Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1905-01-25

|
Neva broke in with ripple OF scolnfui
laughter. Besides, no woman of spirit
would marry man who can't stand
| up for his OWL rights. 1 am very sure
l shouldn't"
With that biting declaration Neva
| tipped the whip over the pony's ears
and drove away with head held high.
She had never actually encouraged
his suit, but neither had she ever
onsnly scorned him before. Now he
knew that she despised him for weak
ling because Of mis- lenience toward his
fathers second wife and her vain off
/ spring. To Jim it seemed cruelty IN
| just. Yet he reasoned that she was
| probably right. Perhaps outsiders
viewed his many concessions just as
she did and despised him also. She had
advised him to revolt to sell the house
| that held the tenderest associations
of his Joyous, care-free youth, when he
had been the closest companion of his
parents. The rose hedge, now grown
| to gnarled. blossomed wall, had been
| set out by his mothers loving hands
with Jim helping her with childish
ardor-x He distinctly remembered the
erection of the vine-covered summer
| house, where the happy little family
! spent their leisure moments summer
| after summer until his mother died.
Several years after his mothers
| death his father had married an at
tractive widow with three pert, half
grown children who had made the en-
suing year sadly unpleasant for the
| quiet, peace-loving old man. But re-
| lease came to him after a short illness,
and he died leaving his property
equally divided between the widow and
Jim. Mrs. Prescott Immediately sold
| her share and invested the proceeds,
while she continued to live in the home
! place which was left Internationally
to jim. She monopolized the farm in
| come to defray all the expenses of her
self and her two airy daughters; be-
sides an incidental outlay in behalf OF
her son, who made life as unpleasant
for Jim as an arrogant, conceited and
lazy young idler is capable of doing
After year or so of heroic tolerance
Jim had let his stepmother know that
You surely don't want this whole
big house to YOURSELF" she exclaimed
in srieved surprise.
Jim told her that he thought it I'M
wise for two families to live together
But we shan't be two families, Jim
dear. Your wife will be one OF us!''
she declared with warmth. ANY nice,
nlnaCaO - oi, 1.,o,,lJ bo o-,l,,
too glad to R;ixe such lovely company
as the girls. Anyway, we simply
couldn't bear the thoughts of leaving
the house where we have been SO
happy. l will never go away unless
you put me out, and 1 am perfectly
sure that you will never be guilty of
such cruelty. The very thought of
such a thing would have broken your
poor, dear fathers heart
That ended the matter for some
time. Jim's courtship did not progress
very rapidly, owing chiefly to his very
low estimate Of his own chances
against two apparently more favored
suitors.
Il might have known it from the
start" said jim, rousing at last, when
the rim of the young moon pierced the
velyet-black shadows that enveloped
the world like a duslly mantle I'm
only poor dull stick beside Will Ell
version. He's the sort that girls like
NeVa marry. Well don't care much
what comes or goes after this, so ley
can keep the house and run things to
suit themselves. I'm going off where
there won't be any reminders of what
might have BEEN
After that Jim worked harder than
ever to get together enough money for
q humble start in the west, where he
decided to go in order to get away from
associations that had grown inexpress-
IDLY dreary to him since he lost hope
about Neva. His stepmother continued
to entertain lavishly in behalf of
her daughters. whose matrimonial
prospects depended largely upon Jim's
bounty, and as he was too weary of it
all to make any objections, no one
consulted him. He stayed in his
cramped, bare quarters in the repair
shop without murmur. really glad
to be away from the unwelcome mer-
riment that filled the house at all
hours. One afternoon, however, he
was called from his work in the field
to find Neva awaiting him On the We
ra2da in company with young Elver-
son who looked gayer and more bouy-
antly handsome than ever Jim brave
~ stif1ed the pang of jealousy that
seemed for one cruel instant to crush
out his very life, and put out one
brown, toll worn hand into which Neya
laid hers with charming smile
i have come to look at the house,"
she informed him chcerfully. ''We-
that is I am thinking of buying the
place"
Buying the place." Mrs. Prescott re-
peated incredulouslv, forgetting her
listening guests. you have made a
big mistake if you imagine it is for
SALE
.Tt ic VIZ, 0ybo orc -.