Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-10-10

and said:
"rhis is your lot, is it. Gentleman
ThorneT
II shall be better able to call it mine
when l have paid up the capital ill.,
vested in it. AS you know, had no
money of my own. l have borrowed
heavily. and until the loan is paid"
l shrugged my shoulders.
Until it's paid" said Brace. contin.
uing my sentence, you've got to go to
bed late and get up airly, and be thank
full hef you kin sleep sound in betwixt.
| reckon it'll take you pretty consld'
cradle time afore you feel you don't
know what to do with yourself"
"a long WHILE" said gravcly
"How iong?" asked Lolo, quickly,
under her breath.
"Oh, many, many years, perhaps l
replied.
She did not attempt to conceal her
satisfaction.
! I gave the girl wiry little horse;
| she sat on it for the first time with the
! grace and mastery Of trained horse
woman.
Every morning l rode the plantation;
I sometimes business took me to the city
she never failed to be by my side
! on these occasions. But when | had
work to do, it was another thing. She
! hated work, and dreaded tranquility;
she found an escape from both in Il
wild gallop among the foothills. She
became coquettish with regard to her
I appearance. When she could coax 4
!, dollar out of her father she would
! gallop off to San Diego to buy some
trile for the adornment of her pretty
/ little person. If by my manner She
, fancied l approved the new addition,
! she wore it till she could replace 1t
with something else; but if failed to
notice it, or she thought it was not to
| my taste, she would fling it away be-
| fore it was a day old. She abandoned
herself to the enjoyment Of the new
life that came to her. and for some
time she seemed neither to remember
the past nor think of the future.
Under these conditions all traces of
illness disappeared, and with health
returned something of her old mutin-
! Gus independence; paternal authority
once more sank into inSignitcancc
Brace quickly found occupation, and
! after a time rendered me invaluable
| assistance in the management of the
business. One day as we were re-
turning from the packing sheds, he
said:
1--WE looked around this consarn
! pretty careful, and / see, sir. that
| you're goin' to do great thing here.
You've found out jest where the real
grit O. this country lays, and you're
goin' to work it up into an almighty
pile.
| That's what you're goin' to do, and
I'm everlastin' glad Of it, for more rca-
sons than one. And one reason is this
I'm gettin' more duberous every day
whether we shall ever get the Great
Hesper. For, fustly, when the frost
breaks up, the great hole where the
gel hes hid the stone may be sWep' out
as clean as a gun baril by the torrent
of melted snow, or it may be blocked
up for everlastin' by the mass OF rock
that comes rolln' down from the noun
tain sides every spring: and, secondly,
the Kid may change her mind. she
may back out Of the promise she gave
! ,l,, ,,t,,l. lft,
mother was greaser, and cOnsiquent-
ly it's nat'ral to her to tell lies when
they'll serve her purpose to make out
the diamond amt no longer where she
put it. Bear in mind also, sir, as she
warn't herself when she made the
promise. and that she's been gettn'
more herself since. Her obs'nacy and
deyiltry's comm back more and more
every day, and she's now almost the
obstinate contrary little cUsS she was.
Keep on bearln' in mind that she stole
the diamond purposcly to separate You
from Miss LaScclles, and bring YOU
down to Il Urinary Workin' man again.
l see her game the day we lost the dia'
mond; l see it clearer an ever when
! we got over to PctcrSVillC-She was
that angry when | told hcr there WAS
no good to be done minn' il the o.
mary way--so eager fer me to write
and tell you there was Il going for the
stuff down the big holc. Now, Tor
tune to be made soon rs | hit Oh tho
idea of what's she to git by giyin'
UP the diamond-a little wuss than
nothn'. Which is why | rejicc in the
prospect of your making Il big thing
of this ere orange growini Still. sir,
we amt goin' to lose tlat diamond.
If we can Eelp it, and we've got two
, things to Go. We're cot to keep our
eye on the snow, and get down the
! great hole afore the wust Of the slush
and rock comes tumblin' down, and
were got to make the Kid believe as
! things down here is so jolly flourish
in as we don't kcre two Straws wheth-
| er we find tho thing or not. You leave
that to me. I'll pitch it in strong to
! her,
And he kept his word. Every day
he cXhauatnd his storl: of adjectiveS in
! glorifying the estut" and dilating upon
the marvellous results 10 be obtained
from fruit culture. and occasionally he
J referred to The Great lIrspcr with
such contempt that one would have
! thought it w0s hardly worth stretch
ing ont ones hand 10 tahr.
1 =, i