The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-10-15


4 sending the letter, and yet, If she did not
! send it, Harry would go away. Fii
A miserable half hour of indecision fol-
| lowed, at the end of which she tossed all
/ the scattered sheets in heap into her
/ writing-desk, locked it, and then cried
with renewed abandon. A series of sharp
raps on the door and voice by no means
/ gentle reused her.
"Lottie! / say, Lottie, For goodness
| sake, what are you about? Here it's after
four, and ne cake for supper, and Mr.. Will
1 lard going in the six train Come right
/ down stairs, and don't let us have any
more dawdlingi Come there's no time
to spare.
| How Lottie ever got into the kitchen,
and in what manner she eontrived to begin
her calle-making she never knew Harry
going at ski She was such a child that
his going away seemed to her to end every
thing finally between them. She should
never see him again Over andsoYer she
said TO herselfas she mechanically weighed
the flOurand the sugar. for sponge-cake,
ibeat her eggs, and commenced to mix the
ingredients. A great many tears fell into
that cake, and they soblinded her that she
did not see her mother at her elbow, as
she was dropping il into the pans, until a
sharp voice startled her:
Lottie, what has come over you? You
haven't put a bit of paper in the bottom
of those pans! 1t would have burned for
certain, and here it is almost five. Hurry!
go and get nome paper, quick!f
LOttie, sti1 mechanically, searched the
drawers ofthe dresser in vain; and, spur
red to action by the sharp voice and by the
sound of the clock striking five, she rush
ed up stairs to her own room, tore off two
half sheets of paper from the pile she had
thrust into her desk, ran down again, and
had the cake INTO the oven in such mi
raculOusly short time that even her mother
was astonished. .r | I Il
"There, now, pick over these berries,
and set the table. Susan hasn't finished
ironing. And fetch up the butter, and
/ The voice buzzed in LOttie's ears, as she
hurried from one thing to another. At
last everything was done and on the table
but the cake, and the Shrill ringing of the
supper-bcll admonished Lottie to hurry
with that Never was cake so unceremo-
niOusly tipped out of the pans and so
roughly cut up. The papers had burned
on, and there was no time to stop to pull
the fragments off. So Lottie made the
best of it. and left them on. dumping the
cake-basket down on the side-bOard, with
a long sigh of relief.
She did not dare TO 90 in to supper on
account Of her swollen eyes, and on ac-
count of Mr.. Davenport, whom she was
afraid to meet. And if Harry was going,
what was the use? She could not let him
90 unmatched. however; so, running UP
stairs, she hastily dOnned a walking-dress
and hurried out of the back door toward
the village. From the post-office she
would be sure to see him pass, and it
would be some comfort Just to do that
thought poor Lottie, trying to swallow the
lump in her throat as she fastened along.
Once in the post-Office, she dawdled aim
lessly about the counters, asking for this
and that, and keeping her broad hat pull
ed low over her face, lest the marks of
tears should be seen. She waited a long
time, watching the street, but Harry did
not pass. The clock pointed to five min
utes of siX-perhaps he would be late for
the train. At any rate, he had not passed,
and there was no other road to the station.
One minute of six. Surely the clock
must be wrong. No; for the whistle of
the train sounded with its first stroke,
and Harry had not gone by. He had
been late, then. Lottie turned toward
home in a hurry. If she should see
him
She did not finish the sentence. for she
had no idea how seeing him would help
the matter; still she felt more cheerful as
she hastened along the sunny road. She
had almost reached home when she saw
the object of her thoughts coming toward
her at round pace. There was no valiSe
in his hand, and he still wore his fishers
coat. LOttie's heart gave great bound,
half of relief, half of apprehension. The
first feeling quickly predOminated, for
Harry's strides soon brought him to her
side, and he. looked down on her from his
altitude of six feet with smile that be-
tOkened anything but displeasure.
where have you been running to, you
naughty child? And where-why, where
is your seal ringg'
''At home," responded the puzzled Lot
tie, family no.
"Why didn'tyou come to supper and
bid me Goodbye"
"YOu haven't gone"
''Fm going, though. VIII you give me
some sponge-cake for luncheon 2"
More and more amazed, Lottie made no
reply at all.
, ''Did you make the sponge-cake we had
for supper?" .
"NeSn
g Made it in hurry, didn't your"
"Why?"
You didn't get all the paper off, that's
All. -OCt WIldJ Has Slutk OH Uly piece.
you small deceiverI Why didn't you
use the post-office instead of sponge-cake?
Eh - .-'..-
A small strip of greasy paper was laid in
LOttie's outstretched hand. Upon it she
read the beginning of her last epistolary
production of the afternoon:
MY DEAR HARRY: don't know how to write
this to you, and am very much ashamed to take
back what said. but never meant to say it.
had to, because Mr.. Davenport
Here the paper was torn off. and, be-
sides, was taken forcibiy out of Lottie's
hand. which was clasped in two others.
4" You wrote tirat to me? Youmean it ?
Say yes" ....
For some time after Lottie's reply moth
ing connected or sensible was said on
either side; but when, they. had reached
the garden gate, and were philandering
under the elms, Lottie said, fs ..
''But don't see how you got so much
papeEOn your cake. Il thOughtiJ was all
in little fragments" ..--
Harry laughed. 49, -s ~.
" / couldn't break it easily, because it
was so tough-no Offense to the cook-so
| took whole bar. | couldn't eat it, for
I'd no appetite, SO | turned it over and /
looked atit, and, singularly enough; be-
gan to get hungry Immediately. Let's
have spOnge-cake for our wedding-cake
LOttie .''-Ha7per's Bazar.
->e>