Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-12-12

ferentlyI "I was there :" and he ad-
dressed himself to her uncle.
"They have told hin I am flirt,
and he neans TO take care of himself,
the craven" she thought; /" but when
did l ever have to beg for notice, that
l need mind if farm hand turns his
eyes away from mep He'll be looking
this way hard enough before long, I'll
warrant" But for once in her life
Ruth was mistaken. Elkanah Reed was
pleasant and civil to her, Just as he was
to Kitty Daft, the half cracked woman
from the poor-heuse, who came to the
farm for her tidbits of doughputs and
cider, and brought dried herbs that
were quite as likely to be deadly-night-
shade or poison-ivy as any thing. He
seemed another order of man from that
with which Ruth had had TO deal hith-
erto, and her presence appeared to af-
feet him no more than if he we're made
of flint instead of flesh, and she we're
the ugliest girl in the township. He
relieved her, TO be sure, of dozen
burdens when Uncle Isaac had en- Ill
turn, he watched and sent Ruth to
bed ; he repaired her spinning wheel,
and praised her cooking but whether
he took the heavy milking pail5 our of
her hands, whether he turned the
churn- dasher in her stead, or held her
skein of yarn in place of the broken
reel, he did it with such nonehalance
that it was more aggravstion than plea
sure, just as he would have done il for
any woman, plain or pretty, married or
slngleS with no more visible emotion
than If she had been lay figure in
stead of breathing beauty accustomed
to homage. He never said pretty
things to her. He came in and out,
and sat aG the same table and beside
the same hearth, and went to the same
merry-makings, and knelt beside her at
evening prayers in Uncle Isaac's keep
iDg-room, for six months and better
without making answers to the coquet-
ry in her eyes, without taking recogni-
tion of her charms. Naturally flesh
and blood like Ruth's could not long
endure such treatment; she must
either hate or love him
One morning they were cutting off a
dead limb from button-wood tree near
the house, and just as it was about to
fall Ruth came sauntering across the
yard, her curls blowing back from her
rosy face, and carrying handful of
burdock leaves for Uncle Isaac's rheu-
matism. In half minute more her
chances wouldn't have been worth fig
had not Elkanah Reed dropped the axe
he was grinding, and snatched her
away In two strong arms at the risk of
his own head.
That night, when Ruth lighted Elka-
nah's candle, she detained it q moment.
and began to say, "You were very good
this morning-to-to do as you did.
u
"Oh, that's nothing" he interrupt
ed, brusquely. " Do you think Id
stand by and see woman knocked
DOWN."
"But you might have been hurt
yourself. I don't-know how tore.
ward you," she stammered, dropping
her eyes before his. 1t was the first
time she had ever hesitated in her
speech toward man.
"You will reward me-if reward is
necessary for doing ones duty-by for
getting all about it," he said. And
Ruth felt as if it had been less cruel
had he allowed the button wood bough
to crush her instead.
eff you are going over to the quilt
ing at Jackson's," said Uncle Isaac next
day, you had better let Elkanah drive
you"
Il prefer to walk, thank you," said
Ruth.
"They've found bears tracks in the
woods between here and Jackson's,
said Elkanah. "You can go round by
the highway if you like walking. It's
a mile further. but you avoid the
woods"
Ruth made no response, but Elkanah
was busy in the yard when she passed
out, with q saucy bow and smile, and
he saw that she perversely chose the
shortcut through the woods. She went
along through the foot-path with her
head down, not much caring for the
bears or believing in their neighbor-
hood, but delaying here and there to
pick the tempting raspberries that over.
hung the way, or to gather the wild
geranium flowers for bouquet. She
had forgotten all about danger, in fact,
when a rustling in the underbrush
startled her out of her thoughts, and
she had only time to look over her
shoulder in season to see Bruin spring
across the path and plunge into the
woods again, before there was a sharp
click and flash, and it seemed to Ruth
as if the trees were all dancing togeth-
er and the earth was shaking under her,
and then she had fallen like one dead
among the brambles and the scented
ferns, shot through the foot by gun
ner on the track of the bear, whose
fowling- piece had caught in the under
growth and discharged itself.
When Ruth got about after this it
was very plain she would never skip
down the we'll again for the lost
bucket, nor catch the colts in the pas
ture, nor NOW long summers after
noon, nor dance at quilting or we'd
ding, "nor be much of match for
any young farmer now," as the neigh
bors said, for she walked with the
orutch Elkanah Reed had fashioned
for her, and would probably never lay
it aside.
The Hill Farm had yielded largely
under Elkanah Reeds management,
but he was to leave it at Christmas. It
was he who had assisted Ruth at pick
ling, preserving and canning, and had
become almost as necessary to her in
doors as he was to her uncle outside.
He anticipated her wants before she
could put hand to her crutch, but he
never let fall tender word or look,
nor permitted himself to be betrayed
into turning compliment to please
her, nor trifled away the spare minutes