The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1875-04-16
AN ECHO OF AE ECHO.
BY MAY MEREDITH.


BY MAY MEREDITH.
"Well, this is what 1 call provoking
in the extreme" said Nellie Gordon, as
she threw herself on the grass under a
huge oak tree" Here I've been ten min
utes, and no sign Of Mr.. Stsunton yet.
n he is not more punctuai hereafter, l
shall certainly give up studying my Ger
man with him, much as love the Ian
guage. shall wait ten minutes more,
and II he does not come by that time I
shall betake myself home"
With a gesture Of Impotence, she
opened the little gold watch which hung
at her wsist and placed 1t on her lap.
Then took off the wide-brimmed hat
which he'd shaded her brow from the
a,mmer sun, and threw It on the grass
beSde herbooks alrsady there. Leaning
heshead hack upon the coarse trunk Of
~ trss, sad closing her eyes, she made
. pretty picture, sitting there 50 still.
The nr11as whinpered through the soft,
- tbllaes around, and played with
- oug1b o. her forehead, while one stray
eonbeann, stealing through an opening in
~ lsavn abyve, rested with simmer
~ light ON the wealth Of golden hair,
coiled so gracefully round the delicately-
shaped head. ..5
A moment more, and she had opened
her eyes, and, with fingers idly toying
with her watch chain, she was singing in
low, sweet voice, the little song we all
know, called Grandma's Warning"
As the last words
IF the boys and the girls had always been afraid,
Then grandma herself would have been an old
maid"-
rang out through the silent woods, they
seemed to be caught up and echoed by
another voice.
Nellie looked to the right hand and to
the leff, before and behind her, and then
with sudden thought, cast quick, sly
glance above. There, high up in the
huge tree, she caught one glimpse Of a
rair of laughing eyes; but they
had not seen her upward glance, nor sus-
pected that they themselves had been dis
covered.
wonder whose voice that could have
been" she said aloud, half rising. at
was miserably poor imitation of
an echo, but l shall try to awaken it
, again. 1fna~r-u ~ -a
"n the boys and the girls had always been afraid,
bThes grandma herself would have been an old
The voice sounded clear and strong
this time, and the echo came once more,
distinct and periect-but who expected
that second echo, seeming to come from
the very ground at her feet d? Nellie rose
hurriedly.
"lndeed, ] cannot stay alone in such a
place. Surely, il is haunted, and by
more than one spirit. must awayp
She stopped to pick up her hat, doing
it very deliberately, and keeping her
back turned towards the spot where she
knew Nr. Staunton must descend A
moment after, his voice sounded close to
her.
miss Nellie, good morning. Were
you really frightened by my echoing
your words p
SO it was, you was il % she said,
smiling, and extending her hand. "Who
would have imagined that you could so
exactly have initiated an echoY
"That does not accord very well with
what ] heard you say just now about a
miserably poor imitation ] fear you are
inconsistent"
~ do not think so; only wanted to
prove the time-worn proverb, that Ills
teners never hear any good of themselves,
and TO ascertain II you were too far above
TO hear my words"
So you knew all the time that was
in the tree % he said, just little disap-
Pointment in his tone. al hoped To
frighten you"
"You couldn't have chosen a poorer
way" she answered naively, for
know every nook and corner Of these
woods, every haunt for miles round, and
many time I've climbed up this very
tree, and tried to scare people with my
voice, for you know they say the spot is
haunted. But did you hear that second
echog
"fes; but surely il can be accounted
for in some reasonable way"
I'm not 80 sure of that" she answer.
ed, gravely; "but maybe we were both
mistaken-perhaps We fancied we heard
AN echo. suppose we try il again"
Very well what shall | sayw
"Oh, anything" this rather impa-
tieDtly.
lie paused amoment-then in a louder
tone:
"If this spot be inhabited by ghost
demon, spirit, fairy, elf or gnome, in the
name of Miss Gordon, the fair, the talent
ed, and the imperious "a slight stress ON
the word imperiousl command and ex-
hort such ghost, demon spirit, fairy, elf
or gnome, TO stand forth or else forever
amer hold his peace"
THAT is absurd" she said, with a
slight flush. "Do you suppose any crea-
ture, natural or supernatural, would
obey such behest Try simply lineor
two of rhyme. That seems to he the
charm"
swell" he said, with affected humili-