Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1909-11-18
CHAPTER VI.

N'N'
eenturers took their departure. TIL,
jovial quack lavished his good bye:
upon the landlord and the riff -raf'
who gathered to welcome the coming
or speed the parting guest at the door
Of the country tavern. He drove
pair of beautiful. spirited horses. and
had the satisfaction OF knowing that
he excited the envy of every beholder
ss he took the ribbons in his hand
swung out his long whip and started
If her husbands heart was swell
ting with pride. Pepeetas was bursting
with anxiety. An instinct which she
did not understand had prevented her
from telling the doctor OF her inter-
view with the Quaker. Long before
the farmhouse came in sight she be-
gan 10 scan the landscape for the fig
ure which had been so vividly i'm
pressed upon her mind.
The swift horses, well fed and we'll
Eroomed. whirled the light wagon
along the road at a rapid pace and as
they passed the humble home of the
Quaker Pepeeta saw a little child
driving the cows down the long lane,
and & woman moving quietly among
the flowers in the garden; but David
himself was not to be seen.
\ tear fell from her eye, and her
shin quivered. With the utmost effort
Of her will she could not repress these
evidences of her dsappointment, and
with a spasmOdic motion she clutched
the arm of the driver as if it were
that OF Destiny and she could hold it
back. So sudden and so powerful was
the grasp of her young hand. that it
turned the horses out of the road and
all but upset the carriage. With
violent jerk of the reins, the astonish
ed driver pulled them back. and ev-
claimed with an oath:
You little wild cat. If you ever d-d-
DO that again, l will throw you into
the d-d- ditch"
Excuse me-" she answered humbly,
towering under his angry glances.
What is the matter?" he asked,
more kindly, seeing the tears in her
eyes.
4 do not know. l am nervous, l
guess she answered. sadly.
Nervous? P-p-peeta Aesculapius
nervous? l thought her nerves were
made of steel? What is the MN mat
ter?" he asked looking at her anx-
iously.
His gentleness calmed her, and she
answered: I am sorry to leave a place
There l have been SO happy Oh!
"Rihy cannot we settle down somewhere
and stay? l get so tired of being al
ways on the wing. Even the birds
have nests to rest in for little while.
Are We never going to have a home?"
Nonsense, child, What do we want
with a h-h-h home? 1t is better to be
always on the go | want my liberty.
II suits me best to fly through the
heavens like a hawk or swim the deep
sea like shark. A home would be a
p-p-prison. l should tramp back and
forth in it like a polar bear in a &C.
rage. Bb-be gay. Be happy, How
gan you be sad on a morning like this?
Look a the play of the muscles under
rhe smooth skins of the horses? Re-
member the b-b-bright shining dollars
that we coaxed out OF the tightly BIB
burtoned breeches pockets of the gray
backed 90 Quakers. What more do
son ask Of life? What else can it g-g-
give"
1t does not make me happy, I shall
necer be happy until I have home,
she said, still sobbing, and trying to
conceal the cause of her grief from
herself as well as from her husband.
She had OWNED the cause of her
disappointment with an unerrng in
stinct. Ii was exactly as she thought.
At the last instant, Davids heart had
failed him.
On the preceding evening, he had
hurried through his chores" excused
himself from giving an account of the
adventures OF the day on the ground
Of fatigue. and retired to his room to
cherish in his heart the memories of
that beautiful face and the prospects
pf the future. He could not sleep For
hours he tossed on his bed or sat in
the window looking out into the night,
and when at last he fell into an uneasy
slumber his dreams were haunted by
two faces which struggled ceaselessly
10 crowd each other from his mind.
One was the young and passionate
countenance Of the gypsy, and the 9TH
er was that Of his beautiful mother
with her pale, carven features, her
Snow white hair, her pensive and un-
earthly expression. They both looked
~ him. and then gazed at each other.
Now one set below the horizon like a
wan, white moon, and the other rose
above it Ike the glowing star Of love.
Now the moon passed over the glowing
star In a long eclipse and then disap-
pearing behind q cloud left the bril-
liant star to shine alone.
When he awoke the gray dawn re-
vealed In vague outline the realities Of
the world and warned him that he had
but q few moments to execute his
plans. He sprang from his couch
strong In his purpose to depart. for
the fever Of adventure was still burn
Ing In his veins and the rapturous
looks with which Pepeeta had received
his promise to be her companion stnI
made his pulses bound, He hurriedly
put few things into a bundle and
stole out Of the house.
As he moved quietly but swiftly
away from the familiar scenes. his
heart which had been beating so high
from hope and excitement began to
sink in his bosom. lie had never
dreamed Of the force OF his attach
ment TO this dear place, and he turned
mis- face toward the old gray house
= gain and again. Every step away from
u seemed more difficult than the last.
and his feet became heavy as lead. But
he pressed on. ashamed TO acknowl
IL