Omaha daily bee., 1897-05-30

then we'll light out from this hole and have
a gay time elsewhere. Come along"
He took the boys gloved right hand in his
own powerful grasp, and together they
clambered up the steep hillside to a rocky
ledge on which fallen pine from above
had crashed, snapped itself in twain, and
then left it's withered crown to hang half
down the slope, while the other half rested
on the ledge. On this they sat- looking
down upon the road and the tethered horse
A gentle breeze moved the treetops above
their heads; and the westering sun played
hide and seek with the shifting shadows.
The boys face was quick and alert with all
that moved around him, but without thought;
the fathers face was heavy, except for the
eyes that were fixed upon his son.
Ivan Loo came to the mission" he said
suddenly.
TIE boys eyes glittered quickly, like a
steel that pierced the fathers heart. "Oh,
he said, simply, then the padre told you?"
"How did he know you were here?' asked
Steptoe.
"I don't know" said the boy quickly. 81
think he said something, but I've forgotten
it. 1t was mighty good of him to come, for
thought, you know, that he did not care to
see me after Heavy Tree, and that he'd
gone back on us."
"What did he tell you?' continued Step
toe. Ibid he talk of me or your mother?F
NO" said the boy but without any show
Of interest or sympathy, 1--WE talked mostly
about old times"
Tell me about those old times, Eddy.
You never told me anything about them"
The boy, momentarily arrested more by
something in the tone OF his fathers voice
"a weakness he had never noticed before
than by any suggestion of his words, said
with laugh, "Oh, only about what We used
to do when / was very little and used to
call myself his little brother don't you re-
member, long before the big strike on Heavy
Tree They were gay times we had then"
"And how he used to teach you to imi-
tate other peoples handwriting?" said Stels
toe.
what made you think of that, Pop?"
! said the boy, with a slight wonder in his
eyes. why, that's the very thing We did
talk about"
"But you didn't do it again; you amt done
it SINCE" said Steptoe. quickly.
Lord! no." said the boy contemptuously
There amt no chance now, and there
wouldn't be any fun in It, 1t isn't like the
old times when him and me were all alone,
and we used to write letters as coming from
other people to all the boys round Heavy
Tree and the Bar. and sometimes as far as
| Boomville, to get them to do things, and
they'd think the letters were real and they'd
do 'em. And there'd be the biggest kind of
row, and nobody ever knew who did it,"
Steptoe stared at this flesh OF his own
flesh half In relief, half in frightened ad-
miration Sitting astride the log, his ell
bows on his knees and his gloved hands
supporting his round cheeks, the boys hand
| some face became illuminated with an imp
ish deviltry which the father had never
4 seen before. With dancing eyes he went
on: 1t was one of those very games We
played so long ago that he wanted to see
me about and wanted me to keep mum about
| for some OF the folks that he played it on
| were around here now. 1t was a game We
got off on one OF the big strike partners
| long before the strike. I'll tell you, dad
| for you know what happened afterward, and
you'll be glad. Well. that partner, Demor-
est. was kind OF silly, you remember, a
sort of Miss Nancyish fellow, always gloomy
and lovesick after his girl In the States
Well. we'd written lots OF letters to girls
from their chaps before, and got lots OF
fun out OF II. but We had even better show
for a game here for 1t happened that Van
Loo knew all about the girl-things that
even the mans own partner didn't, for Van
Loos mother was a sort of friend OF the
girls family, and Travelled about with her
and knew that the girl was spoony over
this Demorest, and that they correspondent
So, knowing that Van Leo was employed
at Heavy Tree, che wrote to him to find
out all about DemOrest and how to stop
this foolish nonsense, for the girls parents
didn't want her to marry a broken-down
miner like him. So We thought we'd do IL
our own way and write letter to her as II
from him, don't you see? / wanted to make
him call her awful names and say that he
hated her. that he had killed a policeman.
and that he was thinking OF becoming
Digger Indian and OF having a Digger squaw
for a wife. which he liked better than her.
Lord. dad you ought to have seen what stun
/ made upl" The boy burst into a shrill.
half-feminine laugh. and Steptoe, catching
the infection, laughed loudly in his own
coarse. brutal way.
For some moments they sat there looking
IN each others faces, shaking with sympa-
thetic emotion, the father forgetting the
purpose OF his coming there, his rage over
Van Loo's visit, and even the rendezvous to
which his horse In the road below was wait
Ing 70 bring him. the son forgetting their
retreat from Heavy Tree Hill and his shame