River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1901-06-13
George tried to steady his gaze.

and pitched heavily forward. The
boss, with a sharp oath, caught him
as he fell, and George, as in dream,
heard him cry: What's this!" And
then all was darkness.
When he slowly struggled back in
to the sunlight again he was lying on
his back with his arms stretched
across the white coverlet of a bed
He was in a low, whitewashed room
and the suns rays were coming in
through the thin curtains of little
window. A bright-eyed young fellow
in his shirt sleeves came to the bed
side and bent over him.
HALO" he softly said, with a
pleasant fash of white teeth.
HALO" responded George Cra-
shaw, family. Am 1 ill?"
There was another fash of the
white teeth.
Reckon you are" laughed their
owner. swamp fever an six weeks
of it."
Georges eyes wandered about the
clean little room, and then slowly re-
turned to the clean young fellow.
"Who has taken care of me?" he
feebly asked.
"The boys" was the answer; Buck
Ransom an tn boys. All of 'em Jim
Tolliver's friends. I'm tn nurse-Pony
Buffers my name"
Thank you" said George Crashaw,
YEARLY
The young fellow put cup to his
lips. He slipped a little and dozed
away.
He walked, and dozed, and walked
again for many hours, and slowly,
very slowly, came back from the
realm of shadows. Buck Ran
som and the boys dropped in to
see him from time to time, but for
the most part they sat in a distant
corner of + e room and whispered to-
gether and lurtively watched the sick
man, and shook their heads omi-
nously.
As his mind grew little clearer
George lived again the events of the
past three years; his college life, the
call to arms, the swamp of Santiago,
the rice fields of Luzon. He thought
of the home he had left, the fortune
he had turned his back upon. The
girl-where was she? Happily mar
ried, no doubt. Did she ever think of
the man whose life she had spoiled?
Why should she? There was twinge
of pain through his breast.
Pony" he called, did talk much
in the feyer?"
"Well, yes" Pony slowly admitted;
"I'm inclined to say you did. Names
an places-but mostly Names"
One day they got him up and dressed
him. and on soft June morning they
took him down the stairs and placed
him in an invalid perambulator-they
had sent across the mountains for it
and Buck Ransom himself pushed the
vehicle up and down the long stretch
of sidewalk, the rest of the boys look
ing on in poorly-veiled admiration.
But George, notwithstanding the
chair and all the other rude but low
ing attentions lavished upon him,
seemed to remain at convalescent
standstill. This worried his good
friends, and they put their heads to-
gether frequently in endeavors to dis
cover the cause of his retarded recov-
cry. They would have sent him over
the mountains to the Wagstaf sani-
tarium, for the "air and attendance"
but it was pointed out with a COM
mendable display of local pride, that
the air of Wagstaff was no better than
the air of Tanlville, and as for the
attendance" why, surely, in point of
numbers the attendance at Tankville
was much superior to that at Wag-
staff.
And then one evening Pony But
Ter had an inspiration, and con-
veyed it to Buck Ransom, and
Buck, after conveying it to the
boys, laboriously wrote let
ter and mailed it and waited for an
answer. 1t came promptly, and Buck
wrote another letter, and this time
the answer was telegram. And Buck
smiled when he read it.
Then one bright morning Buck told
OcOTR6 ludt Ut WIS ~ prepare lOT
little journey. The committee had
decided to try the effects of a change
of air. So Pony Butler packed his
simple belongings, and the invalid
chair with George aboard was started
for the railway station with Buck as
engineer and Pony alongside, and the
committee in full force trailing in the
rear. They hadn't long to wait. 1t
seemed but moment or two and then
with roar the heavy train rushed
upon the little station.
There was private car attached to
the train, and from its platform a
woman quickly stepped. She looked
eagerly at the group about the invalid
chair, and then Buck Ransom waved
the committee back. The woman came
forward, her eyes shining, her hands
outstretched.
"George!" she said.
The man in the chair stared at her
and tried to rise.
'Laura!" he gasped.
She caught his hands. She stopped
above him.