The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1897-07-01

cradle, too. ~
wal, JOSH" sed he after awhile,
without lookin' up, an speakin' in
onnat'ral sort O. voice, cts all overw
WHAT" seq I guessin' what he
meant; has Sally refused yeh?''
"Wuss" seq he, tryin' to force back
a groan.
What could be wusser'n that, si?"
I asked.
"she told me-" sed he, jest above a
Whisper, that she is goin' to marry
Zeb Ward next month. I didn't put
the question to her-it's we'll didn't.
She invited me to the weddin'. It
nigh killed me, Joshv'
wal, cOnsarn the -" began, as
mad as fury at what seemed her flirt-
in ways, but ST raised his hand an
stopped me.
"Don't-not a word agin her JOSH"
he sed, f1arin' up. Remember, I love
her."
1t want in me to hurt his feelin's,
AMI asked, consid'ably cooled down:
Does she know yer feelin's, Si?"
He shook his head 81 didn't tell
her-1 couldn't. She jest looked on me
as friend. reckon. She must never
know, Josh. 1t might Spite her hap
plness,' he sed; an then neither of us
could find anything to say for a long
time; jest stood thare, a-lookin' at the
stars way off 'mongst the flynn clouds
an tryin' ter swaller a big lump that
kept risin' in our throats. Somehow
ST never had seemed quite so near and
dear to me as he did in them silent mo-
ments O. mutual misery. I edged up
closer to him an he to me an our
hands got together in a tight, warm
grasp that sed more than all the words
we could hev spoken in a lifetime.
1t must hev been mighty nigh mid
night afore we left the barnyard gate,
although we hadn't sed more'n a dozen
words. We jest stood there a-holdin'
onto each others hands an tryin' to
think, but always losin' our reckonin'
in the heavy clouds O. sorrow that
hung ever us.
Don't take it too much ter heart,
ST. Try ter be brave-try ter m:aks.
the best of it!'' I sed to him as we
parted. He didn't answer me. He
tried to, but all of a suddint he gave
my hand powerful wrench and hur-
ried away with a pitiful look o. an
guish on his white face.
l didn't see quite so much o. ST after
that as afore. Every two or three
days, though, he'd come to the house,
~,
looked paler an thinner an more de-
spairin' every time we met We didn't
often speak O. his sorrow, but we'd sit
sometimes fer hours a-holdin' hands
an lookin' in each others faces an I'M
derstandin each others feelin's bet
ter, I reckon, than if we'd tried ter
put our thots inter words. One day,
after we'd been sittin' in this fashion
fer quite spell, ST kinder reused him.
self up an sed:
Sally an Zeb are ter be married ter
morrow
''Yes," sed I. wonderin' why he'd
spoke of it,
"Goin', I s'pose?" he added.
II reckon So" sed I.
AAen We IL ~ IOSeIuer, sea ne, an
look O. sharpest sufferin' came in
his pale face, which hurt me more'n I
know how ter tell.
"D'ye think it's best, Si?" 1 asked,
as gentle as I could.
EYES," he answered, heavin' sigh.
"she might think it queer if I staid
away; besides, I'd like to wish her an
Zeb happy life"
l didn't say any more. It would hev
done no good, an maybe 'twould hev
hurt him if argued against his goin';
so the next day me an ST went to the
little meetin' house together, jest as
! we, had done in our boyhood days,
when we used ter go to Sunday school,
| though we never waz so silent an sad
an thortful in them days. We sat in
| the same pew too, WHARF we used ter
| sit years an years ago, an I thort as
| I looked now an then at Sis thin,
white face an droopin' figger that I'd
never seenhim look quite so miserable
an hopeless like as he did that day.
Wal, after the cer'mony waz over
| ST was one O. the first ter push his way
| through the crowd SOS to reach the
| bride and groom an offer his good
wishes. There waz, noticed, a queer,
| onnat'ral sort of look in his sunken
| eyes an a feverish flush on his hag-
gard face, an when we at last started
| fer home poor ST waz so trembly an
onnerved that he had ter take my arm
| to keep on his legs.
II hope they'll be happy, JOSH" he
sed several times as we wer' walkin'
slowly along, an once he sed, very low
an in a kinder choked voice: II hope
she'll be loved as we'll by zeb as she
| is by me-" That waz about all the
talkin' that waz done till we parted
at his gate. Then I sed:
Come over an see me Tomorrow,
ST.
Fl reckon" sed he, after holdin' my
| hand quite spell, you'd better come
an see me, Josh. I don't seem ter be
| ~ lot =,