Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1901-06-21
A ROMANCE OF
THE FOREST.
Tho Story Of n Long WooinG
With an Abrupt Ter
minntiOn.
BY G. H. GU r.
10 10000 oooo ooCo o0oo oco



Dark the halls and cold the feast,
Gone the bridcmads Gono the priest.
The o'clock train on the Duluth,
South Shore and Atlantic railroad
takes you away from the beautiful
town Of Marquette. on Lake Superior,
climbs slowly up to the iron hills,
passes through Negaunec. Ishpeming,
Michigammc. rival cities Of the North
ern Peninsular," and, bowling along at
20 miles M hour, brings you ut noon to
Sidnaw, whence short branch road
extends to Ontonagon, and. IL you have
to change cars, may heaven help you
In your sorry plight. for you must wait
hours In n drcary place.
Two hundred feet from the track ut
Sidnaw station IL n good sized frame
building, with hotel sign over the
door and tin beer sign on either side
of 1t. You get your dinner here, and
after dinner you may sit on the hotel
veranda and view the entire town and
all OF its inhabitants.
The town site comprises about half a
~ A~p hNANH u MOuih ut Nltiitu Ill OtutE
parts of the country tract Of cleared
land. The hotel before alluded to ia
set back against the woods on one side
OF the tract, while the business portion
of the plnce-flve saloons, n store and
q board walk-skirts the other edge.
The railroad track passes through the
center. There IL no street. There are
| n
scattered blades OF brown dry grass
standing detinntly In pepper and salt
cOlored soil of muck and sand.
The main feature of Sidnaw IL ST.
lcnce-the awful silence OF the great
surrounding fOrcst-but II is broken at
intervals by dognght or an explo-
sion of oaths from the saloon district,
where red shirted, SLOUGH hated woods
men from the lumber camps play cards.
Just visible within the darkened door
ways.
A line of freight cars stands on the
truck by the station, and now and then
an engine that has been sizzling and
kissing all by itself among the trees
comes out and bumps these cars about
III Butt VI way IOT "a ItW
moments and then goes into retirement
again.
You spend four hours In the c0ntem.
plation of this scene; then that fool en-
ginc backs a lot of the freight cars and
al old passenger coach down to the
station. and you get aboard and go TO
OntOnag0n. the terminus Of the road,
and 1t takes you two hours to go-just
half as long as 1t took to change cars"
| had changed cars at Sidnaw once
and was on my way thither again,
depressed and low spirited at the pros
pect before me, when, all suddenly,
was invited to attend n wedding while
l waited, and once more the world look
ed rosy
The prospective bride occupied the
seat behind me in the car. had not
noticed her particularly until she bent
forward. and, touching mo on tho arm,
she asked II | could inform her at
what time our train was due In Sid
nav Then turned and bebeld n lady
of some 40 summers. wearing flowcry
gown Of white and green, with black
lace mitts, and having beside her one
OF those big black 90 cent travelling
bngs that circulate so freely In the
west
The ready politcness with which ]
answered her question encouraged her
to nsk more. and eventually found II
necessary TO sit sidcwise that might
more conveniently keep up my end Of
the conversation. which shifted from
one topic TO another with wonderful
rnpidity and finally merged into ro-
nance OF which she was the heroine
and to the completion OF which | was
cordially asked to lend my presence.
TITS ~ years" she said. "since this
Mr. Prince left Knukauny and came up
here into the lumber camps. Him and
me wns young folks then and KEEP
company together n spell. but when no
asked me to marry him l said. NO.
wouldn't marry nobody Then he
went away and never heard Of him
till three years ngo he wrote and said
sOmcbOdy'd told him | was single and
he was wnitin for me; wouldn't never
marry another woman. no said. nohow.
and he hoped I'd TAKE him into consid-
Grafton again.
"'Phnt letter made me feel kind OF
quecr--to think he'd been so faithful
all these years. never believed he
set 80 much store by me ns all that
WINS n good mind TO write him favor
able letter right then and there, but
when II come right TO the point
couldn't make up my mind to do II, so
/ Just wrote him wanted year more
TO think about II.
"Well, | never heard word from
him no more than's II he was dead TIL
the year wns up. Then he wrote again
and said he was still waitn.
IL put him of till Christmas, then till
spring. and 80 it's been a-goin up to
two weeks ago. when II come over me
ali 10 once that | wasn't treatin the
man right. He'd been dreadful long
suffcrD and patient and deserved his
reward, and | set down and wrote
him I'd have him.
"He wanted to come down TO Kau-
kauny after me, but 1 wouldn't have 1t.
I told him 10 save his money, and I'd
come up. SO we fixed 1t that way, and
today the weddin comes OF, and
want you 10 be there Mr.. Princes
got minister from Ontonngon, and
he's Invited few Of his friends to wilt
ness the ceremony, and I guess It'll be
n pleasant, socIable little gatherln.
Anyhow, It'll be- better than waitin for
the train, with nothln TO do"
I agreed with the lady and eagerly
accepted her Invitation. had curl
osity to behold this faithful old lover
who had waited ~ years, waited with
infinite patience until tbs girl he loved