OCR Text |
Show 0 0 & 0 0 O 0 & & 0 & &&& Ti S -. 5j I Judith of the I Wt 0 By I Br I A 1 11 S MARIE MANNING, I I1'. JUL JLJvML M. MmJ AolhM ef "Lord Allinlham, B4nlnipt" V Copyright. 1903, by H.r.r B Brother. & .;J ,l 0 :h A .a tfx ju rit t Jit J& Jfi JJt JA Jit 5t JA A i & & & Jit 4 M & & P !& TM fi il Vf . HfHflli 1 "Trnjua-ri-mfiHMyl" hIiu ooiiTTTiiiod rem-Inlttccntly, rem-Inlttccntly, workltiR her toothless Jaw liodneu tool: tlmen it flun (intf I-(nt o cltnn ((. to free It from 1111 escaped Hjilluter from U10 BUtilt brtmli. "When uie an' puw wur kecpln' comp'ny utlii warn't Kcxxl t-nuugh for inc. lie 'lowed I wti. to have hnlf erentlou. Seuee we wux married he uln't never found time, en-dtirln' en-dtirln' nil these years, to build tuo a lilitl house. I wtu raited In TcnueMsce, I an' wo uitH hud a house for innrtlns made out'n Rourdn, nn' It wan pearty." "Mrs. ltodney" Swift leaned townnl her and whispered HouiethliiK In her ear. She regarded htm tentatively, then grinned. At her time of life why Hliould Rho put faith In the promises of men? "You Ux It ti, an' you get your blnl bouse," was the conclusion of his Hcntcuec. Whllo thin dNeimalou had been In progress the viutulR had not been neg-lectel neg-lectel except by such members of the company as bnd been bereft of appetite appe-tite by loftier emotions In consequence conse-quence of which the table appeared to have sustalucd a visitation of seventeen-year locusts. Kudora, ever economic eco-nomic In the value she placed not only upon herself, but ber environment, proposed pro-posed to her guests that they should wash the dishes, an art In which thev were by mi means deficient, being no exception to the majority of range bachelors In their skill In homely pursuits. pur-suits. And thus It mine to pass that Kudora's suitors, swathed In aprons, meekly washed dishes shoulder to shoulder, while their souls craved the performance of valorous deeds. As this was the last stage station on the way to Lost Trail, Mary Car-mlchael Car-mlchael was perforce obllgisl to content con-tent herself till Mrs. Yellett should call or send for her. After supper, t'hugg, with fresh horses to the stagiv left Rodney's, apparently for some port fit that seemingly pathless sea of foothills. That there should be trails and detlued routes over this vast, unvaried un-varied stretch of space seemetl more wonderful to Mary than the charted highroads of tlK Atlantic. Very lonely seemed the Kniluey homo among the great eohipany of mountains. A brooding desolation had settled on It at close of day. ami all the laughter and light footsteps and Bayly rjnglng voices of the young folk could not dispel the feeling of being adrift In a tiny shell on the black waters wa-ters of somo unknown sea, or thus It seemed to tho stranger within their gate. Mrs. nodney retired within the (lap of her sunbonnct after the evening meal, settling herself In the rocking cbnlr as If It were somo sort of conveyance; con-veyance; Warren K'Mtuey took down a gun from the wall and began to clean It. Ills Industry wltii the gun was'of n part with the Impotent dawdling daw-dling In the garden. Ills eyes would eek for tho rag and the bottle of oil In n dull, glazed wny, and, h'lng found them, bo would (orget the rea-on rea-on of his quest. Not once thut evening even-ing bad they rested on his wife or ntjy member of his family. He had shown no Interest In any of tho small bap-Innings bap-Innings of borne, the frank rivalry of Kudora's suitors, tho blckerlugs of tho girls and boys over the division of household labor. From one of the rooms 'that opeued to tho world like 11 stage to the audience au-dience Mrs. ltodney kept ber evening vigil. Tho last faint amethystine haze on the mountains whs deepening. They towered about the valley where tho bouse lay with n challenging Immen sity, mocking tho pitiful grasp of these pygmies on the thousand hills. Kudorn now came to ber mother with great nows. Hawks had taken, tho Hist opportunity of being alono with her to tell her of Jim's rcleaso from Jail and of his abortive encounter with (Simpson la the eating house. Ho had not deferred, tho telling from any feci-Ing feci-Ing of reticence regarding the din-closure din-closure of family affaire beforo strangers. stran-gers. News travels In Urn dos?rtwby fflino iliflCno'wif "agency. TweTilyTOUr hours after n thing Jiappencd it would bo safe to assume that every cow and sheep outfit In a radius of KOO miles would bo discussing It over their camp-fires, camp-fires, anil this long before there was nn Inch of telegraph wire or a railroad rail-road tie in the country. Hawks had merely reserved the news for Kudora's private ear because he hoped thus to gain an advantage over his threo rivals. "Al-yl!" said old Sally sharply, nnd the chair caifie to nn abrupt standstill. stand-still. "In the name o' heaven, bow kem they to let lilin out?'' Mrs. Itodney'tt knowledge of the law was of tho vaguest, and, If Incarceration would keep n prisoner out of more grievous trouble, she could not