"Yes; but not so soon as you. You will go before and prepare a welcome for me. Then I will come." She smiled up into his face.
"By faith we see afar," he replied.
"Yes; we live by faith," she added.
Hand in hand, they went. They spoke no more, but communed with each other through a more subtle channel of silence. Celestial melodies rang in their ears; the celestial landscape gladdened their eyes; the peace of G.o.d, their Father, was in their hearts. They walked hand in hand for the last time in this, their first estate.
PART SECOND.
"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; The soul that rises with us, our life"s star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar.
Not in entire forgetfulness And not in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come From G.o.d who is our home."
--_Wordsworth._
"Two shall be born the whole wide world apart, And speak in different tongues and have no thought Each of the other"s being, and no heed; And these o"er unknown seas and unknown lands Shall cross, escaping wreck, defying death; And all unconsciously shape every act And bend each wandering step to this one end-- That, one day, out of darkness they shall meet And read life"s meaning in each other"s eyes."
--_Susan Marr Spalding._
I.
"Even a child is known by his doings."--_Prov. 20:11._
How it did rain! For two long months the sky had been one unchangeable color of blue; but now the dark clouds hung low and touched the horizon at every point dropping their long-acc.u.mulated water on the thirsty barrens, soaking the dried-up fields and meadows. The earth was thirsty, and the sky had at last taken pity. It rained all day. The water-ditches along the streets of the village ran thick and black. The house-wife"s tubs and buckets under the dripping eaves were overrunning. The dust was washed from the long rows of trees which lined the streets.
It rained steadily all over the valley. The creek which came from the mountains, and which distributed its waters to the town and adjacent farm-lands, was unusually muddy. Up in the canyon, just above the town, it seemed to leap over the rocks with unwonted fury, dashing its brown waters into white foam. The town below, the farms and gardens of the whole valley, depended for their existence on that small river. Through the long, hot summer its waters had been distributed into streams and sub-streams like the branches of a great tree, and had carried the life-giving element to the growing vegetation in the valley; but now it was master no more. The rain was pouring down on places which the river could not reach. No wonder the river seemed angry at such usurpation.
About two miles from town, upon the high bench-land which lay above the waters in the river, stood a hut. It was built of unhewn logs, and had a mud roof. Stretches of sagebrush desert reached in every direction from it. A few acres of cleared land lay near by, its yellow stubble drinking in the rain. A horse stood under a shed. A pile of sagebrush with ax and chopping block lay in the yard.
Evening came on and still it rained. A woman often appeared at the door of the hut, and a pale, anxious face peered out into the twilight. She looked out over the bench-land and then up to the mountains. Through the clouds which hung around their summits, she could see the peaks being covered with snow. She looked at the sky, then again along the plain.
She went in, closed the door, and filled the stove from the brush-wood in the box. A little girl was sitting in the corner by the stove, with her feet resting on the hearth.
"I thought I heard old Reddy"s bell," she said, looking up to her mother.
"No; I heard nothing. Poor boy, he must be wet through."
The mud roof was leaking, and pans and buckets were placed here and there to catch the water. The bed had been moved a number of times to find a dry spot, but at last two milk pans and a pail had to be placed on it. Drip, drip, rang the tins--and it still rained.
The mother went again to the door. The clang of cow-bells greeted her, and in a few minutes, a boy drove two cows into the shed. The mother held the door open while he came stamping into the house. He was a boy of about fifteen, wearing a big straw hat pressed down over his brown hair, a shabby coat, blue overalls with a rend up one leg, ragged shoes, but no stockings. He was wet to the skin, and a pool of water soon acc.u.mulated on the floor where he paused for an instant.
"Rupert, you"re wet through. How long you have been! You must get your clothes off," anxiously exclaimed his mother.
"Phew!" said he, "that"s a whoopin" big rain. Say, mother, if we"d only had this two months ago, now, on our dry farm, wouldn"t we have raised a crop though."
"You must get your clothes off, Rupert."
"Oh, that"s nothin". I must milk first; and say, I guess the mud"s washed off the roof by the looks of things. I guess I"ll fix it."
"Never mind now, you"re so wet."
