Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine — page 108: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

450 seemed almost unbelievable, but such is the dauntless spirit of pioneers; and the Texas fever still raged in the Carrington blood.. They had no intention of leaving the country; even Thetis would have scoffed at such an idea, but it was never once pro- posed by any of them. They collected fresh supplies and house- hold goods; buying them from other settlers or travelers who stopped at the inn on their way to various parts of the province. “You will come out, too, as soon as you are well enough to travel?” Thetis asked of Fred Pope on the morning of their depar- ture. “Of course we will,” Mary Ann respond- ed for him. In her also the Texas fever was still running its course. ; In great spirits the Carringtons departed, accompanied by the two Rogers boys. They went as though there was not the slightest danger in their journey. Nothing had been heard of Indian attacks and. depredations for some time. The country seemed quiet. “ But,” Mr. Bailey threw out as a com- forting bit of information to his departing guests, ‘‘ the Comanches and Apaches don’t feave no opportunity for robbing or murder to pass ’em by in their sleep. They are ever ready for villainy.” Her patient required Mary Ann’s almost constant attention. The doctor declared him out of danger, but he did not-seem to regain his strength. His wounds were slow to heal and were easily infected. Mary Ann declared that she was going to take over the case herself. She believed that the physician was too devout an advo- cate of the lancet. He insisted upon*bleed- ing Fred every other day. Mary Ann thought that this was too often and told the doctor so. They had quite a scene; and, when the young woman persisted in her de- termination not to allow Fred’s veins to be opened again, Dr. Crabb threw up the case and departed in a rage. However, he came again the following day and seemed surprised to find that Fred was still alive. He continued his daily visits and Fred began steadily to improve. Often now Mary Ann could leave him and get a little much-needed recreation in the fresh air. ARGOSY AND RAILROAD MAN’S MAGAZINE. Slowly, she was coming to know her hus- band better, to understand him and to ap- preciate him. The bigness and frankness and fearlessness of his nature were an end- less surprise to her. Yet, in his quiet way he always attempted to keep her from think- ing him different from others. Often he would talk to her of his early life and she began to suspect that the way in which he had been held under was re- sponsible for his being such a strangely unresponsive person. She was beginning to doubt Thetis’s theory that he was “loved out.” One day she asked Fred how many sweet- hearts he had had, and was not surprised, but very delighted, to learn that she was his first and. only love. She accused him of not loving her at all; and to this he replied, just as he had long ago, that he was not a romantic sort of person. “IT love you, of course,” he said simply, “but not in a wild way. That sort of thing is not in me, that’s all. I wish for your sake that it was.” She was not to be appeased so easily and remarked: “ But when I’m out of your sight, I always think that I’m out of your mind. You remember how you forgot me when we went on that buffalo-hunt, that first day we were married; and then again when you went hurrying off after Neil’s murderer, without taking the time to say * good-by ’?” “Yes,” he responded, ‘I remember.” And he added sadly: “‘ And I wonder what ever became of Jude—oh! I would like to have made the yellow devil pay for that innocent boy’s death—” “There you go again!” she broke in. ‘““T ask you how you could have forgotten me like that, and you begin at once to think about-somebody else!” He took her small hands in one of his big ones. “ Dear little girl,” he said, “ it’s like this, I’m afraid: Love to me is not all of life. Even, entirely without it, I think I could get on fairly well. To lots of people it means everything in the world—it is the ultimate end for everything they do. But with me it is just a part; a very beautiful, comnniclooolks.conn