The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1925-12-04

4
Jean had taken. 1t bore more and
more heavily upon me as l plodded
through that measureless waste of
snow. l had no doubt that she had
started for SpOofs; whether she ever
| had reached there was another ques-
ton. She was able to stand his neglect
no longer-she was bound to have 1t
out with him, just as, yesterday, l had
been bound to have it out with
her. At moments I wished that
she might not find Spoofs. At mo-
ments II seemed that almost anything
was better than that. There was the
| possibility that she might strike
circle and wander about on these va
cant sections. 1t was not very cold
| she would not freeze until exhaustion
overcame her. Possibly even now she
was wandering in these milky mists,
even within earshot of me.
Jean! Jeani" / cried, raising my
voice against the buffeting of the wind.
but it died unechoed in the void of
space.
There was the possibility that she
had been overcome; that even now she
was lying somewhere on the white
snow, her white, cold face turned to a
white, cold sky, her 1.-the little body, no
longer 1.-the, forming the occasion for
drift which the Sitting wind had al
ready seized as convenient to its pur-
pose. The sweat trickled down
from under my cap and l pulled it Off
and let the comforting snow fall on
my forehead. And now used my eyes
more than ever before, to detect, if 1
might, any object lying on the snow.
Dark specks doomed up through the
mist, and many detour | made with
pounding heart, to find only prairie
boulder or lump of tumbleweed blown
into a wolf willow
Again, Jean might have reached
Spoofs. That was going to be the
most difficult possibility of ALL What
should l do? | fingered the weapon
in my pocket, but l knew that that
was nonsense. If Jean had gone to
Spool she had done so of her own free
will she need not account for herself
to me; she might even resent my in
reference. Spool might order me out
as meddling busybOdy he might sub
ject me to the torture of taking Jean
from me before my very eyes. l was
even less than Jack; had L been her
brother l could have held him to ac-
countability. But would not be or
dered out; / would not be abased-
Surely had right. l was her friend,
her neighbor.
Her neighbor. Perhaps that is the
trouble" she had said.
l fingered my revolver affectiOnately.
l was glad had brought it.
looked at my watch. 1t was twenty
minutes after nine. l had been fool
enough to start without noting the
time, and had no idea how far | had
travelled. Surely l should be near
Spoofs now.
But our engagement had never been
quite Cancelled. Or had it? | tried to
recall, but my mind blurred. Once we
were engaged; we were to have been
married before this time; Jean and
were to have been married at Christ
mas. Then Spool. / was not clever
enough for her. Perhaps Spool
would be, l thought, and hated myself
for thinking it,
Perhaps she was right. was good
bit of a dub. Never read much, never
thought much. Bounded by the corner
stakes of Fourteen. An OK. Jean had
as much as called me an OK. Thinking
more about oats than sunsets.
Didn't even mention her new cap.
When l did 1 turned my compliment
upside down; pinned it to the cap, in
stead Of to her. Spool would not have
done that.
Our poem. The snow would be deep
on it now. Or perhaps not. 1t might
have whipped clear. lift anything
happened to Jean l would go to that
poem, would yearn over it, | would
caress it, I would lean upon it 1t
was snow, and would be gone in the
spring. Something about keeping her
guessing l was to keep her guessing
Well, she was keeping me guessing
just now, with a vengeance!
/ tried to call Jean up in my memory,
to visualize her profile, her eyes, her
hair, her lips, the fitting lift of her
ankle, the joyous stride of her young,
free limbs. Ii was all a mist; pic
ture out of focus. 1t was a nebuIous
thing, vague, indistinct, uniformed
Through and beyond it l saw the gray
snow falling eternally. Then about
this central fgure-if one may call
thing so ethereal fgure-gathered a
circle of light, and it grew and glowed
and frightened until it haloed about
her head. 1t was Jean!