Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1918-02-23

| ouAANtSlli ISdSuis ne returned. |tndL
you can't pack stove on horse-and
were three hundred odd miles from
the end Of any wagon road. With a
! Dutch oven or two-that heavy. round
iron thing you see there--I can guar
| antee to cook almost anything you can
/ cook on stove. Anybody can if they
know how. Besides, like things bet
/ ter this way. If l didn't, l suppose
I'd have stove-and maybe hot-wa-
! ter supply, and modern plumbing. AS
it is, it affords me a sort of prideful
satisfaction, which you may n may
not be able to understand, that This
cabin and everything in it is the work
/ of my handS-Or stuff I've packed in
| here with all sorts Of effort from the
outside. Maybe I'm a freak. But I'm
proud Of this place. Barring the In
/ evitable lonesomeness that comes now
and then, I can be happier here than
any place I've ever struck yet. This
country grows on one"
"Yes-on ones nerves" Hazel re-
torted.
BIZ smiled, and. rising, began to clear
! away the dishes. Hazel resisted an ina
! pulse 20 help. She would not work /;
she would not lift her finger to any
/ task, she reminded herself. He had
put her in her present position, and he
could wait on her So she rested an
elbow on the table and watched him.
In the midst of his work he stopped
suddenly.
There's oceans Of time to do this"
/ he observed. I'm just wee bit
tired if anybody should ask you. Let's
camp in the other room. It's a heap
more comfy"
He put more wood or the kitchen
fire. and set a pot of water to heat.
Out in the living room Hazel drew her
chair to one side Of the hearth. Bill
! sprawled on the bearSkln robe with an
/ other cigarette in his fingers.
mo" he began. after a long silence,
this country doesn't get on ones
nerves-nOt If one is a normal human
being. You'll find that When I first
came up here I thought SO, too; 1t
seemed so big and empty and forbid
ding. But the more l see of it the bet
/ ter it compares with the outer world,
where the extremes of luxury and want
are always in evidence. 1t began to
seem Ike home to me when | first
/ looked down into this little basin.
I mad partner then. / said to him :
Here's a dandy, fine place to winter
SO we wintered--ln log shack sixteen
foot square that Silk and Satin and
! Niger have for a stable now. When
summer came my partner wanted to
move on, so I stayed-stayed and be
/ ran to build for The next winter. And
! I've been working at 1t ever since,
making little things like chairs and
tables and shelves, and fixing up game
heads whenever I got an extra good
one. And maybe two or three times a
year Ia go out. Got restless, you
/ know. I'm not really a hermit by ma
! ture. Lord, the things I've packed In
here from the outsidel Books hired
a whole pack train ut Ashcroft once to
bring in Just books; they thought I
was crazy. | guess. I've quit this place
once or twice, hut / always come back.
It's got that home feeling that I can't
find anywhere else. Only It has always
/ lacked one important home qunlilica-
ton" he finished softly. ADO you ever
/ build air castles|
"No," Hazel answered untruthfully,
uneasy at the trend Of his talk She
was learning that BIZ Wagstaff for
all his genHenes5 and patience with
her, was d persistent mortal.
well, I do" he continued. upper
turbed. 'Lots Of 'em. But mostly
around one thIng-a woman--a dream
woman-because 7 never saw one that
+ seemed to fit I'm until I ran across You. "
"Mr. Wagstaff" Hazel pleaded,
won't YOU please stop talking like
that2 1t isn't--it isn't"
isn't proper, I suppose" Bill sup
+ piled dryly, "Now, that's merely an
/ error, and a fundamental error on your
part little person. Our emotion and
! instincts are perfectly proper when you
get down to fundamentals. You've got
/ an artificial standard to Judge by.
/ that's all. And I don't suppose you
/ have the least idea how many lives are
! spoiled one way and another by the
operation Of those same artificial stand
ards in this little old world. Now, I
! may seem 10 you a lawless. unprin-
cipled individual indeed because I've
acted contrary to your idea Of the &C
cepted order Of things. But here's my
side Of it: I'm ia senrch Of happiness
We all are. I have a few ideais-aud
cry few Illusions. / don't quite believe
this thing called love at first sight
nat presupp0ses volatility of emo
lion that people Of any strength of
character are not likely TO indulge in.
But-for instance, O man can have q
''ery definite ideal Of the kind Of wom-
an he would Ike TOR n mate, the kind
Of woman he could be happy with and
could make happy. And whenever ne
finds a woman who corresponds 10 that
ideal he's apt to make strenuous at
tempt TO get her. Tbat's pretty much
how felt about you"
you had no right to kldnap me, s."
Hazel began.
You had no business getting lost