The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-12-20
CHAPTER tit.

CHAPTER lit.
MtRANDY, HANK, AND SHocKY.
Mirandy had nothing but contempt
for the new master until he developed
the bull dog in his composition. Mi
randy fell in love with the bull d ,g
Like many other girls of her class
she was greatly enamored with the
subsection of woman, and stood
ready to fall in love. with any mau
strong enough to be her MASTER
Much has been said of the strong
minded woman. offer this psyche
logical remark as contribution to the
natural history of the weak minded
woman. -#.,
It wa. at the cidse of that very
second day on which Ralph had
achieved his first victory over the
school, and in which Mirandy had
been seized with her desperate passion
for him, that she told him about it.
Not in words. We do not allow that
in the most civilized countries, and II
would not be tolerated in Hoopole
County. But Mirandy told the mas.
ter the fact that she was in love with
him none the less that no word passed
her lips. She walked by him from
school. She cast at him what are
commonly called sleeps eyes. Ralph
thought them more like calfs eyes
She changed the whole tone of her
voice. She whined ordinarily. Now
sire whilnpered. And so by ogling
him, by biushing at him, by tittering
at him, by giggling ut him, by snick-
ering at him, by simpering at him, by
making herself tenfold more of fool
even than nature had made her, she
managed to convey to the dismayed
soul of the young teacher the fright
full intelligence that he was loved by
the richest, the ugliest, the silliest,
the coarsest, and the most entirely
contemplate girl in Flat Creek dis
tritt.
Ralph sat by the fire the next morn
ing trying to read few minutes be
fore school time, while the boys were
doing the chores, and the bound girl
was milking tue COWS, with no one in
the room but the old woman. She
was generally as silent as Bud, but
now she seemed for some unaccounta-
BILE reason disposed to talk. She had
set down on the broad hearth to have
her usual morning smoke; the pop
lar table, adorned by no cloth, sat
in the floor; the unwashed blue tea
cups sat in the unwashed blue sau-
GERS the unwashed blue plates kept
with the begrimed blue pitch
er. The dirty skillets by the fire, kept
in countenance by the dirtier pots, and
the ashes were drifted and strewn over
the hearthstone in a most picturesque
way.
You see,' said the old woman,
knocking the residuum from her cob
pipe, and chatting some dry leaf be-
tween her with cred hands preparatory
to filling it again, you see, Mr.. Hart
sock, my old mans purity well along
in the world. He's got right smart
lot of this worlds plunder, one way
and another And while slfe stuffed
the tobacco in her pipe Ralph wan
derod why she should mention it to
him. you see We moved in here
nigh twenty five years ago. Twas
when my Jack, him who died afore
Bud was born, was a baby. BudH
be twenty one the fifth of next June
Here Mrs. Means stopped to rake
live coal out of the fire with her skin
ny finger, and then to carry it in her
skinny palm to the bowl--or to the
hole-ot her cob pipe. When she
got the smoke agoing she proceeded
you see this ere cotton. land was
Ill Congress land in them there days,
md it sold for dollar and a quarter,
md says to my ole man Jack, says
I, Jatk, do YOU git plenty while
Iou're a gettin,' says I, fer 'twon't
never be no cheaper n It's now, and
t haint been. I knowed 'twouldn't,'
Ind Mrs. Means took the pipe from
,er mouth to indulge in good chuck
e at the thought of her financial
hrewdness. ''Git plenty while
'our're gittin,' says L. l could see,
'ou know, they was powerful sight |
+ money in Congress land. That's |
Shat made me say, Git plenty while |
ou're a gittin.' And Jack, he's wuth |
OTIS and ,gobs of money, and made
fdt Of Congress land. Jack didn't
it rich by hard work. Bless you, no!
Jct him. That ant his way. Hard
fork ant, you know. Twas that
ir six hundred dollars he got along
f me; and salted down into Flat
rick bottoms at dollar and quar-
sr acre, and twas my sayin Git a
lenty while you're gittin' as done
!. And here the old ogre laughed,
r grinned horribly, at Ralph, showing
er few struggling, discolored teeth.
Then she got up and knocked the
she's out of her pipe, and laid the !
ipe away and walked round in front
Ralph. After adjusting the
hGncks' 80 that the fire would burn,
lie turned her yellow face toward
alph, and scanning him closely came
ut with the climax of her speech in
|e remark: You see as how; Mr..
,arfsook. tho man what gifts my MI
INDY II do we'll. Flat Crick lands
orth nigh upon hundred dollars a
,re.' /,
This gentle hint come near knock
e Ralph down. Had Flat Creek
nd been worth a hundred times a
Indred dollars an acre, and had he