up suddenly md detected her watching him intently.
 "Ah. Meg, Meg" he said in new and tender tone, ito think of you with n babv like fhis rc.s away yyith ne"--
 'Not that name herer' cried she, covering as though his words had been blows. T canncs enduro it. Let it be dead forever.''
 In her earnestness sine dropped her mountain dialect even while mindful of the danger attached to the, mention of