Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1902-04-03

cove, an yen never see nary bit
more of neither Of EN-"
THAT letter said. fer Sally Ann let
Polly read 1t, that Bud had htared that
Sally Ann wuz bein' ptst,red by sew
eral other fellers, but ,hai he Huzn't
scared about them a-srarkin' her; he
I knowed that when be 90 ne 10 fetch
her away, that would Co.. TIE etnd OF
their sparkin', when sht read the let
ter my woman said ~ how Sally Ann
he'd tied a red ribbon round her neck,
an he'd put on her Sunday clothes, she
wuz that set up over the news"
"You Iie!" said the pale-skinned
young man, as he mounted his horse.
81 hey that letter in my pocket right
now a takin' 1t TO her; hit hain't never
been opened yit; yer woman's never
laid eyes on It., an all that rot which
we've been ta.kin' Is lies, an ye know
1t. Hyar's the letter, and you-uns kin
see fer yerse'yes that hit hain't been
broke open nary bit. Good evenin',
square, | reckon yen be a-tellin' the
rest Of what yer woman read. but /
hain't got time 10 listen"
With this parting shot the young
man rode of at trot, leaving the little
group TO receive the squire's further
information as they chose. Jim Far
ner was indeed In love with Sally Ann,
and the constancy which She had
shown in her feelings for her old ,oyer
Ind haau 81 J.
to him. "llit seems like she mout a.
TUX up with me after he went away
from the cove. Ef he didn't think the
mountains wuz good enough fer him,
why does he come along an take or
one Of our gals2 She'll die ef she hev
TO leave, an he he'd ort TO know it.; she
can't stand bein' away from this set
tlement."
Now Jim could see the light of her
mothers cabin far up on the mountain,
and he turned into the trail which
would soon lead him 10 the side of
Sally Ann. His heart beat faster as he
approached the dwelling. This would
be, perhaps, his last visit. Afterwards
he Planned to go into the far west, any
where, he thought, to escape the mem
ory Of his blighted hopes.
The door was open, and after stop
ping a moment to speak to the dog,
who had recognized him, he crossed
the narrow porch. His steps were ar
rested, however, 0s he saw the Widow
Lnrkin bending over the bed, tanning
Sally Ann, whose face seemed very pale
to him, as he stood there In the shadow
watching. The widow looked up, and,
smiling family, came OUTSIDE, shutting
the door after her. "She's asleep"
whats the matter, Martha? !
hedn't heared that she wuz sick abed."
"She hain't been on her feet fer these
two weeks. Ye ricollcct she wuz right
puny when ye wuz hyar the last time.
Two or three days after that she TUX
To her bed, an she amt eat skascly
anything since. Hits the kinsump-
tion, Use afeared; an then too shes
that crazy over Bud that hit makes IL
all the wusssr. At times / think that
his fergittin her has brung II ON soon
W. 'hN N'H fAEhNAAh nun W hlllNf
an outil she TUX to her bed. she never
failed a-goin' down fer that letter
which never come. Thar, she's woke |
up, an reckin she'll be glad to see ye,
on'y shes that weak she can't talk long |
at a stretch. Here's Jim, Sally Ann,
come up fer TO see how yer farm"
"Oh. I'm a-gittin' pretty weak, Jim;
reckon we won't fuss at each other |
much longer Ye've aliul treated me
fair an squar', jim. an I'm 'bleeged to |
ye fer that; ye've never lied to me, an
p'raps that's more than kin say fer
some Of my friends"
"Air ye talkin' about bud, Sally
Ann2"
"Did say Anythin' about Bud, Jim2"
she said. family.
Nary word, Sally, but | lowed We
meant him, an ef ye did, hit may be en-
| kin hep ye little. Here's letter
that lowed come from him"
A cry Of joy was the only response,
md he saw that the news had made
her faint away. In an instant her
mother was at her side, nnd In short
while brought her back TO conscious
mesa. Sally Ann snatched the letter
from his grasp, and pressed It first to
her lips, then tightly against her
bosom. a smile ~ satisfaction lighted
mp her thin wan face, and the watchers
could see that the death angel hovered
over her head. that her frail body
would soon be tennntlrss
Slowly she extended her arm 10 Jim
md handed him the letter.
"Mammy's no scholar, jim: We read
I fer me3 Yer my friend, ain't yc,
limp"
With trembling lips he began to
'ead, while she strained every nerve to
Is utmost tension, listening eagerly.
Yer eyes fairly glowing with cNpec-
Nncy; Dear Sally Ann, love"
lie got no further. Those words
we're like breath from heaven. Her
ace flushed, then grew denthly pale.
md with the word "Dud" upon her llps
he died, fully convinced of hi. faith
ulness,
While the poor widow wept over the
'ody OF her daughter, Jim drew out the
etter which Sally Ind intrustcd TO
i'm, and by the nickcring Rrelirht
nished the sentence that he had be-
'un TO the dying girl As he read ithi,
ace grew livid with emotion. and ne
rumpled the letter in his hand
loorsely whispering to hms,lf
Damn himl ct | he'd only knoved. "hc
hrew the paper on the fre watchedit
urn for an instant, and. with one last
'ok towards the death-bcd. tiptoed
ut into the darkness.
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