Show SE T TORY 0 RV all U JL A ROMANCE OF A pennsylvania FARM by JOHN LUTHER LONG illustrations by don wilson coper lm 1805 by bobba men I 1 co SYNOPSIS the crowning desire in the life ot of old baungartner baun gartner Is to obtain possession ol 01 a beautiful meadow tle tl e property was in merited by sarah pressel i ery pretty athletic L young girl baumgartner came to r realize that h s only hope of obtain ng the p would be through the mar ariage of h s son to sarah pressel in a mo mock k arct auction n heffy as P baumgartner jr is barly known la Is raffled off by his father to sarah tor for 1 sarah pressel is quite the appos te of heffy baumgartner gives betty some lessons in courtship baum gartner has caused himself to be ap po anted guardian of sally she promises heffy that she will III never k ss any man but him sam britz a drunken grocery clerk calls on sally and interrupts the kissing heffy goes to sleep and begins snoring sail sall leaves the room in a huff saying good n gentlemen heffy tells his tat fat er of his humiliation of how sam fritz had pinned to his bosom ak I 1 lie ile he s ept a pasteboard tombstone heffy and sally meet at the polso spring she urges him to do something to redeem himself the father advises heffy to take sally home from church this would be the crucial test according to tl e custom of tl ti e times it was the rule in such a test tl at the one whose arm the girl ac cepter when leaving the church wo id be the favored suitor tl TI en sam takes bally sally s ar n sl SI e says I 1 am satisfied and heffy is left in d bgrace sam con finues his drinking and sally begins to acquire the habit baumgartner curses son and h rn powerful blow with fist full in the face then the repentant ta fa ther gat ers the 3 auth in h s arms his cries attra t sally and sam li I ritz I 1 sally rushes up to belty s loom room and finds him unconscious in the morning heffy has dl Opp appeared eared it Is a sad and lonesome winter for old baumgartner her lie thinks his son is 1 dead somewhere from the ef facts of the cruel blow when old baum eartner gartner goes to t sally A s home to sur render to her h s pap rs as her guardian he finds I 1 er haggard and worn with sor row she agrees to qu t di drinking in i it 1 e will ta is e the papers back and continue as her guardian XIII one blow for that to heffy he took tool the papers home again and was very bentli with her afterward for the things wh ch the world blamed in her his was the only real kindness she knew knea her little canting world hadano had no pity tor for her but to her drunk en husband in spite of all she was a loyal wife and the old man liked her the better for it so it came to pass that they two the bent old man and the girlish wife ol 01 the drunkard separated more and more from tl e world and came more and more together and often they were seen in the fields together and walking along the roads arm in arm with sallys sally s little fortune at corn com mand sam had gone rapidly to the bad and sally came to know what tears were and thae that dreadful kind of wa waiting biting which falls to the lot of such women the waiting for the fall of a footstep which makes one shudder yet rejoice they told her to get rid of him but she shook her head and thought of the inscription in her wedding ring after a while it was the gentle old man who helped to make these vigils less intolerable going away stealthily by the bal back ck door when sam s unsteady step was heard at the front an am angel of light if ever there was one in plowman s jacket it fell grimly to his lot too to arp vide for sam by diminishing the he little farm he had longed and hoped for acre by acre there was no conten tion between them as to this the YOU young ng wife s wishes were his law he married me tor that said sall the first time and I 1 let him marry me for that just for spite anly no one was spited but me but me well he shall have it all all her voice broke a little all b it the pasture field that no one shall have but you or heffy y when I 1 die only once he interfered sam raised hig his hand to strike her and he laid the drunkard at his feet with a blow s ch ell as he had struck but once before in his life I 1 am her he cried as he struck by the lord I 1 im in her guar deen for a moment he gloated over the prostrate brute then h stood up trembling before sally forgia me he be begged beed ed but I 1 couldn coulden t help it it done itself bebb Goda god a mighty only knows it was a chance to efen up tor for the other one and yit it was a righteous blow yas it was a righteous blosl yes she said you are the first that avei saw it was too late to stop and before it was done he 1 new that this was not a new exper experience jence to her and that she suffered it and was almost glad of it tor for penance by the loid cried the old man it 11 he eter efer es you ag in ili I 1 II 11 kill him iso no said sally softly yas he insisted with some of his old violence no she repeated sadly it Is all my fault all the shame the hame because I 1 deseive it and thou not kill you know we have tempers and we have both used them he shuddered and thought of the plowed field with heffy lying there good night he aid with averted face 1 I didn dian t mean that pappy I 1 dida t mean moan that i ou killed him iles he s not dead pappy kiss me good night and forgive me but this also made her dearer to him and so little dy by little they drew closer and closer until a certain happiness was his and a certain con tent hers occasionally they laughed but this was not often they were well satisfied