E-text prepared by Justin Gillbank and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net/c/) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 20292-h.htm or 20292-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/2/9/20292/20292-h/20292-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/2/9/20292/20292-h.zip) IN HAPPY VALLEY by John Fox, Jr. Illustrated By F. C. Yohn New York Charles Scribner's Sons 1917 Copyright, 1916, 1917, by Charles Scribner's Sons Published October, 1917 Copyright, 1905, 1906, By P. F. Collier & Son, Incorporated To Hope, Little Daughter of Richard Harding Davis. CONTENTS The Courtship of Allaphair The Compact of Christopher The Lord's Own Level The Marquise of Queensberry His Last Christmas Gift The Angel from Viper The Pope of the Big Sandy The Goddess of Happy Valley The Battle-Prayer of Parson Small The Christmas Tree on Pigeon ILLUSTRATIONS "You stay hyeh with the baby," he said quietly, "an' I'll take yo' meal home." "You got him down!" she cried. "Jump on him an' stomp him!" "Mammy," he said abruptly, "I'll stop drinkin' if you will." "Let 'em loose!" he yelled. "Git at it, boys! Go fer him, Ham--whoop-ee-ee!" "Miss Hildy, Jeems Henery is the bigges' liar on Viper." "I'm a-goin' to give it back to 'em. Churches, schools, libraries, hospitals, good roads." Night and day, and through wind and storm, she had travelled the hills, healing the sick. "O Lawd ... hyeh's another who meddles with thy servant and profanes thy day." THE COURTSHIP OF ALLAPHAIR Preaching at the open-air meeting-house was just over and the citizens of Happy Valley were pouring out of the benched enclosure within living walls of rhododendron. Men, women, children, babes in arms mounted horse or mule or strolled in family groups homeward up or down the dusty road. Youths and maids paired off, dallying behind. Emerged last one rich, dark, buxom girl alone. Twenty yards down the road two young mountaineers were squatted in the shade whittling, and to one she nodded. The other was a stranger--one Jay Dawn--and the stare he gave her was not only bold but impudent. "Who's goin' home with _that_ gal?" she heard him ask. "Nobody," was the answer; "_that_ gal al'ays goes home _alone_." She heard his snort of incredulity. "Well, I'm goin' with her right now." The other man caught his arm. "No, you ain't"--and she heard no more. Athwart the wooded spur she strode like a man. Her full cheeks and lips were red and her black, straight hair showed Indian blood, of which she was not ashamed. On top of the spur a lank youth with yellow hair stood in the path. "How-dye, Allaphair!" he called uneasily, while she was yet some yards away. "How-dye!" she said unsmiling and striding on toward him with level eyes. "Allaphair," he pleaded quickly, "lemme----"