Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1901-05-07

they never will.
Never will! What do you mean?"
Just what / say, my boy; and I'm
much afeared it will make the old grudge
between the Mulveils and the Camerons
worse than ever"
Il don't see why they shouldn't return
when they haven't found u.s."
Dead men don't come back"
Dead menu?
That's what l said You don't know
anything of what has been going on, do
you? OF course not. There was moth
ing in the world, and nothing was going
on, but you and Hetty. Well, I'll tell
you something that may shake that no
ton. The ice in the river broke up last
night. l suppose you know that much?"
mo. How should |? l crossed on it
yesterday"
Yes. l came over to-day on the horse
ferryboat that is running again. On the
way over, one of the men working on
the boat told me about two-horse sleigh
and two men breaking through the ice
yesterday. From his description of the
team and the men, l believe that was the
last of Sim Mulveil and Rufe GOldie."
IF so, I'm sorry for them, but | don't
see how | am responsible for their fate,
as you seem to think, by the way you
look at me-"
IF you hadn't run off with Hetty Null
veil, it wouldn't have happened"
"Oh, if it comes to that, I'd run Hetty
off and marry her if the Monongahela
river were plugged with Mulveils on ac-
count of it,
marry her eventually, yes. That's all
right enough. But so long as that ire
vOcable step has not been taken already,
if you will be advised by me, John, you
will postpone it a little while, until this
thing sort of blows over, and it will not
be so likely to cause bitterness of feel
ing, as it would now"
why, Uncle Davy, I'm not to blame
for what has happened to those two
chaps-if it really was they who We're
drowned. | didn't invite them to follow
me-"
That's all very true, John; but you
know what the Mulyeils are. They feel,
but they don't reason. When a man mar
ries, it behoOyes him to do all in his pow
er for peaceful life, for the sake of his
family if not for his own comfort. Just
think what a time Hetty would have of
it if all her breed were to be pecking and
clawing at her every time your back was
turned
but, say, maybe the chaps who were
drowned were not Sim and Rufe, after
ALL"
I'VE can settle that soon enough. The
man on the ferrybOat said that one of
them had been dragged out of the eddy
below the Point and taken to Munger's
iron sheds-Wherever that may be-for
the coroner to sit on him. The thing for
US to do is to go and see if I'm right in
suspicioning what do. The coroner may
sit on it or it may sit on the coroner, for
all | care"
"AII right. Come along! Does Mary
Elder know about what you've told me?"
mot u word, as yet"
BY the time the two men found Mum
gers sheds, the coroner had arrived, inn
paneled jury and commenced the in
quest The body was stretched out on
a board, supported by couple of tres
ties. Its face was of CHASTITY, blush
white tint; its clothing saturated, disar-
ranged and spongy looking. The board
was so narrow that to keep both feet on
it, the legs had been jauntily crossed
and tied in place with a bit of rope. The
arms hung down, with the knuckles lying
in the mud on each side, and the thumbs
pressed tightly into the palms of the
hands. The eyes were half open and the
jaw dropped.
There were no seats for e jury, so
they stood about that extemporized bier
and, though wrapped in their great coats
shvered. The wet corpse seemed TO diff
fuse a chill, and the air was certainly
made colder by the presence of many
tons of round, square and fiat iron bars,
standing on end in great piles all around
the walls. All the light in the place
came from the big square door, against
which the misty, whitish-browr day
seemed to lean sullenly.
One witness told the story of how he
pulled the body, with boat hook, out
of the eddy. Another recognized the body
as that of one of the two travellers who
had scOrned his advice and consequently
drowned within his sight. The third
witness. Uncle David Henderson, told
whose the body was. 1t was Rufus Col
dies. He knew him well and was posi-
tive in the Identification. One of the
jurymen asked him if he knew anything
of the circumstances leading to the
drowning, especially if the man Goldie
was intoxicated. He replied:
Il have not seen him before to-day for
a month. believe; did not know he was
coming into town; and his drowning oc-
Cured yesterday, as l am told, while
did not arrive until this afternoon"
The Canny Scot had told exact truth,
but at the same time adhered to his res
olution that Johns love affair should not
be mixed up with the death of a Mulveil
any sooner than was unavoidable. As
| for the inquiring juryman, he innocently
! supposed that his question had been an
/ swered. John did not feel called upon
/ to say anything.
! On the way back to the inn Uncle Da-
| vid continued to urge upon John even
| more strongly than before the imperative
necessity for pOstponing the marriage,
| but the young man was in no humor to
| be convinced.
Just wait until the row blows over -
| pleaded the giant. and then come back
/ ana marry right there. l don't like the
! idea of Cameron running away TO get
married. anyhow"
The difficulties in the way will always
be the same. You've no idea how bitter
the old woman is against me. Why, she
/ has even threatened 10 Scald me-.
What Of it? The hotter woman
| flares up. the sooner her fire is burned
/ out. The louder and harder she cackleS.
the sooaer she Will get tired and be quiet.
/ I'll pledge you my word, John, that if
you'll wait now and only come back when
send for you. you shall have Hetty then
and marry her in public, even if fifty
Camer0nS with their rifles have 10 stand
around you-and I'll engage TO keep the
old woman of with an umbrella myself.
a bird in the hand is worth two in
The BUSH
But when the tragic end of the pur-
suers was told TO the girls at the inn
Uncle David found an ally in Mary Ell
der.
IF you 80 back married now she said
10 Hetty, 1.-THE very success Of your run
ming away viii sting those who doa't
like John. and all the Mulveils will blame
yeu and him for what has happened 4
Z - y ~,