to sit before the winter fire she with an elbow on bis his knee he with his rugged hands in her hair and after a while she would ask him no more to kiss her good night be he did it as of right and very beautifully on her hair so much like heffy that first dear kiss that it made her sob always just like heffy she said the first time and cried pushing him out of the door when he would have asked a question I 1 but he asked his question one day it was whether she had loved heffy not till heffy comes she cried I 1 wont answer sally he said solemnly I 1 killed my little boy he ile Is dead I 1 hurt him 1 I 1 made him ol 01 me he dragged himself away to die like wild animals that air hurt by men so you will have to tell me no no she begged he ile Is not dead and some day he will come back to us you sally you said us yes forgive me I 1 meant you did you mean me mea yes oh besl yes cross your breast she made this adjuration with a smile but when he had gone she groveled on the floor and cried Us us us XIV for heffy a sare sake and so three nearly four years passed and sam was dead pappy she said afterward you have been very good to me and you to me it its s eten efen say more you have kept me from going crazy I 1 think you hat haf kep my ol 01 heart from breaking I 1 expect yas I 1 know now r 41 P ta V jaaj that there Is such a eing sing as hearts he averred pappy I 1 what asked he I 1 don t know what I 1 in going to do now I 1 got to work tor for my living I 1 expect there Is not enough left for you 11 neter nefer work for you keep while I 1 ife fe got a dollar said the old man I 1 owe you that much tor for for she liked that she was sitting on a low stool at his feet her elbow on his knee her favorite attitude she crowded a little closer pappy she said presently let me come and keep your house do you mean that asked the old man joyously besl she said but ut why that s hard work tor for a gal that teats s not used to it oh maybe I 1 want to be where bet ty fy was bior some day some day he hell 11 come back and I 1 want to be there to ask bla his pardon they were silent for a while and then hen the old man said huskily you shall you shall sleep in S effy s bed you shall look in his little cracked 1001 ing glass you shall set I 1 in his place at the table you shall be my heffy and well we 11 wait tor for him to gether and well we 11 bose ast his pardon when he comes when he be comes may I 1 ride his mare and plow with her hera you you you he questioned in his ecstasy ken you say do you sink you ken les es she said very softly it if you will let me I 1 will be all and every thing heffy y was to you I 1 took him from you let me do my best to re place him it Is for that that only that I 1 have cared we shall rent this bouse house and that will help tor for I 1 know lou jou have been getting poor too and and it you will tal e it I 1 I 1 want to give you the pasture field tor for oh for or heffy a sake will you take it ita for be he had demurred for set sef fy s sake just as you would take it from him and as he would give it to you if he were all here nerea I 1 want to be both son and daughter to you tet let me be heffy and myself too tool I 1 it t Is touch li but let me try tty but be he had caught that little slip SUP of the tongui and was dumb they sat silent by the fire tor for a long time then presently the old man rose and lifting her he said with a smile such as she had never seen on his I 1 face ace yas for heffy s sake comet come bowl it was night but he led her from her own house to his and that night she slept in heffy y s bed one ono of sally sallys s duties was the nightly night reading of the farm journal and just now thia this paper edited by a gen tieman who knew nothing about farm ing and by him edited well was full of the great meeting ot of the na national 0 nal farmers league of the united states of america which was in session at omaha by far the most intelligent and interesting paper of the session thu tar far sally read one night was vias thai that on the proper succession ot of crops in maryland by the youthful president ot of the kansas state league mr 0 sally rose suddenly and vanished tc to the kitchen where there was a light what was it ita asked the old man when she returned I 1 I 1 choked said sally quit quite truthfully and went tor for a drink yas don t read no more we it find out about the succession tomor row night but what was the smart fellers feller s name 9 she pretended to look for it and when she pretended to have found it mr S P brown she read A kansas man about Mary maryland landl huh but that night after bettye a father was in bed sally wrote a pitiful letter perhaps the first she had bad ever writ ten dear heffy it ran please come home come as soon as you get this your pappy wants you he ile Is old and sorry so please come right away Sephe nijah P baumgartner senior but the enve ope was addressed to mr S P baumgartner jr president kas state league krusas the post mistress smiled indulgently as sally handed in the letter the next day A long way off she said yes said sally fidgeting with her bonnet how flow soon do you think it lvell ivill 9 get et therea the postmistress reflected about a week she said then so long but as a matter of tact fact she had thought it would take longer kansas was a vague place in those days and a vast distance away well said the postmistress corn com for tingly bebby not quite so long but better not count on its getting there sooner III give it a good start put it in the mall mail bag now thank you said sally TO BG CONTIN CONTINUED TIED |