Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-01-28

I'm Gs hungry as that wretehed coyote
[ shot at. 1t is Thanksgiving day, Mr..
Hughes. have beef sandwiches,
olives, cheese, crackers and some fig
waters in my saddIebags With New
England hospitality l ask you to help
me eat them"
while Il is not the custom Of us cat
tlemen to take lunch at noon," he re-
turned, looking into the bright eyes Of
the little woman before him, II am
glad to break the custom on this occa-
sion by accepting your invitation"
Under a live oak they spread the pa
per napkins which Ivy had brought
and arranged the lunch upon them.
Hughes soon caught the happy spirit
Of his companion, and. throwing his
mask of conscious restraint aside, he
talked and laughed with her with the
pleasure of a boy.
"The spring must furnish us tea"
she said, handing Hughes her pretty
silver folding cup He quickly filed 1t
from the spring near by. Then he
passed the cup TO her. II did not think
Of having company" she said apollo
getically, touching the rim dalntlly
with her pretty lips. 81 wish had an
other"
I'm glad you haven't" protested
Hughes heartily. 81 like this one best"
taking the cup from her hands and
drinking.
For a minute Ivy made no reply.
Then she looked at the man sitting op-
poslte her as If In doubt of his mean
ing. The next instant she smiled frank
ly and said:
"Well, / think / do too"
The half serious simplicity of her
speech amused Hughes. and, throwing
back his head, he laughed In real en-
Joyment.
I'm sure Wen get on all right" he
said, still laughing.
Hughes declared there never was
such lunch. The greatest Thanks
giving feast In the land was nothing
compared with this. The cold, pure
water which they slipped in such good
comradeship from the one cup he was
gods.
All too soon 1t was finished, and they
sat back under the live oak silent, but
happy. Suddenly Ivy realized 1t was
midafternoon and she had twelve miles
to ride back to the ranch. Tomorrow
there would be school and the old rou-
tine Of duties. Today held sunshine,
laughter, joy; the next would be filed
with the daily grind and hard tasks.
Watching her from under the wide
rim of his hat, Warde Hughes saw the
weary expression begin to settle over
Ivy Norris face, and he Understood.
Left an orphan after finishing school,
his loneliness had driven him west.
Here temperate habits and sterling
principles had won him success. Now
woman, loving the freedom of his
hills as he loved 1t, had entered his
life. Suddenly he beheld vision-a
vision of liberty for both. Immediate
ly he felt an intuition that the lonell-
ness Of both was at an end. The new
life Of sunshine, the sunshine of
wonderful love, was glowing for them.
He yearned to tell her, to lift the shad-
ows from the patient face, but the
moment of realization was too bllssful
for speech.
Come" he said at last, springlng
up to meet the new life and claim It
for them. Gently he took her hand
and lifted her to her feet. Then, look
ing into her beautiful eyes, he said
eagerly, Little woman, l want you to
let me make every day of your life a
Thanksgiving like today"
A soft flush stole into her face, but
she did not leave the strong arms
which held her.