The Opelousas courier., 1897-05-29

Es@..s;3Its5l glanced in tn
direction indicate
!, by q nod of his head, and I saw
silvery-haired old man with a stou
walking cane pass slowly by on tn
sidewalk.
1 was an utter stranger in the vii
lage, but q month of enforced idlenes
was ahead of me, and I determined Il
become friendly with the old man
This did not prove harl to do, for he
was genial, and I have always had &
liking for elderly people. Short and
stout, ruddy of face, with perfectly
white hair and whiskers, ana blue
eyes quick to light up with laughter.
he was very good to look at. In talk
ing, he had q trick Of occasionally re
peating the last words OF a sentence, a
habit amusing to strangers, but rather
pleasing than otherwise on closer &C.
quaintance.
When I had put myself onAa fairly
good footing with him, syme two
weeks after our introduction, I found
him one afternoon in an easy chair on
his front piazza. Sitting do " on the
steps, / leaned against a post and econ
led him to talk about his young days.
"Well," he said, Il will tell you the
story straight, for I see you have had
several second hand nibbles at it al.
ready.
"When | was q young blood. like
Yourself, I lived on a large plantation
IL Georgia, my father being one Of
tbs richest planters in his State. On
the same road that our house faced,
with about two miles OF field and
woodland between, was another extern.
give farm. This was owned by the
drantlands, a family who were our
bitter enemies. though we had once been
on the frlendliest terms-yes, friend
lest terms. The oldest son of that
house had killed the Oldest son of nv
fathers house; that caused the en-.
nifty, bitter to the core. The young
men had been bosom friends; one
wouldn't go 'possnm hunting unless
the other went. I remember the
morning when my brothers body was
brought home. l was about sixteen
then, and be twenty.three. My father
stood by the corpse and swore eternal
hatred of the whole Grantland family.
and the rest of US partook of bis
."'Why, You married a Grantland.
you, Mr.. Dearing,' / asked,
Not so fast, young man, not so
You are like one OF these cleo.
;rlc machines; didn't have such in nv
lay. f,
ITO go back to my story. OF course I
lone OF the Grantlands came to the I
uneral, and the young fellow who had |
lone the killing had skipped the coun- /
~. 1t was a fine thing for him that '
10 got away, and his family took good 9
are that he did not come back-good
are, l tell you. They held their heads 4
high as we did, for none of them n
elieyed the killing had been inten. f
Ionai. We took u membership away p
rom their church, going five miles t.
1rther to another. They would not Il
ct their mail from the same Office b
here We got ours, but sent fourteen c.
'lies to another Office, and neither
'mily would attend m entertainment fe
! the neighborhood where the other 81
Imily might be met. "
All this went on, and at last d.
,und myself twenty-five years old. al
hen something happened that was "
re gall to my taste-like gall. It
~ Grantland had a daughter who he
as about eighteen years of age at that fiji
me. . girl named Henrietta. Living gi
near together, of course there we're stl
when members of the two fa-pi. in
q were obliged. to see each other-,ho
q II seemed to me that ! was faeeyer NJ
elng Henrietta Grantland. 5Woula SIX:
50 her, face to face, both of us on nu
rseback, run across her at a picnic tn,
lere l did not dream she'd be, and to
'et her in town at the home OF some
ltual friend. Pretty soon / fonnd no
,self watching out for her, looking oW
her on the sly, wondering what It eve
9 ~ the set of her head that was so me
ing, Rhyit was that her hair seemed Gu.
catch and hold the CLINT of the sun. &c
ne-and all the like of that. Won me
DIV. Tn
1T made me angry eyery time / tru
nd myself Watching her, for I hated fish
J, you see-hated the whole Grant my
q generation. Despite all, however. Ora
re was something about the girl pin
: compelled me to look her way and Gle
alnk about her. ! just fairly des- the
u myself for it, felt worse than q to
than a traitor. And tho.
he began to lotice me; said he but
q see I vas troubled. in t
II was one night when he and I .
together on the front piazza. he ate
ENG, that he asked me about it. the
always were companionable, and and
y made 9 clean breast OF it; told dres
wanted to go away, that it seemed pois
ae | could not turn around bnt ness
Henrietta Grantland was coming learl
g iase with me, welding q power mine
me q little short of torture. nor
'ather pitched his ffsshly-iIehted nor
into the flower yard and snrane out /
his chair. not I
uoea abe Try 10 attract yo7-does hate
WI ihe asssd szeltealy, "
a.