For Woman's Love Part- 2 by Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth (i love reading books txt) 📕

"Why,  Letters Are Occasionally Lost In The Mail! But,  Rule,  How Was It

That You Never Heard Of All The Amazement And Confusion That Followed

Your Flight,  For The Want Of Your Letter To Explain It?"

"Because,  Dear,  From The Time I Left The State Capital To This Day I

Have Never Seen A Newspaper Or Spoken To A Civilized Being."

"Rule!"

"It Is True,  Dear! Look At Me. Have I Not Degenerated Into A Savage?"

"No,  No,  No,  Regulas Rothsay! You Could Never Do That! Ah! How Much

Nobler You Look To Me In That Rude Forest Garb Than Ever In The Fine

Dress Of The Drawing Room! But Tell Me About Your Journey From The City

Into The Wilderness,  And Of Your Life Since."

"I Have Been Trying To Do So,  Cora,  But Every Time I Try To Begin My

Narrative By Reverting To The Hour Of My Flight,  I Seem Spellbound To

That Hour And Cannot Escape From It. But I Will Try Again," He Said,

And He Began His Story.

He Told Her,  In Brief,  That On Leaving The Rockhold House And Going Out

Upon The Sidewalk,  He Found The Streets Still Alight With Illuminated

Houses And Alive With The Orgies Of Revelers Who Had Come To The

Inauguration.

In Moving Through The Crowd He Was Unrecognized,  For Who Could Suspect

The Black-Coated Figure Passing Alone Along The Street At Midnight To Be

The Governor-Elect Of The State,  In Whose Honor The Assembled Multitudes

Were Getting Drunk?

His First Intention Had Been To Take A Hack,  Drive To The Railway Depot,

And Board The First Train Going West. But The Hacks Were All Engaged As

Sleeping Berths By Men Who Could Not Get Accommodations In Any Of The

Houses Of The Overcrowded City.

So He Set Off To Walk,  And Almost Immediately Came Face To Face With Old

Scythia,  The Friend Of His Childhood.

"Old Scythia!" Exclaimed Corona,  Interrupting The Narrative.

"Yes,  Dear; The Old Seeress Of Raven Roost,  As They Used To Call Her. Of

Course,  I Never,  Even As A Boy,  Believed In The Supernatural Powers Of

Divination Ascribed To Her,  But I Must Credit Her With Wonderful

Intuitions. She Had Divined The Very Crisis That Had Come,  And In That

Hour Of My Agony And Humiliation She Exercised A Strange Power Over Me,"

Said Rothsay; And Then He Took Up The Thread Of His Narrative Again.

He Told Her That On Leaving The State Capital He Had Taken Neither

Railway Carriage Nor River Steamboat,  But Had Tramped,  With Old Scythia

By His Side,  All The Way From The Cumberland Mountains To The

Southwestern Frontier.

The Journey Had Taken Them All The Summer,  For They Traveled Very

Slowly--Sometimes Walking No More Than Ten Miles A Day,  Sometimes

Sleeping On Pallets Made Of Leaves Under The Trees Of The Forest,

Sometimes Reaching A Pioneer's Log Hut,  Where They Could Get A Hot

Supper And A Night's Lodging. Sometimes Stopping Over Sunday In Some

Settlement Where There Was No Church,  And Where Rule,  Though Not An

Ordained Minister,  Would On Christian Principles Hold A Service And

Preach A Sermon.

So They Journeyed Over The Mountains,  And Through The Valleys And

Forests,  Until At Length,  In The End Of October,  They Arrived At The

Poorest,  Loneliest,  And Most Forlorn Of All The Pioneer Settlements They

Had Seen.

This Was La Terrepeur,  On The Borders Of The Indian Reserve. It Was A

Settlement Of About Twenty Log Huts,  In A Small Valley Shut In By

Densely Wooded Hills,  And Watered By A Narrow Brook. It Was Too Near The

Country Of The Comanches For Safety,  And Too Far From The Nearest Fort

For Protection. There Was Neither Church Nor School House Within A

Hundred Miles.

The Travelers Were Hospitably Received By The Pioneers,  And Here,  As The

Autumn Was Far Advanced,  And Travel Difficult,  They Determined To Halt

For The Winter,  At Least,  And In The Spring To Go Farther South In

Search Of Scythia's Tribe,  The Nez Percees,  Who Had Been Moved Away From

Their Former Hunting Grounds.

They Were Feasted And Lodged By The Hutters That Night. The Next Morning

The Men Turned Out In A Body,  Felled Trees And Cleared A Spot On The

Slope Of A Wooded Hill,  Sawed Logs And Built Two Huts,  One For Rothsay,

And One For Old Scythia. They Were Finished Before Night. And Then The

Settlers Had A House-Warming,  Which Was A Breakdown Dance To The Music

Of The One Fiddle In The Settlement,  And A Supper Of Such Eatables And

Drinkables As The Place Could Afford.

But There Was No Furniture In These Two Primitive Dwellings. So Once

More These Wayfarers Had Each To Sleep On A Bed Of Leaves.

On The Second Day The Man Who Owned The Only Mule And Cart,  And Was The

Only Expressman And Carrier To The Settlement,  Offered To Go To The

Nearest Post Trader's Station--A Distance Of Fifty Miles--And Purchase

Anything That The Strangers Might Need,  If Said Strangers Had The Money

To Buy.

