The daily morning Alaskan., 1902-09-18
IN TIE SUGAR BUSH
[Copyright ise. by the s. & Mcclure
 Company.l

LkNNNNNANAH AaNas hN AAa as es aANNAaAN
 Company.l
 That March afternoon as Feb Taylor made his rounds of the sugar busf with pals suspended from a neck yokS to empty the brimming troughs of saI and convey them to the barrels at tho Gre it an came back to him SO forcibly that he seemed to be working in a dream. He had known Nellie Tomp klns since childhood. The two farm houses stood close together. and the children bad been Feb and Nell Co each other until he had become his father s hired man" and she had put on long dresses. Feb had never escorted any other girl to the circus, to picnic, Co camp meeting, Co a harvest dance or a corn shucklng. and Nell had never en- cOuragcd any other young man. ..
 The old folks had looked upon it as a matter of course that the young couple would get married in due time. Ii was only after the girl had been sent away to school and her letters to Zeb had been few and far between that he awoke Co the fear of losing her.
 Nell Tompkins at eighteen was a good looking. attractive girl. and Zeh realized that education and society would improve her stlll more Other young men would bo attracted, and be would stand no show.
 As Feb reached the camp and emp tied bis buckets of sap into the bar rels he fingered and thought of more recent sorrows. Nell Tompkins had returned from school two weeks be- fore on a vacation. He had hastened over to the farmhouse in his working clothes Co welcome her, and plainly she had been shocked. There was no warmth in her handshGkc. no love in her eyes. Even when hc rcappcared a night or two later in bis Sunday best she had called him Mr. Taylor and had refused Co remember how he had car ricd her on his back over mudhOles and boosted her over fences. A change had come to blast an his hopes, and on hls road home be made up his mind to face it like a man.
 While he mendcd the line fence be- tween the two farms next morning he raised his voice in song so that Nell Tompklns might realize that he was not taking her conduct to heart but hls voice sounded like a crows. When he met Farmer Tompklns, he made a great prctense of being jolly, and he started report that he was stuck" on Abigail Spooner and almost in love with Hctty Cable. He also kept away from the Tompkius farmhouse, and If any one asked him for news of Nell it appeared to take him all Of thirty seconds to recall her name.
 Thus Feb Taylor had tried to make himself believe that be was getting the best Of it.
 Night had come in Che sugar bush. Feb had eaten a cold supper while the sap in the pan boiled and loaned and later on had cut up the wood 10 be used through the hours of darkness. Then he sat down on a log Co smoke and figure out how many pals of sirup would be the result of that run of sap. He intended 10 follow the sirup to the sugar or" process and count up the pounds Og sugar but his thoughts in' sensibly drifted away Co Nell Tomp- kins. cnd for a long ten minutes he was obllvious of his surroundings Then he was suddenly called to life by the boot Of an owl He could have suppressed the cold shivers inside of two minutes had not the boot of the bird been followed by the scream of a woman. The sugar bush was a mile away from any house. and the voice of a woman tn the dark woods weakened Zeb's knees and brought hls heart into hls throat. He was shaking with alarm when the owl booted again, a boot full of the dircst peril, and again it was followed by the scream of a wo- man whose life was menaced. Feb stopped only to grab up a club, and then he made a rush into the darkness. He had only fifty feet 10 go before dis covering Nell Tomp6ins leaning up against the trunk of a tree.
 "You-you here" gasped Feb as he came to a halt
 "Y-yes. and. oh. Feb. the bear-the bearP' she exclaimed as she held out her arms to him.
 'Wtqt bear? Wherel WhenT'
 ~t.S just roared out twice, and you -you"-
 "Yes, heard him roar, but don't you be afraid" said Zeb as be put bis arm around her and gently walked her to the fire. The arm still enclrcled her as they sat down on the los together, and he asked:
 Nell dId you start for anywhere and get losty"
 T-I don't know" she half sobbed. "I heard you were making sugar down here all alone and that you were going to sugar or tonight"
 "Not quite SO soon."
 And l thought-thOught"-
 "What did you think. Nellr
 ~I thought if came down yOo'd give me some maple wax on a white chip and that I would say that l was sorry if hurt your feelings the other night"
 "And you got lost in the woodsT' queried Feb as his heart began to melt
 T-I-g guess so. It was awfully dark"