The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1880-01-09
b,usbed. cts a cruelty cold night to

90 out in" faltered she.
"And don't like leaving you alone"
whispered Karl 81 think shall steal
out of church and como back to see if
you are safe"
! ooh, no, the door will be barred"
exclaimed Malchen in a flutter.
.ssThen I'll climb over the orchard
WALL" answered Karl, nothing daunted,
and he executed wink as he went forth
into the cold.
"How very audacious he is becom-
ing," muttered Malchen to herself; but
she apparently thought that it was
of no use to bar the door if Karl meant
to get over the garden wall, so she SIM
ply shut it and turned back to spend her
evening in the kitchen.
Herr Won Polheim's farm stood in
onely part of the country, about two
miles from R, in Bavaria, 1t had
once been castle, and all the rooms
on the ground-foor were large, windy
apartments, with wainscotted walls and
old oaken furniture. The kitchen,
which served as the ordinary sitting
room to the family of an evening, was
made comfortable by some screens,
which shut out the draughts, and by the
large fires which reared in the immense
chimney all day long. There were two
arm-chairs under the bullying mantel of
this chimney on either Eside of.the and
irons, and in one of these Malchen took
her seat. She began to knit, but soon
her work subsidized into her lap and she
began to stare at the fire in a soft
reverie.
There were faces, of course, in the
red embers of the crumbling pine logs,
and Karl's was chief among them. NAL
chen, who was pretty, sentimental
young lady of IS, but somewhat eau
tious, as beseems the daughter of gen
tleman who can prefix a Won to his
name, asked herself if she liked Karl?
Did she truly feel for him more than she
did for any other man? Would she
grieve for him if he met with an acct
dent? if he left her fathers service? if
he were taken away for military services
and forced to risk his life in the wars
After fencing little with her con-
science the damsel decided that she did
not quite know what she ought to think
about Karl; but that he was a very bold
and neutrality-suspicious. young
man, she admitted to herself frankly
enough in her quaint German phrase
ology.
Malchen, from being romantic, was a
bold girl, and felt 10 fear at being alone
in the big house on winters evening.
The soughing of the wind through the
bare trees outside, the noise of draughts
shaking doors that were loose on their
hinges, the monotonous tick-tack of the
kitchen clock did not disturb her COM
posture. She sat listening for footsteps,
and conned over in her mind what sharp
thing she should say to dismiss Karl il
he had the impertinence to present him
self before her. The worst of it was
that Karl was just such Il young man as
might be Indifferent to sharp things
His boldness really exceeded belief
Why, that very evening in touching hel
fiugers he had actually squeezed -
but here Malchen gavea slight start, fol
she heard footsteps and fancied that il
was the sufficiently-blamet
Karl, who had played truant from
church, faithful to his impudent prom
Use.
She rose and stood coyly in the mid
die of the kitchen, her cheeks pink
and her bosom heaving. She though
she would take to flight as soon a
Karl's heavy tread should resound il
the passage; but she waited two o.
three minutes without hearing the doc
open, yet there were steps outside, and
now that her ears were strained, sh
heard voices. Her relatives had no
been gone an hour; so it was not likel,
they could have returned so soon
Whose, then, could these steps ant
voices be?
The kitchen had high window seve
feet above the floor, and it was close
with shutters. But in the shutter
lozenge apertures were cut. Malche
climbed on to the dresser under tn
window and looked out. What she sa,
would have made most timid girls jun
, down squealing and run away half dea