The Newark journal. (Newark, Ark.) 1901-1959, 1908-03-13
(Copyrlght.)

(Copyright)
For 30 years they had been ''pard-
ners," had worked or played enjoyed
or suffered and fed or starved to-
gether. Neither the deserts vastness,
the mountains ruggedness, nor the
forests impenetrableness had been
strong enough to separate them, but
now that mightier thing, the love OF
woman. threatened to come between.
Singularly enough it all came about
as good old Hugh Mccarthy, who
owned the claim farther up the canyon
said, because of "the buttin in of civ
ilization" And Hugh ought to know,
because for ten years he had been
their only neighbor within days
ride.
The Ahpalino as it meandered along
the line trying to find whether it
flowed in California or Oregon, wasn't
very rich in gold; Jest fair diggin's-
yes, jest fair diggin's,' the partners
had truthfully told the forlorn-look-
Ing Jim Sands, when he first appeared
on the scene with the woman, then
his wife
Mr.. and Mrs. jim, mot hankerin'
much fur riches staked as their
claim the regulation number of feet a
mile below Then, as Hugh said,
Jim had caused a heap of trouble by
gettin' up and dyin'.' That was less
than year after his arrival.
Neither tears nor weeds were af-
feeted by the widow; she was a little
too used to tough luck" and a little
too angular and sharp-featured for
either One of the kind of women who
seem to take nearly everything as a
matter of course and all in the days
work But the partners were tender
hearted old fellows, as becomes men
whose lives had been passed out in
of Sands death their trouble began.
Life with them had assumed great
method, passing along fixed lines and
within definite times. Their routine
being broken upon, through the neces-
ity Of ''lookin' after the wilder" each
twilight after the days toll, was real
~ the first little crack within the fife
It isn't on record anywhere whether
Abner or Ezra was the one who first
thought of going to her assistance, but
it's most probable that both thought
of it at the same time The effect
however, was quite obvious.
Now that there was widow a mile
down the canyon, the grass didn't look
so nice and the bushes weren't so
trim, and it didn't take a pair of field
glasses to find weed here and there
in the garden. That's what Hugh
said
1t went on this way quite a while,
until after they had cut wood enough
to run the Sands derelict through the
winter and were ready to haul and
pile it in her cache And in the mean
time the cumulative result was that
10th loved the widow, and both want
ed to marry her. and each kept quiet
because he didn't want to hurt his
partners feelings.
The widow was a willing sort. and
would probably have just as soon ac-
-cepted one as the other.
One night, after they had trudged
through the darkness to their own
cabin, lighted the lamp and taken
their regular seats in regular places
,on opposite sides of it, Abner broke
silence.
'Ezry," he said. with an odd little
suuaver in his voice, you've got to
marry the wilder. ] give you my
consent. Tain't fair to a woman to
pay her as much attention as YOU nave
without marryin' her.
Although Ezra wanted nightly to
marry the widow. he didn't want to
leave Abner, and it hurt his heart
that Abner wanted TO marry him of
hathaway"
His jaw dropped until his mouth
hing open, his eyes filled to the brin
with tears, and he looked really old
He sat fer a long time and gazed al
the floor, a picture of utter detection
"Abner." he said. after he could
trust himself to speak II amt done
nothin' to you, hev |? Ye don't want
TO get shet of me-do your
Then they both broke down abou
as far as they could. neither wishins
IN show his emotions to the other, anC
ended by discussing the trying situa
ton from all points of view. Abne
wasn't altogether frank, though; h
practised deception by insisting tina
he didn't love the widow. Their cor
fidence brought forth one result, an
that was-the partition. There ha
been so many mental reviews of tn
years past that both realized the in