The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-12-28
HER AWAKENING
BY MARTHA MITCHELL.

After tiresome trip up the Whit,
river, Ralph Sanders pushed the PROV
of his canoe into the bank and then be
gan making home in the edge of the
Ozark country. After getting patch
OF mountain and valley into some sem.
blance of a home, he was stricken and
died. Sanders was nm unmarried man.
and the one whom he named rs heir IL
the little speck Of a mountain home
was Grace Milton, then In her early
teens. 1t was with no little degree of
surprise that young Miss Milton re-
ceived the announcement at her home
In Virginia that she was the heir to a
certain tract of land In the Ozark
mountain country.
The months stretched into years DUR
ing the time that the little place had
no tenant, and the space that Ralph
Sanders had cleared there in the forest
became a wild tumble of young pine
Isassafras and bamboo. And before
Nong the low house that he had built
was completely hidden from the river.
Meanwhile Grace Milton was grow
ing up In the society of her surround
lings, forgetful OF the little wilderness
that was passing from her possession
because Of unpaid taxes.
Spring had come again and Virgil
Ferris, one Of the boys who had
romped over the place, now a stalwart
man, began clearing away the young
growth, little thinking that this very
In oh 10, b =
heart with whom he had quarreled.
About this time Grace Milton was
lseeking vainly for some refuge, some
place where the memory of her bitter
words would cease to burn like a hot
Iron in her soul. For she too had quar-
|reled with the man whom she loved,
land all because he refused to have his
wife independent Of him and his for
tune, while she desired independence |
flor the sake of maintaining her So
called "woman's rights"
She had sought forgetfulness in suf-
frage meetings, in society, In charities
Church work and travel. But the pain
lat her heart grew and would not be
leased. Then a solitary camping and
Itramping trip to her Ozark estate,
(which had long been a source of mer-
riment among her friends, suggested it.
self.
/ After she alighted from the train In
the village of Runkle she learned. by
Idint of much questioning Of the sleepy
agent. that the Sanders estate was
l"where We see them young pine sap
Inns. that's 1t. About a mile down tn
river"
Many paths crossed and recrossed
among the slender trees, but none of $
them seemed to lead anywhere. She
was about to despair of ever finding
the log cabin. of which she had heard
little and spoken much, when she heard
Ia sigh-almost q sob--nOt far away. o
Holding her breath and listening, fear ;
ing she knew not what, she heard a
mans voice, deep and rich and all I'M t
trained. singing an old ballad. He was /
evidently using an AK, for now she
heard the even blows on log. A girls !,
form darted down one of the paths and, :.
without thinking, Grace followed. She u
halted when she came in view of the u
young man swinging the ak, for the G
girl was running toward him now, ii
frankly crying. Grace stepped back il
among the trees, but still within ear ca
shot. =
The man exclaimed, ooh, you" Then .,
no more was said until the girls voice +,
broke out: h,
"Jack Jack! I'm so sorry | ever
said / wouldn't marry you and be fl
farmers wife. I will, WILL but why ra
have you begun planting here? Don't NJ
you know how you always said 1t was p
a sort of fairy place and its owner
fairy far away, who didn't want 1t dis Dc
of
Eyes. / know" said the man, "but ] dc
lust decided that fixing up the old log w
house and seeding the cleared ground m
wouldn't be disturbing even fairy's su
,lace: and anyway. I'm doing it for the IN
airy" ~
"who owns it now?' asked the girl. ~ ~
81 do" came the answer. ut was
sold for taxes two months ago and ] ed
bought 1t in for us" st
The girl laughed softly. "How did ws
'ou know" ac
"Oh, l just knew you couldn't help va
moving how / wanted you, and that :,
-ou would really rather live with me on -.
farm instead of in one of those an
heap, gaudy cottages in the Center, ms
they are not real. dear" he said, soft if
Y. Nobody wants place that Isn't Sh
home" eql
Tears stood in Grace's eyes now. A
ome! Nobody wants a place that 5n
sn't home" The words pounded 70
themselves into her brain. This was slo
ONE for these two, and hers was far
way. the
"Good-by. young lovers! Good-by
'zark estate, I'm going home" bro
Copyright 1917, by the Mcclure Newspa- col
per SyndicateD lay
Valuable War Dogs. An