The Preacher's Sweetheart

Southland Times, Issue 10142, 19 April 1889, Page 4

The Preacher 's Sweetheart

A Story of Rough Western Life.

A light shone from the open door of the low log sir cture that answered the doable purpose of church and schoolhouse. The glea m fell upon* a paw-pAw lrae that stood close to the path that led to the door- Beyond the paw-paw was an irregular mass that moved restlessly in the darkness, Obsnrved closely, it would have resolved itself into a number ,pf horses tied to saplinge, and stepping about restlessly m they stretched their heads towards the tempting leaves beyond their reach. Divine service was going on in the log building, and the tones of the minister floated out into the darkness in solemn cadence, Often they _«i«re Interrupted by a deep grunted 'A-a.-mejn!' or 'U«m-m-ah ? Yas Lord 1 ? the manner in which many border .worshippers expressed their approbation of the preacher's utterances. A mounted figure came close to the shaft of light and dismounted. As he did so the stamping of the restless horses reached his ears* Noiselessly he made his animal fast to a red-bud stem and crept through the bushes to where the uneasy were tied. He passed from horse to horse feeling swiftly over each, as if in the darkness his hands were doing- duty for eyes in revealing the merits or demerits of each animal. The voice of the preacher came clear and strong to the ears of the man among the horses. He listened a moment as the voice told in simple words the sweet truths of the Bible, Somehow, the words of the Good Book 6eemed to the man in the darkness to be addressed directly to himself, and presently, as he listened, he removed his old slouch hat as reverently as if he had been within the sanctuary. Then, as the words of invitation and consolation rang oui clear and sweet, the man by tha horses removed his hand from the neck of the little mare and muttered — * Preacher is a stunner, j shore. Reckon I'll leave the filly. Might belong to the preacher, an' bein' a preacher, o' course it's the only hoss he's got.' As he returned to bis otto animal, he paused again to listen, Presently he dropped the hand that was untying the bridle, and strode into the bar of light that shone from the open do jr. ' I'll try it a whirl,' he muttered. ' Be'a a long time seace Vve set in a church,' His slouching entrance was scarcely noticed by the congregation of shockheaded men and sallow faced women, so attentive were they to the preacher's utterances. The preacher was a small, pale-faced man, plainly — almost shabbily — dreseed and aa he stepped awkwardly back and forth behind the rude pulpit, the last comer saw that he was lame. Presently he rose and slouched out, and, mounting his horse, dashed away denvn a bridle path, where be neither knew nor cared. Presently some small animal sprang from the path, and the horse swerve I to one side, and the next moment there came a blow on the rider's head as if the great hackberry tree that stretched far above had fallen upon him. Then, as he fell silently from his horse the animal kicked the unconscious man before he bad hardly touched the earth. An hour after the pale-faced preacher limping along the path,almost stumbled over the prostrate figure beneath the great hackberry. The old slouch hat had fallen from his head, and the blood from a long wound across hia forehead had soaked his matted hair. The preacher's slight form staggered under the task, but by a series of heroic efforts he managed to convey the unconscious man to the little log hut where be lived alone. It was many days befure the sufferer could do more than sit like a helpless child in the old splintbottomed rocker and watch the preacher as be limped back and forth attending to the wants of his unexpected guest. The stranger had been badly hurt. The blow on his head as he came in contact with a low-hanging limb bad very nearly fractured his skull, and the kick of the horse had broken several ribs. One day there came a letter addressed in a dainty feminine band, and the preacher had almost completed its answer when the hour arrived for him to start for the little log church. After he had gone the invalid saw that the letter and its unfinished answer lay on the home-made tible, and without scruples proceeded to read both. * Prum his sweetheart/ the invalid said aloud, as he finished reading the letter. * Pore leetle gal, I kin almost , seem to see her as I read them lines. Thar she is, 'way back East, waitin' for the day when her lover kin send the money to bring her out yere to him. The time has ben a mighty long one already, she says,but she'll wait for him if it takes half her life. Brave leetle girl 1 Bids him keep up his courage, for she is shoie he'll soon get the money for everybody is so generous in the West, and will pay him well ior his work she is certain.' The invalid paused and shook one hard fist at an imaginary auditor. ' Yas, hang ye ! Pay him well ? Yas, you'll pay him well w'en yer souls get bigger. If you was white you'd pay more money an' do leßs gruntin' in church. Look at it Vhe went on, with rising wrath. 'Yere's a man an' a Christian a-workin' the life outen his crippled body to save yer. souls, an' in return you give him jest enough to keep ilim from plum starvin' . All the whole kit of ye* air good fer is to raise horses for mo to run off.' Again he shook his fist fiercely at the imaginary auditor. « Thar's for ye ! Look at it ! Yere, fer workin' himself to death fer yer souls, ye pay him so little thnt the time when he can bring his leetle waitin, sweetheart West seems years off ! Ye 3? an' yere I am, a-doin' ye no good, an' etealin' every one o' yer horses 1 kin git my hands on, In my case, ye club together an' offer a reward uv two hundred dollars jist to git me. Give him starvation wages an' have him all the time, an' offer two hundred dollars jist to have me a few hours. That's reason iin'tit?' Then he turned to the unfinished answer to the letter. Though simply told it was a etory^ with a world of pathos in

