OCR Text |
Show ggV1 ' I The Mountaineer's I " Dream t , Ily HUGH A. C. WALKES ,2 lm kiiiii a wsa asiaiisii nnnrJ mi THE air ol iloepy quiet which had pj l broodod over tho little valley !town for a year had changed to a buzz ot excitement. Commencement was on ngaln tt Watauga college, the town was full of enthusiastic alumni and h; visiting friends from every corner of 1 the surrounding country. B It was on a different errand that B tho two Arvey brothers had come down from their home on Stump SL IIouso In their white-covered wagon ! Only a month before their father had BK' died, leaving his large family depend- cut upon tho two grown-up eons, And .' thoy wore at Watauga for the purpojo ft ot straightening up his small business K affairs and making certain arrango- 8 nionts concerning -the management ot S their llttlo mountain farm. K This required only a short time, B however, and on Tuesday morning B, they found thcriselves drifting with -' tho crowd toard the college, wholly j Ignorant of the exercises going on SU there. Tho scene on the Inside was SH n revelation to both, for never beforo fa, had an Avery, from Stump House, B, been within n colloga building. Thero, upon the high old rostrum, sat the young men ot tho graduating class, clothed In their best, the center of at- ft traction to all the vast imenibly bo- low. One by one they stood before H" the audience, and with fervent, rustic Hj eloquence delivered their graduating B J speeches, each of which called forth Bflp enthusiastic applause, loads ot flow- BB , ers, and a crash ot discordant BB music from the noisy brass band BB' In the gallery. Then, when the BB speeches were all over, thegayly be- BBj ribboned dlp'.nmna were handed to BB. the grnuuates by the president, after BB' which camo more applause and an- BB ; other rapturous burst of music from BV' the gallery Tho scene lmprenlve Bftt to those who wero tiost accustomed BB to Watauga commencements was BB' one which remained forever fadeless BBv In the memories of tho mountaineer BB-j brothers. BB Tho Arvey a' Journey boms that aft- BB- ernoon was an unusually quiet one. BB For hour after hour neither spoke; BB' both sat gazing In a kind of trance BB' upon tho mountain scenery which had BB ' ' been familiar to them from childhood. BB No sound disturbed tho stillness ex BB cept the rumble of the wagon and BB! the hoof-strokes ai the little mules ft upon the flinty mountain road. It Bflj was the older brother wbo broke the BB) silence. Bfl "Tom," he said, "I'm gwlne ter ft stan' on thet same platform come BB, day an' say my speech an' git my HI paper." BBj "I've sworn the same, Our," came BBI the laconic reply; "the Arveys hev BB; got ter be heerd frum." ft It was doubtless fortunate for tha ft brothers that they could not compre- ft- hond the obitacles that lay between ft them and the doors of the college; ft both had times ot discouragement, ft and It required the strongest deter- Bft mlnatlon, combined with frequent Bflji visits to Watauga for freth lr.rplra- BBJ! tlon, to keep them faithful. At the BBJJ end of three yoare, however, by per- BBJi slstent labor and with tho aid ot the BBf' teacher at Doublo Springs, himself a ft Watauga graduate, they had pre- BBj pared thomaelvei for entrance into ft college. BBji As It was found impossible for both ft to attend at the same time, the BBjj rather delicate tltuatton arose ot BB deciding which one shouid first enjoy Bft the coveted privilege. BB "I s'pose, Qus, beln' tho oldest, vou BB ought to bo tho first to go," Tom BB sucgested, rather reluctantly. BB put Tgm bad, not proven a very BBJ successful farmer, and that was prob- BBS ably tho reason (or the plan proposed BBj by Out BBjj "No, Tom," he explained, "it you BBj go on now an' graduate you can BBjj help me along a sight better. Be- BB aides, I alw'ys sccrood to have a BB kind o' knack o' ruiioln' tho farm; BB you must' go tiret" --. (R fc i . i.ji.1-;, urmiu ' " , . ii - j BSSSSM sfaJir'T-' &'D'0Mmistii. t.jtti. ytMsvw- ,j , .i So it was decided. On tho flrit day of October Our carrlod Tom and his little handful of belongings down to Watauga In the wagon, and after seeing him properly settled In hli now world, turned