The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1904-11-10

Heartsili's daughter Bessie. Bessie WIZ
only slip OF a girl born and growed up
since Ben went 10 live with him. lie d
carried her bout on his shoulders all
over the bills when she Wuz kid. a
gatherln Sweet Williams and wild pam
sies- She always did the talkin' and the
orderin'. but She wuz mighty fond OF
Ben After she grew up she went away
70 school, and when she come back she
wuz the loveliest liveliest girl IN these
parts While she wuz away Ben had
done aothin but work and come to meet
trains so when one day she got on the
cars and. comm straight into Ben $
arms, kissed him. the poor fellow wuz
awfully taken back. lie looked at his
great rough hands and homely figure and
grew awkward. Somehow he avoided
her after that. and when she did come
close to him he'd turn red and amble
on. My Wife, she goes up to the Squire 5
a Wh0ie lot. and she says to me Tom.
he's ia love with Bessie. but 1 didn {
take no stock in that and neither did
Bessie She treated him just like she
always had when he give her a chance,
and don't believe she ever thought
pbout 1t, until one night six years after.
when Bens mother came, and she found
Il out
But that summer. when the fine young
Teller come out from Kentucky and GOT
off the train and asked whore squire
Heartsill lived. Ben wuz thar OF course
and said he could show him. and the two
went down TO the house together. | saw
EN- a goin and saw Bessie when she
wuz said. but Ben come back up to the
depot and stayed aroun' till / closed up
for the night. He never said a word, but
II seemed as If sometE:n' WIZ trOuDln
him that he couldn't quite make out
sOrter like your dog looks when A,u
hurt him accidentally. He knows "a
didn't mean TO do il, but II hurts him just
the same.
Well Ben spent lots o. time With me
for the next two weeks, until the young
feelr went home again The young fel-
Ter at first was inclined to make fun Of
Ben but he found out mighty quick from
Bessie that that wouldn't do al all; 50
he tried TO be friendly with Ben, and
other times when he come down they got
right chummy-that IS, as chumny as
two folks can get when one of EN-
won't talk. They went huntin' and fish
in over TO the lake and Ben wuz quite
happy q settin' silent in the end of the
folks fshed and talked But they were
mighty kind to Ben and never talked
anything but what he could hear The
young feller tried his best to get Ben 10
let him row, but il wa mt 10 use. Ben
just clung to the oars and watched 'em,
or. rather, watched her. That day he
just got back In time to meet the train
Long next spring the weddin come
off, and I've always thought II was
providential that they married Just in
time to take the eyenin' train; and. cf
course. Ben wuz at the train and didn't
see the weddin. lie wuz dressed in his
best though and just as lie wuz loo<in'
at every woman that got OF the train,
still expectin' his mother. Bessie comes
up to him and puts her little hand on
his shoulder and says, Ben I'm goin
away. and / hate mighty bad TO leave
you. I'm awful sorry for you, and / wish
so much that your mother would come.
Ben. kiss me now, and God bless yOu.'
The poor fellow kissed her bur when
they wuz gone Ben watched the train
puffin round the curve yonder and says
he'd forgot TO say it sooner-'She said
she come. and then burst out c.yin
for the first and only time l ever heard
Of
though he wuz II anything, happier
than ever before But It was a kind OF
resigned happiness. lie grew thinner
and got tired easier. He didn't work
regular, but would wander off to the
hills where the Sweet Williams grew
and would bring back great bouquets OF
them to the train. thinlSin. maybe. that
one OF the two women he'd seen icave
might come back. The Squire's folks just
let him do as he pleased. so year loi-
lowed year. and Ben grew thinner ana
more hOler eyes, but somehow his eyes
got brighter and more Intelligent Rkc
Bout a year ago he Quit work altogether.
count OF gettin out of breath when ne
tried it. The doctor said II WIZ mis-
heart. and that he couldn't DO anything
for him, but that It wuz best for him 70
quit work
swell. Ben had purity lonesome time.
I'LL lopg last fall, Bessie came back from
with her folks IL WIZ worth a good
deal to see Ben when she come, and he
saw for the first time that other Bessie.
her little three-year-old girl Seemed as
II Ben didn't know bout her and he
wuz trumped, ! tell you. when he saw
thar toddlin' on the platform 2 little
chap, the very spirit OF his old play
mate of twenty years before She went
right straight TO him. and he set her up
on his shoulder without a word like he
used 70 do her mother Thars some
thin strange bout children and animals;
they knows their friends quicker than as
that reasons and suspicious. lie carried
her on down to the Squire $, and me and
her mother follored on behind. This vuz
the first time he ever failed to say bout
his mother a promisin 70 come When
he put the child down she puckered up
her lips TO be kissed. and she kind o
hugged him, but Ben never said q word.
Them WIZ happy days for Ben Tor
the next two months That child and
him were together all the time over the
hills. through the brownin woods and
acrOst the stubhle fields they went. he
made her all kinds of things from pun
kin whistles to cornstalk nddles; ana ne
got so he talked to her / expect he said
more to her In them eight weeks than he
ever said In his life before. We could
see and hear him tallSin' to her IN low,
tender like Way. but somehow we never
asked the child what II wuz about When
winter come on she stayed most OF the
time in his room and he never left her
cept to come 10 the train.
"Wel, the night the mother and child
wuz to go back home WIZ just such
night as this A norther from the Cum
berlands had been BLOWN all day long.
and as dark come on IL turned a sleetin'
just like It's tonight. and the train wuz
late, same as tis now. Ben had come up
TO the depot on time. but when ] told
him the train WIZ late he went back TO
the house. This wuz the only time IN
more n thirtv-nve years ne hadn't stayed
here and waited for IT, no matter how
late it wuz. lie knew they WIZ gOin TO
leave and / guess he wanted TO be with
the child. Well. bout a quarter of an
hour before the train come they all
comes up from the Squire's, Ben a car
ryin the child high on his shoulders.
They stopped here in the baggage room.
as thar want a good fire in the waiting
room. Zen set right over thar in the
corner where he had curled up many a
night waitin' for his mother. a playiu'
with the child. His eyes were bright like
stars sgild his face terribly flushed. like
he had fever. / talked with the Squire
and the childs mother, and we had a
sort q silent understandin' not TO notice
the two over IN the corner.
Directly Old No. 4 whistled and we
with the child's hand iu hisn. Tie engi-
neer wuz a comm to the station Ike
somebody-nO matter whoa beatin tam
bark. Ben's hat bad blown on and he
looked CHASTITY thar under the headlight
with his long white hair a hyin IN the
wind it had been white for twenty
year or more.
The old baggage man stopped here end
went into the telegraph office 10 see the
when he came back he said Shell be
here In Ten minutes aud then want an