West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1906-10-18
CHATTER LII
>llE only stage passenger besides
Miss Carmichael was "A fat lady.
II From timp IN ttnna tho ata.ya

VIE only stage passenger besides
Miss Carmichael was "A fat lady.
From time TO time the stage
driver invoked his team I'm
cnbalistic words, and each tlmo tho
horses tollcd forward with fresh en-.
orgy. but progress became mockcry
In that ocean OF space Their driving
seemed ~ futile as the sport OF children
who crnck whip and play ut stage
coach with couple OF chairs. The
mountains still mocked In the distance.
a fiat, unbroken sweep OF country,
II tnngle of struggling sagebrush, n
| glimpse OF foothills In the distance was
the outlook milo after milo. Tho day
grow pltilessly hot. Clouds OF aka.
line dust swept aimlessly over the dcs.
crt or whlrlcd into spirals till lost In
space. From horizon To horizon tho
sky was one cloudcss span OF blue
that palcd as II dipped earthwnrd.
Mary Carmichael dozcd and wnkcncd,
but the prospect was always the snme
tho red stage crawling over the will.
derness. making no evident progress.
and always the sun. the sagebrush and
the silence.
1t was all 40 overwhelmingly differ
ont from the peaceful atmosphere of
things at homc-the mellow Virginia
country, with Its winding. red roads,
wealth OF woodland and its grave old
houses that were the more hnughtily
aloof for the poverty that Rnnwed at
their vitnls This wilderness was 30
gnunt, so parched; she closed her eyos
and thought OF n bit OF landscape ut
home-n young forest OF silver beeches
growing straight and fine na the
threads on loom, and through tho
gray perspective OF their satin smooth
trunks you caught the white Rleam OF
fairy cascade as II tumbled over tho
moss grown stones TO the brook be-
low. IL was like bit from n Jap
nnese garden In It's delicate artificial
ity.
And harder TO loavc than these cher
ished bits OF landscape had boon tho
old house Runnymedc, that always
seemed doing I'm the peaceful coma
tose OF senillty. 1t was beyond tho
worry OF debt; the succession OF mort
cages that snpped It's vitality and
wrote anxious lines on the faces OF
Aunt Adelaide and Aunt Martha was
nothing TO the old house Had II not
sheltered CarmIchnols for over cen
turyI IL had faith I'm the name. But
Mnry could never remember when the
need OF money to pay the mortgage
had not Invaded the gentle routine OF
their home life
But hardest OF all 10 leave had been
Archie, best and most promising OF
young brothers-Archlc, WHO had come
out ahead OF his class I'm the high
school. all ready TO go TO the unIver-
sity-the University OF Virginia Is nj.
ways ''the university who, Il
had seemed Mt n certain dark season,
must give up this long cherished hope
for lack Of the wherowlthnl Mary,
being four years older than her brother
and quite twenty. had long felt n ma
tornal obligation to administer his nf-
fairs. If no did not 20 TO the unlver-
sity. like his father and grandfather
before him. II would be because she
had failed In her duty. AZ this par-
tlcular phase OF the domestic problem
there hnd appeared In n certain church
ly periodical carefully worded ad.
vertlsement for governess, and, the
subsequent business OF references, snl.
and received proving eminently salts.
factory, Mary had finally received n
fearful permission from her nunts TO
depnrt for some place I'm Wyoming the
name OF which wns not even 10 bo
found on the map. She was to eonsid-
or herself quite one OF the family, and
the compensation was 10 be $50 n
month. Archie would now DO able TO
go 10 the university.
As the day wore on the sagcbrush be-
came scarcer and gruyer. there were
fcwcr Towering cncti, md the great
white patches OF nlkali grew more and
more frequent I'm the distance there
was riot OF rainbow tints-viOlet,
pink and pale orange 10 seemed I'm.
conceivable that such bnrrenncss could
produce such wealth OF color. Nothing
could have been more beautiful, not
even the changing colors on n pigeons
neck, than the coppery irldcscence,
shading 20 cobalt and blue on some OF
the buttos.
Night had fallen before they made
the FIRST break In their journey Tho
low, beetle browed cabin that faced
them I'm the wilderness carried IN lts
rude completeness hint OF the pros
tidigitatOr's art-o world OF desola-
ton, and behold log cabin with smoke
Issuing from the chimney and curtains
at the windows! The interior was un-
plastered, but this shortcominR was
surmountcd by tacklnR choesocloth
neatly over the logs, a device at once
simple and strategic. as I'm the lamp
Hight the effect was that OF plaster
Miss Carmichael. suddenly released
from the actual rumbllng OF the stage.
felt It's confused motion the more
strongly in Imagination md hardly
knew whether she was eating canned
tomatoes served uncoOked directly from
the tin, fried steak, black coffee and
soda biscuit. IN company with the fat
lady, the stage driver and the woman
who kept the road ranch, or n II was
all some Alice IN Wonderland deiuslon.
The fat lady had brought her own
bedding an npoploctic roll OF bed
quilts and these she Insisted on max
ing bed of despite the protests OF the
ranch woman. who seemed 20 detect a
covert insinuatlon against her accom-
modatIons in the precedent Miss Car
michael pronted by the controversy.
Tho i0ndI0dy touched no doubt by thA