The Tupelo journal., 1904-06-10

eyes as guilty as his own, which
prompted him to count the pies to see
If she had been stealing, too.
Here's n for you," he said, find
In, the number ever and slipping her
a turnover. AS he perched on the bin
to MUNICH his plumber, his hat fell back.
His face was very fair, and his hair
curled on his forehead like a woman's.
But in his laughing blue eyes shone
the image of the elder Howe. Tie
hideous grin of Black Wings upturned
face Knocked her from the seething
suds. A stifed groan seemed to rise
from the Kissing steam. The warm
stream that trickled down her arm was
only water, but the red, clotted pools
were still vivid in her memory. Howe
had killed Black Wing. Was she this
white woman's slave, or was she Black
Wings squaw? Before nightfall the
question was definitely settled in her
mind. The victuals always left for her
to take home to warm over were tied
into her apron, under which the rusted
knife still hung.
The Indian boy grew stronger each
day with the recuperative power OF a
wild thing. Day in and day out he
loitered idly around the white house,
and sometimes a doubt arose in the
mind of the white house woman as to
the effects Of this ill-assorted friend
ch;n hofwnnr tho twO hnvc Onno 90
she saw her SOL turn and fling his arm
across the broad shoulders of the In
dian lad in evident affection, she
f1inched instinctively. Since their baby
hood they had tumbled over the porch
together, s~quabbled, fought and played
like brothers-this blue-eyed, rollick-
ing young Saxon and the swart, 1.-the
aborigine.
There were many new squirrel traps
devised. new schemes for spearing fish
and sharing small creatures in the
forest, and enthusiastic preparations
for a deer hunt in the mountains be-
fore the young fellows vacation should
end.
We'll leave all these things just as
they are till We get back from Il trip
to Redwood creek" Hal said, n day,
as he planned his outing with the In
dian, land finish them when we have
more time" The Indian did not an
swer. The noon was bright, and the
young fellows blue eyes shone with
the light of future hopes and plans.
The hunting trip was prolonged from
one week to two; then three. At the
end of that time, Halls mother began
to grow uneasy. At the expiration OF
the fourth week. when the Indian re-
turned without young Howe, conster-
nation spread throughout the town.
Ragged, gaunt, barefooted, half
starved, the Indian had arrived in the
village, telling of a fierce storm, sepa-
ration from his comrade, and weeks OF
search and danger to find him in the
impenetrable forest. Search-parties
were quickly formed. and the noun
tains and lagoons secured in the hope
of finding the boy.
81 can't believe anything has hap
pened to him." Halls mother repeated
day after day, when the searchers re-
ported failure at every turn. She
would not let her lips form the word
dead" 81 can't. Oh, l can't"
Sikra knew the pangs OF this wom-
ans soul. She had learned that tone
and look when Black Wing lay dead
before her. But she regarded the
white, stricken face in stole silence.
1t was now late in the summer. All
search for young Howe had proved
fruitless. His mother, suddenly old
and feeble from grief and suspense,
stood, one day, looking toward the bay
in a blind hope. The Indian came
swinging slowly toward her. The boy
had been found. 1t was on Indian is
land. A knife-wound gaped in his
breast, his wide blue yes were up
turned in a hooking grin, and the grass
around him was clotted and red.
Again there was no %swooning, no
overt demonstration of grief. Weeks
of suspense had taught the family in
the white house stole endurance.
Sikra came every week to do tne
washing as usual, while her son loi-
tered near the cedar trees. One even
ing he brought the heartbroken wom-
an what he considered a rare present.
a melon of prodigous size. The In
dian sat down silently, and slowly and
carefully he cut it. 1t was a trifie over
ripe, the rich, red heart cleaning as
with blood. The knife with which he
dextrously sliced the melon was ugly
looking, broad and fiat, and the deer
horn handle broken, as if by a desper-
ate struggle when last welded.
The woman did not recognize 1t.
"You are a good boy" she said abb
sently to the Indian, 'sto do these little
! kindnesses to Halls mother. San
Francisco Argonaut.