Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1926-05-06

i =
having to send word, wedding post
poned on account Of the indisposition
Of Buck and Brightl' No. you must
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. II
| he was not happy at heart over the
fact that Jean was to marry me no one
| could have read it in his face He
| would have 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
adam 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 mes
sage which none Of us could decipher.
I 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 hn oh xr,I,n I,
Reddy, like Jake, appears to harbor
no surname, although no 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 yours!" Jack exclaimed. "And you
libeled Buck and Bright by suggest
| ing"
II went to town. but not behind my
bullocks. There are some things
will not do, even for so great friend
ship as bear for thee. I had driver
and spanking team of mules"
Mules? Whose?"
sour 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, l assure you, was, or is, fur
Their from my intention. But, my word,
such language! Driving bullocks is
only a beginners course compared
with the demands made upon mule
teer. Burke rose very greatly
in my estimation"
So we left the details in Spoofs
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 we'll as figura-
| lively.
Also, the news had to be broken to
those at home. Each of us wrote
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.
| recall that there was moonlight
| just then, and night on the prairie was
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 l took long.
never-to-be-forgotten walks across the
snow-piled, moon-swept plains. l
could feel her firm little figure swaying
/ with mine in our strong stride across
the wind-packed snow, while our
| shadows--our shadow, | should say
! fell in grotesque caricature by our side
/ There were moments when We were
very, very close to the lnfinity which
/ bounded us on every hand, and the
/ wonder of that great, white, silent
/ ocean would surge into our hearts and
mingle with the wonder of our love.
/ quarter of mile from the shanties
and we were as isolated from all liv
ing things as if we had been let down
/ In the midst Of the Polar sea, or drawn
by some mighty spirit into the farthest
void Of space. Even the boisterous