Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1922-07-14
BY THE WAYSIDE
BY MARGARET A. SWEENEY

about the highways and the byways In
flivver, with only dog and cam.
era for company. One morning, on a
lonely bit of road that rims the river,
came upon an old garden--a garden
run to weed, where few roses OF an
earlier day stiu struggled for their
share OF the sun. At the entrance to
grass-grown path that led to an old
house, there stood two ancient ash
trees.
] sat down upon the wide stone door.
way, and II, too, was covered with
wild, green things-creep!ng tendriis
from fallen vine that lay twisted on
the ground like a huge brown snake
In the tall, waving grass / saw the
tip OF my dogs white tail moving stiff
~. He was stalking some wild crea-
ture. ] sat very silent.
who built this house and who made
this garden, and why are they allowed
TO run TO ruin?" These and other
questions drifted into my mind as
sat there under the indefinhble spell OF
this old place.
suddenly my meditations were inter
rupted by the yelplng Of my dog. He
was fiercely disputing the right Of
tall, white-haired man to enter the
garden. AS quickly az I could ] made
my way through the weeds and BRAN
'bles again. The dog, his sense of duty
satisfied, wagged welcome. The ole
gentleman Che looked like q country
doctor) cupped his hand behind his
ear and shouted: "Are you one OF the
Randals-the New York Randals?"
mo, Pm not" shouted back. "Is
this their place."
Eyes, this is the old Randall house.
i was driving past and / saw you sit
ting In the doorway and thought that
that you might be one OF Miss Abby
Randal's relatives from New York"
And then, with the loquacity Of the
aged, he told me this:
ABBY Randih, a very beautiful WON
an, the last mistress OF the old place,
was born there about 40 years ago.
When she was girl OF nineteen or
twenty she was engaged to q young
man named Nelson-Peter Nelson Of
Naugatuck. Nelson was fond of horses
and he rode fine saddle horse. II
was his custom TO ride out from Nau-
gatuck to the old Randall place every
evening.
zone evening, the eve Of his wed
ding day, hfs horse came dashing into
the Randall yard riderless and covered
with foam. Abby, sensing that some
thing had happened to her lover, hasti-
ly saddled her own horse and started
out toward Naugatuck; about half way
she found Nelson lying in the road
cut and bleeding, but conscious.
Help was summoned and the In
jured man was carried to Miss Ran.
dals home.
: Throughout the night Abby Randall
: never left bis side and the next morn
/ ing, nj the request Of the dying man
| she became his wife. At nightfali She
was q widow.
1.-THE girl-widow, dry-eyed and silent
shut herself In her rOom-she wanted
to be alone.
"ln the morning the girl lay .crum
pied upon the floor, sleeping az peace
fully az little child. Kindly hands
helped her into bed, and all day the
: girl lay in profound sleep. And when
toward evening, she awoke, she seemed
to have lost all memory Of what hat
4 befallen her. She complained Of ,
headache, and of having had fright
full dream--that was oil.
"In a few days she was busy abOu
her accustomed tasks, not exactly Tn,
same as OF old, but doing things In ,
!. dreamy, automatic way. She neve
spoke Of Nelson, and her family an,
r friends avoided mention OF his name
e She seemed happiest when working
alone among the flowers in the garden
''Five years went by, her mothe
died and Abby Randall lived on In tn
: old place with only an aged servan
for company.
Nelson had been dead about te
years when one morning Abby Ran
da's memory came back-part of
came back.
"She had come down to breakfas
+. ana When Ola mary Drought III III
coffee Miss Randall said: I'm goin
away today, Mary. My husband, Nj
Nelson, came back. He was here thi
" morning, and he is coming again thi
evening. But you may live here, Mar!
as long as you ike
e ''In her old heart Mary reJoiced. ia
the doctors had said that, eventual!
Miss Randa's memory would com
II hack, and now there was gimme
Of IT,
aust before supper Mary saw he
Il mistress gathering rOses-white rose
from the bush near the birdh0us
When supper was ready the old SER
ant went 10 the door, but Miss RAJ
10 dial was not In the garden; then III
20 old woman walked down the path an
there under the ash tree-the one {
the left az you go outlay Abby RAJ
ID dial, jusf as she had fallen, the Whit
roses In her hand.