The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1876-11-30
Aniaersp,a yntelligeneer.
BASHFUL JOHN.

OOuu iGtC1S neto AAA'ANS5 AA-S '"ASAN
BILE horse slowly homcward from the little
village of Brinton.
They were passing the low lying farm
of Nathan Wynn, and John, not daring
for the life of him to turn his head, rolled
his great black eyes toward the substan-
cial stone farmhouse, in the hope of
catching glimpse of Kitty, the farmers
comely daughter. But though John kept
his eyes turned in their sockets till his
head ached fearfully, he saw nothing of
Kitty.
John was desperately in love with Kit
ty Wynn, and had been so for many q
day, and yet he dare not tell her so.
He. generally managed to bow to her
when he met her, but even that brought
great lump in his throat, and turned
his face the color of penny.
AS John passed over little knoll and
out of sight of the house, Wynn's great
orchard-the trees ready to break down
under the weight of ripe trult-was be-
fore him.
"What a while that miller kept me
waiting for my grist. Pm as hungry as
bear, and must have pocket full of those
beauties to eat on my way"
And with this John drew rein, scaled
the fence and struck out for his favorite
tree.
He knew as we'll as Mr. Wynn did
where the best apples were to be found.
John filed his pockets and was about
to retrace his steps to the wagon, when ne
caught the hutter of a pink dress through
a cluster of trees, and heard Kitty's merry
voice in conversation with some one.
Stealing a hasty glance through the
trees. John recognized Kitsy's companion
to be her cousin Hetty Shaw, from the
village.
They were coming directly toward the
tree under which John was standing.
What in the world was he to do?
He did not fancy running away like
detected thiei, and his trembling knees
and palpitating heart warned him that if
he did not wish to die then and there, he
must seek place of concealment.
To add to Johns embarrassment, he
was conscious that he was not in the least
"tidied up"
He was in every day garb. To make
the matter worse, his clothes were covered
with -four, which had somehow got on
them while waiting for grist at the mill.
John glanced up into tree, but the
foliage was not thick and there was little
chance for a hiding place there.
Near the tree was an inverted hogshead,
which had been used for stand to pick
apples from the tree.
The hogshead had once been used as a
temporary dog-kennel, and a hole, per,
haps eighteen inches in diameter, had
been made to admit the dog.
There was no time to be lost.
The hogshead offered the only retreat
within the trembling young 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, STOPPING and
peeping through the circular hole, could
watch them.
Kitty, he thought, looked prettier and
brighter than ever in her pink dress, and
the sun, which was setting in the west,
made her brown hair as golden as the ap-
pies in her lap.
Kitty held up an apple by the stem,
SAYING: 80, WIFI ro;oo
nor John Davis, nor"
Then stop; the apple is named" said
Hetty, merrily.
Kitty pared and ate her apple, careful
ly saving all the seeds.
When she had them all in her chubby
hand, she then came for Hetty to spell
the name.
Touching each seed with her finger,
spelled:
"J.o-h-n Patterson. It spells ex-
actly. Why, Kitty, what are you blush
ing so for? One would think that fell
lows name was spelled out in your heart
in indellible letters by the way you look"
Kitty said nothing, though she looked
uncom1nonly sober for her, John thought,
and he wondered if the girls didn't hear
his heart beat.
He thought, too, that Kitty was angry
that any one would suppose that she
cared for him.
How humble he felt; he could scarcely
tell why; his cheeks burned with wound
sNow, really, Kitty" said her cousin,
with bantering laugh, III you don't
drive away that forlorn look, i shall think
that YOU care more than your pride will
let YOU acknowledge for that great awk-
ward BOBBY, who hasn't courage, nor nev-
er will have, to ask you to have him."
"Hush, Hetty l' said Kitty, as she rose
to her feet, and her cheek had flush of
deepest crimson. "You do not know
: John Patterson as we do. He is not
awkward at home with his mother. You
ought to see how kind and considerate
he is to her. Father drops in there OF
ten. and he says there isn't more noble
hearted man to be found John is indus
trious; do you know what he does with
his money? Father says he is paying OF
the mortgage on his mothers little farm,
and when he has few pounds more than
is necessary for a payment he spends
them for books. Mark my words, Hetty,
John Patterson will yet be man that
YOU will be proud to class among your
friends; he has intellect of no common
order-it's only his great bashfulness that
keeps him back now"
ssNow, Kitty, you are too absurd," and
Hetty laughed as though she thought her
companion in Jest. "Well, it is leap
wear: and YOU had better offer yourself to
this paragon; I don't believe he will re-
fuse"
ri know no one whom I would sooner
marry-so there" >,
And Kitty's face was scarlet with
bushes as she made this frank acknowl-
edgement to her cousin.
But John was uot looking at her now.
He was crouched in the most remote
part of the hogshead, trying by different
gestures to drive away q huge mastitf'
which threatened to make his where
abouts known.
The sun has gone down, and Johns
hungry horse had quietly walked home,
and still the two girls chatted away.
"Well, Bruno, what have you got
there? Pm sure you have been whining
and paving there for half an hour at
least"