Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-09-17


soul of DIR. Bob. "But you must go now,
Bob dear. Papa is going to Pittsburgh he's
in great hurry to catch the train, and
smell the biscuits burning"
DIR. Bob wended his way homeward, with a
little comfort in his heart and good deal of
flour about his coat collar
~ wish he wouldn't be quite so practical
He does shut me up so sometimes" murmur-
ed Penelope, as she rescued the biscuits. but
then if he were bit different, he wouldn't
be Bob. / don't believe 1 should like to
have him changed, after all
And with this logical conclusion Penelope
carried her shockingly burned bi iscuits into
the dining-rooW, humming,
can men besides are to me like shadows
Douglas, Douglas, tender and true"
"Ah-h that beggarly rascal of Bob Mac
rae is 0t the bottom of that burning" growled
her father trying to find an eatable portion
of one of the ruined biscuits. "Ill make it
too hot for him if he comes here again.
forbid you seeing him again. Do you under
stand me =
"Yes, sir" said Penelope, meekly.
81 should think you might have had
enough of i'll luck already, without taking up
with fellow who was born to it. There's
Tenant born with gold spoon in his
mouth, and turning everything he touches
to money. | told him he should have you,
and he shall" And Mr.. Punchard cmpha-
sized his words in way that threatened to
reduce the crockery to chaos 80 the soon
or you stop thinking about that idiot, the bet
ter"
Bob is not an IDIOT" declared Penelope,
boldly, "and he says his success in his pro
fession is just as sure as that two and two
make four"
Two and two dont make four, " roared the
angry Mr.. Punchard, AS he seized his hat
and started for the train Sometimes they
make nothing and sometimes ninety nine"
Penelope wiped a few briny drops from
her eyes as she watched her father out of
sight. She was not given to weeping, but
the prospect did seem utterly discouraging
even TO her stout heart
And in the meantime up the road Fate
came walking in the shape of Mrs. Mulloney,
with her dream.
mo, he is not at home He has gone to
Pittsburgh to stay week"
Penelope answered the widows question
in an absent-minded way. Mrs. Mulloney
was not interesting, even when ones mind
was unoccuped
"Oh, musha musha What Il I do now at
all at all? I'm kilt intirely :"
II Mrs. Mulloney was in trouble that was
another thing. Penelope felt sure that there
was bond of sympathy between them,
though she was only an Irish washer-woman.
She invited her in, gave her a seat beside the
kitchen fire and cup of hot coffee as the on
ly available consolation.
Under the influence of the kindness ard
the coffee Mrs. Muloney grew volube, and
related her dream. Penelope was inclined to
laugh at it. She was glad that her father had
gone. Possibly he might laugh at it too ; but
there were few schemes too wild for him to
sink in them the money that ought to pro-
vide them the comforts of life. She advised
Mrs. Muiloney to 60 to Mr.. Waters, a pru-
dent and sensible man. who had been a fore
mau in the mills, and get him to manage the
for her which the widow finally
concluded to do
After she had gone, Penelope forgot her
own troubles in thinking of that dream and
the longer she thought of it, the more won
dcrful it seemed. She was her fathers daugh-
ter, and, if the truth must be told she had
quite as much faith in his mathematical the
ory as in DR. Bob Macraes. DR.. Bob had
been mistaken in saying that she knew there
was no such thing as luck 1t was Penelope's
private opinion that there was She believed
more than she ever acknowledged in signs
and she kept in a drawer of her toilette ta-
ble book entitled Tho Lifted Veil; or,
The Complete Guide to Fortune telling and
Dream reading The book had been given
her by Il Frenchwomau who was once her
mothers maid, rs present of great value, it
being the only copy of the work extant. And
if the Information was TO be relied upon, the
loss to the world 10y the destruction of the
other copies was certainly inestimable.
When she was little girl, Penelope had
regarded that book as iufallible. Now, being
poss, ssed of her full share of wits. sharpen
ed, moreover, Oh the milestone of adversely,
she was far from putting her faith in it. Still,
unless the leopard can change his spots, she
could never regard dreams and omens exactly
as Bob Macrae would regard them. And she
did for some mysterious reason occasionally
consult that book not without feeling guilty
and self contemptuous, but still she did it,
II DR.. Bob Macrae had known it, this story
might never have been written.
The first time that Penelope went up stairs
that morning She took that book out of the
drawer aud opened it. She wished to see
whether there were any dreams in it which at
all rosembled Mrs. Mulloneys. The first
words which her eyes rested upon were these
Great treasures are often revealed by means
of dreams. But if you dream that you are
advised by an apparition to seek in a certain
place for hidden treasure, be wary such
dreams are often deceitful. However, if the
apparition does not speak, and vanishes into
thin air, it is usually safe to follow his drec-
tions."
This was not altogether satisfactory. Mrs
apparition had spoken, and he
had vanished, not into thin air, but into
derrick
Penelope tossed the book back with an i'm
patient "Pshaw."
Still, it was rather strange that she shou}6
have opened to those words. And it was not,
after all, unlikely that there was oil in the vi
cinity of Spruce Hill. And Bob owned land
forty extending from the top of Spruce
Hill down to the creek. There were trees
along the bank of the creek, and it was a
pretty place in summer, or at least it seemed
so in in contrast with the general barrenness
The towns-people sometimes had picnics
there.
What if there were oil on Bob's land The
thought set PenelOpe's head in a whirl But
then Bob would never bore-not if oil were
struck all around his land. 1t was always
trusting too much to chance. Bob icas lit
tie slow and 'poky." There was no denying
it,
While Penelope's thoughts were running
on in this wise the fire went out in the kitch-
en- range, the butcher pounded in vain at the
back door, the remains of breakfast were left
untouched, the rooms were unswept and un-
garnished, and "all the wheels of life stood
still.
DIR. Bob Macrae would have said that Pen
elope would be much better employed in at
tending to ''tho duties nearest her"
But Penelopes thoughts ran on in blissful
that now Fluff, the great
white cat, was devouring the canary. '"There
is my own money--three thousand dollars
and more-my own to do what please with,
without anybodys yea or nay, since l was
twenty one last week. And it only costs two
to put down a well. And two plus
two sometimes make ninety-nine. b ut this
would be two plus only an old Irishwoman's
dream, and according to Bob, that would
surely equal nothing"
But in spite of Dr. Bob, Penelope had
formed her resolution. She rushed down
stairs, saddled and mounted Betsey, her
brown mare, in triee, and tore down the
village street at pace which aroused the en-
thusiasm of all the urchns along the way