The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1902-01-15

MISSED LOVES oHANnE.


called him Edward always. and al the
home station his father did the same
To his schoolmates. and brothers and
sisters. he was ever plain Ned and
he looked it all, from his rough ridirs
boots to his cabbage tree headgcar.
Ned was loose and easy in his every
habit aad his sisters and other fell
lows sisters. too, tor that natter
liked him for it.
Ned's people were well-to-d0 squat.
ters in a small way. The girls had
their education in rotation. and the
boys went their courses through
small college.
As they grew mp it was plain that
Ned had more than his average Of the
family brains, as well as the physica,
qualities.
After some consideration it was De
cided to send him to the Old Country
to learn a profession.
So Ned Grant was dragged away
from the bush life which he loved and
adorned, and packed of to LONDON tc
wear clothes which he desplsed. and to
try and pick up something from a Bar
coach"
Ned stuck to his work well enough.
and in due course was called" at the
Middle Temple Then he wired TO his
anxious mother the magic WORD
Money" drew on the hank Of New
South Wales for an extra couple Of
hundred pounds. did the rounds Of the
West End theaters and bars, made a
wild rush through the leading music
halls, and landed himself finally one
Friday, aboard a trusty P. & O. steam
er bound for Syndey.
Ned got back into his riding
breeehes. colored shirt, and CABBAGE.
tree hat, had some weeks good sport
after the wallaby and kangaroo. flying
around the outside fringes of the cat
tie-run. becoming a wild nee'r-do-w we'll,
and flirting with the ginger-haired bat-
maid at the Metropolitan
But the barmaid of the Metropolitan
was one thing; Bah Anderson, the
pretty and accomplished daughter OF
the Hon. Andrew Anderson, was an
other, Ned had, through a meeting az
Government House once. got in with
the Anderson circle, and pretty Miss
Barbara, who could take a fence very
well, and who. in fact preferred the
saddle and the breezy downs to the
tennis lawn or drawing-room, rather
took to the bushman barrister for his
unconventional aud manly ways
Ned stopped 4 runaway buggy, with
a nurse and quartette OF Riddles. one
day, and that settled things for Ban
Anderson, who ras with him ot trc
time, and had opportunity to fully ap-
preciate the heroism of the act.
Old Anderson. who had been througc
ths whole Bar mill himself liked Ned
well enough personally, but could moi
blind his eyes to the fact that no haJ
practically no prospect of ever tccom
ing the Attorney-Gener of his colony
much less a successful practitioner al
the Bar.
Bah and Ned saw much OF eacn
other, and spent many a happy houi
together in the gardens at Woollahr1
and on the cliffs et Bondi and Coogee
But there was the degradation of fail
ure at his profession, after thousands
OF pounds had been spent on his edu.
cation for it, and he did what many q
man in Australia had done before him
and many will do again: he struck &
crow-line away from the old home
thought out another name for himself
and tramped his way, after the sun
into the Western Riyerina.
But his uneasy mind was always ,
prey to worrying, unpleasant thoughts
There was the mater, the kind old dad
the loving sisters. and the brothers, a.
troubled about MIN. as he could easily
picture to himself, Then there was th'
red-headed barmaid of the Metropol
itan, and her cold-blooded, calculating
mother; and last, but not least as il
said. there was Bah Anderson, abou
whom he dreamed often enough.
Bah was witty and beautiful, swee
ae a flower and gentle as a ring-tailet
'possum. The fragrance OF the waffle
bloom, the sinuous grace Of the waffle
sapling itself, were hers. Cften i
the dark nights, when the Western
land breezes brought the gum-leave
down upon him as he dozed in SOM
extemporized gunyah ON the roadside
would he feel in fancy the sweet, warn
breath OF Bah Anderson upon his sur
tanned cheek and hear the soft voice
so full of music and tender pathos
whispering Ned But, God save him
~.