Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1897-10-29
Now, as it turned out. shiftless RUFF

Oeiissls' uHu at tIle very beginning Suc
gave him IL little encouragement. Not
much, to be sure, but enough to reform
him completely. He was naturally
mighty bashful when he called at the
big house, all fixed up in clothes he
wasn't used to, and Kitty at first pre-
tended she didn't understand that he
had come to see her.
I'll call my father" she said. per
haps you want to talk about cutting
some cordwood."
NO." said Rufe, directly. 81 want to
know if l can't keep company with
you?"
The girl was startled by his failure to
beat about the bush, but she answered
quite as directly:
Certainly not. You're too lazy to be
allowed to keep company with any
one" Then an idea flashed through her
mind. But If you'll cut cordwood a
whole year every day but Sunday and
holidays you may come and see me
just once. Here father and you'd
better make arrangements to cut for
him on shares"
10 kitty's surprise Shiftless Rufc
stood his ground, and when her father
came in started Mt once to discuss the
proposed arrangement.
WAL, Mist Sylvester said Rufe,
grasping the old mans hand. II amt
never been, no great hand for work,
but 1 must have Il chance to keep COM
p'ny with Kitty, and she says 1 may
Il p0Inn OnI COO 1,n. oftn,, i've ol,D,,,.l
cordwood IL year. 1t won't he no fun,
but 1 must have Kitty, and If 1 got to
work to git her, why, then l have, and
that's all there is about it,"
Sylvester was at first inclined to be
angry ut Kitty for trifling with Rufe,
but concluded to humor the situation,
and, bidding Kitty leave the room, told
the young man he was ready to make
Il bargain with him.
you can cut cordwood off the estate
on shares. Rufe, of course, if you want
to, and I'll set aside some trees right
near your fathers sllanty oil the other
side of the flats. But you want to
take Off them fine boots and them doe
skin pants, and that there brOadcloth
coat, and YOU don't want to put them
on again till you've worked hard Il
whole year. You're too shiftless to be
allowed to think a single minute about
Kitty now. and l suppose you always
will be, but"
You needn't say no more. Mist Syl-
vester." put in Shiftless Hube. But
can't | see Kitty again just long
enough to say good-night:'
"ies," said the old man, and I'll
tell her We've made the bargain she
suggested"
Then he called Kitty into the room.
AS she entered she noticed for the first
time that Rufe, dressed up, wasn't at
all bad looking, and that he seemed
twice the man he had been before. She
kept perfect silence till her father had
finished. Then she reached out and
took Rufe's big, soft paw in her own
small hand-a hand that was calloused
ness.
"Mr. Dunning," she said, 81 hope
you'll keep your bargain faithfully, as
shall keep mine. After you have
worked hard for IL year YOU may come
and see me-once. Whether you may
come again or not will depend on your
self. Good evening, Mr.. Dunning."
Nobody had ever called Sliftlcss
Rufe Mr.. Dunning before and the title
scared him far more than the notion of
working every day for twelve long
months. From the time he left the big
house that night he was ii. to drop the
title "shiftless.'' Next morning, as
soon as it was light, the sharp ring of
his ak vas heard across the valley, bit
ing out tie chips as he chopped down
the first tree of his year long stent.
Long before noon that day his big
pulpy hands were blistercd and swol-
len, and by shutdown they were a sight
to behold. That night his mother
cried over them and urged him to stop
thinking about the proud, stucll-up
girl on the other side of the valley.
''The idear!" muttered the old wOm-
an between whiffs at her clay pipe,
while she dressed Shiftless Rufe's
hand. DO you think Kitty Sylvester
will look ut you just because you've
been fool enough to work n whole
year? Why, it's pufiickly ridiklis. 1
allus knew you was a little light in the
head, Rufe, but l didn't think you'd
make n fool of yourself for no con-
ceited Sylvester girl"
To this and much more of the same
sort, both from his father and mother,
Shiftless Rufe made no reply, but
while yet the next morning was gray
the sound of his busy AK was again
waited across the valley, and this con-
tinued to the going down of the sun.
And so it went on, day after day, all the
fall and through the winter. No mat
ter how deep the snow, OF how stormy
the weather, Rufe toilcd on u~nceasing-
ly. When the days We're shortest, in
the middle of the winter, he sometimes
began before daybreak and worked
after dark, splitting the Lengths" he
had chopped from the fclled trees into
"four-foot wood" by the light of a tai
low dip stuck into n tin lantern of the
pattern SO common when the Corners
was new, but To- rarely seen.
Before spring folks got to going by