The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-02-14
A Blue GRASS RomuLIs.

| cdise call you Eiler-you haint no
Mss Ella to me. my gal. cause We been
On ter the Salyerssille Cernitery. an come
home toatin' er passed. og Bluegrass airs.
1as, Eller. l jist rode over heah this
nornin' ter nm out eff you want ter
mash up that leetle contrack we writ in
our hearts afore you went off, and sealed
| with Il kiss?'
The girl. at first, widened her pretty
| Drown eyes as if shocked at his uncouth
speech, but she met frank. honest, exact
| ing eyes that nothing could conceal ex-
| cept darkness itself. She colored and
| with confused "Ah-he-em," turned her
| face.
The big, handsome fellow continued his
look OF singing scrutiny. They were
sitting out on the broad veranda. The
| morning sunlight trickled through the
| web or morning glory vines in front
and melted among the short, yellow curls
| that rioted over the young mans head
A sweet. soft wind came down through
1 the hallway, driving a rose-leaf that
struck the cheek of the young girl and
fell down on her plump hand-a tribute
of the flowers to an object prettier than
| themselves.
| Silence continued for about a minute
| when the young man continued in firm
| tones. note of pathos running through
| them:
Somehow or other. when hearn you
was goin' off. 1 felt like you'd never
| come back to me no more-not as little
Eifer. The material mater of you-clear,
sweet. an bright as our mountain cricks-
| would return bemuddled to simple eyes
| like mine. m not layin' in no blame to
you. l alters thought you. compared to
me, little gittar beside a gourd fiddle.
But l couldn't help lovin' you-my heart
jist run toward you jist like dry chip
TO suckhOle. / knowed, though when
you got way Off among town folks.
you'd look at them ar fine baird doods
an then across their shoulders TO the
memory of rude Fred Capfield, an it
would make yer curl yer lip an laugh.
l know thar amt nuthin' about me to
catch an hold a gal like you, an / love
you too well, an think I've got leetle
too much spunk about me, to go draggin'
after you like briar when you want to
free yerself. I've seed the day it would
be like a shot in my heart to be turned
of, but I've been bracin' myself for
the lick ever since you went away. I've
got all my 'rangements made an in a
month from now I'll leave for Kansas,
where I've got an uncle who offers me
place in his store. So. Eller, eff you
say the word, I'll take my medicine the
best 1 kin an never bother you no
more
When he had concluded Ella loked up
at him, with smile-a frank. bantering
kissable smile. Affection was gone from
her manner and speech.
Fred" she said, with the genuine
frankness of mountain natures. II still
thing more of you than l ever did of any
other man. Isdeplore your deficiencies in
the way of education: but you are worth
a thousand 'doods.' as you call the town
boys Still, Fred, I'm sorry to say. you
are not my ideal, and unless / so con-
sidered you. l don't think / could live
happily with you. 1 don't think l shalt
ever marry. I'm too romantic in my ma
ture-too exacting in the demand for
qualities in my husband that don't exist
In these prosaic times. My reading has
spoiled me, l know. l live in times long |
ago My lover is yourself. but taken |
back a thousand or two thousand years.
The modern man. of all degrees. is too |
commonplace for my taste. Hundreds of |
times have dreamed of you as my lover. |
but in every instance you were either a |
Roman youth, or a knight of the middle |
ages, with armor on. going forth to do |
deeds for your lady love which the mod |
ern man could not dream of doing. OF |
course, such a man. outside of books, | |
shall never find. and unless my nature |
changes the years go by. | shall never 1
marry. Now. Fred I've told you truly |
the state of my mind, and you will be |
pleased some day that you missed getting |
such a girl as / am for wife. Such love /
as | have. however, belongs to you, but |
you know yourself it isn't the kind to
keep house on. oh. if we could only go
back to the grand old Roman days. or to
the days when knighthood was In fower!"
Fred arose at the conclusion of this
novel speech and. dipping his yellow
curls, said: Goodbye. Eller.''
Say, nam. whars them ole histories |
that that ar little bow-legged teacher
left heer two years ago." said Fred Cap
field to his mother after he had arrived
home.
They're out, piled away in the smoke
house, somewhat among a lot of ole
trumpery-what We want with hist'ries,
I'd like ter know
Never you mind. man, said the
youth. as he went whstling out of the
back door.
After a long search among old shoes.
trace chains, dried beans. corn cobs and
other debris, Fred finally fished out
Goidsmith's History of Home and an
old English History. With some labor
he read the Roman history as far as
the rape of the Sabnes and. with a great
grin and chuckle of exultation. he laid
it aside. Then he took up the history
of the Norman Conquest, but dropped
it when he read how great King William,
when duke in Normandy. won his exas-
perating wife. Then he threw il aside
and. plunging his hands deep in his pock-
cts, STROBE to and fro across the floor.
mis- lips struggling to smile and whistle
at the same time.
4 few minutes later he looked out and
saw Squire Watkins passing on the high
way He hailed him. The two talked AZ
the fence a few minutes. then parted,
laughing and Shaping cir legs.
Man, said Fred. early the next morn
ing. as he appeared in his best duds''
at the door of the smoke house. where
his mother was compromising some soap
grease. Il want you to drop yer soap
maxim ter-day an go ter cookin' up some
good things
why, what's up?'
Never you mind, ole NANNY, You
jist mind var handsome son, say nothin'
but yer prayers. an wait.
Fred then STROBE rapidly out to the yard
gate. where his big bay horse stod nerv-
ously paving the earth. He mounted him
and went with a rain OF hoofs down the
hard road toward the home of Ella Nc
Coy
Riding up in front of the house. he
yelled. "HaIlo," John Mccoy. big brother
OF Elias came to the door.
Tell Eller to come out to the fence a
quietly spoke the horseman.
Ella responded, Interrogation points IN
her eyes.
step close to the fent a moment. Eiler:
I'm soin- away, an L want to tell ye
surnthin."
She stepped UP. her face quite pale.
when Fred. making a huge hook OF his
left arm, instantly caught her around the
waist with it. lifted her UP In front OF
him drove spurs in his horse. and dashed |
away.
The old man Mccoy and three sons ran
,.u7- yelling. but their horses were in the