] it/and'the once or twice; and ruboed a rusty, sunburned hand across hia.eyea. It dwjelt but lightly upoj* his trials, and sppke most hopefully of the happy future when they -should meet again. There w«8 pathos in his very hope, hoping aa it was against almost absolute cer- ," tainty. When he reached the abrupt end of the letter, the reader again shook his fist at the imaginary listener. f Two ' ''hundred, dollars, for me, an' nosin' for this man— this hero I .' he half shouted, , ; ' Suddenly a thought seemed to strike him, and he brought one hard fist i down on the table with a sounding thump. • U'H do it, I will I He shall have *his sweetheart, an' that, too, mighty quick.' It. was after midnight when the preacher returned, and it seemed to the other that he looked paler and limped more painfully than usual, *"** My friend,' the preacher said presently, * I am glad you have so nearly xecovered, f or this house can shelter you but a few days longer,' - W'y f asked the invalid ; ' air you gettiu' tired o' me ?' ' Certainly not. But the owner of this house ; has warned me todleave because I am unable ;to pay the rent, and ' • What'll ye do now,?' 1 1 do not kaow. Doubtless I'll see my way out of it all. but I do not now, I——' ' Parson, will you do me a favour, one more on top o' all you've done for me?' •Gladly, if I can,' the young preacher replied, • Take this note to the leader o' the Protective Association — ' ' Amos HuddonJ' 1 That's him ! He's a particular friend o J mine, an' '11 be mighty glad to see me. Do this right now, an' it'll be the last thing I'll ask uv ye,' When the young preacher had limped wearily away in the darkness, the other thumped the table with one hard fist, and chuckled audibly : 'Oh, you bet yer life Amos Hudden '11 be glad to see me 1 So'll all the balance of the vigilantes. Two hundred dollars reward for me, an' nuthin' for the preacher ! Wai, he'll have the two hundred for ; givin' me up, an' the vigilantes a'll 'aye me.' Then he sat silently thinking. 'I could skin out yit, an' give 'em the slip,' he muttered. presently. ' This means penitentiary^ or lynch ; most likely lynch.' He picked up the letter from the preacher's sweetheart and read it again in his stumbling way. 'Two hundred dollars '11 make them pore souls happy,' he mused. ' This yere means lynchin' fer me, I reckon. Wai let 'em lynch !' The door opened softly, and half-a--dozen men with weapons in their hands entered without a word, Not a movement of the invalid's face showed that he understood the errand that had brought these etern silent men to the cabin, , «Howdy !' he siluted, * Take cheers, i gentlemen.' , ♦ Jack Harris,' said the leader of the , vigilantes, 'we want you !' « "Wall, ain't ye got me V asked the other quietly. , ' Yes,' muttered the leader, •an we're . a-goin' to keep ye !' ' Wai, I don't reckon I blame ye,' Harris answered. 'It's ben a long time sence ye got a chance at me, an' I don't , wonder ye want to keep me. Did the preacher give ye information ?' ; ' Yes,' [ ' Has he got the reward yit 1 • No, of course not. We ain't goin' to do no cash in advance business.' \ There was a sound of a struggle at the door and a voice crying — | 'Let me in ! I will go in !' ' ' It's the preacher,' someone said, ' 'Bill's a-holdin' him oatside ' A pistol gleamed from beneath the \ table, and Jack Harris' hard hand ' levelled it at the leader's hsad, ' 'Let him in !' he said sternly. The preacher's white face was flushed, * aDd there were tears in bis eyes as be limped across the room to Jack Harris's side. [ 'Oh, my friend,' he cried, ' what have I done 1 What have I done ?' ■ 'Delivered my note, I reckon.' ' Yes ; and sold your liberty for money ! But God knows that lam innocent of any intent to do so ! ' He [ buried his face in his hands. [ 'Now,' said Harris, sternly, 'Hudden, give the parson bis reward. W'en the money '8 in his baud 1,11 drop thia gun. 1 [All revolvers are l gtms' in Western phrase]. While it's up you know how safe your life is !' ' The vigilantes conferred together a moment, Then each, produced his pocket-book and dropped a sum of money into the leader's slouch hat. As the money was poured on the table, Harris laid the pistol beside it. 'Thar,' he said, 'take me,'. Then, as handcuffs were quickly snapped on to his wrists, he turned to the young preacher. ' Parson,' he said, •That'll make you and -the leetle gal in the East happy; Good bye !' Tha young preacher sprang forward. •Men,' he cried, 'one moment !' Then in tones that thrilled the hearts of the listeners he fcold the story of the horsethief's sacrifice, The little group sh filed about uneasily when he had finished. ' Boys,' said the leader, suddenly, I'm boss o' this yere association ; ain't I V •You air,' they answered. 'An' what I says goes V 'It does jist that !' ( A.n' hoss stealiu' means hangin', don't it ?' < It does !' ' Wai, I sentence the prisoner, Jack Harris, to be hung this day week. In the meantime, I place him in the keeping uv Shorty Myers, the leefclest man in the crowd, an' if he lets the prisoner escape, I'll fine him two dollars and a half.' Shorty Myers extracted two dollars from his pocket and handed the money to the leader. 'Yere's my fine,' he said. 'An' the preacher keeps the reward V Jack Harris asked of the leader, 'You bet !' chorused the vigilantes. ' Wai, anyhow, I'll git my rent now, I reckon,^ said a mop-headed vigilante. Twb weeks later, whiSh the ceremony was over that made the young preacher •ad the bright.faced Eastern gir} man

and wife, the (bride looked fondly into ' her husband's eyes as she Raid— j ' Hpw much these people seem to ' think of you, and how generous they are towards you ! Have they been so ever since you came out here ¥ •No, the change only took place a few weeks ago.' ' And who were those Btern, rough looking men who shouted so when the ceremony was done V ".•",..'> j They are the vigilantes.' * As I entered the State,' the.yojing wife said, presently, 'just such a roughlooking man asked my name, and when I told him, he said, ' Tell the parson ye saw Jack Harris, an' tell him I hope he'll be happy.' Then he disappeared.' » Heroic Jack ! ' the young wife>xclaimed when the minister had told her the story.