his own face again toward Stump House, It was dark when tho wagon rolled Into the yard. After the mules had been stabled and fed, Otis stood for n few moments looking silently across tho mountains as the night slowly fell nrouud them and blotted them from view. In tno window of a cabin across on ttoundtop a red light flickered, nnd thero came to hU ears the nound of a girl's mellow contralto contral-to voice singing an old corn-shuck lng Bong. "Leaetwajs, I'll be near Annie," ho' said, with almost a sigh. Then hoi walked slowly across the yard and entered tho hotiso. , , j "Good evenlngl" f I "Rvcnlir, slrl" " "Trying to cool off some, are yotitj Ilathcr uarm weather yet for October." Octo-ber." "Well, no, sir, I wasn't hero for that partlc'lar purposo; but It Is about as cool a placo as I'ro struck, this sldo o' tho mountains. Jnit stopped to take a look at tho old college col-lege as I was pasiln'." Tho first speaker was Dr. niack-wood, niack-wood, the venerable president of Wa-.tatign Wa-.tatign college, dignified bi't kind-hearted, kind-hearted, tall and straight ,n splto ot his years a perfect picture of tho old (southern gentleman. While walking walk-ing across the campus toward his home ho had come upon tho stranger seated on the ground under a magnificent magnifi-cent water-oak and gazing intently at the college building. In the road a few steps away stood a whlto-cov-ered wagon to which two iturdyloo't-lng iturdyloo't-lng little mules wero hitched. In the' background beyond tho colleg) stretched tho dim outlines ot tho1 Illuo Hldge. As tho dostor showed no disposition disposi-tion to move on, the stranger, with an air of deference, roio to his feet and leaned his long, gaunt form against the water-oak. Tho doctor continued: contin-ued: "You have never seen the building build-ing beforo? Or Is there something In I Its architecture that interests you?' "Oh, yes, doctor, I ve eeen it a good many times. To tell tho truth I king o" love the old place, somohow; re-l to tLlr.l: I'd come to school here myself, but my dream never did como truo Still, I love to stop here an' watch tho boys an' Just Imasitie I'm ono ot 'em, don't you seo?" . The doctor's next atop was to Inquire In-quire the stranger's name, for he had becomo deeply Interested ia his story J'Arvey," came the answer, and tlie stranger's rough, brown hand toik' within Its strong grasp tho soft, wliuo one ot tho doctor. "i-'rom Stum? IIouso?" "Yes, sir." "Related to Tom Arvey that pradt tiateJ hero In '88?" "Yes, sir, ho's my younger brother." "You don't say aoi" exclaimed' tho old gjntleman. "Why, I am tn' 7 glad to know you, Mr. Arvey. How Is Tom getting along? The last news I had ot him he had gono out weit, roon after graduating four years ago it must be?" "Yes," replied Arvey, "Tom went west Just four years ago. I neer heard from him since ho left; don't even know It ho's alive. He was to help me through college, but. poor fellow, I don't know what's become of him. It's all right now, anyhow, for I'm too old. Hesldea, the home was all broken up by deaths and marriages, mar-riages, and It was powerful loueiume llvln' In the old house all by myself an' I couldn't 'a' aeked Annie to wait on me any longer. We're mighty happy In our little home up yonder; but I'vo never quit dreamln' of the rolleje education 1 expected to have, an' every tlmo I come down this way I set here an' Just look at the old place over there. An', eomehow, It alw'ys seems to make mo feel better an' I go back to Annie with a lighter light-er an' stronger heart. We've got a fine little feller at home, Just a year old named Tom; I'm goln' to aend him down here some day to take my placo an' llvo out my droam for me." The mountaineer shaded hi eyes with his hand and looked at the sun In the west. From group of students stu-dents sprawling on the grass near the college came the strains ot au old song; "Ob, he never cares to wander from his own fireside" . "Now I must get started for home," he said, "for it's gettln' late; good-by, good-by, doctor." A moment later a whip was cracked over the heads of the little mules, and the white-covered wagon wa rumbling away toward the mountains. National Magazine. |