Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-11-11
CHAP1 ER w.

ana the uraD autumn Country new ny
the windows, and still the bride sat
wrapped in, her dream, smiling, mus
ing, rouslng herself to notice the
scenery.
When Martin asked, her If she liked
TO be married woman, travelling with
her husband, she smiled and said that
it seemed funny For the most part
she was silent, pleased and interested,
but not quite her usual unconcerned
self. After dinner they had long,
murmured talk; she began to droop
sleepily now, although oven this long
day had not paled her cheeks or visi-
bly, tired her.
At ten they stumbled out, crnmped
and overheated, and smitten on tired
foreheads with rush of icy mountain
air.
as this the pl-l-ace?" yawned Cher
ry, cllnging TO his arm.
''This is the place, Baby Girl; Ell
Nido, and not much of place!" her
husband told her. That's the Hotel
Mckinley, over there where the lights
are! We stay there tonight and drive
out to the mine tomorrow. I'll man.
age the bags, but don't you stumbled"
She was wide-awake now, looking
alertly about her at the dark streets
Of the little town. Mud squelched be-
meath their feet, planks tilted. Beside
Martin, Cherry entered the bright,
cheerful lobby Of cheap hotel where
men were smoking and splitting. She
was beside him at the desk and saw
him write on the register, u. NJ. Lloyd
and wife," The clerk pushed key
across the counter; Martin guided her
to a rattling elevator
She had fleeting thought Of home;
Of Dad reading before the fire. Of the
little brown room upstairs, with Alix,
slender In her thin nightgown, yawning
over her prayers. A rush of reluc-
tance-of strangeness-of something
like terror smote her. She fought the
homesickness down resolutely; every
thing would seem brighter tomorrow,
when the morning and the sunshine
came again.
There was brown and red car
pet in the oblong of the room, and a
brown bureau, and a wide iron bed
with q limp spread, and a peeling
brown washstand with q pitcher and
basin. The boy lighted flare of cleo
trio lights which made the chocolate
and gold wallpaper look like one pat
tern In the light and another in the
shadow. A man laughed in the ad-
Joining room; the voice seemed very
near.
Cherry had never been in hotel
of this sort before. 1t seemed to her
cheap and horrible; she did not want
to stay in this room, and Martin, tip
ping the boy and asking for ice-water,
seemed somehow part of this new
strangeness and crudeness. She began
to be afraid that lie would think she
was silly, presently. If she said her
prayers as usual.
In the morning Martin hired phae-
ton and they drove out to the mine.
Cherry had had a good breakfast and
was wearing new gown; they stopped
another phaeton on the long, pleasant
drive and Martin said to the fat man
in It:
"Mr. Bates, want to make you ac-
quainted with my wife,"
"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Lloyd"
said the fat man, pleasantly. Martin
told Cherry, when they passed him,
that that was the superintendent of
the mine, and seemed pleased at the
encounter. Presently Martin put his
arm about her and the bay horse daw
died along at his own sweet will, while
Martins deep voice told his wife over
and over again how adorable and beau
tirul she was and how he loved her.
Cherry listened happily, and for a
little while the old sense of pride and
achievement came back-she was mar
ried; she was wearing plain gold
ring! But after few days that feel
ing vanished forever and instead 1t
began to seem strange, to her that
she had ever been anything else than
Martins wife.
For several days she and Martin
laughed necessarily and praised each
other necessarily, while they expert
mented with cooking and ate delicious
gypsy meals.
b Iuidwnter Cherry had settled
down to the business OF life, buying
hao,r and lard and sug.ar c.na :astches
at tho store Of the mine, cooking and
cleaning, sweeping. and making beds.
She still kissed Martin go0d-by every
morning and met him with an affec-
tionate rush at the door when he came
home, and they played Five Hundred
evening after evening after dinner,
ouarreling for points and laughing at
each other, while rain sluiced down on
the porch. But sometimes she won
dered how it had all come about, won
dered what had become Of the violent
emotions that had picked her out OF
the valley home and established her
here. in this strange place, with this
man she had never seen year ago.