St. Elmo | Page 9

were the
characteristics of a noble young soul, left to stray through the devious,
checkered paths of life without other guidance than that which she
received from communion with Greek sages and Hebrew prophets. An
utter stranger to fashionable conventionality and latitudinarian ethics, it
was no marvel that the child stared and shivered when she saw the laws
of God vetoed, and was blandly introduced to murder as Honorable

Satisfaction.
CHAPTER II.
Nearly a mile from the small, straggling village of Chattanooga stood
Aaron Hunt's shop, shaded by a grove of oak and chestnut trees, which
grew upon the knoll, where two roads intersected. Like the majority of
blacksmith's shops at country cross-roads, it was a low, narrow shed,
filled with dust and rubbish, with old wheels and new single-trees,
broken plows and dilapidated wagons awaiting repairs, and at the rear
of the shop stood a smaller shed, where an old gray horse quietly ate
his corn and fodder, waiting to carry the master to his home, two miles
distant, as soon as the sun had set beyond the neighboring mountain.
Early in winter, having an unusual amount of work on hand, Mr. Hunt
hurried away from home one morning, neglecting to take the bucket
which contained his dinner, and Edna was sent to repair the oversight.
Accustomed to ramble about the woods without companionship, she
walked leisurely along the rocky road, swinging the tin bucket in one
hand, and pausing now and then to watch the shy red-birds that flitted
like flame-jets in and out of the trees as she passed. The unbroken
repose of earth and sky, the cold, still atmosphere and peaceful
sunshine, touched her heart with a sense of quiet but pure happiness,
and half unconsciously she began a hymn which her grandfather often
sang over his anvil:
"Lord, in the morning Thou shalt hear My voice ascending high; To
Thee will I direct my prayer, To Thee lift up mine eye."
Ere the first verse was ended, the clatter of a horse's hoofs hushed her
song, and she glanced up as a harsh voice asked impatiently:
"Are you stone deaf? I say, is there a blacksmith's shop near?"
The rider reined in his horse, a spirited, beautiful animal, and waited for
an answer.
"Yes, sir. There is a shop about half a mile ahead, on the right hand side,
where the road forks."

He just touched his hat with the end of his gloved fingers and galloped
on. When Edna reached the shop she saw her grandfather examining
the horse's shoes, while the stranger walked up and down the road
before the forge. He was a very tall, strong man, with a gray shawl
thrown over one shoulder, and a black fur hat drawn so far over his face
that only the lower portion was visible; and this, swarthy and harsh, left
a most disagreeable impression on the child's mind as she passed him
and went up to the spot where Mr. Hunt was at work. Putting the
bucket behind her, she stooped, kissed him on his furrowed forehead,
and said:
"Grandpa, guess what brought me to see you to-day?"
"I forgot my dinner, and you have trudged over here to bring it. Ain't I
right, Pearl? Stand back, honey, or this Satan of a horse may kick your
brains out. I can hardly manage him."
Here the stranger uttered an oath, and called out, "How much longer do
you intend to keep me waiting?"
"No longer, sir, than I can help, as I like the company of polite people."
"Oh, grandpa!" whispered Edna, deprecatingly, as she saw the traveller
come rapidly forward and throw his shawl down on the grass. Mr. Hunt
pushed back his old battered woolen hat, and looked steadily at the
master of the horse--saying gravely and resolutely:
"I'll finish the job as soon as I can, and that is as much as any
reasonable man would ask. Now, sir, if that doesn't suit you, you can
take your horse and put out, and swear at somebody else, for I won't
stand it."
"It is a cursed nuisance to be detained here for such a trifle as one shoe,
and you might hurry yourself."
"Your horse is very restless and vicious, and I could shoe two gentle
ones while I am trying to quiet him."

The man muttered something indistinctly, and laying his hand heavily
on the horse's mane, said very sternly a few words, which were utterly
unintelligible to his human listeners, though they certainly exerted a
magical influence over the fiery creature, who, savage as the pampered
pets of Diomedes, soon stood tranquil and contented, rubbing his head
against his master's shoulder. Repelled by the rude harshness of this
man, Edna walked into the shop, and watched the silent group outside,
until