Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1898-12-08

this sun or hOrea 8, anu IL q Inc same
with Morgan. But you-well. there
woman you love far away from this
wilderness. For Gods sale, seize your
happiness, sell out and go to her :
az WON'T said Donald quietly
"I've task to accomplish.
"Other than the averaging of profit
Of s shillings and tuppence on bag of
60 Kilograms"
"Other than that. / am content with
these medium profits. / came here not
only to conquer or at least disarm for
tune, but to conquer myself. I'll stay
the time intended. y
They rode ON silently. An old negroes
with child on her hip stopped in the
middle of the road, her palm outstretch-
ed, and, following curious custom,
cried in Spanish:
"Bless mer
"God bless you'll r. said Armitage. and
she went ON.
A cart drawn by goats and filed with
firewood passed them. Black vultnres
as motionless as if fashioned in basalt
looked down from the stump of dead
tree as they neared the fazenda.
Close by the details of the place were
even more unlovely than the misty
whole seen from the hilltop. Cattle
grazed loose under the charge of an aged
negro squatting in the sun and slum-
bering with his almost fleshless face
against his knee. The gates through
which the two men passed were, like
everything else about the place, con-
structed to do what was required of
them with the least possible exertion,
and having been swung back as if I'M
der protest when the horses were pushed
against them they returned only half
way with screech eloquent Of rusty
hinges and stuck fast in tuft of weeds.
A large family of cats too attenuated to
frolic strolled languidly around the
paved square or sat winking their half
blind eyes in the glare. From some of
the white laborers' cottages came the
smell of pork and frying bread. Over it
all the sun famed hard.
Donald and Armitage alighted at the
factory, and from this came the low
grooming, the murmur Of mixed song,
heard wherever the negro works
"I'm dead for siesta. My clothes
seem weighted with stones, said Armi.
tage, yawning. Il was up before the
sun this morning-long before it. So
were you,'' he broke off suddenly,
land, by George, you look dead beat.
You'd better go little easier. Do as
do, Sefain. After your coffee lie down.
| SST,,,, f0 - cnil nono1l let
lessly.
Eyes, but sleep. Don't lie and think
Why don't you go now and let Tomas
fetch your coffee at once! It's almost B. :"
after see Seraphine and find out
what that rascal of an agent at the rail
way had to say in answer to my com.
plant. Must we keep trusting his hon
esty in weighing the sacks? I'd as soon
trust the devil .
''Ah, what can we do? That's the
leakage through which our profits drip
But because time and exertion are as
valuable as money in this enervating
plague spot we must trust as we 60 and
be cheated from the moment we leave
the sacks at the station to the moment
they are shipped in Rio. Don't let me
think Of it. The helplessness of it drives
me f1,.A.lc It's too hot to object even
to being fleeced," and Armitage swung
across to Morgan's house. where he
knew pork and plantains were waiting
for him.
Half an hour later Donald, with
hands in trousers pockets and hat tilted
lazily over eyes that seemed asleep,
went down the stone square to the end
farthest from the factory and paused
before a small house exactly like the
others save that it stood apart, a palm
within few feet throwing top heavy
shadow across it's white facade.
! Home-that SILENT shaded little
house of four small rooms where no ia
miliar face ever welcomed him and no
voice but his own or his servants vi.
brated on the sleepy air. AS Donald
looked upon it now the quiet place
seemed to feel the dissatisfaction rising
from his tormented heart and to meet it
with almost servile protest.
He had done what he could to make
the house habitable. twas even pref
ty house when compared with the bare
hideousness with which Armitage and
Morgan were content. The laced bam
boo flaps on the windows made the place
swim in gloom as restful after the sun
light as the feeling of a cool hand on
the brow. There was mating on the
floor, hammock swung in a corner,
some sketches of his own were upon the
walls, some books on the mantelshelf.
Chief among the books were Anne's and
just above them hung small, unfram-
ed pastel he had made, showing her face
[CoNTTNUED.j
A funny scene occurred many years