The Shepherd of the Hills | Page 7

well to have
you stop with us for a spell. If I understood right, you're just out for
your health anyway, and you'll go a long ways, sir, before you find a
healthier place than this right here. We ain't got much such as you're
used to, I know, but what we have is yourn, and we'd be proud to have
you make yourself to home for as long as you'd like to stay. You see it's
been a good while since we met up with anybody like you, and we
count it a real favor to have you."
Mr. Howitt accepted the invitation with evident pleasure, and, soon
after, the mountaineer rode away to Bear Creek, on his quest for a man
to herd sheep. Young Matt had already gone with his team to the field
on the hillside west of the house, and the brown pony stood at the gate
ready for Sammy Lane to return to her home on Dewey Bald.
"I'd like the best in the world to stay, Aunt Mollie," she said, in answer
to Mrs. Matthews' protest; "but you know there is no one to feed the
stock, and besides Mandy Ford will be back sometime to-day."
The older woman's arm was around the girl as they went down the walk.
"You must come over real often, now, honey; you know it won't he
long 'til you'll be a leavin' us for good. How do you reckon you'll like
bein' a fine lady, and livin' in the city with them big folks?"
The girl's face flushed, and her eyes had that wide questioning look, as
she answered slowly, "I don't know, Aunt Mollie; I ain't never seen a
sure 'nough fine lady; I reckon them city folks are a heap different from
us, but I reckon they're just as human. It would be nice to have lots of
money and pretties, but somehow I feel like there's a heap more than
that to think about. Any how," she added brightly, "I ain't goin' for
quite a spell yet, and you know 'Preachin' Bill' says, 'There ain't no use
to worry 'bout the choppin' 'til the dogs has treed the coon.' I'll sure
come over every day."

Mrs. Matthews kissed the girl, and then, standing at the gate, watched
until pony and rider had disappeared in the forest.
Later Aunt Mollie, with a woman's fondness for a quiet chat, brought
the potatoes she was preparing for dinner, to sit with Mr. Howitt on the
porch. "I declare I don't know what we'll do without Sammy," she said;
"I just can't bear to think of her goin' away."
The guest, feeling that some sort of a reply was expected, asked, "Is the
family moving from the neighborhood?"
"No, sir, there ain't no family to move. Just Sammy and her Pa, and Jim
Lane won't never leave this country again. You see Ollie Stewart's
uncle, his father's brother it is, ain't got no children of his own, and he
wrote for Ollie to come and live with him in the city. He's to go to
school and learn the business, foundry and machine shops, or
something like that it is; and if the boy does what's right, he's to get it
all some day; Ollie and Sammy has been promised ever since the talk
first began about his goin'; but they'll wait now until he gets through his
schoolin'. It'll be mighty nice for Sammy, marryin' Ollie, but we'll miss
her awful; the whole country will miss her, too. She's just the life of the
neighborhood, and everybody 'lows there never was another girl like
her. Poor child, she ain't had no mother since she was a little trick, and
she has always come to me for everything like, us bein' such close
neighbors, and all. But law! sir, I ain't a blamin' her a mite for goin',
with her Daddy a runnin' with that ornery Wash Gibbs the way he
does."
Again the man felt called upon to express his interest; "Is Mr. Lane in
business with this man Gibbs?"
"Law, no! that is, don't nobody know about any business; I reckon it's
all on account of those old Bald Knobbers; they used to hold their
meetin's on top of Dewey yonder, and folks do say a man was burned
there once, because he told some of their secrets. Well, Jim and Wash's
daddy, and Wash, all belonged, 'though Wash himself wasn't much
more than a boy then; and when the government broke up the gang, old
man Gibbs was killed, and Jim went to Texas. It was there that

Sammy's Ma died. When Jim come back it wasn't long before he was
mighty thick again with Wash and his crowd down on the river, and
he's been