Rothsay Had Money In Notes,  Hardly Thought Of,  And Never Looked At,

Except When,  On Their Long Journey,  He Had To Take Out His Pocket Book

To Pay For Accommodations At Some Log Cabin,  Or To Purchase A Change Of

Under Clothing At Some Post Trader's.

Also Old Scythia Had A Pouch Of Silver And Gold Coin,  Saved From The

Money That Had Been Regularly Sent To Her By Rule From The Time When He

First Began To Earn Wages To The Time When They Set Out For The

Wilderness In Company.

Of This Money They Gave The Frontier Expressman All That He Required To

Purchase The Plainest Furniture For The Log Cabins--Bedding,  Cooking

Utensils,  Crockery Ware,  And Some Groceries.

"Yer Can't Buy Bed Or Mattresses At The Post Trader's; But Yer Can Buy

Ticking,  And We Can Sew It Up For Yer,  And The Men Will Stuff With

Straw. There's Plenty Of Straw," Said One Of The Kindly Women,  Speaking

For All Her Neighbors.

And The Expressman Set Out With His List.

In Three Days He Was Back Again With A Satisfactory Supply. The Women

Made The Straw Beds And Pillows And Hemmed The Sheets. The Men Filled

The Ticks And "Knocked Together" A Pine Table And A Few Rude,

Three-Legged Stools. And So Rothsay And Old Scythia Were Settled For The

Winter.

Rothsay Took Upon Himself The Office Of Teacher And Preacher. Among The

Articles Brought From The Post Trader's Were A Few Bibles,  Hymn Books,

And Elementary School Books,  Slates And Pencils.

He Began His Labors By Holding A Religious Service In His Own Cabin On

The First Sabbath Of His Sojourn At La Terrepeur,  Which--Perhaps For Its

Rarity--Was Attended By The Whole Of The Little Community. And On The

Next Day He Opened His Little School In His Hut,  Where He Taught The

Children All Day,  And Where He Slept At Night. Old Scythia's Cabin Was

Kitchen And Dining Room.

All That Autumn,  Winter And Spring Rule Labored Among The Pioneers Of La

Terrepeur. It Was Not True,  As Had Been Reported,  That He Was A

Missionary And Schoolmaster To The Indians; For No One Of The Savages

Who Occasionally Came Into The Settlement Could Be Induced To Approach

The "School."

It Was In June That Old Scythia Became Restless And Anxious To Find Her

Tribe--The Wandering Nez Percees.

Rothsay Gave His School A Vacation And Set Out With Scythia To Find The

Valley Where They Were Reported To Be In Camp.

"This Valley Below,  Cora,  Dear," Said Rothsay,  Interrupting The Course

Of The Narrative. "But When We Reached It,  The Nez Percees Had

Disappeared. A Lonely Old Hunter,  Who Had Built This Hut,  Was The Only

Human Being In The Place,  And He Was Slowly Dying,  And He Would Have

Died Alone But For The Opportune Arrival Of Old Scythia And Myself. He

Told Us That The Nez Percees Had Crossed The River About Two Weeks

Before,  And Were Far On Their Migration West."

"Old Scythia Sat Down Flat On The Floor,  Drew Up Her Knees,  Folded Her

Hands Upon Them,  Dropped Her Head,  And Died As Quietly As A Tired Child

Falls To Sleep."

"Oh!" Exclaimed Corona,  "How Sad It Was."

"Yes; It Was Sad; Age,  Fatigue And Disappointment Did Their Work. I

Buried Her Body Under That Pine Tree Where Your Uncle Clarence Sat Down.

The Old Hunter's Struggle With Dissolution Was Longer. He Lingered Five

Days. I Waited On Him Until Death Relieved Him,  And Then Laid His Body

To Rest Beside Old Scythia's. I Was Then Preparing To Return To La

Terrepeur,  When A Wandering Scout Brought Me The News Of The Massacre Of

The Inhabitants And The Destruction Of The Settlement. Since That Time,

Dear Corona,  I Have Lived Alone On This Mountain. That Is All. Come,

Shall We Go Down And See Your Uncle?"

"Yes," Said Corona.

And They Arose And Walked Down Into The Valley.

They Soon Found The Wagon Camp Of Clarence Rockharrt And His Followers.

The Horses And Mules,  Which Had Been Unharnessed,  Watered And Fed,  Were

Now Tethered To The Scattered Tree Trunks,  And Were Nosing About Under

The Dried Leaves In Search Of The Tender Herbage That Was Still

Springing In That Genial Soil Beneath The Shelter Of The Fallen Foliage.

The Wagons Had Been Drawn Up Under Cover Of The Thicket And Prepared As

Sleeping Berths.

On The Grass Was Spread A Large White Damask Table Cloth,  And On That

Was Arranged A Neat Tea Service For Three.

Martha Was Busy At A Gypsy Fire Boiling Coffee And Broiling Venison

Steaks.

"You Are Just In Time,  Rule. How Do You Do?" Exclaimed Mr. Clarence,

Emerging From Among The Horses,  And Coming Forward To Shake Hands