Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-07-23
KISTY'S FIGS.

l tola you, not very long ago, about
hlsty's running away to find s'the girl
with plncushion hood on.n Mrs Reed
hardly dared to trust her little DAUGHTER
out OF her sight after that till papa had put
button on the gate.
linen kisty used to take her dollies
INTO the backyard and play there by the
hour together.
They were ranged in a row on the low
est step of the porch, one bright morning.
watching Kisty digging in the dirt. She
was very busy, indeed, for she had a.
garden to make, and nothing to work
with but an iron spoon and mustard
| box a9 ai
Jlngle jingle! up the street.
'Spect him's the cookey -man!" cried
she, tumbllng over her spoon in her haste
to tell Norah. ~ ~
| The baker reached the kitchen-door
! almost as soon as Kisty t 81
Anything to-day, mum?,
1.-TWO white loaves, if you please, said
Mrs. Reed, who. was helping about the
| fruitcake. ''Rqln Kisty. and get mann
mas purse off her bureau"
| The child brought it. and looked on
while the bread was being paid for.
Here, dearp' said her mother, shaking
some soiled visiting cards out of the port
monnale, you may have these to play
| with. Now put mammals purse back
| where you found it." II rra
hlsty was gone some time, but present
! y she ran down again to her garden.
| Mrs. Reed would not have felt SO EASY
stonlng ralslns IN the pantry if she had
known the baker had left the gate I'M
fastened!
Kisty was not slow in discovering the
tact. Unfortunately she still held the
idea. alc.6 ~. = i :
-" klsty'n go a-calling,", said she, whisk-
ing through the gateway, with a back
glance to see if anybody was looking. She
felt quite equal to the undertaking, for
hadn't she been visiting with her mother
once, and carried the card-case all the
way?
sCome in 90 pity title pet That's what
| the ladyll say,'' she prattled on to herself,
| climbing the steps Of the first house round
the corner, dragging armless Rosy after
her by her stocking-yarn hair -gsis,#
& sob what high-up bell! 'Spect the
mans thought Kisty's bigger" "
Even on tip-toe she couldn't reach it..
| She put Rosy down and stood on top of
her; but then she could only touch the
! bell-knob with the ends of her fingers.
soh my sus Guess Kisty'll have to
knock!' and she did knock, so very gent
ly that nobody in the world could have
| heard her.
peoples is gone way off," said she,
slipping card under the door as she had
seen her mamma do when nobody answer
ed her ring. 'Kisty'll give 'em card for
when they come back. Her didn't 'on't
to be selfish girl" aH Is.
/ After that she did not try to pull any
more abell-l1nobs, but contented herself
with leaving cards at every house on that
side OF the street One happened to be a
church, and another an oyster saloon, but
1t was all the same to Kisty
| When she got to the provision store on
the second corner from home, she had
only single card left. AS the door stood
open she carried it in, and ran up to a
pleasant-looking clerk who was sorting
apples. 80
''Kisty's come a-callin'," said she, bland
ly, sitting down on a pile of Goldfish.
"What upon earth!" cried the young
man, starting in surprise at the droll little
figure.
"Me and Rosys come a-callin'," repeat
ed Kisty, holding up the long-sufering
dolly, land hers tired. Take Rosy, will
oo?' - :
''Thank you, no, you must excuse me
| What's your Grandmother Grip
sey?n
'Kisty Weed" said she, drumming her
small boot-heels against the Goldfish in
some resentment at being called "grand-
mother
| where do you live?'
What made folks forever and ever ask
her that? She drew in her lips till there
wasn't snip of scarlet to be seen, she was
SO afraid she should tell for she shreWdly
suspected the man wanted to send her
| home. In offering Rosy to the clerk, she
had dropped her card, and it lay on the
| floor, face upward, with eMrs. Henry
Reed, No. 6 Oak street." written very
| clearly on it.
us that yours?" asked the young man,
reading the address.
Its mammals; for when Kisty goes a.
callin'," said she with longing glance at
the piles of fruit, "Kisty loves 0ppuzs, her
| dOesp'
The clerk ran to the door and called to
a boy in a market-Wagon
Here, jim, you have orders on Oak
street; leave this bundle at No. 6. will
your"
Then, almost before Kisty knew it, he
had lifted her and Rosy upon the seat and
given the boy the card so he could not
mistake the direction.
The horse trotted off at brisk pace. and
the square baskets on the floor of the WAC
on danced up and down in the middle
These were filled with vegetables and
other articles that people had ordered fol-
their dinners, and Kisty's driver every
now and then stopped at door to leave
one She found it great fun to 90 about
in this fashion, and she was having a most
delightful time when they drew up at her
fathers house on Oak street.
''Kisty don't want to be homer said
she, with twinge of conscience at the
thought of meeting her mother for in the
depths of her little heart she knew it was
wrong to run away. But when the boy
lured her with paper Of figs, she was
wonderfully soothed She let MIN lift her
down at once, and skipped past him
through the back gate. Of course be
| ought to have gone in with her and told
her mother where he found her; but
being bashtul boy, he did no such thing