The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1876-06-16
MI elan @ O us.
KITTY'S LOVER.
BY F. s. MILLS.

John Patterson was driving his venera
bic horse slowly homcward from the littl,
village of Briarton.
They were passing the low-lying farm o
Nathan Lynne, and John, without daring
for the life of him to turn his head, rolled
his great black eyes towards the substan
tial stone farmhouse, in the hope ofcatch
ing II glimpse of Kitty, the farmers come
ly daughter. But, though John kept his
eyes turned in their sockets till his head
ached feariully, he saw nothing of Kitty.
John was desperately in love with Kitty
Lynne, and had been for many day, and
yet he dared not tell her so.
He generally managed to bow to her, but
even that always brought great lump
into his throat, and turned his face the
color ola peony.
AS John passed over Il little knoll and
out Of sight of the house, the farmers
great orchard-th the trees ready to break
down under the weight of ripe fruit 80 was
before him.
wiilHigiJa lHy gfrst.h"t nr'ig "Eah s,yy ap'a
bear. must have pocketlul of those
yellow beauties to eat on my way home.n
And with this John drew rein, scaled
the fence and struck out for his uvoritc
tree.
He knew as well rs Farmer Lynne did
where the best apples were to be found
John had filed his pockets, and was about
to retrace his steps to his wagon, when he
caught the tlutter of II pink dress through
u cluster of trees, and heard Kitty's merry
voice in conversation with some one.
Stealing a hasty glance through the
trees, John recognized Kitty's companion
to be her cousin, Hetty Shaw, from the
village.
They were coming directly towards the
tree under which John was standing
What in the world was lie TO doS
He did not fancy running away like a
detected thief, and his trembling knees
and FACILITATING heart warned him that il
he would not die then and there he must
seek a place of conceament.
TO add to Johns embarrassment, he was
conscious that he was not in the least
"tidied up"
He was in his everyday garb. To make
the matter worse, his clothes were covered
with flour, which had somehow got on
while he was waiting at the MILL
John glanced up at the tree, but the foil
age was not thick, and there was little
chance for hiding place there.
Near the tree was an inverted hogshcad
which had been used rs stand from
which to pick apples from the tree.
The hogslcad had once been used MS n
temporary dog kennel, and II hole, per
haps eighteen inches in diameter, had been
made to admit the dog.
The hogshead afforded the only retreat
within the trembling mans reach, and he
was not long in squeezing himself inside
of it.
The girls came on and sat down on the
grass right where John, by STOPPING down
and peering through the circular hole
could watch them.
"Kitty, he thought, looked prcttier and
brighter than ever in her pink dress, and
the sun, which was settling into the west
made her hair as golden as the apples in
her lap.
Kitty held up an apple by the stem
saying:
Name it, Hetty, but not Will Joyce
nor Jerry Davis, nor"
There, stop; the apple is named," said
Hetty, merrly.
Kitty pared and eat her apple, carefully
saving all the seeds.
When she had them all in her chubby
hand, she held them out tor Hetty to spell
the name.
Touching each seed with her finger
Hetty spelled:
John Pa-t-t-e + SON."
ut spells exactly. Why, Kitty, what
are you blushing SO for One would thinl
that fellows name was spelled out in you
heart in indeliblc letters, by the way you
look.
Kitty said nothing, though she looked
uncommonly sober for her, John thought
and he wondered if the girls didn't hca
his heart beat.
He thought, too, that Kitty was angr.
that any one would suppose that sho care'
| for him.
"How humble he felt he could scare
tell why his cheeks burned with wound
ed pride.
"Now, really, Kitty" said her cousin
with bantering laugh, "if you don
drive away that torlorn look, | shall thinl
you care more than yourpride will let yo
acknowledge Tor that great awkward
BOBBY, who hasn't the courage, nor eve
will have, to ask you to have him."
"Hush, Hetty 2" said Kitty as she ros
to her feet, and her cheeks glowed with
flush of deepest crimson. you do nc
know John Patterson as we do, or yo
would not utter what you have. He
not awkward at home with his mothe