Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1901-02-23
CHATTER IY.-IContinued.l

Danny get tired and come away. leaving
you two together? or all the men i'll
the world. 1t must be John Cameron you
20 out in the woods to meet. ! should
think you might have more pride about
you-and YOU Mulvcil. You know very
well there never yet was any love lost
between the Mulveils and the Camerons,
even among our forbears In the old coun-
try. The CamcronS. indeed. "A stuck
up lot. who think themselves better than
anybody else, because they have clan;
while, rs is well known among wise
men, the first Mulvei was king-and
an Irish king: and Id like to have any
body show me Cameron that ever was
king. wonder If you've forgot how
John Cameron's father got the best Of
yours in that lawsuit, when we had to
pay one hundred dollars for our bull jab.
bling his horn into old Camcron's mare;
and It never did seem sense nor reason
nor justice nor godlincss to me that we
should be held responsible for the natural
dispositions of the dumb BEASTS
Don't cook fish till you catch them.
MOTHER answered IIctty. placidly.
you've been swallowing some Of Dan.
ny's yarns. / should think by this time
you'd know better than to believe any.
thing that boy says, except that hes
hungry on don't want to wash himself
wasn't it true that you and John
Cameron had a mectn' up on the Back
bone to-day? Wasn't he waiting there
for you To come alongT
'Jlc was waiting, certainly, but hardly
as Il matter of choice. think. or for me-"
replied the girl, with n little laugh.
And then she went on to narratc the
facts of Jacks mishaps and her share In
his rescue. without remembering, how
ever, anything about the shooting, all
traces of which she had, on her way
home. taken care to hide from casual OBJ
servation. While she was telling the
story, her mother and Mary Elder kept
up running commentary of cxclama
tons:
Laws sakcs.'
Did you evcr.'
"If that don't beat nll.'
Danny, being hungry, had better use
for his mouth than talking with II, but by
the knowing grins and lccrs with which
he favored Ilctty, he sorely tempted her
to box his ears.
The girls vivid recital of John Cam
eron's peril quite won her mothers sym
pathetic interest, for Mrs. Mulvcil was
ut heart a kind, wcll.mcaning woman,
wishing Ill TO none, even to II Cameron,
SO long as the old faction grudgc did not
happen to be stirred up. But the story
hal kccncr interest for Mary Elder,
who. being clcnr-sightcd girl, saw what
the widow did not perceive, or even sus.
pcct.
Soon after supper, Danny--in his Gus.
tomary state of rebellion and angry dis
gust with the familiar assurance that ii
would be hard enough to get him up in
the morning, even II he went now, was
driven off to his bed in the loft
Then the three women abandoned
themselves to the ccstatic delight Of an
untrammclcd conversational rcvcl over
the subject Of dress. Mary Elder was 4
skillful drcssmakcr, who made, or, ut
least, cut and fitted, the best gowns Of
half the wcll.to-do women IN that part
of the country. The whole year round
she was In demand, and sure of cnthusi
astic welcome ut any one of fifty farm
houses. All the latest fashions known
In Pittsburg she could be depended upon
FOR supplying, and she was Il treasure.
house of knowledge concerning all the
new things the most stylish women IN
the county had or contemplated having.
And she was prudent withnl. Every
wardrobe or individual garment reported
by her was presented In its best light. A
thing turned" or made over" to look
like new, from her point of view. was
new. She betrayed no secrets. IL was
not necessary that she should do so To
make her news Interesting or establish
her position rs an authority.
At length, Mrs. Mulyeil, having yawn'
ed until her jaws cracked, declared she
could sit up no longer and went of Ia
bed. uetty covered the big fire IN the
crate by piling upon 1t II large quantity
of the finely broken coal called slack"
which melts into Il crust during the night
and ut the first touch of the matulinal
early poker bursts into Il mass of roaring
llane. Then she and Mary sat down to.
gcther before the fireplace. in the half.
light east from between the lower bars
OF the crate, and, with their arms about
each other, talked in low tones.
You told me something you did not
tell your mother dear" said Mary. draw.
ing her younger friend close to her.
"Why, no! How SOP WHAT"
THAT you were in love with John
Cameron"
"Why, Mary! How you do TALK.
"Oh, don't try to deny il to me, dear
I'm enough older than you to read IN,
signs. You can't help telling your Low,
or letting 1t tell itself Your voice would
make it known IL you were only talking
about the weather; and IL you ARE silent
your happy eyes will laugh II ont TO tn,
world; and IL you shut them tight, III,
flame in your cheeks will tell the story
as it does now
"That is only the red frclight."
God grant the fire that light comes
from may never die down in ashes"
"Oh, Mary. How you say thatT'
II have reason to- for ] know better
than you do yet what love is; how happ,
or how wretchcd one may he made by il.
Hctty shuddcrcd, and for few min
utcs both were silent, looking Mt the fire
one seeing in it the past, the other thu
future.
On the surface of the melting mass %
rich bitumnOus coal near the front
where 1t was thinncst piled and mos
readily acted upon by the fierce heat be
ncath-glossy, jci-black gas bubbles form
ed continuously, slowly swelling large
and larger each in its turn suddenl.
bursting into bright but generally onl.
momentary blaze. Sometimes the ilam
would catch the gas rising in slende
columns of dark smoke from where tn
"slack" lay thickcst. aud for an instan