Sharp County record., 1903-08-07

ues in ye bein' blowed on Sally Ann
any longer; her an Bud'H leave the
cove, an ven never see nary bit
more Of neither of EN-"
THAT letter said, fer Sally Ann let
Polly read it, that Bud had heared that
Sally Ann WIZ bein' pestsred by sew
eral other fel!ers. but thai he wuan't
scared about them u-sparkin' her; he
knowed that when he come to fetch
her away, that would be the eeud of
their sparkin', when she read the iet-
ter my womna said ez how Sally Ann
he'd tied a red ribbon round her neck,
an he'd put on her Sunday clothes, she
wuz that set up over the neWs."
"Xou iie." said the pale-skinnsd
young man, as he mounted his horse.
81 hey that letter in my pocket right
now a takin' il to hers hit hain't never
been opened yit; yer woman's never
laid eyes on it, an all that rot which
ye'vc been ta.kin' is lies, an ye know
it. nyar's the letter, and you-uns kin
see fer yerse'ves that hit hGin't been
broke open nary bit, Good eveniu',
square, | reckon yen be a-tfllin' the
rest Of what yer woman read, but
hain't got time 10 listen"
With this pagting shot the young
man rode off at trot, leaving the little
gioup to receive the squire's further
information as they chose. Jim Far.
ner WAS indeed in love with Sally Ann,
and the conStancy which she had
shown in her feelings for her Old .over
had been source of much bitterness
to him. "llit seems like She mOut a
TUX up with me after he went away
from the cove. Et he didn't think the
mountains wuz good enough fer him,
why does he cOme along an take of
one of our gals? She'll die ef she hcy
to leave, an he he'd ort TO know it,; she
can't stand beiR" away from this set
tlement,"
Now jim could see the light Of her
mothers cabin far up on the mountain,
and he turned into the trail which
would soon lead him to the side of
Sally Ann. His heart beat faster as he
approached the dwelling, This would
be, perhaps, his last visit. Afterwards
he Planned to go into the far west, any
where, he thought, tt escape the men,
ory of his blighted hopes,
The door was open, and after stop
ping a moment TO speak to the dog,
who had recognized him, he crossed
the narrow porch. His steps were ar
rested, however, as he saw the Widow
Lnrkin bending over the bed, flaming
Sally Ann, whose face seemed very pale
to him. as he stood there in the shadow
watching. The widow locked up, and,
smiling family. came oatsde, shutting
the door after der. shes asleep"
Whats the matter, Martha? !
kedn't heared that she wuz sick abed.'
"She hain't been on her feet fer these
two weeks. Ye Ficolleet she wuz right
puny when ye wuz hyar the last time.
Two or three days after that she tnk
to her bed, an she amt eat skascly
anything since, Mit's the kinsump-
ton, Use aisared; an then too shes
that crazy over Bud tAat hit makes it
all the wusser. At times l think that
his fergittin' her has brung it ON soon
er. She KEEP eXpectin' him to write,
an ontil she TUX to her bed, she never
failed a-eoin' down fer that letter
which never come. Thar, she's woke
up, an rechin she'll be glad 10 see ye,
on'y she's that weak she can't talk long
at a stretch. Heres Jim, Sally Ann,
,ome up fer to see how yer farm
"0h, I'm a-gittin' pretty weak, jim;
I reckon we won't fuss at each other
much longer. Yc've alluz treated me
fair an squar', jim, an I'm 'bleeged to
We fer that, we've never lied to me, an
p'raps that's more than l kin say fer
some of my friends"
Air ye talkin' about Bud Sally
Ann?"
did say anythin about Bud, 2"
she said, family.
MARY word, Sally, but lowed ye
meant him, an et ye did, hit may be ez
I kin hep ye little. Here's letter
that lowed come from him."
A cry of JOY was the only response,
and he saw that the news bad made
her faint away In an instant her
mother was At hen aide, and in short
while Drought her back 10 conscious
ness. Sally Ann snotchcd the letter
from his grasp. and pressed it first to
her lips, then tightly against her
bosom. 4 smile Of satisfaction lighted
up her thin wan face, and the watchers
could see that the death angel hoyered
over her head, that her frail body
would soon be tspautless.
Slowly she extended her arm to jim
and handed him the letter.
"Mammys no scholar, jim; ye read
it fer meP Yer my friend, amt ye,
JimF
With trembling lips he began to
read, while she strained every nerve to
its utmost tension, listening eagerly,
her eyes fairly glowing with eXpee-
fancy ;-,"Dear Sally Ann, I love"
He got no further. Those words