Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1926-04-08
SYNOPSIS
wNu Service
COPYRIGHT By Robsrt Stead.

SYNOPSIS
CHAPTER v. = Construction OF
"shacks" and the making OF garden
q pond Of good water on Franks farm.
we'll A young Englishman OF the name
Of "Spoof' Is Q neighbor Of theirs. They
call on Spool. typical Englishman OF
breeding and education. who 10 living
In Q tent.
CHAPTER vI.--spoof on his return
visit, discloses himself as a man of
varied social attachments. He promises
to give. the girls lessons on the banjo.
takes an altogether unnecessary and
undesirable interest In him. His jeal-
ousy 10 aroused.
CHAPTER vII.-Marjoris discovers
that they have new neighbor, and the
turns out to Ss1 5. " g MRS Alton. wid-
three-yeaITa,old son Gerald ha; taken up
other at once. Spool, on visit to
Fourteen with his banjo. T. told Of the
new nsighbors Frank imsginss the
. disauieting effect on Spool.
CHAPTER vIII.-Frank and John
leave the homesteads for time to do
harvest work for wages on q longer
s .,,ta iII' farm. They encounter Jake,
matrimony. After two months absence
they return to their homes. Jeans en-
thusiastic welcome stirs Frank to the
belief that Jean returns his love. but
he still has lingering doubt
CHAPTER N.-The land sections be-
tionalities.,. Jake and hil wife have
located in the neighborhood. Mrs. Alton
remains strangely aloof. Winter sets in.
-
We did as Spool suggested. Early
the next afternoon we hitched Buck
and Bright to the wagon and wended
our slow way southwestward, Jack and
/ taking turns in the explanatory exer-
cises by means of which the oxen were
kept in motion. The prairie now was
very brown and bare, and only the
more hardy gophers remained about to
whistle saucily at our carry-all lumber
ing by. The dazzling sunshine seemed
to have lost its force, and there was
q presage Of coming winter in the air.
We dropped into silence save for the
noises of our locomotion.
, "The world seems to have died." said
Jean after long period Of thought
fitness.
The expression was an appropriate
one. The world was, actually, dead.
Every blade Of grass was stark little
corpse, swaying ghostily to the stir of
the, cold air. Soon the shroud of win
ter would be woven about them, flake
by fake, mantling them all in its cold,
white tomb.
"But in the spring 1t will live again"
Jean continued, after pause. "That
Is the life eternal"
Jean was q strange girl. Her
thoughts went on and on, reaching out.
and out. She seemed to live always on
the verge of the infinite.
At length we were at Browns. The
rickety shack, smaller than either OF
ours, presented sad and forlorn ap-
pearance. Three little faces were
crowded in a single window that COW
cred our approach. Brown himself
was busy building stable of sods, and
succeeding very badly In his work. He
could scarcely be distinguished from
his building material, but when he saw
us he shook himself, as a dog shakes
off water, and came up, touching his
cap.
1--WE are your neighbors from Four
teen" we announced ourselves MAY
we go in?"
"You may, and welcome" he said.
"The wife will be bit fuddled. I'm
not the most presentable myself"
Then Jean did great thing; one
Of those wonderful things that no one
but Jean seemed to think Of. She
clambered to the side Of the wagon
and held our her arms.
"I'm all dirt Miss" Brown protested
"I'm all earth and sand" But he came
slowly forward to her outstretched
arms, and when his hands reached hers
he took her and gently helped her
down.
Thank you, Mr.. Brown" she said.
But Brown was looking at her and
at us with eyes that had suddenly
gone misty with mist not of the s0ds
or Of the sands. Two little pools Of
water gathered and streaked slow.
dusty course across his grimy face.
Inside we found Mrs. Brown a bit
fuddled,' as her husband had predicted.
At first she merely stood wringing her
hands, but when Jean and Marjorie
kissed her, and then kissed the little
Browns, the veil suddenly lifted and
she was all kindness and hospitality.
What day it was. after we began to
get acquainted! Marjorie and Jean
had brought some homemade candy.
and In few minutes the little Browns
were smeared and happy and slipping
gently about looking into the faces OF
our girls as though they verify be-
lieved them angels.
II, was dark and starry when we
hifched the oxen to the wagon, and
shook hands all round, and kissed the