The Western news., 1903-07-29
SAnhY ANN'S
LETTER
ny NORMAN H. pITNAN.
pftnhpnkA1Kax1tH1nu
Copyright, 1901, by Authors Syndicate.)


by the mail carrier to the mountain
farmhouse which answered as post
office.
"She'll be the peertest gal in the
cove aginst she gifts it," said old
Aunt Polly, laughing.
"Atter waitin' nigh onto three year
fer it, | reckin she will. Let's see;
hits marked Cincinnati. l wished 1
could see what's on the inside of it,"
"Bud Hunts been mouty fergitful
of her, hit pears like to. me-, said
Aunt Polly. "Bein' scholar enough
to read an write, hit seems like he
would hev wrote her fore now. jist
to let her know what he wuz about"
"Waal, ! think" said the postmis-
tress, "she's been ez wishful ez
young cat, comm round every mail
day an askin' eff thar warn't no let
ters fer her folks. She hain't been
in now fer more'n two weeks"
"Waal, ! say; she must be TUX sick
or somethin'."
"She's been a-lookin' powerful puny
ever since corn wuz laid by. She
AiosoC q Noi hCu wv udIu, NC hHOW
she's about to run into kinsump-
tion.''
''She used to look big and chuffy
enough fore Bud went out'n the set
tlement."
"Yaas, an after he went, too, fer
the fust year. They say ez how he
Civ her his promise he'd write jist ez
hn ,r;% ;01>
then they'd git married"
'She lowed hit wouldn't take sich
an uncommon likely feller ez him
more'n a week to git well-payin'
job"
"Her pappy died with that kim
sumption jist soon after she wuz
bornded," said the postmistress, re-
fectively; "an' whenever he died they
said ez how some'n his people'd hev
it, too"
"Do We mind," broke in Aunt Polly,
show Sally Ann TUX on at the time
of her pappy's buryin'? They wuz
maxim the coffin before our house,
an she come in an axed me eff they
wuz goin' to put her pappy in that
old box. That's jist what she called
it, old box an p'inted over whar
they wuz workin'. l tole her that
they alluz put dead corpses into
boxes, ez they called coffins, an then
put led on 'em fore they put 'em
in the ground an kivered 'em up.
'Kiver up my pappy?' says she;
'they's afeared to kiver him up; he'll
~r:% cL lol -,
eff they tech him."
"She knowed what buryin' meant
by the time her five sisters wuz TUX
to the buryin' ground"
81 reckin she did. Waal, must be
gittin' home"
Cant ye stay all night?"
mo; I'll hev to be a-goin'. You-uns
come up and see us; don't fergit."
A group of men were gathered at
the small store in the lower end Of
the cove just as the evening shadows
were beginning to thicken in the
mountains. Some were seated on the
rude platform in front, while others
mounted on horseback had refined up
to hear the news of the day; for the
country store and the post office take
the place of a newspaper in the
mountain districts.
'They tell me-" said old Squire Bar
low, as he threw a huge quid of to-
bacco on the floor, "they tell me that
Sally Ann Larkin got that letter from
Bud Hunt to-day, an that she growed'
nigh onto an inch since it come"
lar young farmer.
"Bud, he's some'rs about Singcin-
natl, l reckin; that's what Polly said,
an she wuz at the Office when the let
ter come. He's run onto a plumb
good job thar with some kind of a
railroad consarn, an he's a-gittin' 40
a month"
'Beats stalk breedin' all holler,
don't it., gittin' into one of them big
towns?"
eyes, or maxim corn an wheat,
too"
"'Tain't everyone kin git such job
in the city," said the squire; "when
lowed ez thar warn't nary place like
the mountains fer Pete Barlow"
"Waal, hit pears to me-" said the
storekeeper, "that eff ye an Bud
Hunt could both git jobs thar, that
mos all the rest of us could
This raised the laugh on the squire
who responded by expectorating in
keg of horseshoes that stood ate
end of the porch. Just then pale
young fellow, whose white skin was
sharp contrast to his curly blacl
hair, hailed the group, and was JUS
about to ride past when the squire
in order to regain his standing al
leader, called out: "Can't We pull VI
an be frien1y fer a minute, jim
Ye needn't think Sally Ann wants t.
see ye now, Hain't ye heared abou
her letter."
eyes, l did," said the young man
quietly, as he rode up; II didn't Iov
she'd care much to see me-"
81 should guess not" responds
the squire, quite happy again, an
restored to his former position b