The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1925-11-27
CHAPTER XIII

/ had given Jean up, under protest,
as the only thing to do. But having
made my protest / meant 10 accept
my fate with dignity; would take
my sentence like man, and serve 1t
without whining.
l had been long in going to sleep,
and as consequence had awakened
late. The shack was bitterly cold; the
only comfort lay under my heavy
blankets. AS the light increased l
counted the knobs of frost that had
formed on the ends of the nails that
came through the roof. / had never
noticed that so many nails had missed
the rafters. We were rather bad car
penters. My mind leaped back to the
time when we built the shack, clear
ing all the events crowded between,
as the vision leaps from height to
height across great valleys In the
prairies. How unreal and far away 1t
all seemed! But another leap carried
me TO the bank of river, and little
children playing in the sand, and
slow-pacing water wheel that sprayed
its mist of diamonds in the sunshine.
/ saw her little calico dress, her little
brown bare feet, the ringlets of yell
low hair hung about her cheeks. That
was Jean.
The clock had stopped! 1t was with
terrific suddenness that realized the
clock had stopped and in my barren
shanty was the silence of the tomb.
Its round, CLASSY face grinned an i'm
beetle grin at me from its place on a
shelf on the wall. Its hands showed
q quarter to four. Well, there
was nothing very mysterious about
that. In the excitement of the we'd
ding party l had merely forgotten TO
wind the clock Only an overweight
nervous system could discern anything
uncanny in that. / reasoned all this
out, with absurd elaboration, as /
rubbed my eyes and wondered why
the clock had stopped. Or perhaps
the frost had stopped it.
My watch had Jared better, and
when l drew it from my pocket on
the corner of the bed the friendly
hustle of it's ticking was reassuring to
my ear. l could hear the companion
able canter of its balance wheel gal
Looping down the road of life by my
side. "Next to a dog" 1 said to my
self, "a watch is the best friend a
man can have"
That set me thinking about dogs,
and 1 wondered why in all these
mantle 7 bod po0laotod m prnvido INV
self with a dog. AS sort of insur-
ance, l grimly reflected. One always
can fall back on dog.
The hands Of the watch said half-past
eight, and / suddenly remembered
that there were cattle to feed. 1t
would be decent thing to get up and
do all the chores that morning, If they
were not already done. So / drew my
underwear from beneath my pillow.
and sprang from the friendly shelter
of the blankets
l hurriedly started fire; watched
IT until it had proper draft; turned
the damper in the pipe to guard
against its getting beyond control after
/ left it. Then, after drawing on my
peajacket, cap and mitts, l set out for
the stables. The morning was gray,
with a scattered sitting of small snow
flakes, but the nip TO the air was not
nearly so uncomfortable as it seemed
when contemplated from under the
warm blankets. / reflected that COM
fort and happiness are largely a mat
ter of the point of view. But that
doesn't help when the bottom has fall
len out of your particular universe.
The stove lids were red hot and the
kettle was belching forth small gey-
ser of steam when l got back to the
shack. My search for remnants from
the feast Of the night before was as
tonishingly fruitless, until remem-
bered that the young Hansens had
been turned loose upon the left-overs.
So cooked mixture of oatmeal and
water, which / called porridge boiled
two fresh eggs, thawed out part of a
loaf of bread, melted piece of butter,
and sat down to meal that was hard
ly calculated to make me rejoice in
my single blessedness.
After breakfast l washed my few
dishes, swept the floor, made my bed
and generally set the house in order.
Even then it was only ten o'clock,
with nothing more to do until noon
At noon there would be a repetition
of the routine, and then nothing to dc
until night. At night there would be
supper and the evening chores, and
nothing more to do until morning
And the next day the same, and the
same, and the same.
1t was mid-afternoon when Jack
burst in upon me. "Well, old Robin
son Crusoe, how goes solitude?" he
demanded
Rotten" said /, 'but 1 can always
change my mind If 1 want to-"
''Ahai" he exclaimed, in return
clasping himself about the middle
"A blow in the fifth rib A subtle
blow under the fifth rib"
Jack was obviously in great spirits
but with sudden soberness he sat
down beside me, and l felt his hand
on my knee. Its not quite the thing
old chap" he said, ito cut us dead
just because we're married-that is
some of us"
II haven't cut YOU" I retorted
"Give me time."
II know it's a raw deal for you,
he went on. disregarding my inter.
ruption, land I'd give-Pd giye-hali
of my happiness, If you like, if / could
put it right. It's little embarrassing
for us all. But don't you think Jean
Is worth fight-a little more fight