The Ely miner., 1925-11-06

leave all these things to me. You
boys are too busy with-much more
important business-to be worried
about details"
Spool made his plans joyously. If
he was not happy at heart over the
fact that Jean was to marry me no one
could have read 1t in his face. He
would have a minister. he would have
licenses, he would have wedding rings
leave 1t all to him.
A week later he came putting across
the crusted prairie, in broad-soled Can
adian felts.
admire my scows," he commanded,
as he hove them into view. Twin
schooners of the deep"
Travelling in ballast" Jack inter
rupted.
NAY, laden with good tidings. All,
there she breaks out line of signals"
and Spool started to wig-wig a mes
sage which none of us could decipher.
81 fear thee, Ancient Mariner, !"
said Jean, "but what are you driv-
ing at?''
Just this, that the contract is let
to one John Locke, minister, the low
est, and, In fact, the only bidder. He
will be aided and abetted by an indi-
vidual called Reddy, for reasons which
will be obvious when you see him.
Reddy, like Jake, appears to harbor
no surname, although ne doubt for Off
cial purposes he signs something to the
marriage license. They will be out by
midafternoon Christmas day, and the
ceremony will take place in the main
drawing room Of my country residence
on section Two. Carriages at four
thirty. You see, lost no time in go
Ing to town"
''You to town. with those 'bullocks'
Of yoursl I" Jack exclaimed "And you
libeled Buck and Bright by suggest
ing"
Il went to town, but not behind my
bullocks. There are some things
will not do, even for so great a friend
ship as l bear for thee. had driver
and a spanking team of mules"
Mules? Whose"
"Our American friend. Burke, lent
his team and himself for the occasion.
The fact is he had misgivings about
lending the team without himself, so
he came along. He was afraid / would
not treat the mules automatically.
Nothing, I assure you, was, or is, fur
ther from my intention. But, my word
such languagel Driving bullocks is
only a beginners course compared
with the demands made upon a mule
teer. =. Burke rose very greatly
in my estimation.
So we left the details in Spoof's
hands, glad enough to be rid of re-
sponsibility for them. There was much
to do, and Jack and found ourselves
banished to Twenty-Five while the
girls made use Of the shanty on Four
teen for operations concerning which
we were permitted to have nothing but
curiosity. Their wedding splendor
must, we knew, be designed with such
skill as Marjorie and Jean possessed
from the best of the clothing they had
brought with them from the East.
Love may laugh at locksmiths, but 1t
has to bow to dollars and cents-when
the trousseau is under consideration
Money, as Marjorie once remarked,
may be bad for the heart, but it's good
for the appearance. But there was no
money to be had for this occasion, and
Marjorie and Jean cut their cloth ac
cordingly, literally as well as fgura-
lively.
Also, the news had to be broken to
those at home. Each of US wrote a
letter, although, to save postage, we
enclosed them all in one envelope
There had been little correspondence
since we came to the homesteads,
mainly because we were as yet thirty
miles from a post office, and letters
might lie for month without chance
of delivery. But this was something
to be written about.
l recall that there was moonlight
just then, and night on the prairie was
a base of ivory cupped with an in
tangible bowl of blue. Always there
was the nip of frost In the air, but it
was nip that was not unpleasant,
and by no means did 1t succeed in con-
fining us within doors. During these
bright nights Jean and took long,
never-to-be-forgotten walks across the
snow-piled, moon-swept plains. /
could feel her firm little figure swaying
with mine in our strong stride across
the wind-packed snow, while our
shadows-our shadow, l should say
fell in grotesque caricature by our side