Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1897-11-19
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home. He was always signing for his
home, and at times this longing pos
sessed him so completely that he SEEM
ed on the point of abandoning his pros
poets Of becoming a rich man.
Meredith had been in Ill health, but
ten years residence In the west had
made q new man Of him. Success 1t
last had come our way. aid he sudden
II announced that he was going home
for his Thanksgiving dinner. He was
! quiet, queer fellow, any way you put
It; lately, however, he had seemed
wonderfully alert. The arrival OF the
weekly mail found him In a state Of
great expectation, and after de had
read his letters he would sit quietly
all evening looking very happy and
smiling as he read them over again.
He always was a non-committal chap,
but this time there was no mistaking
the signs, SO I suspected his homesick-
ness, and judged his case, as one Is
apt to do, by the light Of my own. No
wonder, poor fellow, that he wanted to
wipe out the 1900 miles which alone
stood between him and that Thanks
giving turkey! For my own part, can
swear that no power as yet known to
man could keep me back from Jim Nc
Kenzie's Thanksgiving dinner, for
Mary was to be there-Mary whom all
these years had remembered and lbv-
ed 80 well. had never forgotten her
beautiful deep, dark eyes, which SEEM
ed to search ones soul with that pene-
trating look one sees sometimes in
baby's eyes.
There was but little out here in. the
mountains to relieve the tedium Of our
long evenings, SO Jim McKenzie's week
" visits were always heralded with
10y. We made merry over his coming,
and our carefully prepared dinner we
regarded as feast. We talked 1t over
In the morning, and when evening came
we began to plan for next weeks COM
ing. No wonder Mckenzie was always
welcome. His mind was stored with
the thrilling adventures Of early days
in the mountains. We never tired OF
listening to the story Of his own good
luck; how, way down near the stream
on the side of the mountain, his quick
eve had detected the bits of shining
gold; how, day by day and all alone,
he followed up the little thread Of gold
until he had discovered the secret Of the
mountains heart, the generous yield
Of ore which had made him the rich
est man in Golden Point" With touch
ing pathos he would tell us Of the brave
hearted men no less worthy than him
self who had come out here to meet
only bitter disappointment and blasted
hopes. At rare intervals he would
speak to us Of his own early trials, of
his dead wife, to whose loving care
and gentle sympathy he confidently and
proudly attributed his entire success
and all that was good in him. Then.
too, he always brought us news Of his
daughter Mary. At first her letters were
only outpourings Of her homesick. low
ing heart; she was born to live In the
mountains, and declared she must have
the freedom of the mountain bird. After
q while her letters breathed more
eontented spirit. In an incredibly short
time the mountain bird had ceased to
futter against the bars Of her cage.
Her quick and receptive mind soon
yielded to the guidance Of those about
her, and with the full force of an ar
dent nature she pursued the work of
her education. 5.
Thus from week to week we listened
with delight to the welcome budget
Jim would bring. Sometimes Marys
letters were only Of her life at school,
her books, her new friends-and my
heart would sink-for then she seemed
20 far, 30 very far away! Again, she
would write of herself, of the love she
bore her father and her home, With an
occasional very occasional message
for Harry, at which. OF courae. my
heart would beat with Joy, and would
cough or light my pipe, do anything 70
hide the tell-tale light ! knew wAe n
my eyes. During the last year she had
written most OF her transforming; and