The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1922-06-01

geared locomotive, dozen or 50 OF
little coal cars opening at the bottom,
and miles Of light steel rails with kegs
Of spikes for them.
Out toward her home q crew Of men
& worked like bees at the building Of a
trestle Of round timbers that had been
cut from the nearby woods; she at
once recognized these nen as More
lands and Littlefords, and she knew
1t meant peace! They didn't recognize
her, because Of the distance and the
clothing she wore. and because they
were too busy to pay any particular
attention to her. !.
Farther out toward Doe river am
| other crew Of men was at work clear
| ing the way for the little narrow
! gauge. She heard the sounds Of the
i az and the saw. the hammer and the
i steel, and once there came to her ears
| the great dull roar Of exploding dyna-
mite as cliff was blown clear Of Its
] foundations.
Miss Elizabeth Littleford smiled
happily. And she had not been happy
for q long time. Patricia McLaurin.
with whom she ha dbeen staying, had
| been kindness itself, but the mother
Of Bill Dale, her Bill Dale. had
snubbed her-and besides the longing
| for the old home hills was riotous In
| her blood. So she had come back, run
away at less than moments notice
| as had Bill Dale before her, and how
good it seemed to be at homeI She
would have gone to see the men, had
It not been that she feared she would
be bother.
There was another interesting sight
when she had reached the crest Of
David Moreland's mountain. In the
upper end Of the broad valley, mid
way between the settlement" and the
opening Of the Moreland coal vein, two
large buildings were well along In
their course Of construction.
She put down her bundle Of cloth,
Ing, shaded her eyes with her hand.
and tried to find Bill Dale among the
builders. But the distance was too
/ great; man down there was but
mere speck. -. Before she went on,
she removed hei shoes and stockings.
It was hard for Babe Littleford to be-
come accustomed to wearing useless
shoes and stockings In warm weather
When she had reached the foot Of
| the mountain, she didn't take the by
path her people had been wont to use
in order that they might avoid con-
tact with the Morel&nds. There was
no need Of avoiding contact with the
Morelands now, thank goodnessl
Then q voice hailed her from the
laurels out at her right, the voice she
loved better than any other
"Hello, Miss Littlefordl' r.
Babe stopped and faced him, and
she blushed furiously when she saw
him. He was coming rapidly toward
her with his hat In his hand, and his
brown hair was rumpled Sand damp
with Precipitation. She saw that he
was In boots and corduroys, the cloth
Ing Of tfmber-jack, and he looked
bigger In them; about his waist there
was cartridge-belt. from which hung
big and dependable looking revolver
In a leathern holster.
'Hello, Mister Dale !" she mimicked.
He shook her hand, then he dropped
to moss-coyered log that lay beside
the narrow trail.
"Sit down here beside me-" he saiI;
and he added: 1--WE been going hard
all day, and I'm pretty tired"
| She let fall her bundle and her
shoes and stockings, and obeyed.,
"Why did you come back, BabeT' he
asked as though he were displeased.
"'Cause," she answered she
corrected herself quickly, II mean be-
cause"
mo reason whatever" smiled Dale.
"Weu," and her clear brown eyes
looked at him squarely, II come back
because yore mother che said ! would
be burden to Mis- McLaurin, that's
why"
Mrs. McLaurin," said Dale; mot
Mis- McLaurin."
"a burden to Mrs. EcLaurin, and !
(. amt a-goin' to be a burden to no
0OuJ sSACAACutiys Al q SOAtCA WIFE,
she went on, MRS McLaurin and her
husband and her folks has done made
up friendly, Bill Dale. Mrs. McLau.
rims pap-I mean her father-he
brung 'em big lot O. silver
things.
"Bill Dale, Ihad big time Every
body liked me but yore own maw--I
mean yore mother. Ny goodness
gracious-they dress awful fine, don't
they? Why, silk amt nothin'. But
whar all o. their money comes from.
shore CANT see. Say, showed some
o. Pats friends how to dance our old
hill dances. and the whole town was
crazy about 'em when / left. Jimmy
Fayne is awful gpod-lookin' and rich.
amt he, Bill? He liked me bettern
any of 'em. less 1t was Pat herself.
You know Jimmy, don't We. Bill?"
Dale nodded, frowned, and turned
his sober gaze toward the toes OF bis
high laced boots. Yes. he knew Jimmy
Fayne, and he held him Ia contempt