The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-10-07
ssKITTY."

1@E ssKITTY."
The Idler was hopelessly becalmed
of Thomas Point. Not q ripple could
be seen down the Chesapeake, and the
locusts and pines along the shore were
shuddering uncomfortably with the heat
OF . July afternoon, hidden halfway to
their tops in the summer haze. What was
to be doneP Five miles from home in q
sloop yacht filed with strangers from
the North, the crew left behind to be
out of the way, and every one thorough
ly convinced that his neighbor was
horribly bored!
Thornton gave the tiller q vicious
shove, as if that would wake the yacht
up, and glared forward along the row
of parasols protecting fair faces from
the sun and of hats cooked over noses
that were screwed up with feelings too
deep for words, and more intense than
those produced by heat, he thought.
By Eve o'clock we had sung every song
that ever was written, and fiirtations
were becoming desperate. Mollie
Brogden, comfortably lodged against the
mast, was dropping her blue parasol
lower and lower over one of the New
York men As their conversation grew
ulOIO ukAo 10OA0 lug6u00 Win tu0 n08Ip
and Mrs. Brogden was becoming really
alarmed. 81
The situation was maddeningi Moth
ing on board to eat; soft-shell crabs and
the best bill of fare of Southern Kitchen
ordered at home for seven O'Clock; .
couple of fiddlers coming from "the
Swamp" at nine; and Cousin Susan,
the cook, even then promising little
Stump Neal "an de bonyclaba he cu'd
stow ef he'd Jest friz dis var cream TO-
de new missis."
1T is too provoking for anythingr'
the new missis whispered to Thornton,
a. he stopped by his wife's side for an
instant and moved on to consult with
some of the married men who were
smoking in luxuriant carelessnes
forward. Very little consolation he
got there. Ellis from Annapolis
said he had known calms last
two days, and sundry forci-
Bile remarks were made when it was
discovered that the last cigars were
then in our mouths. This was the last
straw. Thornton felt furious with every
one, and muttered dark wishes that
ante-war power might be restored to
him over the person of Uncle Brian
when we got home-if we ever did-as
he reflected that that ancient African
had guaranteed breeze.
Mollie Brogden smiled lazily at him
as Donaldson famed her slowly, and
waited until Thornton should pass, 90
that the talk which was leading up to
the inscription Of clever piece of poet
~ ON her fan might be continued.
'By the way, Donaldson" as q sud-
den inspiration seemed to strike Thorn
ton. "did you ever hear anything more
Of Kitty after left you at Christmasr'
The sweetness Of that piece of poetry
on the fan was never revealed. The
blue parasol went up with . jump, and
o look assured Donaldson that certain
words had better have been left unsaid
that afternoon if kitty" should not be
satisfactorily explained. felt sorry for
him, for every one caught at the idea
of something new, and the thought of
an explanation to the whole of that
boat-losd. keen for all sorts OF badi-
mage. would have tempted me over
son smiled very composedly, and said
he believed the family were still in
Texas. although he had heard nothing
more than Thornton already knew o}
their history.
Well, that simply made matters
worse; Texas and Kitty were suggestive
enough for anything, and caught q
whisper from Miss Brogden that seemed
to imply that she doubted whether he
had really been 50 inconsolable for last
summers diversions as he had tried to
make her believe. That settled him,
for knew he had come down to Thorn.
toms expressly to see her. and he
assured Us it was q very small story,
but If we cared to hear it perhaps the
breeze would come meanwhile, and he
would try to give the facts exactly q,
they had come to his knowledge.
1--WE were few hours out from Liv
erpool," he began, " and the smoking
room of the Russia was pretty wei
filed with all sorts of men, none oi
whom of course felt much at home yet
but who were gradually being shaker
together by the civilizing influence O
tobsoco and the occasional lurches tha
the cross-chop of the Channel was favor
ing us with. / was sitting near tn,
door with man from Boston whom
found on hoard returning from awed
ding-trip. and who. discovered, hat
taken orders since leaving Harvard
where had known him slightly as /,
bookish sort of fellow aud not yer,
agreeable; but IS was alone and hi
wife was quite pretty. I was glad h
meet him.
"Well. we were running over oil,
times, without paying much attention {.
the guide-book talk that was bein,
poured out round us. when somebod,
laid hand on my shoulder and one O
the most attractive voices 1 ever hear,
asked If there was room for . strange
from Texssr This formal announce
ment of himself by q newcomer made
little lull in the conversation, but m,
friend made room for him in our corner
and he quietly enveloped himself Il
smoke for the rest of the evening.
..He was not inattentive, though, =
the drift Of our talk. for when Hamil
ton mentioned having been at the Pan
Anglican. and spoke of the effect sucl
conventions should produce, the Tex
ans cigar came out OF his mouth and hi
blue eyes grew deeper In their socket
as he interrupted Us with the remark
The conventions of all the Bible-mel
in the world would not have made L
,Junta any better II it had not been TO
Kitty. You know what Junta was be
fore she camer he continued. secin,
us look little surprised nothing bu
cards and drink. and-worse; and nov
and he laid his hand on his hip as
from habit now we have NO troubl
there any more
1.-The oddness ofthe expression Bible
men, remember. struck me at the time
but Hamilton made some explanatory re
ply, for the quiet force of the soft voic
had q certain persuasiveness about
without the aid Of his gesture, althoug
The smoke was 20 thick that We could nc