Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1926-07-08

that Eden Of life which comes before
the disillusionment which Is the Fall.
The years between had gone out with
a gulp that filed my throat, and again
we were little children playing to-
gether, solemnly mating ourselves for
the future under the witnessing MUIR
muir Of the great pine. That had been
one of the great days in my life, and
had not known 1t then. ! wonder how
often we know the great day when II
is actually upon usf But In that day
had drunk In something which had
become part of my system part of my
flesh and bone and brain; part Of my
hope. my aspiration, my life. And
now would l give 1t up? Never
never! pressed the precious missive
to my lips and suddenly the dam of
my overweight nerves gave way, and
tears rushed down upon me- With q
mans shame / would have checked
them II could, but the food would
not be stopped-and there was none
to see. fell on my bed and let the
storm sweep over me-
After a while came calmness, and
with that calmness the resolution
which recorded In the opening tines
Of this chapter. l would have 1t out
with Jean. I would put up another
fight for all that made life worth the
living. would not accept my fate; at
least, ] would not accept the fate to
which Jean had resigned me. She
| would see
But this was battle which could
not be fought In public, and racked
my wits for some way In which
might lay siege to Jean-alona |
hardly could ask Jack and Marjorie to
get out of their ,wn house while /
| subjected Jean to the main drive which
was to break down her resistance;
much less could invite Jean to Four
teen for the same purpose. The
prairies, with all their vast spaces, re-
| fused me just that one little niche OF
| privacy l needed. As turned the
matter over in my mind clever plan
unfolded itself before me. / would
| make sled and invite Jean to go
coasting somewhere along the banks
of the gully. Then we would wander
on and on, the farther the better.
Fortunately some boards remained
of the table which had supported the
wedding feast, and / went to work
with q will. The reaction from In
activity was in itself tonic to my
spirits, and found myself whistling
an improvised tune which I fitted to
| the words, when / am old and very
tall, ETC." Hope rebounded, as hope
will, from its dip into despair, and /
began to picture the shack on Four
| teen as 1t would be under the loving
care Of "Mrs. Hail." and the JOY that
we would find in Its seclusion. The
winter months, which had been drag
| ging so unutterably, suddenly threat
ened to be all too short.
I completed my sleigh and presented
myself at the door Of Twenty-Five.
| Jack looked upon the vehicle with evil
dent misgiving may have built 1t
rather stoutly, but that was no reason
why he should suggest that l hitch an
OK to 1t.
IAN oxl" retorted. "This is built
for speed. ! am going to ask Jean to
60 coasting."
"Aha!" said Jack, significantly. II
wish you all possible speed"
Jean showed no reluctance about go
ing. She drew on wooden sweater
and short, cloth winter coat, with
collar Of some fluffy kind Of fur which
had originally grown on cat. She
had little fur cap Of the same ma
terial, which she pulled down snugly
on her head, and we were of.
We followed the crest Of the gully
for some distance in the direction Of
Sneezit's farm, ostensibly in search of
a good coasting spot, but actually much
| engaged with our thoughts and the real
purpose Of our outing. That Jean
understood 1t perfectly was con-
| vinced, and under such circumstances
the fact that she had so readily az
| cepted my invitation was at least
hopeful omen.
Walking on the untracked snow In
Il
| midwinter Is an uncertain business,
and the prairie people rarely make use
| of snowshoes. For the most part
there was frozen crust that bore our
weight, but this crust has an unfor-
tunate habit of giving way at unex-
pected moments, particularly when one
has just taken big stride forward.
There Ia an offoot varv rnuch Hike
coming upon the head Of the stairs In
the darkness when yon think you are
| still safely walking along the hall. 1t
precipitates one forward with great
| suddenness, but fortunately snow Is
a good thing to fall In. We scrambled
to our feet, laughing and in high
spirits. It was wonderful thing to
laugh again, and mean It
| fConffnuad1