Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1877-01-16
The Red Light.

i |
The Red Light. /
STORY OF NEW YEARS EVE.
It was New Years eve.
Not one of the ideal New Years ewes
of poets and romance writers, wherein
the moon is always at the full, the snow
always a sparkle like pulverized dia-
monds, and the air always still, and
cold, and clear but stormy twilight,
with the snow driving steadily from the
east, the wind raw and biting, and the |
sky-what you could see of it-as black !
as ink
But it was New Years eve, all the |
same, and Bertha Hooper's cheeks were
as red as the bitter-sweet berries in the
woods as she sat, all wrapped up, In the
train that was steaming northward, on
her way to spend New Year with her
Aunt AImira Higgins.
New Year in the country! 10 Ber-
tina, who had lived all her life in the
brick walls and stone pavements of q
city, the very words seemed to convey
somewhat of cheer and joyousness. And
and her little gloved hands safely nest
led in gray squirrel muff. beheld in
her minds eye great fires of logs roar
ing up wide-throated chimneys, and had
half composed a poem on New Year and
its associations when the ruthless con-
ductor came along for her ticket.
"How far are we from Montcourt sta
ton ?" she inquired, as she gave up the
bit of pasteboard.
"Next but one, Miss" said the man,
as he hurried on, with his lantern under
his arm. "Half an hour yet"
She had never been SO far from New
York in all her life before. The driving
rain In which she had left her home had
changed as they progressed northward,
into the steady fall of snow, which f1ut-
tered around them like white waving
shroud. But Bertha Cooper cared little
for this. Had not Aunt Almira promis-
ed to send Zebedee, her youngest son, to
the station with the pony to meet her on
the arrival of the sixty-four train New
York? And was not Zebedee to have
lantern with red glass door to it. so
that she could identify him at once?
She was very pretty as she sat there
In her little black velvet toque, with its
curling plume of cardinal red, and the
wine-red ribbon bow at her throat-pret-
ty with the bloom and freshness of eigh-
teen. She dark, with large hazel eyes,
Almond-shaped, and long-shaped, clear
rosy bloom on either cheek, and wavy
dark hair hanging in silken. fringe over
her broad, low forehead.
"Mont-court-sta- ~ baw1ed the
brakeman, putting in snow powdered
quickly as if he had been magnificent
edition of the Jack-in-a bog. wherein
children much rejoice at holiday sine,
And Bertha Hooper knew that she had
reached her destination.
Stiff and cramped for the length of
time in which she had been sitting in
one position, she rose up, with q little
steel. clasped travelling bag in one hand,
and dainty silk umbrella in the other,
and made her way to the door.
All she could see when she stepped out
upon the wet and slippery platform, was
blur of driving snow, through which
the lights of the solitary little country
depot cleaned fitfully; but the next in
vision like q friendly red eye-and
beneath the reflector over the station
door, she saw tall, fine looking young
man, in fur-trimmed overcoat, a seal
skin cap set jauntily on one side of a
crop of chestnut cUrls, and red-lighted
lantern swinging from his left hand, and
he stood straining his eyes into the
stormy darkness, as if to catch sight of
some familiar face in the little crowd.
"Cousin Zebedee! !" cried Bertha,
aloud, and she made one spring into the
arms of this blonde-whiskered young
giant. For had not she and Zebedee
played dominoes and fox and geese to-
gether in the days when she wore blue
ribbon sashes, and his hair was closely
shorn mat of carroty red? "Oh! Cousin
oil 70 r
hadn't any idea you had grown half SO
Handsomely
And she gave him great hug, at the
same time holding up her rosebud lips
for kiss.
But, to her infinite amazement, the
hero of the seal skin cap seemed little
backward in responding to her cousinly
advances.
IL beg your PARDON" said he,
slightly receding, but Pm afraid thsre
is some mistake. My name is not Zebe-
dee, and the lady for whom Lam look
ing is some years older than you"
Bertha Hooper started back, coloring
and confused; and, as she did &C, fat,
comfortable looking old lady cane
trundling along the platform, in an
worth its weight in greenbacks.
'Charley!" she cried, II thought I
never should find you. Is the carriage
here ?"
''All here, and waiting, Aunt Efie,' u
responded the young man; but he still
hesitated second, as Bertha Hooper
stood with averted face and motiOnless
figure in the shadow of the building.
''Can I be of any service to you ?" he
asked. '.If you are expecting friends
who have failed to meet you"
Anybody here by the name of Ber-
thy Hoo-oo-per?" shouted stsntorian
voice, and tall, raw-looking lad with
lantern-also lighted with red glass
rushed shuffling around the corner.
Zebedee himself! Zebedee. red-haired
been in the old fox. and-geese days. &.
"Oh ~ said he catching up his lantern,
SO that the scarlet birds wings flashed
out like a spit of flame scarcely more
scarlet, alas, than Bertha's own face
"Here you be! Pm a little late, for the
roads is so all fired bad and I couldn't
start the pony out of walk. Come on
How de do? Be you very cold ?"
"Zebedee," said Bertha, clinging al
most Historically to her Cousins arm,
who's that young gentleman with
with the other lantern ?"
"Eh!n said Zebedee. "That Teller
with the old lady in patchwork
shawl?" -
"Yes! ~ V
otis Charley Harcourt, the Squire's
son." said Zebedee. "Just come from
Turin partsv
"Zebedee," said Bertha. with curl
GUS little sound between laugh and @
sob, "put me into the cutter quick and
drive me somewhere. I don't care
where! Because"
'Eh?" said Zebedee, staring hard at
around her before touching up the lag
gard old pony.
Because" added Bertha, in species