The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-10-17


ging"
Jenny whirled toward the older wom-
an. IF she's not good to him, I'll kill
| her!" she cried.
So Marin Pierce perceived the girls
| distress, and sought to ease her.
''There, Jen," she said quickly. "Don't
you mind! There's nought to do for
Will now. You go read the Book of
Proverbs You'll find heap of wisdom
there. Norwood will be his dish,
soon or late. Maybe If he'd read his
Bible, he'd have knowed better than
to marry her; but 1 dunno. Many a
| mans let a woman take him with her
eyelids, like the Bible says. Pore
WIFI"
"I'l :" Jenny whispered.
mo and you WON'T" the old WON
an interrupted stoutly. She shook her
| head. thought you can do but would
make it worse for Will, and for you.
too, Jen. Stay away from him, from
the both of them. Let fire burn, Jen.
1t will come to ashes by and by"
And Jenny was hushed and silenced !;
and the wise old woman went to get
the supper on.
Summer was upon them now, and
during the months that followed, Jen-
ny saw Will not at all. There was a
stir of new activity in the Valley, which
served in some degree as distraction.
In July, a man named Seth Hum
phreys, from Augusta, set up a steam
mill not far below Marin Pierce's farm.
They could hear, unless the wind were
wrong, the reiterant whine of the saw
and now and then some one of the
men who worked there, with minor
cut or wound, came to ask Marin Pierce
to heal his hurt for him. She had a
salve with virtues which were famous,
and she could minister to the lesser
physical ailments which sometimes at
tackled them.
When one of these men appeared,
Jenny stayed usually in the back
ground; but they were a harmless
lot, rough and strong and spending
their days in hard physical toll, yet
toward woman gentle and shy. Some
times she saw one or two of them
slipping through the open land between
the house and the woods toward the
brook. A path from the mill cut
through the woods direct to Carey's
bridge.
Going up to sample Bart Carey's
rum" Marin Pierce guessed with a
grim disapproval. "Jen, you keep away
from them. Stay out of the woods,
down that way. None of 'em to hurt
you, less'n they was drunk; but l
never did believe in putting idees into
mans head. You stay away"
She had in fact some reasons for
concern which she did not explain to
Jenny. People were apt to confide in
this wise old woman, and she heard
things Jenny did not hear. Amy Car
ey, Bart's sister. came one afternoon
when Jenny had gone toward the
brook, so that the old woman was
alone; and Amy was troubled.
1.-THE mill crew, they're around the
house all the time," she explained
"And Bart, he's had a couple men
staying there from Augusta, that let
on they come to fish; but they don't
bring home any trout. They go off down
the brook every day, and come back
at night, and no fish to frv And they
! never come before"
Her eyes were uneasy. 'Tt's that
woman" she said. "I've heard em talk
about her. They knowed her IN Au-
gusta; and Seth Humphreys, he did
too. One of 'em said the other night
that's the only reason Seth come and
put mill in here; SOS to be handy
to her. He was hot after her, to hear
their tell, before Will come along and
| married her."
Marin Pierce said assentingly: 81
cd see the kind she was, first time
laid eyes on her."
Bart says she amt more'n half de-
cent to WILL" Amy reported HE says
she's always taking a dig at him, and
him too blind to see. Bart says he'd
like to take a hoop-pole to her, the
way she treats Will. Him and Will
was always friendly"
The older woman nodded. "Will
he'll go along blind about so long and
then he'll wake up" she predicted.
when he does, the fur's bound to fiy.
The Ferrins was always slow to get
mad, but it amt safe to face 'em when
they got their dander up. Man or won.
an, it amt wise to make too big a
fool of Will"
And she added impatiently: mot
that anybody cd make a bigger fool
of him than he made of hisself when
he married her."
Bart says he acts like she was made
of gold and cream" Amy confessed.
"She's got Will walking tiptoe around
the house." She was moment silent
shivered family. "The men act funny.
after they've seen her." she said. cit
scares me, some :"
Marin Pierce nodded grimly. 81
know" she agreed. talking loud. and
Dragging and blowing, and then a-whis-
pering. But yo're all right, Amy, with
Bart there"
Amy turned homeward presently !:
but Jenny did not return for a fur.
Their while. When she did appear. she
gave no sign of what had happened !:
but she had learned, that afternoon
to understand Hubby through and
through.