The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1922-11-24

Impatiently Fairchild awaited Moth
.er Towards return, and when at last
she came forth from the kitchen, he
drew her into the old parlor, shadoW
move IN the gathering dusk, and closed
the Doors.
Mrs. Howard" he began, CT"
Mother Howard" she corrected. ~
amt used to being called much else"
Mother, then-although I'm not
very accustomed to using the title.
My own mother died-shortly after
my father came back from out here"
She walked TO his side then and put
a hand on his shoulders. For q mo-
ment it seemed that her lips were
struggling to. repreSS something which
strove to pass thels, something locked
behind them for years. Then the old
face, dim in the half light, Gained.
what do you want TO know, SOM"
"Everything!'
But there isn't much I can tell"
He caught her hand.
"There is! | kmsw there is. l."
"SOn-all l car do is to make mat
tiers worse. If | knew anything that
would help you-if | could give you
any light on anything, Old Mother
Howard would do it! Lord, didn't 1
help out your father when he needed
1t the worst way? But I'm as much
'iH the dark as you. All that l ever
knew was that your father came to
this boarding house when he was a
Tho x-nru Rv-ct Iav, <ho< bn
ever struck Ohadi. He didn't have
much money, but he was enthusiastic
and it wasn't dong before he'd told
me about his wife and baby back in
indianapolis and how he'd like to win
out for their sake. AS for Newell,
they always called me Mother How
ard, even when I was q young thing,
sort Of setting my cSp for every good
looking young man that came along.
I guess that's why l never caught one
OF 'em-I always insisted on darning
their socks and looking after all their
troubles for 'em instead of going out
thuggy-riding with some other fellow
end making 'em jealous" She sighed
ever SO slightly, then chuckled. "But
that amt getting to the point,
though, is it,?
"If you could tell me about my ia
aher-"
I'm going to-all l know. Things
were a lot different out here then
from what they were later. Every
where around the hills and gulches
you could see prospectOrs. with their
Kacs and little picks, foOling around
like life didn't mean anything in the
world to 'em, except to grub around
TN those rocks.
"Your father was one of these men.
squirt Rodaine was anOther-they
called him that because at some time
in his life he'd tried to shoot faster
thar the ether fellow-and didn't do
1t. The bullet hit right between his
eyes, but 1t must have had poor pow
der behind tall 1t did was to cut
through the skin and SO straight up
his forehead. When the wound healed,
the scar drew his eyes close together.
like a Chinaman's. You never see
Equlnt's eyes more than half open.
Sand he's crooked. just like his
eyes" Mother Howard's voice bore
q touch Of resentment. II never liked
him from the minute I first saw him,
and / liked him less afterward. Then
I got next to his game.
"Your father had been prospecting
Just like everybody else. He'd come
on float up Kentucky gulch and was
trying to follow it to the vein. Squint
saw him-and what's more, lie saw
that float. 1t looked good to Squint-
and late that night, ! heard him and
his two drinking partners. Blindeye
Bozeman and Taylor Bill-they Just
reverse his name for the sound of it
talking in Blindeye's room. I'm a
woman" Mother Howard chuckled-
$50 l just leaned my head against the
door and listened. Then l flew down
stairs TO wait for your father when
ne came in from sitting up half the
night to get an assay on that float.
SGuint and them two others was figur-
ing on jumping his claim before he
could file on it and all that.
"Well. there was n big Cornishman
here that | was kind of sweet on-and
I guess I always will be. He's been
gone now, though, eyer since your ia
ther left. | COS him and asked him
e help And Harry was just the kind