The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1877-10-02

.------ - z = ~ - 49, J. - ~. y -
marry you to be ruined by careless waste
and extravaganza" q
"Oh, oh, obi"
What do you call it, thenf Here arc
cords of drift wood thrown up with al
most every other tide, and instead Of har
vesting it, we let it wash away. with the
next, and you laugh at me and get angry
and call me names If propose to save
some of it," o#."t 5-
Call you names z .aI 9F##H
"Yes, you do. You think it's mean
and sordid.'
81 never said so, anyway. That's
your guilty conscience. oh, pshaw! l
think it's silly, and very impractical"
Well, l don't care what you think
Here is the beach covered with this light
wood, and am going TO call the servants
and have it gathered before dark"
You can't: for Terrence is waiting
with the horses, at the other station, for
the colonel, and you gave little Jim
leave to go to his grandmether's. and it s
Hannah's evening ont, and Kitty muat be
in readiness to wait on the table; and so
there's nobody but Nora, and she's busy,
and it isn't her work, and she'd refuse to
do it, and that would make you angry,
and should lose good cook"
Five servants to wait upon two peo-
pie! It's shameful" groaned Rex.
They're not waiting on two people.
They're taking care of the grounds, the
horses, the house, and cooking for com.
pany more than for US"
"Well. then. if there's nobody else,
I'll do it myself" he said, desperately
"Pll do it myself"
"And I'll sit down here, and see how
long it will be before you're tired Of 1t. =
~ dare say you willH' he exclaimed,
sauagely. - suppose it would break
your back to pick up one of these
chips" #=+.a.z
"Oh, If that's what you mean cried
l, in an answering fury-we did fight
just like chldren--"if you want YOUR
wife for drudge, l guess | can pick up
wood rs long as the next one
/ declare did not seem to know Rex
any longer, and l am sure he didn't
know. l doubled up my skirt and pin
ned it back like fish woman--l didn't
have another pin about me than that long
gold one with the diamond head that you
used to admire so, but l quilted it in;
aud tied knot in my scarf---it was my
old rose-colored snd gold India mantle /;
and ran and caught this stick and that
stick, and hurled them up the beech. and
Rex was tossing them up too and before
7 L. thnro MO- n ofunk nC tilnm and
| was determined that my stack should
be as big as his; and presently he stop.
ped and snapped the dust off his hands,
and looked at me and laughed.
What do you mean to do with your
pile, when It's done p said he.
ucLt 1 Of {; nS sa;d i -" 1900 '''''-f'--
!" No, wouldn't" said he. It would
be great deal better to kiss your aus-
bsnd and make up"
And so we did, and there was never
anybody to SEES on our Long Beach.
"Now," said Rex, " don't want you
to do this, am just going te finish these
piles, myself, to show Terrence what lie
could do. in a spare hour, and what he S
ncglectiag.
"Oh, think it's good fun" said 1; SO
at it we went agaiu, each trying to out
do the other; gathering the dry spin.
tiers, now growing greedy, and trying to
fetch in some big stick, floating in lit
tie blight, and reaching out for it, sure
to lose my balance, and plunge in over
shoes and scream and run--my beautiful
French boots, that had paid twenty dol
| l.. g., ho Ia I IN, 70 md
they wouldn't do for Kitty, now But no
matter, we were having royal time, and
had forgotten all about old Colonel Nc
Manus.
If you knew how it made you look
you'd take exercise every day" Rex
stopped long enough to get breath and
say. "Your checks are like two red
roses
And Of course didn't stay at that
and gay half hour it was. All at once
l felt wet to my skin, and looked, and
there was the skirt OF my dress that
had pinned up so carefully, all down and
drabbled, and the front of 1t wet through
with the dripping of the last wood had
saved, and the pin" Oh, I've lost the
pin ~ l exclaimed; "my beautiful, long
diamond headed pin !"
"You have2 Well, charge 1t to prof
and loss" said Rex. 1t would be idle
to look for it on this sand and single
needle in a haymow, and dark hay
NOW, too, presently. It's gone to keeI
company with my cuff button"
"Oh, Rex! One Of your wonderful
cuff buttons |" cried, standing still, with
my armful They we're antiques one Of
the very things, they said, when we pur.
chased them, at Rome. that Cellini had
Of the pheasants, who found them. when
turning up the ancient soil about the
viucs--heads of Caesars, exqnisitely cut
in onyx And just then, as / was ex
claiming, wave came running up be
hind me, and knocked my feet up like two
ninepins, and | fell, face down, and th,
wood in my arms struck my necklace Of
carved coral roses, and they few hun
dred ways at once; and. the next instant
there was great sound in my ears, ant
/ felt the world going away from under
me, and Rex seized me Just in time, and
pulled and threw me up the sand, and
there was n whole shelf Of the beacl
torn down and gone, and my corals will
it. ".The scream of maddcned beach
Jrorool down NV tho wave" said Rex