Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-07-30

~@ Smith
~ Have Opened My Home to You and
offered You What | Had, Yet In My
old Age, You Take Away My Main
stay"
Her bosom heaved convulsively, and
her eyes blazed through tears of anger.
Her face was pale.
"Ye hain't!" she cried, in a paroxysm
of fear and wrath. "Ye hain't a-goin'
ter do no sich-no SIGH of a damn
thing!" She stamped her foot, and
her whole girlish body, drawn into
rigid uprightness, was a-quiver with
the incarnate spirit of the woman de-
Tending her home and institutions. For
a moment after that, she could not
speak, but her determined eyes blazed
a declaration of war. 1t was as though
he had posed her as the Spirit of the
Cumberlands.
/ He waited until she should be
calmer.
You don't understand me. Miss
Sally. I'm not trying to take Samson
away from you. If a man should lose
n girl like you, he couldn't gain enough
in the world to make UP for it. All !
want is that he shall have the chance
to make the best of his life"
81 reckon Samson don't need no
fotched-on help ter make folks ac-
knowledge him."
Every man needs his chance. He
can be a great painter-but that's the
least part of it. He Ca come back
equipped for anything that life offers.
Here, he is wasted"
Eye mean"-she put the question
with a hurt quaver in her voice-"ye
mean we all hain't good enough for
Samson?
No only mean that Samson wants
to grow-and he needs space and new
scenes in which to grow. / want to
take him where he can e more of the
world-not only a little section of the
world. Surely, you are not distrustful
of Samson's loyalty? / want him to go
with me for a while, and see life."
Don't we say hiti" The defiance in
her voice was being pathetically tan
gled up with the tears. She was
speaking In a transport of grief. Don't
We say hit. Take anybody else-take
'em all down. thar, but leave us Sam
son. We needs him hyar. We've jest
got ter nave Samson hyar."
She faced him still with Quivering
lips, but in another moment, with a
sudden. sob, she dropped to the rock,
and buried her face in her crossed
arms. He went over and softly laid
a hand on her shoulder.
Miss Sally" he began.
She suddenly turned on him a tear.
stained, Infatuated face, stormy with
blazing eyes and wet cheeks and
trembling lips.
Don't touch me-" she cried; don't
We dare ter touch me! l hain't nothin'
but a gal-but / reckon I could most
tear ye ter pieces. Ye're jest a<pizen
snake, anyhow" Then, she pointed a
tremulous finger off up the road. "Git
away from hyar," she commanded. 81
don't never want ter see We again.
Ye're tryin' ter steal everything ]
loves. Git away, I tells ye!-git away
-begonei"
Think it over" urged Lescott, quiet
ly. See if your heart doesn't say l am
Samson's friend-and yours" He
turned, and began making his way
over the rocks; but, before he had
gone far, he sat down to reflect upon
the situation. Certainly, he was not
augmenting his popularity. A half
hour later, he heard a rustic, and,
turning, saw Sally standing not far off.
She was hesitating at the edge of the
underbrush, and Lescott read in her
yes the effort 1t was costing her to
come forward and apologize.
u reckon reckon I've got ter ask
yore pardon" she said, slowly and with
labored utterance. He looked up to
see her standing with her head droop.
ing and her fingers nervously pulling a
flower to pieces.
II reckon / hain't a plumb fool. ]
knows thet Samson's got a right ter
eddication. Anyhow, l knows he wants
hit"
Education" said the man, isn't go.
ing to change Samson, except to make
him finer than he Island more
capable"
She shook her head. 81 hain't got
no eddication," she answered. Hits
a-goin' ter make him too good fer me.
l reckon hits a-goin' ter jest about
kill me. ;" Her lips twisted
themselves into a pathetic smile again,