Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-04-13

to her feet. She took step forward-but
limped.
IF you don't want my arm, let me call
a Chinaman," he suggested
She glared at him eff You do I'll
scream,' she said in a low voice. and he
knew she would. But at the same moment
her face whitened, at which he slipped his
arm under hers in deNterous. business
like way, so as TO support her weight.
Then her hat got askew. and down came
long braid over his shoulder: he rcmem-
bered it of old-only it was two or three
feet longer and darker than then. IF you
could manage to limp far the gate
and sit down on the bank, Ia get your
horse for you," he said. II hitched it to a
Sappling''
81 saw you did-before You even offered
to help me, she said scornfully.
couldn't"
If you only knew how hated you" she
said with a white face-but trembling lip
Il don't see how that would make things
face: it's scratched and muddy and you've
been rubbing your nose In my strawberry
bed
She snatched his profered handkerchief
suddenly. applied it to her face and said
Il suppose it looks dreadful"
Like pigs he returned cheerfully.
She walked little more firmly after this
the sh bans sns H fer seated ss
tang. That beautiful brute. astounded and
sore from its contactzDesA the top rail and
brambles. was cowed ma subdued as he
led 1t back.
She had finished wiping her face and was
hurriedly disentangling two singing tears
from her long iashes before she threw
back his handkerchief. Her sprained ankle
obllged him to lift her into the saddle and
adjust her little shoes in the stirrup Her re-
membered when IT was still smaller. "You
used to ride astride,' he said, flood of
recollection coming over him, and it's
much safer with your temper and that
brute
And YOU" she said In a lower voice
used to be But the rest of her SEN
tence was lost in the switch Of the whiD
and the jump of her horse. but he thought
the word was kinder"
Perhaps this was why. after he watched
her canter away, he went back to the gar
zen, ana from the bruised and trampled
strawberry bed gathered a small basket
OF the finest fruit, covered them with
leaves, added paper with the highly in
senlous wltticism Picked up with YOU"
and sent them to her by one of the China
men Her forcible entry moved LII Sing, his
foreman, also chief laundryman TO the set
tlement, to "reminiscences:
Me heap knew Missy Wells and ole man.
VINO go dead. Ole man allie time make chin
music to missy. Alice time jaw, jaw-allee
time make lows alice time cuttee nm
missy! Plenty time lockee up missy topside
mouse; no can walkee-no can talkee-no
nap got-how can get must washee
washee, alice samee, Chinaman. Ole man
go dead-Missy all lightee now Plenty
run. Plenty stay in Blowns big house. top
slde hill; Blown first chop man" Had he
inquired he might have found this pagan
LeStimony, for once, corroborated by the
Christian neighbors
But another incident drove all this from
MS mind. The little stream-the life-blood
OF MS Sarden-ran dry. Inquiry showed
that 1t had been diverted two miles away
INTO Browns ditch. Wells Indignant pro-
test elected a formal reply from Brown
s,atlng that he owned the adjacent mining
raj irIs
rights to water took precedence of the az
ricultural claim-but Offering by way of
compensation, to purchase the land thus
mace mace useless and sterile. Jackson sud
deniy recalled the prophecy of the gloomy
parkeeper. The end had come. But what
could the schemfng capitalist want with
the land-equally useless, as his uncle had
proved, Tor mining purposes? Could 1t be
sheer 1nal1gnlty, melted by his yengeful
cousin? But here he paused, rejecting the
IDEA as quickly as 1t come No his mart
ners were right. He was trespasser on
~ ms cousins heritage-there was no luck in
line was wrong, and this was his pun
ishment! Instead of yielding gracefully as
ne might he must back down now and she
would never know his first real feelings
Even now he would make over the prom
cry TO her as free gift, but his partners
had advanced him money from their scantv
means to plant and work it He believed
that an appeal to their feelings would per
suade them to forego even that. but he
shrank even more from confessinp bts a.
feat to them than to her. N
ne mao little heart in his labors that day
ana dismissed the Chinaman early. He
claim on the top of the slope, bnt was sats
lSned that 1t had been hopeless enter
prise and wisely abandoned 1t was sum
set when he stood under the buckeyes,
gloomily looking at the glow fade ont of
the west as it had out of his boyish homes
He had grown to like the place. 1t was the
hour, too, when the few flowers he had Gull
uvated gave back their pleasant odors as If
grateful for his care. And then he heard
his name called.
1t was his cousin standing a few yards
from him in evident hesitation She was
quite pale and for moment he thought
she was still suffering from her fall until
he saw in her nervous half-embarrassed
manner that 1t had no physical cause Her
old audacity and anger seemed gone vet
there was queer determination in her
pretty brows.
Good evening" he said.
She did not return his greeting but pull
ing uneasily at her glove said hesitatingly
Uncle has asked you to sell him this
land?"
Yes
"Well-dont!" she burst our abruptly. He
stared at her
oh. I'm not trying to keep you here"
she went on, flashing back into her old tenn
per, so you needn't stare like that. / say
don't because it amt right-it amt fair"
Why-hes left me no alternative" he
said.
That's just it-thats why it's mean and
low. / don't care if he is our uncle"
Jackson was bewildered and shocked.
Il know it's horrid to say it," she said.
with white face. but it's horrider to keep
it in! Oh. Jack! when we were little-and
used to fight and QUARREL never was
mean-was 1? l never was underhanded-
was 1? l never lied-did /? And l can't
lie now. Jack" she looked hurriedly
around her, "he wants to get hold of the
land-he thinks there's gold in the slope
and bank by the stream. He says Dad
was fool to have located his claim so high
up. Jack, did you ever prospect the bank?'
A dawning of intelligence came upon
Jackson. No" he said. but he added,
bitterly. whats the use? He owns the
water now-I couldn't work it."
But, Jack-if you found the color, this
would be a mining claim! You could claim
the water highland as it's your land your
claim would be first,'
Jackson was startled. Yes. II found
the color"
"You would find it."
'Would?"
Eyes, 1 did, on the sly. yesterday morn
ing on your slope by the stream, when no
one was up. 1 washed a painful and got
that" She took a piece of tissue paper
from her pocket, opened it and shook into
her little palm three tiny pin points of
gold.