Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-02-22

All the heavinesS of heart, all the re-
sentiment she had felt in the first few
days when she followed him perfOrCe
away from Cariboo Meadows, came
back to her with redoubled force that
afternoon. She went back into the
house, now gloomy without q fire,
slumped forlornly into a chair, and
cried herself into a condition approach
ing hysteria. And she was sitting there,
her head bowed on her hands, when
Bill returned from his hunting. The
sun sent a shaft through the south
window, a shaft which rested on her
slowly up behind her and put his hand
on her shoulder.
"What is it, little person. he asked
gently,
She refused to answer.
"Say." he bent q little lower, you
know what the Tentmaker said:
Come fill the cup, and in the fire of
spring
Your winter garment of repentance fling;
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To f~utter-and the Bird is on the wing"
"Life's too short to waste any of it
in being uselessly miserable. Come on
out and go for a ride On Silk. I'll take
you up a mountainside, and show you
a waterfall that leaps three hundred
feet in the clear. The woods are wax
ing up and putting on their Easter bon
nets. There's beauty everywhere. Come
along!"
But she wrenched herself away
from him.
II want to go home! !" she walled. 81
hate you and the North, and every
thing in it. If you've got a spark of
manhood left in you, you'll take me out
of here"
Roaring Bill backed away from her.
do you mean that? Honest %Injun?'
he asked incredulously.
81 do dor she cried vehementIy.
Haven't l told you often enough?
didn't come here willingly, and l won't
stay. I will not! 1 have a right to
live my life in my own way, and it's
not this way"
$50" Roaring Bill began evenly,
"springtime with you only means get.
ting back to work. You want to get
back into the muddled rush of peopled
places, do you? You wan to be where
you can associate with hu~ffy-rufle
~pompadoured girls, and be properly in.
troduced to equally proper young men
Lord, but I seem to have made a mis-
take! And, by the same token, II
probably pay for it-in q way you
wouldn't understand if you lived 8
thousand years. Well, set your mint
at rest. I'll take you out Ye gods ant
little fishes, but 1 have sure been s
fool!"
He sat down on the edge of the table
and Hazel blinked at him, half scared
and full of wonder. She had grow
so used to seeing him calm, imperturb
able, smiling cheerfully no matter wha
, she said or did, that his passionate out
break amazed her. She could only 81
and look at him.
He got out his cigarette materials
, But his fingers trembled, splitting tn
tobacco. And when he tore the pape
! in his efforts to roll it. he dashed pa
!, per and all into the fireplace wit
something that sounded like an oath
and walked out of the house. Nor di
: he return till the sun was well dow
toward the tree-rimmed horizon. Whe
he came back he brought in an arm
full of wood and kindling, and began t
build n fire. Hazel came out of he
e room. Bill greeted her serenely.
{ swell little person." he said, 9
hope you'll perk up now
"TT try" she returned. "Are 20
really going to take me out?
Bill paused with a match blazing
his fingers.
C "Tm notin the habit of saying thing
l don't mean," he answered dryl
It "We1 start in the morning"
1t The dark closed in On them, an
they cooked and ate supper in silenc
Bill remained thoughtful and abstraC
IS ed. Then from some place among b
books he unearthed a map, and, sprea
h ing it on the table, studied it a Will
k After that he dragged in his kyal
lie from outside, and busted himself pac
d ing them with supplies for a journey
IN tea and coffee and flour and SUI
y things done up in small canvas sack
st And when these preparations we
~ complete he got a sheet of paper and
pencil, and fell to copying somethil
lg from the map. He vas still at tht
sketching and marking, when Haz
IS went to bed.
By all the signs and tokens, Roaril
* Bill Wagstaff slept none that nigl
Id Hazel herself tossed w~akefully, al