Erskine Dale, pioneer . is well, he repeated,and wearily his eyes closed. And thus Er-skine knew it would be. XXVIII That winter Erskine made his clearing onthe land that Dave Yandell had picked outfor him, and in the centre of it threw up arude log hut in which to house his mother,for his remembrance of; her made him believethat she would prefer to live alone. He, toldhis plans to nonfe. In the early spring, when he brought hismotKer home, she said that Black Wolf hadescaped and gone farther into the wilderness—^that Early Morn had gone with him. Hismother seemed ill and unhappy, Ers^kine,not
Erskine Dale, pioneer . is well, he repeated,and wearily his eyes closed. And thus Er-skine knew it would be. XXVIII That winter Erskine made his clearing onthe land that Dave Yandell had picked outfor him, and in the centre of it threw up arude log hut in which to house his mother,for his remembrance of; her made him believethat she would prefer to live alone. He, toldhis plans to nonfe. In the early spring, when he brought hismotKer home, she said that Black Wolf hadescaped and gone farther into the wilderness—^that Early Morn had gone with him. Hismother seemed ill and unhappy, Ers^kine,not knowing that Barbara was on her wayto find him, started on a hunting-trip. In afew days Barbara arrived and found his motherunable to leave her bed, and Lydia Noe sit-ting beside her. Harry had just been thereto say good-by before going to Virginia. Barbara was dismayed by Erskines ab-sence and his mothers look of suffering andextreme weakness, and the touch of her cold fingers. There was no way, of reaching her 256. To his bewilderment he found Barbara at his mothers bedside ERSKINE DALE—PIONEER 257 son, she said—he did not know of her told her of Erskines giving her hisinheritance, and that she had come to re-turn it. Meanwhile Erskine, haunted by hismothers sad face, had turned his bewilderment, he found Barbara athis mothers bedside. A glance at their facestold him that death was near. His motherheld out her hand to him while still holdingBarbaras. As in a dream, he bent over tokiss her, and with a last effort she joined theirhands, clasping both. A great peace trans-formed her face as she slowly looked at Bar-bara and then up at Erskine. With a sighher head sank lower, and her lovely dimmingeyes passed into the final dark. Two days later they were married. Thewoodsmen, old friends of Erskines, were awed,by Barbaras daintiness, and there were noneof the rude jests they usually flung back andforth. With hearty handshakes they saidgood-by an
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