Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-01-17

the mountainside above the track to
wait for the approaching train to go
by.
Soon she saw the engine coming
round the mountain and apparently
making straight for her like one of
the head-lowered 'ebeastisies'' of
granny's tales. Then the train curved
with the curve of the mountain; its
long line of coaches and sleeping cars
came into view, like the gliding SER
pent body of the monster. Slowly it
came, then slackened to creeping, as
the trains all did at the trestle.
Keen-eyed and absorbed, Nancy
watched the coaches roll slowly by,
and waved brown hand 81 the faces
looking at her from the windows. In
the last coach of all she saw a white,
wan face in a mass of cleaning, red
gold hair-the face of a girl propped
against white pillows Her eyes were
turned toward the window, her hand
was little appraised to throw
Something stung Nancy sharply on
the cheek, and the last coach rolled
out upon the bridge. The little girl,
gazing after it, clapped her hand to
her cheek; and out of the coach win
dow was thrust red-gold head, while
its owner gazed down into the yellow
waters of Churchill's creek, still tur-
bid from spring freshets.
When the train was across and had
gone winding on to the tunnel, Nancy
taking down her hand, found it
stained with blood.
Nancy had seen half-eaten apple
cores enough to recognize the object
that the sick girl had been about
to throw out of the coach window;
but apple cores do not wound when
they hit.
Wondering what had cut her cheek,
Nancy stopped to pick up her berry
basket, which she had dropped when
she was struck, and beside it she saw
small circlet of shining yellow, which
held myriad of seemingly live, fiery
stars circling about a clear, green
drop of sparkling, Pickering dew.
She took it up and gazed with awe
at the wonder flashing on her little
brown finger.
Then she laughed for very joy.
I'm born fer luck! Granny says SO,
an nanny says so-oh-dearie-
sc Down by the green woody sidey o. -
And the little voice rang out jub-
ilantly as Nancy, steady-headed, light
footed, sped over the dangerous tres
tie with an unconcern that must have
made an onlooker tremble.
The sun had dropped behind the
purple, misty top OF the mountain
when. finally emerging from the
denseness of the blooming laurel
thickets that clothed the slopes, Nan
cy reached her fathers clearing, with
it's sicllly growth of corn and buck
wheat.
Pap" and Hence were home now.
Pap, tall, broad. with straw-colored
| hair and beard, was cleaning his rifle
on the bench outside of the door
Hence was bringing a bucket of water
| up from the spring.
| But they had all dropped everything
except the baby, which nanny was
holding, to listen to Nancy's story.
| can she Thinks" explained Nancy
at Pap's knee, while the luck-stone
| as granny called it, lay sparkling in
pap's great hand, "the sun-haired Ia
dy she thinks it fell in the creek long
with the apple core. An she air sick;
| that's what allied it's comm often he1
finger. She air sick like so many OF
'em as goes by set up agin PLIERS
Its the spring and ticks wha1
they're goin'," said pap, "same as my
grand'pap telled about the deer
an beasties hantin' the ticks, spring
time an sech, when poly"
can they mostly get WE'LL" said
1 i1,4o
because there amt never any goes
/ back set up agin pliers. I'd know
her cause of her sun-hair, the lady
The cyars they war goin' 50 slow
he'd q good look at her; an I got to
be at. the junction when she goe:
back, cause the cyars stop there 6
| goodish bit an can hand it to her
s'She won't be goin' back for {
spell, shouldn't think" said nanny
''if she's going for to get perke6
up"
But she might said Nancy, san
1 got to be there
Eyes," said pap, turning the treas
ure over in his big palm. Nanny
she's got the right end of it; She:
got to be there
Now the junction was four mile:
from Lilly's mountain, and there were
two passenger trains a day going
| westward. One passed in the early
morning, the other in the afternoon
and to be present at their passing
was Nancy's intention.
To mean to do a thing with Nancy
was to do it, and what she did was tt
leave home at little after the early
daylight eating of her breakfast, will
a portion of salt pork and corn pont
stored away in her berry-basket
After the scramble down the noun