Smyrna times., 1918-09-18
MOUNTAIN SUE
BY AGNES G. BRoeAN.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
'lS. Western Newspaper
Unlon.)

With a sigh Of relief, John Burrows
sank down beneath a sheltering pine.
breathing in the clear mountain air.
Here his longing for solitude could
be realized; in undisturbed quiet, with
the in."piratiOn of "the everlasting
hills" he might store mind and men,
ory with wonderful material of shade
and color for paintings to come.
John Burrows was an artist, and his
latest canvas promised future success.
AS he lighted his pipe he mused grim
ly that if it were his fortune to be-
come celebrity, he would remain per-
| manently in isolation, rather than fol-
low the entertainment and adulatIOn
attendant upon such honor. Johns
friends had delighted to fete him, and
he was heartily sick of it all. In the
opinion of his own dOting family, he
was already a genius. Their wealth,
he reflected, had much to do with his
own achievement. His dear, narrow
minded mother would be already look
ing to find him suitably aristOcratic
wife. His fathers usual pOmpOsity
i
ever. Literally, John had run away;
deserted cabin was to be his pres
cnt abode, a mountain guide installed
as cook.
John Burrows reveled in his free
dom as he lay looking up at the sky.
| He wondered, idly, if he would ever
marry; so many charming girls had left
/ i'm hno RI -lCIn IO6 bO
fancied that love might be found near
er natures realm than in the haunts
of society. This setting, for instance,
would be aptly fitted for romance. His
gaze wandered to break in the I'M
derbrush beyond, then he stared in
charmed aStonishment.
Holding back Overhanging branches
with her small brown hands stood a
girl-Such girl! Eyes brown as any
wood nymph's, wide now, in startled
wonder; crimson lips parted above
even white teeth, a girl more lovely
in her pink calico than the very love-
liest who had attended his studio teas.
"Maid or vision" murmured Bur-
rows smiling reaSsuringly, "be not
afraid. If you intended passing this
way, come along"
The girl shyly returned his smile.
'T-wasn't going nOwhar," she con-
fessed. The quality of her voice was
low and thrilling. "Jake, he cooks fer
you, he told us bout you; strangers
don't much come our way, so I"
$50 you thought you'd have a look
at one" the artist laughed as he fin
ished her sentence.
The girl nodded ingenuOusly and
seated herself ON a fallen log, swing
ing her bare heels to and fro.
"Tell me-" she demanded, "'bout
that place whar you come FROM"
Burrows told her of great cities and
their hum and noise, delighting in her
eager face. Then while the sun went
down behind the pines, the girl jumped
TO her feet.
81 will dance for yOu," she offered
suddenly; her dark eyes twinkled back
at him. 81 dance with my shadow"
MOtionless the artist sat, lost in adj
miratiOn. Laughing softly she ended
her dance before him.
"GOod-by," said the girl, and was
gone.
John Burrows thought about tor all
the way down the lonely trail, thought
of her still as he sat in the starlight
Then he questioned Jake. Surely SO
beautiful a creature must be known
through all the mOuntainside. Jake's
information was brief.
'The girl lived in a clearing above
with an old couple moved from town
She called herself Sue-'Mountair
Sue.'"
But each day as the artist sought
his chosen retreat, Sue was bound tC
appear. Sometimes she was there be
fore him, sitting on the fallen log
= swinging her small heels; sometimes
she kept him waiting until his sketches
went all awry and he savagely broke
the underbrush to watch for her.
John Burrows forgot all in the Low,
Of a winsOme mountain girl whose
garb was calico. When immediate
business made 1t urgent that he return
to the city, aforementioned; and al
through that night he fought with hi
problem. Love triumphed. In tn,
morning John Burrows went to Noun
tain Sue and asked her to be his wife
Her answer was as elusive as herself
Sue had grown white for a moment
then quickly she had kissed him, ant
fed.
At the house designated as her hOm'
hO could learn nothing from the cOu
pie who we're its inmates. "The cir
had gone away; she might come bacl
LATER" they said. "Now she wal
gone"
Burrows was obliged to return hOm,
without further word. Had some ides
of self-sacrifice caused little Sue Il
hide herself away from him? Gloom
lily he considered the question as HI
went through his mail. There wer,
complimentary tickets among the pile
to see Jane Gordon, a famous actress