Hearts Desire

Heart's Desire

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Heart's Desire, by Emerson Hough
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Heart's Desire
Author: Emerson Hough
Release Date: February 24, 2005 [eBook #15159]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEART'S DESIRE***
E-text prepared by Al Haines

Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 15159-h.htm or 15159-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/5/1/5/15159/15159-h/15159-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/5/1/5/15159/15159-h.zip)

HEART'S DESIRE
The Story of a Contented Town, Certain Peculiar Citizens, and Two Fortunate Lovers
A Novel by EMERSON HOUGH
Author of The Mississippi Bubble, The Law of the Land, The Girl at the Half Way House, etc

[Frontispiece: "He looked up--to see her standing at his door!"]

New York Grosset & Dunlap Publishers Copyright, 1903, 1904, 1905, BY THE CURTIS PUBLISHING COMPANY. Copyright, 1903, BY OUT WEST COMPANY. Copyright, 1905, BY THE RIDGWAY-THAYER COMPANY. Copyright, 1905, BY EMERSON HOUGH. Copyright, 1905, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1905. Reprinted November, 1905: January, April, 1907; November, 1908. Norwood Press J. B. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I
THE LAND OF HEART'S DESIRE
_This being in Part the Story of Curly, the Can of Oysters, and the Girl from Kansas_

CHAPTER II
THE DINNER AT HEART'S DESIRE
_This continuing the Relation of Curly, the Can of Oysters, and the Girl from Kansas; and introducing Others_

CHAPTER III
TRANSGRESSION AT HEART'S DESIRE
_Beginning the Cause Celebre which arose from Curly's killing the Pig of the Man from Kansas_

CHAPTER IV
THE LAW AT HEART'S DESIRE
_Continuing the Story of the Pig from Kansas, and the Deep Damnation of his Taking Off_

CHAPTER V
EDEN AT HEART'S DESIRE
_This being the Story of a Paradise; also showing the Exceeding Loneliness of Adam_

CHAPTER VI
EVE AT HEART'S DESIRE
_How the Said Eve arrived on the Same Stage with Eastern Capital, to the Interest of All, and the Embarrassment of Some_

CHAPTER VII
TEMPTATION AT HEART'S DESIRE
Showing how Paradise was lost through the Strange Performance of a Craven Adam

CHAPTER VIII
THE CORPORATION AT HEART'S DESIRE
_This being the Story of a Parrot, Certain Twins, and a Pair of Candy Legs_

CHAPTER IX
CIVILIZATION AT HEART'S DESIRE
_How the Men of Heart's Desire surrendered to the Softening Seductions of Croquet and Other Pastimes_

CHAPTER X
ART AT HEART'S DESIRE
_How Tom Osby, Common Carrier, caused Trouble with a Portable Annie Laurie_

CHAPTER XI
OPERA AT HEART'S DESIRE
_Telling how Two Innocent Travellers by Mere Chance collided with a Side-tracked Star_

CHAPTER XII
THE PRICE OF HEART'S DESIRE
_Concerning Goods, their Value, and the Delivery of the Same_

CHAPTER XIII
BUSINESS AT HEART'S DESIRE
_This describing Porter Barkley's Method with a Man, and Tom Osby's Way with a Maid_

CHAPTER XIV
THE GROUND FLOOR AT HEART'S DESIRE
_Proposing Certain Wonders of Modern Progress, as wrought by Eastern Capital and Able Corporation Counsel_

CHAPTER XV
SCIENCE AT HEART'S DESIRE
_This being the Story of a Cow Puncher, an Osteopath, and a Cross-eyed Horse_

CHAPTER XVI
THE PARTITION OF HEART'S DESIRE
_Concerning Real Estate, Love, Friendship, and Other Good and Valuable Considerations_

CHAPTER XVII
TREASON AT HEART'S DESIRE
_Showing the Dilemma of Dan Anderson, the Doubt of Leading Citizens, and the Artless Performance of a Pastoral Prevaricator_

CHAPTER XVIII
THE MEETING AT HEART'S DESIRE
How Benevolent Assimilation was checked by Unexpected Events

CHAPTER XIX
COMMERCE AT HEART'S DESIRE
_Showing Wonders of the Thirst of McGinnis, and the Faith of Whiteman the Jew_

CHAPTER XX
MEDICINE AT HEART'S DESIRE
How the Girl from the States kept the Set of Twins from being broken

CHAPTER XXI
JUSTICE AT HEART'S DESIRE
_The Story of a Sheriff and Some Bad Men; showing also a Day's Work, and a Man's Medicine_

CHAPTER XXII
ADVENTURE AT HEART'S DESIRE
_The Strange Story of the King of Gee-Whiz, and his Unusual Experience in Foreign Parts_

CHAPTER XXIII
PHILOSOPHY AT HEART'S DESIRE
_Showing further the Uncertainty of Human Events, and the Exceeding Resourcefulness of Mr. Thomas Osby_

CHAPTER XXIV
THE CONSPIRACY AT HEART'S DESIRE
_This being the Story of a Sheepherder, Two Warm Personal Friends, and their Love-letter to a Beautiful Queen_

CHAPTER XXV
ROMANCE AT HEART'S DESIRE
_The Pleasing Recountal of an Absent Knight, a Gentle Lady, and an Ananias with Spurs_

CHAPTER XXVI
THE GIRL AT HEART'S DESIRE
_The Story of a Surprise, a Success, and Something Else Very Much Better_

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Frontispiece: "He looked up--to see her standing at his door!"
"'The umpire decides that you've got to check your guns during the game.'"
"A voice which sang of a face that was the fairest, and of a dark blue eye."
"'Something has got to be did, and did mighty blame quick.'"

HEART'S DESIRE

CHAPTER I
THE LAND OF HEART'S DESIRE
_This being in Part the Story of Curly, the Can of Oysters, and the Girl from Kansas_
"It looks a long ways acrost from here to the States," said Curly, as we pulled up our horses at the top of the Capitan divide. We gazed out over a vast, rolling sea of red-brown earth which stretched far beyond and below the nearer foothills, black