The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-11-08
How She
Answered Him
By F. a. Mitchell
Copyright, 1910, By American Press
Association

was born, and that was forty-rwo
years before this story begins. He was
homely, joel was, and his face and
neck, which at his age should have
been comparatively smooth, were full
of burrows. It WAS weather beaten
face, speaking Of days exposed to the
heat and the cod, and when Joel
walked he seemed to be following the
pillow.
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 that
be had never asked any woman to be
his wife. There was only one person
in the world lie wanted and she was
during most Of the time he wanted
her child 1t cant 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 Ii
But now she had reached the age of
nineteen, she was Of marriageabe age,
and joel resolved to do the one bold
thing Of his life ask her He had
heard about courtships and wondered
how they were worked. Even If they
he'd been explained to him he would
not have understood them, much less
been able to take part in one of them.
He was aware that without a court
ship Il man had not one chance in a
hundred to win a woman, and as to
winning a girl twenty-three years his
junior with or without one would be
next to impossible There was but
one thing in the world he 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 Pm going to say don't really
amount to anything. but I'm going to
say it 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 az
pretty as 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 to marry me"
Hester looked up at him. There
was something So pathetic in his utter
inability to plead his cause that she
ritied him. Then. too, she felt that
there was something incongruous in
this furrowed man proposing to marry
her. round checked girl 1t was on
her lips to explain this to him, but
somehow she hadn't the heart to do it.
She wished to make some reply. but
didn't know what to say. For make
shift she asked him.
What was it, Mr. Constable, that
my father and mother said to you the
day you left them and kissed you?"
The question seemed to make Joel
feel very i'll ut ease. He recrossed his
legs pulled 1T little tuft Of beard on
his cheek, thereby drawing out the
loose skin, hemmed few times then
said;
Il wouldn't do for me to tell you
that"
"Why not?"
We'll" Jared went on. getting hot
in the face, ut might make you feel
as IL you'd ort 70 marry me-"
= promise not to feel that way.
Come, tell RE an about Il"
There's another reason why I'd bet
ter NOT fell he replied. There's
blood en- my bands"
Then put It in the form OF con-
fesSion."
We'll I'm dead against telling you,
but il ] must must, About that
time when you kissed me, you know
there was a murder committed. and
.-eur father run away at the same
time The reason he did that was be-
cause he was liable to be charged
with the murder He was hunted
down In the woods and brought to jail
Ia town That night the mob was
coming to lynch him. / found out
about it. went to the Jail with a horse
and buggy, told the jailer and agreed
- s1Fsftr To- e., "a
lie agreed We were followed by
some men on the watch for us. shot
one Of 'em. got your father of,
though
There was so much labor in getting
out this simple story chat when Joel
reached the end Of ii he took out a
bandanna handkerchief and Ihopped
his brow. Then he tried to 20 on and
explain what Hester's father and
mother had said to him on the day
she kissed him. Hester permitted him
to stumble on until he had got meg
tricably tangled up, when she stopped
him
i've heard father toll all about that.
and he said he was saved to us by
one Of the noblest, brayest men that
ever lived but he would never tell his
name"
''1het was because I'd shot the man.
and your father was the only person
living that knew it. II It had got out
I should have had 70 suffer for IT,"
"And You were my fathers savior"
Most any one would have done IT,"