The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-12-07
~-N~~-%%~~%-%
And the Lies
He old.
-A-ANrN- 80 $1,000

w
We had been talking about the gen
orally humdrum lives led 10y nine men
out Of ten, and the sad eyed man who
had hitherto kept silent said as he set
tied back into his chair and put his
feet on the rail of the hotel piazza:
prom my birth to the present time
l have had but one thing happen to me
that was in the smallest degree unu-
sual, and that related to my marriage.
which was a little out of the ordinary"
He spoke with a sleepy drawl that
plqucd curiosity, and | asked him to
tell us what happened if it wouldn't in
terfcre with his nap.
He smiled and yawncd and said:
81 was born and brought up in Lara
mic, Wy. and so was Arabclla. Mra-
bella is my wife. | had known hSall
her life and had always loved her, and
she had done the same by me. and the
course of our affections ran as smooth
as molten metal. In 1889 | decided to
marry her, and the day was set for
April -, and we invited all our friends
and looked forward to a happy but
commonplace wedding.
"JuSt one week before the ceremony
l was called up to North Dakota on Il
business matter which | did not think
would dctain me more than three or
four days
"Arahella did little weeping on my
shoulder, womanlikc, and said, What
if you never come back But | said:
Now, you know perfectly well that
always have been as regular as clock
work. It's only a few hundred miles
away and I'll be back and well be
married exactly at i o'clock on April
%, and it will be the least exciting and
yet happiest wedding that ever took
/ place
Il went up to North Dakota, and the
last ten miles of my journey | had to
make on foot While | was walking
i along it began to snow, and inside Of
! an hour a blizzard was raging, and
/ had to put in for shelter at the house of
a lone stranger named Smithson who
( kindly gave me supper and told me
that it would be suicidal for me to go
/ any farther; that a Dakota blizzard.
/ the last one of the season, but perhaps
i the worst, was upon us.
"'Whcn can | returnT said l. He
/ told me that if the blizzard was n real
/ energetic one it would be two weeks
! before | saw home and mamma. You
may imagine my feelings. Hundreds of
miles from Arabella with less than Il
4 week intervening before our marriage,
j and no way of getting word to her. OF
! course she would think me faithless.
/ 81 told the stranger my troubles and
he sympathized with me, but said that
no human being could live out in that
i storm, and when | looked out of the
window | believed him. 1t was terrific.
+ l had been in the New York blizzard of
1855 ana it was sutry summers day
to this one.
"Thcre was nothing to do but to grin
and bear it. Maybe it would stop soon
er than my friend thought. He might
be an alarmist, but it grew worse. and
by next morning it seemed to be only
just beginning to get in its fine work.
The mercury went so low that I'd hest
tate to say just what the thermometer
recorded for fear of being considered
an eXaggerator. The snow fell mt the
rate Of Il foot an hour on the level. The
house was soon covered UP, and we
would have smothcred in time if my
friend had not happened to have Il tin
ventilator that ran 80 feet up in the air
for Just such occasions.
Not to make a long story. it was five
days before the snow stopped, and then
we were showed in to the depth of 80
feet. And we were down to our last
loaf of bread. But the thing that wor-
ried me most was the fact that it was
my wedding day. | sat in the pitch
darkness, for our oil had given out,
wondering what Arabela would DO
when | didn't turn up. Suddenly we
heard a voice coming down the venti-
lator. Smithson CROPPED his way to it.