第76章 ST.CHRISTINA'S HOME(2)

I looked down on the long valleys, and precipitous heights of the assents and desents, in which my pardner wuz so soon to be assentin' and desentin' and I trembled, and wuz jest about to urge him to forego his diversion, for the sake of his pardner's happiness, but as I turned to expostulate with him, I see the beautiful, joyous, hopeful look on his liniment, and the words fell almost dead on my tongue.I felt that I had ruther suffer in silence than to say one word to mar that bliss.

Such is the love of pardners, and such is some of the agonies they suffer silently to save from woundin' the more opposite one.

No, I said not a word; but silently sat, and see him makin' his preparations to embark.He see the expression onto my face, and he too wuz touched by it.He never said one word to me about embarkin' too, which I laid to two reasons.One wuz my immovable determination not to embark on the voyage, which I had confided to him before.

And the other wuz, the added expenses of the journey if he took his companion with him.

No, I felt that he thought it wuz better we should part temporarily than that the expenditure should be doubled.But as the time drew near for him to leave me, I see by his meen that he felt bad about leavin' me.He realized what a companion I had been to him.He realized the safety and repose he had always found at my side and the unknown dangers he wuz a rushin' into.

And he got up and silently shook hands with me.He would have kissed me, I make no doubt, if folks hadn't been a standin' by.

He then embarked, and with lightnin' speed wuz bore away from me, as he dissapeared down the desent, his few gray hairs waved back, and as he went over the last precipitus hill, I heard him cry out in agonizin' axents, "Samantha! Samantha!"And I rushed forwards to his rescue but so lightnin' quick wuz their movements that I met my companion a comin' back, and I sez, the first thing, "I heard your cry, Josiah! I rushed to save you, my dear pardner.""Yes," sez he, "I spoke out to you, to call your attention to the landscape, over the woods there!"I looked at him in a curious, still sort of a way, and didn't say nothin' only just that look.Why, that man looked all trembly and broke up, but he kep' on.

"Yes, it wuz beautiful and inspirin', and I knew you wuz such a case for landscapes, I thought I would call your attention to it."Sez I, coldly, "You wuz skairt, Josiah Allen, and you know it.""Skairt! the idee of me bein' skairt.I wuz callin' your attention to the beauty of the view, over in the woods.""What wuz it?" sez I, still more coldly; for I can't bear deceit, and coverin' up.

"Oh, it wuz a house, and a tree, and a barn, and things.""A great seen to scream about," sez I."It would probable have stood there till you got back, but you couldn't seem to wait.""No, I have noticed that you always wanted to see things to once.

I have noticed it in you."

"I could most probable have waited till you got back, to see a house and a tree." And in still more -- frigid axents, I added, "Or a barn." And I sez, kinder sarkastikly, "You enjoyed your ride, I s'pose.""Immensely, it wuz perfectly beautiful! So sort a free and soarin' like.It is jest what suits a man.""You'd better go right over it agin," sez I.

"Yes," sez the man who runs the cars."You'd better go agin.""Oh no," sez Josiah.

"Why not?" sez I.

"Why not?" sez the man.

Josiah Allen looked all around the room, and down on the grass, as if trying to find a good reasonable excuse a layin' round loose somewhere, so's he could get holt of it.

"You'd better go," sez I, "I love to see you happy, Josiah Allen.""Yes, you'd better go," sez the man.

"No!" sez Josiah, still a lookin' round for a excuse, up into the heavens and onto the horizon.And at last his face kinder brightenin' up, as if he had found one: "No, it looks so kinder cloudy, I guess I won't go.I think we shall have rain between now and night." And so we said no more on the subject and sot out homewards.

Ardelia wrote a poem on the occasion, wrote it right there, with rapidity and a lead pencil, and handed it to me, before I left the room.I put it into my pocket and didn't think on it, for some days afterwards.

That night after we got home from the Roller Coaster, I felt dretful sort a down hearted about Abram Gee, I see in that little incident of the day, that Bial, although I couldn't like him, yet I see he had his good qualities, I see how truthful he wuz.And although I love truth -- I fairly worship it -- yet I felt that if things wuz as he said they wuz, he would more'n probable get Ardelia Tutt, for I know the power of Ambition in her, and I felt that she would risk the chances of happiness, for the name of bein' a Banker's Bride.

So I sat there in deep gloom, and a chocolate colored wrapper, till as late as half past nine o'clock P.M.And I felt that the course of Abram's love wuz not runnin' smooth.No, I felt that it wuz runnin' in a dwindlin' torrent over a rocky bed, and a precipitus one.And I felt that if he wuz with me then and there, if we didn't mingle our tears together we could our sithes, for I sithed, powerful and frequent.

Poor short-sighted creeter that I wuz, a settin' in the shadow, when the sun wuz jest a gettin' ready to shine out onto Abram and reflect off onto my envious heart.Even at that very time the hand of righteous Retribution had slipped its sure noose over Bial Flamburg's neck, and wuz a walkin' him away from Ardelia, away from happiness (oritory).

At that very hour, half past nine P.M., Ardelia Tutt and Abram Gee had met agin, and rosy love and happiness wuz even then a stringin' roses on the chain that wuz to bind 'em together forever.