Page Four
IKE LEGEND OF HANGtIIG ROCK
Prom the lower regions came
the determined clang of pewter
tipon steel, Ellen's call to meals.
The Colonel arose heavily and
entered the pride of his new
building, a kitchen built around
a natural spring, the beginning
of the stone house which was to
be both home and fortre-ss. A
yeasty smell greeted him, and his
.appetite responded to the swell
of his heart as he silently thank
ed God for a woman who could
make robs in the wilderness, ant!
for a daughter whose sight took
some of the pain from his loneli
ness.
Awkwardly he patted Ellen's
shoulder as she stooped to take
from the stone oven a pan of
huge biscuits and arose, brush
ing yellow hair from her fore
bead, as Martha had done. \
brief smile turned the corners of '
ber mouth, but she said nothing; J
there was small use for talk be-1
tween those two who were the J
bead of the House of Martin; the j
boys might be boisterous, and j
"Vincent might smile and chatter!
in the silkincss of his Oxford ac
cent, but Ellen and the Colonel
smiled briefly and passed on to
other things.
The Colonel lavej his face and
his hands vigorously in the nat
ural basin scooped from stone to'
catch th" flow of his spring, and
sat heavily in the great chair a* >
the head of the table which iise"
had lately been an oak on the
1
mountain side. The boys, he 1
knew, would not be home for diu-j
ner (Vincent still called it lunch.!
and insisted on tea at five, even
When Money Is Scarce and Trade Dull
Advertise
Then when money comes back, the subconscious
mind of the PEOPLE will lead them to your square
deals and fair bargains.
Danbury Reporter
Read Every Week By the Home People of Stokes County.
o
0
(By E. Q S.)
if his tea most often was spring
water and his cakes cold biscuit),
and so the Colonel uncovered the
! great bowl from which came the
' piece de resistance of Martin
' meals.
j "Venison."
, "And tomorrow water cress,"
;from Ellen a g she stopped to sur
;vey the table before she sat.
; "Crcase 3 from the branch. Colo
nel Martin, to fill the old man's
pouch with springtime."
The Colonel grunted and eyed
his daughter. Springtime. Mar
tha. Creases. His eyeg filled.
"Ellen," he said, "you are a
good daughter,"
"And you. Colonel Martin,
with a light laugh that easily
turned the embarrassment of the
moment, "shall have the little
leaves, and a hunk of the new
' siding with them. And ... and
j corn bread, fried." She finished
| triumphantly.
The Colonel chuckled happily
, and dished out hunks of deer
meat. Life was gooj and spring
| time would see the beginning of
a new goodness.
• *
Ellen's bare toes recoiled in
| horror from the slithering cold-
ntss, and she stood transfixed in
fear paralysis as the snake, with
whirring rattles, workej it s coils
into the heap from which it
could launch its attack. Ha
'gase was rivited upon its sinist
er head and dully she stared at
the scales which covered its eve >
i
j while through her brain coursed
the warning of her father;
"Don't mes s with a rattler in the
THE DANBURY REPORTER
spring while he's shedding and
blind. He's mean." Mean, mean,
mean... the word ran like a
shudder through her frame and
in her brain paralysed the cells
» which, acting, could have carried
' her to safety. Mean, mean, mean,
e and the rwaying head lifted and
e i drew back in the instant for the
! strike.
A noise, (or was it a noise?;,
; behind lier, and the writhing
j coils of the monster struggled
- j and whipped the ground in a
• effort to loose the ugly head.
- from the trunk of the oak whe.e
r- it wa g transfixed with an arrow.
The buttons of the mangy ta'l
• struck her bare foot and broke
- the spell. Hand to mouth, E'.le::-
j sought to bring out "the scream
3 . which might have released her
stiff throat. It would not come.
She dropped in a heap, crumpled
>' jon the ground where the coil 3
:' slowly writhed. Dimly she felt
: | hands pulling at her shoulders.
>' Returning consciousness
1 brought embarrassment. An i
i Indian youth sat on his heels be
fore her; black eyes peered un
' blinking into her own as she
struggled to sit. Involuntarily |
- her hand flew to her mouth.
"No fear. Snake he gone."
Surprise got the better of fear..
"You, you speak English?"!
