old but they never could induce her to shoot at anything except a mark she was the tenderest hearted little thing in the world if her taste had been consulted she would have selected a for it did not make such a noise and she could shoot it without shutting her eyes besides that she could shoot it in the house which indeed she did until she had shot the eyes out of nearly all the gentlemen and bare long ladies on the walls once she came very near shooting s eye out also but this was an accident though declared it was not and tried to make out that bob had put her up to it s de boy ever made he said to charity fortunately his eye got well and it gave him an excuse for staying half drunk for nearly a week and afterward like a dog that has once been lame in his whenever he saw and did not forget it he up that eye and tried to look miserable was quite a large girl then and was carrying the keys except when she lost them though she could not have been more than twelve years old for it was just after this that the birthday came when the colonel gave her her first real silk dress it was blue silk and came from and it was hard to tell which was the or charity or or the colonel got drunk before the dinner was over drinking de to de young in de sky blue robes what stands de throne you know he explained to charity after the colonel had ordered him from the dining room with promises of prompt sale on the morrow bob was there and it was the last time ever sucked her thumb she had almost gotten out of the habit anyhow and it was in a moment of in virginia fulness that she let bob see her do it he was a great and when she was smaller had often worried her about it until she would fly at him and try to bite him with her httle white teeth on this occasion however she stood everything until he said that about a girl who wore a blue silk dress her thumb then she his jaws the fire flew from his eyes but hers were even more sparkling he paused for a minute and then caught her in his arms and kissed her violently she never sucked her thumb after that this happened out in front of her s house within which was delivering a powerful on and strange to say charity took bob s side while s and afterward said she ought to have a stick and knocked bob s head off this fortunately did not do and when bob went to the university afterward he was said to have the best head in his class she just turned around and ran into the house with hei face very red but she never bob after that not long after this he went off to college for mr the said he already knew more than most college did and that it would be a shame for him not to have a university education when the question of ways and means was the colonel who was always ready to lend money if he had it and to borrow it if he did not swore he v ould give him all the money he wanted but to his astonishment bob refused to accept it and although the colonel abused him for it and asked if she did not think he was a fool which did for she was always ready to take and spend all the money he or any one else gave her yet he did not like him the less for it and he finally persuaded bob to take it as a loan and bob gave him his bond the day before he left home he was over at the colonel s where they had a great dinner for him and presided in her silk dress she had three then and when bob said good by she slipped something into his hand and ran away to her room and when he looked at it it was her ten dollar gold piece and he took it he was at college not quite three years for his mother was taken sick and he had to come home and nurse her but he had stood first in most of his classes and not lower than third in any and he had the carpenter on hill who was the bully of the town so that although he did not take his degree he had gotten the start which enabled him to complete his studies during the time he was taking care of his mother and until her death so that as soon as he was admitted to the bar he made his mark it was his splendid defence of the man who shot the at the on election day that brought him out as the candidate for the constitutional con in virginia where he made such a reputation as a speaker that the declared him the rising man of the state and even the admitted that perhaps the party might find a leader to redeem it was just fifteen when she began to take an interest in politics and although she read the papers diligently especially the which her uncle never failed to abuse yet she never could exactly satisfy herself which side was right for the colonel was a while most people must have been as bob was elected by a big majority she wanted to be on the side and made him explain everything to her which he did to his own entire satisfaction and to hers too she tried to think but when bob came over to tea which he very frequently did and the colonel and he got into a discussion 