Evening journal., 1910-11-18
How She
Answered Him
BY F. A. Mitchell
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association.

=
homely, Joel was, and his face and
neck. which at his age should have
been comparatively smooth. we're full
of burrows. 1t was a weather beaten
face. speaking Of days exposed TO the
beat and the cold. and when Joel
walked he seemed to be following the
plow.
Joel had never married. People said
that he was so uncouth that no wom-
an would have him. Whether or no
this was the reason. certain it is chat
he had never asked any woman to be
his wife. There was only one person
in the world he wanted. and she was
during most OF the time he wanted
her a child. It can't be said that he
was waiting for her to grow up. be-
cause there wasn't the slightest hope
that she would marry him when she
! did At any rate. that's the way he
looked at il.
But now she had reached iiie age Of
nineteen. she was Of marriageable age,
and Joel resolved TO do the one bold
thing of his life-ask her He had
heard about courtships and ~ondered
how they were worked. Even II they
had been explained TO him he would
not have understood them. much less
! been able 10 take part In ore OF them.
He was aware that without a court
ship n man had not -one chance In a
| hundred to win a woman. and as 70
/ winning a girl twenty-three years his
/ junior with or without ohe would be
next TO impossible. There was but
one thing in the world be wanted. one
! thing to make his life worth living,
and that was Hester Blake. So one
evening. dressed in his store clothes,
he went to see her and, happily find
ing her alone, said TO her:
"What I'm going to say don't really
amount TO anything. but I'm going TO
say 1t all the same. When you were
child left your father and mother
one day after they had said something
to me. and just as ! was going out Of
the house you were standing by the
door. You were four years old and as
pretty as a little picture. You put up
your arms to me. ! took you up In
mine. and you kissed me. Since that
time I've been waiting for the day to
come when you would be old enough
to marry. and now that you are I'm
going TO ask you 10 marry me"
Hester looked up at him. There
was something so pathetic IN his utter
inability to plead his cause that she
pitIed him. Then. too she fell that
there was something incongruous in
this furrowed man proposing to marry
her. round checked girl. II was OF
her lips to explain this 10 MN. bu'
somehow she hadn't the heart to do II
She wished 10 make some reply. bu
didn't know what 10 say. For make
shift she asked him:
what was it. Mr.. Constable. tha
my father and mother said to you thi
: day you left them and kissed youy'
The question seemed &c make Joe
s feel very ill at ease. He recrossed hii
legs. pulled at a little tuft OF beard OF
his cheek, thereby drawing out The
d loose skin. hemmed a few times. ther
I said:
1T, wouldn't do for me to tell yot
that"
"why nots"
'well." Jared went on. getting ho
in the face, "it might make you fee
as II you'd ort TO marry me-"
II promise not to feel that way
Come. tell me all about it,
'sThere's another reason why I'd bet
ter not tell" be replied. "Theref
blood on my hands"
Then put # 10 the form OF a con
fession.''
well. I'm dead against telling you
but il l must l must. About tina
time-when you kissed me, you know
there was a murder committed. an'
your father rnn away at the SAM
time. The reason he did that was be
cause he was liable 10 be charget
with the murder. He was hunte'
down in the woods and brought TO jai
in town. That night the mob wa
coming to lynch him. ] found on
about it. went to the Jail with a hors
and buggy. told the jailer and agrees
to drive your father to a safe place
He agreed We were followed b.
some men on the watch for us. ] sho
one Of 'em. l got your father on
though"
There was so much labor in gettin
out this simple story that when Joe
reached the end of It he took out
bandanna handkerchief and moppe
his brow. Then he tried to go on an
explain what Hester's father an
mother had said to him on the da
she kissed him. Hester permitted hir
to stumble on until he had got ineS
tricabiy tangled up. when she stoppe
him.
, 1--WE heard father tell all about tha'
\ and he said be was saved to us b
one OF the noblest. bravest men tina
II ever lived. but he would never tell hi
a name"
"That was because I'd shot the mar
k and your father was the only. perso
!, living that knew it, II It had got on
II / should have had 20 suffer for It,"
q "And you were my fathers savior"
"Most any one would have done it,
y There was silence between then
m at the end of which Hester said:
you asked me a question"
"Oh. never mind answering that.
know that can't be-"
% She threw her arms about his necl
IT, and the question was answered.
81.