! Even to the distraught Ellen the j
question seemed insane undci j
the circumstances. But the youth
wa 3 unmoved.
"The brother of my father
rules my people in the land oi;
the Big Waters. He taught me !
to speak the tongue"
Gravely the youth spoke, an ! !
gravely he sat, holding her eyes i
.with his own. Ellen leaned back '
i i
upon her hands to support her i
weak body, and found nothing to |
say. They sat thus, girl and
youth, fair skin and red, black
eyes and grey, for minutes. Time
stopped as youth regarded youtl:
' and knew no difference for the
moment in skins or parentage.
Strangely, it was the Indian
who broke the spell. Without a
word, scarcely with a motion, it
seemed, he wa a standing over
her. He made no motion to help
her arise. His right hand raised
swiftly, palm outward, in the sa
lute of his fathers, and he
turned into the forest. Ellci
came to her senses and called
and scrambled to her feet in the
same insiant.
The youth turned at the call,
and waited. Ellen, patrician that
she was, waited also for the male
to come to her. Gravely they re
garded each other under the
trees. Strangely again, it was
the youth who had been trained
to accept the services of his wo
mankind, who broke the tension
maiden.
Involuntarily Ellen put her
and silently stood before the
hands upon his upper arms in
earnestness.
"You saved my life," she said,
unafraid in her gratitude "to meet
( the startling directness of the
black eyes which never wavered.
|"I am very grateful. If you will
come to the house of my father'
I he, too, will thank you, and give
you " she falterej a a the
! black eyes changed, changed so
slightly that it might have been
jlier imagination. Then suddenly
I they dropped before her gace,
and she drew back, confused, and
dropped her hands from his
arms. For a moment he stared
at his light arm where her hand
had been, then at the left v/nrc
a faint indentation marked her
fingerprints.
(To be continued.) 1
i p— —————————
Know Your Longange
« •
By C, L. Bushaell
•chool of Kfltlh.
fiirtfiwtLwi OocmpoodMi
"IJUNKUM" and the shorter word
' "bunk" both derive from Bon
! combe, the name of a county in
North Cardina. During a famous
t debate in Congress many years ago
the representative for the district
insisted on making a rambling
i speech when the House was impa
tiently waiting for an opportunity
j to vote. The speaker explained his
insistence by saying the people of his
district expected it of him; so he
was bound "to make a speech for
Buncombe."
• » •
1 Do not say, "That is an entirely
different matter than the one you
have in mind." "Than" indicates a
comparison. Distinction or separa
tion is indicated by "from," Say,
"That is an entirely different ma't*e»
*rom the one you have in mind." *
TO SELL
JEM, TELL
WnL With An Ad
BBIHI HB'
I BACON!
12c.«l0 pounds limit
1 H
COFFEE 10c. I
(2 lbs. limit.)
% $1.25 overalls, $1 and a dime.
Ladies Oxfords, $2.00, (Saturday only $1.75) I
1 "" ' I » BEER, 9 cts.
Ice cold, and best on the market.
These prices are for Saturday Only, I
September 23.
I P. ML Stephens I
Money saved is money made. We buy Chix.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 21, 1939
Hints For Motorists
By Joseph R. Rollins
The Atlantic Refining Company
PETROLEUM and automotive en
gineers figure that the average*
car depreciates a cent and a quarter
for every mile it Is driven, tut this
depreciation can be slowed down or
speeded up according to the car*
and attention the car receives. Regu
lar, scientific lubrication will retard
depreciation; neglect of lubrication
will hasten it.
Don t try to save ga3oline by
coasting down hill with the ignition,
turned off. If your gear shift is lm
ueutrai you can't stop or pick up
speed as quickly as you might ha ve
to U escape an accident. If the car
. is in gear you are using gasoline?
anyway, untl you may have a dan
gerous backfire when you turn tho
ignition on.
• • •
Brakes that squeal and squeak
should be given immediate atten
tion, for the chances are the cause
is worn brake linings with conse
quent metal to metal contact be
tween the drum and the lining
rivets. It doesn't take much of this
to dar.ir.ge the drum to the point
whore the cost of repairs will be far
greater than the cost of promptly
re!!ni"g the shoes.
Subscribe for the Danbury Re
porter. SI.OO the year.