Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1898-06-16
A DESERTER'S
RETURN.

q HE stood in the doorway of the
shack and watched him trailing
~ down the road after the horses in
a cloud of dust. When he had passed
over the rise and the jingle of harness
came no longer TO her ears she sat down
upon the doorstep with a troubled sigh.
The shanty. almost the one brown spot
in the tumhiing wilderness of grass.
was small and dingy and redolent OF
the tar paper that covered its sides.
From its one tile chimney there fnltcred
a thin column of smoke that struggled
weakly for a moment and then sank
TO the ground, bringing in its midst Il
shower of SCOT that touched here and
there with grimy fingers over the
white-curta ined window ran 4 vine,
twining about the decaying sash in a
luXuriant profusion of foliage, heavy
with buddcd promise. One spr!g, bold
or than the rest stretched its length of
tender green across to the door. and
hung far down. swinging in the wind
and holding out its curling tendrls,
like tiny fingers. in wisttul greeting to
the woman below. \ row of lusty sun
flowers ran from the house to the
straw-thatched barn. holding up their
rotund faces for kiss from the sun
and forgetting entirely the timd devo-
ton of the morning glories that wound
about their sturdy limbs and climbed
high up to offer to their unbend!ng mas
ters a taste of morning dew from their
horns Of scarlet and gold. \ hen. fussy
with the responsibilities of an over
lc"ge family, basked in the warm earth
and clucked unheeded warnings to her
downy brood.
The woman took off her hat and laid
II beside her. The breeze fresh with
The smell Of ripening wheat. blew onto
her cheek and fingered to coax stray
r!nglet into her eyes \ gray squirrel
that had run from his burrow to snatch
few crumbs paused to note her dis
consulate attitude and perked his head
in inquistive wonder. \ little way
fro mthe house the railroad crossed the
farm in a long stretch of yellow clay.
Sometimes Annette lad sat on the ties
and looked longingly into the gllmmcr-
ing distance from whence she had come
and wished that she could go back. and
then grew afraid of herself that she
could make such a wish. She remem-
bered now, how, from the flying train
she had looked out upon a cluster of
buildings huddled close together for
warmth, it seemed. and casually Won
uered how person could live In such
place, and afterwards when she
found it was to be her home and Jacks,
she felt with sudden sinking of the
heart how dreary her life must become.
Even then, strong with the fervor of
love, she had somehow realized the
hopelessness of the undertaking, and
now that the roseate flush of the hon
eymoon had faded she sat up with
dull pain In her head and a wave of
homesickn ass rolled over her.
Annette was, in truth. child Of civ
ilization. She loved the noise and bus
tie of the city, the rattle of trucks, the
rumble Of cabs, the changing of cable
car gOngs, the purr of the trolley; she
loved the cries of the street. the hurry
of footsteps, the shr!eking of locomo-
tlves. the sounding of whistles; and this
morning she thir>tcd with heart sick
eagerness for the SIGHT Of home. the
crowded thorou-AfarsS, the brightly
green patches Of lawn, the smooth
stretches Of boulevard. the notified
shadow Of the sun shining through the
leaves, the glare Of night illumination
on shiny wet Invements. She longed