Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1909-05-01

| eyes opened. and see how little those
things amount to. after all I'm going
to marry Nccla, MIR. Gale. Id Ike to
do II the day after tomorrow Sunday.
but she isn't Of age yet, and II you oh.
| iect we'll have 10 wait until NUvcm.
Der. when she turns eighteen. we'd
| both like your consent. OF course. I'd
! be sorry to marry her without 1t. But
I II you refuse wen be forced to dis.
| please you" lie looked up and met
the fathers gaze steadily.
The other mans lips framed II faint
smile.
wen see. wish to God I'd had
your decision when | was your age.
! This story would be different and cas-
| Ter TO tell" lie waited u moment.
then settled to his self appointed task.
Il was mining ut the time up IN the
mother lode country OF California,
which was the frontier then. pretty
| much as this Is now. only we had bet
ter things TO cat. | was one Of the first
| men into camp named Chundon-
helped to build Il. In fact-and got hold
! of some ground that looked real good.
1t was hard mining. however, and, be.
ing poor, was still gripping my drill
| and hammer after the town had grown
up.
"a woman came out from the east
Vermont 1t was-and schoolteaching
was her line of business, only she
hadn't been raised TO 1t, and this was
her first clatter at the game. Her
folks died and left her up against 1t,
| l gathered from what little she told
me-sort Of an old story, guess, and
usual, too, only for her. She was
| plumb unusual"
He seemed to ponder this n moment
ard then resumed:
1T don't make any difference to you
how / first saw her and how began
to forget that anything else in the
world was worth having but her. I'd
lived In the woods all my life. as l
! said. and knew more about birds and
bugs and bees than l did about wom-
EN-. l hadn't been broke proper and
didn't know how to act with them, but
| laid out to get this girl. and l did
fairly well. There's something wild In
every woman that needs to be tanned,
and 1t isn't like the wildness that runs
In wood critters. You can win that
over by gentleness. but you have to
take It away from woman. Every
| live thing that couldn't talk was my
friend, but | made the mistake OF
counting my own kind the same way,
not knowing that when two of any
species mate the male must rule. I
was too gentle. Even so, | reckon I'd
have won out only for another man.
Dan Bennett was his name-the kind
that dumb animals hate. and-wcll,
that takes his measure. His range
adJoined mine. and, though I'd never
seen him, l heard stories now and
then-the sort of tales you can't tell
! to n good woman-so II worried me
when l heard Of his attentions to this
girl. Still, thought she'd surely find
him out and recognize the kind of fel-
low he was; but. Lord, woman can't
tell man from dog, and there
wasn't any one to warn her.
This Bennett came from the town
below, where he ran saloon and a
brace game or two: but. being as he
rode Into our camp and out again In
the night and as | didn't drink nor
listen to the music OF the little rolling
ball, why, we never met even after he
began coming to Chandon. Under
stand, wasn't too good for those
amusements. just didn't happen to
banker after them, for was living
with the Image Of the little school
mai In my mind, and that destroyed
what bad habits I'd formed.
ut was along In the early spring that
she began to see ! had notions about
her, but my ID back wardness
wouldn't let me speak, and, In add.
ton, ! was getting closer to ore every
shot ut the mine and was holding or
until | could lay both myself and my
! gold mine at her feet and ask her TO
take the two OF us. SO II one didn't pan
out the other might. But II seemed
like I'd never get into pay. The closer
| got the harder worked, and. Of
course, the less saw OF her. likewise
the oftener Bennett came. reckon no
man ever worked like did-two shifts
Il day, eighteen hours, with six to
sleep. The skin came Off of my hands,
and staggered when | came out into
the daylight. At last | struck 1t. and
still | waited awhile longer til could
he sure. Then went down to my lit
tie shack and put on my other clothes.
| remember I'D gone so thin that they
hung loose, and my palms We're so raw
] had hard work handling the buttons
and got my shirt all bloody. for I'd
been In the drift forty hours without
sleep and breathing powder smoke till
my knees buckled and wabbled under
me. To this day the smell OF stale
powder smoke makes woman OF me.
but that morning ! sang, for was go
Ing for my bride, and the world was
brighter than 1t has ever been for
eighteen yehrs- The little schoolhnnsc