The Adair County news., 1921-10-11
Illustrations by

wall.
"No" she answered quickly. I'm
through reading for today, and l like
this twilight"
Her Improvement in speech and in
manners had gone on at surprisingly
rapid rate. She rarely spoke with any
but the simplest words, but she never
fell into anything more than bare SEM
blance of the old drawing hill dialect
unless it was while she was under the
stress Of some strong emotion.
She closed the book and looked up
with eyes that were like the first stars
in a summer sky. Her beauty was
wonderful; it was finer and sweeter
than it had ever been before.
Old Dale stood looking thOughtfully
into her upturned face. He was lit
tie pale. and he seemed troubled and
uneasy.
Elizabeth shook her head. "YOu're
worrying again."
He dropped into q nearby chair,
leaned slowly forward and let one
hand fall gently on her thick and silky
chesthut-broWn hair.
81 WISH" he said as though to him
self, 'that had daughter like you"
He took his hand from her head, lay
back YEARLY In his chair and closed
his eyes. Then he bent forward again.
"The Morelands, Elizabeth-theS'Ve
moved away from the settlement,
haven't thegT'
Yes; Bill Dale has dohe Wonderful
things for them!" the girl answered.
John X. Dale was silent for mo-
ment, after which he said suddenly: Il
want to see my son; there is something
| must tell him. Will you go with me.
EliZabethT
"Of course. I'll go with you"
She thought she knew what II was
that stirred him. BY intuition. supple
mented by Bill Dale's occasional cryp-
tic utterances. and pieced out by hin
tradition, Elizabeth LittIeford gradu-
ally had come into possession of the
old coal mans grim secret.
Neither of them knew that John
Moreland was then visiting his beloved
old hills for the sake of some shooting.
The following day John K. Dale and
Elizabeth LittlefOrd alighted from a
northbound passenger train at the
Halfway switch. The mountains were
covered with three inches of snow, and
the hemlock and pines bore heavy bur,
dens of the beautiful white stuff; but
the air was still, and it wasn't very
cold.
You'd get your clothing all black
on the coal train" Dale said to his
companion, $50 you'd rather walk over
wouldn't you? Anyway, the train isn't
here. I'm good for six miles, think
YES" smiled Ben Littleford's
daughter, I'D rather waikiki you're
sure that six miles won't be too much
for you"
Together, with the girl leading the
way, they set out across David More
lands mountain. The old trail showed
not one footprint ahead of them: Il
was not so much used now. They sale
little. Each thought their own thoughts
and neither cared to speak them Il
the other.
Just before they reached the noun
tain's crest. they passed a group o.
snow-laden pines that concealed a big
brown-bearded man who had beer
stealthily following the trail of lont
wild turkey. He wore khaki hunting
clothes and high laced boots, and Their
was a certain English fneness abou
him. In his bare hands he carried {
repeating rife, which marked him a
one born in the hills; a lowlande
would have had choke-bored shotgun
When he saw John K. Dale b,
stopped suddenly. 1t might have beer
intuition, or it might have been shee
curiosity, the average hillman being {
stranger to neither-he followed ant
watched the two, unseen by them.
On the pine-fringed crest, Elizabetl
! Littleford halted to view that which
lay around and below him. Old Dial,
stopped close at her side, and he, too
looked of that which lay around ant
UCAOW luSu anu U HIS Iullu dlSO LhCle
came memories crowding.
The young woman brushed back q
Maynard wisp Of brown hair and
turned to the man beside her.
"The Moreland part O. the settle
ment looks lonesome, don't it?' she
said. "See, there's no smoke comm
from their cabin chimneys. :" She
went on absently, But the Littlefords
are there yet"
Old Dale caught the meaning that
was in the latter sentence. 1t was moi
shallow meaning.
''We are going to take care of the
Littlefords, Elizabeth" he assured her
I've thought much over it, and JUS
now I've decided. When decide, its
for all timeI you know that, dom
your"
A great giadness filed Elizabeth;
heart 1t did not occur to her to ash
how, in what manner, he was going t.
take care of her people; it was enough
to know that he was going to take care