Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-12-18
was grabbing at his nose ana wn1skers

SSO-
caught stealing and muttering some
thing about having to go, gazed wildly
round for some place in which to lay
the baby, when in came the mother
saying in her own sweet, frank way:
oh, Mr.. Ricketts'-she didn't find out
till afterward his name was Shaw
would you mind keeping her just a lit.
tie longer? 1 shall be back in few
minutes And Old Ricketts, guessed
he could wait.
"But in six months mother and baby
between them transformed Old Rick
1 etts into Mr.. Shaw, fire boss Of the
mines, and then, in the evenings, when
she would be singing her baby to
sleep, the little shop would be full of
miners listening in dead silence to the
baby songs and the English songs and
the Scotch songs she poured forth
without stint, for she sang more for
them than for her baby. No wonder
they adored her. She was so bright,
so gay, that she brought light with her
when she went into the camp, into the
pits, for she went down to see the men
| work, or into sick miners shack
and many man, lonely and sick for
home or wife or baby or mother, found
In that back room cheer and comfort
and courage, and to many poor
broken wretch that room became, as
one miner put it, the anteroom to
heaven"
Mr.. Craig paused, and 1 waited.
Then he went on slowly:
"For year and a half that was the
happiest home in all the world till one
day.
He put his face in his hands and
shuddered
81 don't think can ever forget the
awful horror Of that bright fall after
noon when Old Ricketts, came breath
less to me and gasped, Come, for the
dear Lords sake! and rushed after
him. AT the mouth of the shaft lay
three men dead. One was Lewis Ma
vor. He had gone down to superintend
the running Of new drift The two
men, half drunk with Slavin's whisky.
set off shot prematurely, to their
own and MAYORS destruction. They
were badly burned, but his face was
untouched. miner was sponging off
the bloody froth oozing from his lips.
The others were standing about watt
ing for me to speak, but 1 could find
no word, for my heart was sick, think
Ing, as they were, of the young moth
er and her baby waiting at home. So
l stood, looking stupidity from one to
the other, trying to find some reason,
coward that was. why another should
bear the news rather than I, and while
we stood there, looking at one another
in fear, there broke upon us the sound
of voice mounting high above the
birch tops, singing:
Twin 70 no. come back again?
Will We no. come back again?
Better lo'ed We Gamma be-
Will we no. come back again?
"a strange terror seized us. Instinc-
lively the men closed up in front of the
body and stood in silence. Nearer and
nearer came the clear, sweet voice,
ringing like silver bell up the Steep
"'Sweet the lav'rock's note and lang.
Liltin wildly up the glen.
But ay tae me he sings ae sang,
Will We no. come back again?'
Before the verse was finished Old
Ricketts, had dropped on his knees,
sobbing out brokenly, % God, o God,
have pity, have pity, have pity!' and
every man took off his hat. And still
the voice came nearer, singing so
brightly the refrain:
VIII we no. come back again?
1T became unbearable. Old Ricketts,
sprang suddenly to his feet and, grip
ping me by the arm, said piteously:
"'Oh go to her! For heavens sake,
go to hery
Il next remember standing in her
path and seeing her holding out her
hands full of red lilies, crying out:
"'Are they not lovely? Lewis is SO
fond Of themv
with the promise Of much finer ones
turned her down path toward the
river, talking l know not what folly
till her great eyes grew grave, then
anxious, and my tongue stammered
and became silent. Then, laying her
hand upon my arm, she said, with GEN
tie sweetness:
Tell me your trouble, Mr.. Craig
and l knew my agony had come and
burst out:
"'Oh, if it were only miner
"She turned quite white, and, with
her deep eyes-you've noticed her eyes
drawing the truth out of mine, she
said:
sis it mine, Mr.. Craig, and my ba-
by'sT
II waited, thinking with what words
to begin. She put one hand to her
heart and with the other caught little
poplar tree that shivered under her
grasp and said, with white lips, but
even more gently:
Tell me-
II wondered at my voice being so
steady as said:
Mrs. Mavor, God will help you and
your baby. There has been an acct
dent, and it Is all over
"She was a miners wife, and there
was no need for more. I could see the
pattern Of the sunlight falling through
the trees upon the grass. l could hear