The Meeker herald., 1904-07-16


1Cs jD,tIne1s 81 fe's about the
chimney ple'r-
- f-.os. sl..z,i,-l I;oya!-uell. that's
enoc.si 81 hi rzai.. --ue>s-aij /
ec-,. out ip W.~I virginia in-.kln= after
some timber iaii1 lo- tide SiI@iueIau,isl
Lumber goHii'lny- II was a GLORIOUS
octol,rr. .,ud many Of The summer yis-
iip-s We're stiIl ~, ia the mountains
,mcpr them family Eoyai had once
known in New EasIsni. There WAS a
girl eaIHed-oh. well she had other
asme.. liui the oT.. knew her best
10y VAS just Sweetheart. wr'!l cali
li-g that. Royal isisriage,l 10 see - good
steal 81 her between whites. and kept
lingering On. -iviDs: the company one
ITctext after another. until Il sudden
change la the weather .l,-ci.lf-l tn. girl
7nl her mother to start AT once for
California. WHERE they were 10 spend
the winter. Then all ut onc- il occlr-
red 10 Eryal that it miehtn'i br puiTe
the square thing 10 sit iher- breath
ii= iar air and letting the company's
none. Sip through our fingers. SO the
udrty OF u> planned To leave the next
day hut one.
Thai night Il wheazy old freight
train disgorgesl Haernl,aes'> whining
,ror ling roaring troupe al the little
station. They Were on their way to
Wheeling. haviu. had NO intention of
putin. up at our srn.ll village but a
variety OF complications and croSS-cur-
rents. u broken cage and 81 sick lion.
had combined To si,etrack them there
for day or TWO.
Royal and ! wee both down at
Sweetheart's that night. snd she was
Teasing Royal 10 take her TO the me-
nageries He cha nel her for wanting
10 SEE - lot of NANCY hruies-i; was a
poor show. anyway. lie declared. and
to 90 would he n pure waste of good
October weather. She suggested. then.
that he take her hazrl-nutting in the
srow-something to mark their last
day there on the mountain He WAS
willing enough to do that. and IL was
arranged that we sbcnid start early lit
the morning. taking ;He trail M the
mountain on the other side of the
railroad
wv tsAti VI SlfD" NdS iS-f'- 'fsHp
md crusty cruuchin2 under our tread
as we made our way mp the ribbon of
path. for all the world like icing on a
wedding cake laughed Sweetheart.
/ remember how the girls cheeks
giOwed in the singing air and her
merry laugh echoed in the frosty still
ness Royal worsiiiped her = big.
blonde. and splendid. tramping there
10y her side. holding back now and then
the overrcachinc branches. tossing
aside stone or fallen bough from
her way
Is ii just your name. l wonder.
laughed the girl. or 1t it eourtly. EN-
brOidered way you have of doing even
the smallest things that always makes
me feel like princess with You as Gt-
tendant:'
Royal laughed. and she went on
rnischievously:
lyon see it's merely as cnmpli.
Inent to myself that ike to have you
with me- with richly contradictory
glance. however. from under the mys.
terry OF l,.- lark lashes; you have n
way OF making me feel positively regal.
and then measuring his six feet two
with her dancing eye. you are 50 COM
fortably big and strong you make me
brave as well. I wouldn't b. afraid OF
regiment with you--or Il whole me-
nagerie'
The man turned deathiy pale ut the
last words. and In n flash | recalled 4
scene of our childhood. which. though
I was much younger than Royal ut the
time. made n deep impression OH me.
Royals mother had been terribly
frightened by one Of those dancing
bears that men used to tramp througi
the country with generation ago. and
when her small boy opened his eyes on
the world at last she determined TO
make him love all animals as much rs
she herself feared them. But from
babyhood he showed an unmistakable
antipathy toward even dogs and cats;
n cow would make him howl with ter
rOr, and once. when he was four or
fiye. he actually went into spasms at
the sight Of a monkey. The incident
mentioned. however. occurred several
years after that. was five or six my
new school that was built somewhat on
the outskirts of the little village. with
an eye to civic growth. and which YVES
HlsO attended by rather rough ele-
ment from the factory settlement fur
ther down the pike. Tl.,re We're great
numbers of cattle raised in our part
OF the country. and II was the custom
TO brand them and turn them loose OF
the common lands. to save fencing
We boys knew all that III general
way. of course. but we had both been
kept pretty closely at home. and when.
as great concession. Royal ard were
allowed to spend half Holiday with
one OF the big boys at the settlement
we felt immensely important.
well. you know what Mctes boys
are; some of them had heard that Roy
was afraid of animals. and .Iought 1t
would be fine fun to see Iii.n scared