The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-11-06


enough of his name, | guess-and
were out in West Virginia looking after
some timber land for the Susquehanna
Lumber Company. 1t was a glorious
October, and many OF the summer Wis
itors were still up in the mountains
among them family Royal had once
known in New England. There was q
girl named-oh, we'll she had other
names, but the one / knew her best
by was just Sweetheart, so Wen call
her that. Royal managed TO see good
deal of her between whiles, and kept
lingering on, giving the company one
preteXt after another until n sudden
change i'm the weather decided the girl
and her mother to start at once for
California, where they were to spend
the winter. Then all at once il occur
red 10 Royal that il mightn't be quite
the square thing TO sit there breath
ing the air and letting the cOmpanys
money slip through our fingers. so the
party of us planned to leave the next
day but one.
THAT night wheezy old freight
train disgorged IIagenback's whining.
growing roaring troupe at the little
station. They were on their way TO
Wheeling having had no intention Of
putting up at our small village, but
variety Of complications and crOss-cur-
rents. broken cage and a sick lion,
had combined TO sidetrack them there
for n day or two.
Royal ana | were both down at
Sweetheart's that night nnd she was
teasing Royal 10 take her 10 the me-
nageries. He chaffed her for wanting
90 see lot Of NANCY brutcs--t was a
poor show. anyway, he declared, and
to go would be n pure waste of good
October weather. She suggested. then,
that he take her hazel-nuttiHg in the
snow-s something 10 mark their last
day there on the mountain. He was
willing enough TO do that, ana II was
arranged that we should start early in
the morning, taking the trail up the
mountain Oh the other side of the
railroad.
THE fall Of snow was light, but crisp
and crusty, crunching under our tread
ns we made our way up the ribbon of
path. for all the world like icing OF n
wedding cake, laughed Sweetheart
glowed in the stinging air and her
merry laugh echoed in the frosty still
ness. Royal worshippd her - big
blonde, and splendid, tramplng there
by her side, holding back now and then
the overrcaChing branches, tossing
aside n stone or u fallen bouGh from
her way.
"Is il just your name, | wonder
laughed the girl, or II II n courtly, en-
broidered way you have Of doing even
the smallest things that always makes
me feel like a princess with YOU rs at
tcndantY
Royal laughed, and she went on
mischicvously:
"'You see it's merely rs n compli.
ment TO myself that like TO have YOU
with me- with richly contradictory
glance. however, from under the mys.
terry of long dark lnshcs; you have n
way Of making me feel positively regal,
and then measuring his six feet two
with her dancing eye. you are so com.
fortablT big and strong you make me
brave rs we'll I wouldn't be afraid of
regiment with yOu-or Il whole me-
nagerie.'
"The man turned dcathly pale at the
last words and i'm fash ! recalled
scene of our childhood, which though
i was much younger than Royal at the
time. made deep impression on mo.
Royals mother had been terribly
frightened by one of those dancing
bears that men used TO tramp through
the country with generation ago and
when her small boy opened his eyes on
the world at last she determined ta
make him love all animals rs much rs
she herself feared them. But from
babyhood he showed IN uumistakablC
antipathy toward even dogs and eats;
COW would make him howl with ter.
ror, and once, when he was four or
five, he actually went into SpasmS nj
the sight of a monkey. The incident
mentioned. however. occurred several
years after that. was five or six my
self, and had just begun to attend the
new school that was built somewhat on
the outskirts Of the little village. with
an eye TO civic growth, and which was
also attended by rather rough Gle.
ment from the factory settlement fur.
ther down the pike. There were great
numbers of cattle raised in our part
OF the country, and it was the custom
TO brand them and turn them loose on
the common lands to save fencing.
We boys knew all that in general
way, of course, but we had both been
kept pretty closely at home. and when.
as n great concession. Royal and were
allowed TO spend half holiday with
one OF the big boys at the settlement
we felt immensely important
"Well. you know what brutes boys
are; some of them had heard that Roy
was afraid OF animals, and thought il
would y fine fun 10 see him scared
OF course, neither OF us knew what
was in the wind, but my childish shy.
ness made me stick closely to him. and
we were both told to stand on a low.
fiat stump i'm the middle of an open
space in what was then called the big
woods Our eyes were bandagcd. and
we were TO wait till the boys gave
three mysterious calls. when something
wonderful would happen. they said.
Royal had protested about the band.
age.
You're afraid jeered ore big boy.
and Royal was silent.