understand giving giv-ing him his freedom. To ber the case was analogous to releasing a child from the duress of n corner and turning turn-ing him loose to play with matches. "How kem they to let him out?" she repeated, I lie still rocking chair con-vejlng con-vejlng (lie Impersonal dignity of tho pulpit or tho Justice seat. "I ain't henrn tell of so pearty a couple as tho Jail an' .llm In yenrs." The meaning that shiyput into her Words belled their harsh face value. Willi Jim In Jail her mind was comparatively com-paratively at rest about him. Sh knew he had been branding other men's cattle since the destruction of his sheep, and she knew the fate of cattle thieves nnd that Jim would be 110 exception to the rule. With ber .purely Instinctive maternity, she had been foud of Jim. He I11AI been one more boy to mother. Bhe harbored no 111 feeling toward him that he was not her own. Moreover, she wanted no gallows tree Intermingled with tho annals an-nals of her family. It suited her com venlence at this particular time thnt Jim should stay In Jail. That be bad been given his freedom loosed the vials of her condemnation on the Incompetents In-competents thnt released him. "I 'low they wur; grudgln' him the mouthful they fed (o him, that they aek so outilaclously plumb locoed as to tu'11 a man out to get hlsself hanged. hang-ed. An' Jim neve.r wire a hearty eater. He never seeimsl to relish his food, even when be wins 11 growln' kid. "I mind Jim when be first kem to us," she said, more to herself than to Kudora, who sat at her feet. The Impending Im-pending tragedy In the, family had robbed her of all tho Joy in her sultorj. They sat on n .bench on the opposite side ofbe house, divided by the verj nature of their Interests, yet compau Ions In misery. "He wins scarce four, an' yet he had never beeu broke of tho habit of nicking nick-ing his thumb. Kf be'il ben lny child I'd lammed It out'n him before he'd n seen two, but seelu' he was aged for an Infant bavin' such practices I tried to shame him out'n It, but, Lonl-u-massy, men folks Is hard to sluinm even at four. I hissed at him llku a gyander every time I seen him do It. Now, I'd a knowed better-I'd a sewed It up in a pepper rag." "What's suckln' his thumb as an Infant In-fant got to do with his gettln lynched now''" demanded Kudorn with the skepticism of tho second generation. "Walt till you uns lias children of your own," sniffed her mother from thu assured position of maternal experience, ex-perience, "nn' see the Infant that's ul-lowed ul-lowed to suck Its thumb has the uink-lu's uink-lu's In him of a felon or 11 unfortunlt." She rocked a slow aecompanlmeut to her dismal prophecy, Kudora's eyes, big with -wonder, were flxed on the crouching Hani; of n ills-taut ills-taut mountain. Her mother broke the silence. Not often did they speak thus Intimately. Old .Sally belonged to that class of mothers who feel a pride In their reticent dealings with their daughters nnd who consider the management of nil affairs of thu heart peculiarly the province of youth and Inexperience. Hut tonight she was prompted by 11 force beyond ber ken to speak to tho gill. "ICudory, In plcklu' out ono of them men," she jerked her thumb toward to-ward the opposite side of the house, "git one Urn's clar o' the trick o' stain-pcdlii' stain-pcdlii' roupd other wlmmlng. H'b bound to kem back to ye, same us counterfeit money." Kudora giggled. She was of uu age when the fascinations of curiosity us to the unknown male animal prompt lavish conjecture. "I 'lowed they all stampeded." "Yes," leered the old woman and sbo grinned the whole horrid length of ber empty gums -"the most of 'em doe, but you must shet your eyes to It. Tho moment they know you swallow It, they's wuthlefs, like horses thnt bas run away once." "Hark!" said Kudora. "Ain't that wheels?" "It be," auswered ber mother. "It bo that old Ma'am Yellet nfter her gov'ment." CHArTEH VIII. THE buckbonrd drew up to the back or open fenced entrance of tho ltodney house with a splendid sweep, terminating In a brilliantly staccato halt, ns If to convey con-vey to the residents tho Ilntterlng lm-nlii'i'X'SlUliiU-UieJxlumso wn roaeliiil t 1 n n gr-ar cr iTrivewnytficfTIian ncross lunplsh liiemlltles of prnlrlo oergroui wlh cnelns stumps nnd clumps ,,f s.igi .rush. From the buck-board buck-board stepped" a flgur.' whose ngllltv was compatible wltlf her driving. No sketchy ontllno enn do Justice to Mrs. Yelled or. iKTeostutne. Mke the bie, the nut nnd mh.r iders of tho economy of nature, slie was not to bo illsposeil of with 'u glance. And yet there was u , attempt nt subtlety on bcrpiiit. On the contrnry, no one could lime mil iippcimincc of greater candor than the lad whoso children Mary 'Vrntlchae) bad come west to teach. Her costume wns a thing apart, suggesting sug-gesting neither sex, epoch nor personal vnnlly, but what It lacked of Uiese more usual s.irtorlnl characteristics It more than nindo up in n passionate Individualism In-dividualism ait excessively short skirt, so Innocent of "lit' or "hnng" In Its wavering, Indeterminate outline ns to suggest tho possible workmanship of teeth rather than of scissors, nnd rid lug lsots coming well to the knee, displaying dis-playing a well shaped, ample foot, perched aloft on the usual high heel that cow punchers affect ns the expression ex-pression of their chief est vanity. Hut Mrs. Yellett was not' wholly mannish In ber tastes, nnd to offset the boots she wore 11 bodice of the type that 11 generation ngo used to be known ns a "basque." Such a garb was not, after all, Incongruous In-congruous with this original lady's weather beaten face Her skin was tanned to a line russet, -showing till, rmllntfng Hium nbuut the eyes when they twinkled with laughter, which -was often. No Individual feature was especially striking, but the general Impression Im-pression of her countenance was of animation ani-mation nnd ucthlly, mingled with geniality nnd with native shrewdness. "Howdy. Mir. Yellett," called out old Sally, hitching her rocker forward In nn excitement she could III conceal. "You tins' gov'ment come, an' she nln't much blgger'n 11 lettle green gourd. Don't seem to have drawed all tho growth coniln' to her ylt." "In rouudlii' up the p'Ints of my gov'ment, Mis' ltodney, you don't want to forget that green gourds and green gropes is mighty apt to belong to the sour fambly, when they hangs beynnt your reach." "Al-yl!" grimaced old Sally. "It's tol'able far to send enst for greeu fruit. We can take our own pep'mlnt." The prospective ml vent of n governess govern-ess In the Yellett family moreover, one from that mysterious center of culture, tho cast-3-hnd not only rent the neighborhood with bitter factions, but had submitted the Yeilctts to the reproach re-proach of ostentation. In those days there were no schools In that portion of the Wind river country where the Yelletts grazed their Hocks und herds. Parents nulous to obtain "eduoatioU'' hi advantages" that was the term, Irrespective Ir-respective of the age of tho student or the school he nttended sent them often with parental blindness ns to tho equlvocnl nature of the blessing thus conferred to visit friends In the neighboring neigh-boring towns while they "got their education," ed-ucation," or they went uneducated, or they picked up such crumbs of knowledge us fell from the scant pa rental board, but never, up to" tho present moment, had any one flown Into tho face of neighborly precedent except sturdy Sarah Yellett. Old Sally, In her eagerness to convey con-vey that sho was In no degree Impressed Im-pressed with the pedagogical Importation, Importa-tion, like many another belligerent, lint the tirst round of the battle through an excess of personal feeling, but, though down. Sally was by no means out, and after a brief session with the snuff brush she returned to the field prepared to maintain that the Yellett children, for all their pampering In the matter of having 11 governess Imported Im-ported for their benefit, were no better off than her own brood, who had taken the learning tho gads provided. "Too bad, Mia Yellett, that you utu had to hire that gov'ment without lookln' over her p'Ints. I've ben takln' ber In durlu' supper, nn' she'll never be able to thrash 'em past Clem. She nought be able to thrash Clem If she got plumb mod. These yere slim wlm-mln wlm-mln is tnrrible wiry nn' active at hiicIi times, but she'll never bo nble to tbr.iHh beynnt ber." And, having Injected the vitriolic drop In her neighbor's cup of happiness, old Sally struck a gait oil her chair which was the equivalent of a gallop. "I reckon I can thrash my own children chil-dren when It's needed without gettln' in help from the east, or hereabouts either, for that matter. If other folks would only tnko out their public spirited spirit-ed reformln' tendencies 011 their own fnmbllcH thero'd boji heap less lynchln' likely to happeu round the country In tho course of tho next ten years." Old Bnlly let the homo thrust pass. "Who ever hearn tell of a good tencher that wasn't a fine thrasher In tho bargain bar-gain V" Sho swung tho chair about with a photnl motion, as If shu were addressing an assemblage Instead of a single listener, nnd then, bethinking herself of a clinching Illustration, she called aloud to her daughter to bear witness. "Kudory! Eii-do-ryl You-do-rj-1" "Ye-s, ma'am," drawled the daughter, daugh-ter, coming most unwillingly from the open faced room opposite, where she had been Inciting all four of the suitors to battle. To bo continued Tho story of the torturo of Hov. O. D. Moore, pastor of Urn Hnptlst church, of Harnersville, N Y. will In terest you. IIo says: "I suffered-agonies, suffered-agonies, because of a persistent cough, resulting from the grip. I had to sleep sluing up In.bed. I tried many remedies, without relief, until J took Dr. King's Now Discovery for consumption con-sumption " A grand euro for diseased diseas-ed conditions of throat and lungs. Sold bv IUler Ilros. Drug Co. Price fide and 11.00, guaranteed. Trial bottle bot-tle Iiee. |