White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1936-12-31
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that could happen, enacting it
sharply in her mind, shuddering at
it, dismissing it, creating another
in it's place. She filed the sputter-
ing teakettle which had boiled dry
in the motionless time, of the wait
ing.
1t continued for three hours Gym
thia felt that more hours had
passed by her in this one lone eve
ming than had gone through Wolf
pen since April Of year ago. Then,
when she thought she could abide
it no longer without screaming and
running after Jasper and Abral,
Abral came out Of the dark end of
the moment and YEARLY proceeded
by his voice muttering, "The vel
low. stump-squattin' devils"
"What is it, Abral? Tell me what
happened she cried.
But Abral was almost incoherent,
and she had to put it together piece
by piece, disengaging the words Of
Abral from the thoughts worn deep
into her own mind by three hours
of repetition: finding the bride
caught on the latch in the gate by
the mill where the Finemare had
got through; the. search up Cannon
Greek road; stopping at Castles
place and John saying, "sure, boys.
l heard that boss go by running
fast and light-footed, but ] just
didn't think any more about it,;
searching up Cannon to Ferguson's
and George saying, II heard a
horse go by earlier in the evening
but ! didn't pay no attention to it
hardly. Was that Sparrel's mare?
1t wouldn't hardly have throwed
Sparrel"; the growing body of men
searching on up the creek toward
Stepstone.
Among the great stones by the
cliff at the upper ford where the
bride trail branches off for Pike
Vile, they found Spared Pattern
crumpled up in the sand. His boots
still glistened with the wet from
the ford. He lay on his right side,
his left leg bent, his right hand
clutching at the small pebbles. His
head was crushed and fallen on the
sand. Under the pale light Of the
lanterns shone sand crystals cling
ing to the blood on his forehead
above the dead eyes and in his
hair.
They carried him over to Fergu-
sons place for the night. Jasper
would stay there and ride over for
Jesse and the girls at daybreak.
She seemed not to be hearing
Abrals words now, only looking at
the fire unseeing, feeling herself
being crushed to death among the
stones while lantern beam fell on
the sand glints in the blood. 1t was
too much after the house alone,
waiting. She collapsed into the
chair and buried her face deep in
both hands and cried; not hearing
Abral saying, "The stump-squattin'
cowardly devils. Waylaying him,
knocking in his head from behind"
They laid Spared among the
ssandstones on Cranesnest Shelf. The
crowd of people was so great that it
filled the house, the yard and the
barn-lot. All down Wolfpen as far
as the mill those who felt them
selves strangers stood in little
groups paying respect to Spared
Pattern.
Doug Mason came as far as the
bend below the orchard, and sat
there on his mule, the handless arm
thrust into his coat, and the sight
less eye turned aside, watching
them bear Cynthia's father up the
path. The people wept. Lucy and
Jenny cried from the house to the
grave. Cynthia had wept in the
night. Sparrel's voice was stopped
and his feet were still, the medi-