"Well, I can"t get any wetter, and I"ll work and keep warm. It won"t do to have the water comin" in like this--look here, there"s a mud puddle right on Sis"s back, an" she don"t know it."
He laughed and went out. It was quite dark, but the rain had nearly ceased. With his wheel-barrow and shovel he went to a ravine close by and obtained a load of clay, which he easily threw up on the roof of the low "lean-to"; then he climbed up and patched the holes. A half hour"s work and it was done.
"And now I"ll milk while I"m at it," he said; which he did.
"I"ve kept your supper warm," said his mother, as she busied with the table. "It"s turned quite cold. Why did you stay so long today?"
Rupert had changed his wet clothes, and the family was sitting around the table eating mush and milk. A small lamp threw a cheery light over the bare table and its few dishes, over the faces of mother, boy, and girl. It revealed the bed, moved back into its usual corner, shone on the cupboard with its red paint nearly worn off, and dimly lighted the few pictures hanging on the rough whitewashed wall.
It was a poor home, but the lamplight revealed no discontent in the faces around the table. True, the mother"s was a little pinched and careworn, which gave the yet beautiful face a sharp expression; but the other two countenances shone with health and happiness. The girl was enjoying her supper, the bright sagebrush fire, and the story book by the side of her bowl, all at the same time. She dipped, alternately, into her bowl and into her book.
The boy was the man of that family. He had combed his hair well back, and his bright, honest face gleamed in the light. He was big and strong, hardened by constant toil, matured beyond his years by the responsibility which had been placed upon him since his father"s death, now four years ago. In answer to his mother"s inquiries, Rupert explained:
"You see, the cows had strayed up Dry Holler, an" I had an awful time a findin" them. I couldn"t hear any bell, neither. Dry Holler creek is just boomin", an" there"s a big lake up there now. The water has washed out a hole in the bank and has gone into Dry Basin, an" it"s backed up there till now it"s a lake as big as Brown"s pond. As I stood and looked at the running water an" the pond, somethin" came into my head--somethin" I heard down town last summer. An" mother, _we_ must do it!"
The boy was glowing with some exciting thought. His mother looked at him while his sister neglected both book and bowl.
"Do what, Rupert?"
"Why, we must have Dry Basin, an" I"ll make a reservoir out of it, an"
we"ll have water in the summer for our land, an" it"ll be just the thing. With a little work the creek can be turned into the Basin which"ll fill up during the winter an" spring. There"s a low place which we"ll have to bank up, an" the thing"s done. The ditch"ll be the biggest job, but I think we can get some help on that--but we must have the land up in Dry Holler now before someone else thinks of it an" settles on it.
Mother, I was just wonderin" why someone hasn"t thought of this before."
The mother was taken by surprise. She sat and looked wonderingly at the boy as he talked. The idea was new to her, but now she thought of it, it seemed perfectly feasible. Work was the only thing needed; but could she and her boy do it?
Five years ago when Mr. Ames had moved upon the bench, he had been promised that the new ca.n.a.l should come high enough to bring water to his land; but a new survey had been made which had left his farm far above the irrigation limit. Mr. Ames had died before he could move his family; and they had been compelled to remain in their temporary hut these four long, hard years. Rupert had tried to farm without water. A little wheat and alfalfa had been raised, which helped the little family to live without actual suffering.
That evening, mother and son talked late into the night. Nina listened until her eyes closed in sleep. The rain had ceased altogether, and the moon, hurrying through the breaking clouds, shone in at the little curtained window. Prayers were said, and then they retired. Peaceful sleep reigned within. Without, the moonlight illumined the mountains, shining on the caps of pearly whiteness which they had donned for the night.
II.
"He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread; but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding."--_Prov. 12:11._
Widow Ames had homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of government land in Dry Hollow. That was a subject for a two days" gossip in the town. There was speculation about what she wanted with a dry ravine in the hills, and many shook their heads in condemnation. However, it set some to thinking and moved one man, at least, to action. Jed Bolton, the same day that he heard of it, rode up into the hills above town.
Sure enough, there was a rough shanty nearly finished; some furrows had been plowed, and every indication of settlement was present. Mr. Bolton bit his lip and used language which, if it did not grate on his own ears, could not on the only other listener, his horse.