The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1881-01-08

or, rather, | was thinking about some
thing else"
She smiled, and catching the merry
twinkle In her eye he laughed aloud, but
| it was vexed, embarrassed laugh, ut
/ terly destitute of mirth.
| .fShe'u find me different sort of a
| chap from what she imagines, / rather
| guess. It's the first time ever forgot
myself because girl had pretty face,
| n | mean it shall be the last" he said to
! himself.
walk in, Mr.. Watkins, KEEP sup
! per waitin' fur you. / reckon yo're
/ pretty hungry trayelin' so fur, or did you
/ ride instead Of travel ?"
"Your're right, marin, / am hungry
All the dinner 1 had was dish of bread
and milk at GrindalPs."
"Miss Grindall don't pervide fur stage
passengers ez | should think she would
She's a gettin' dretful kind of shifess
lately. Eff you'll jest wait minute or
tew, I'll stir up the fire a little. The
| teas got mite cold"
go, yes, [ can wait a few minutes
when there is such lively prospect of
| having something to eat before me"
EDO you foller school keepin' all the
year around, Mr.. Watkins?"
''No marin, do little tin peddling
/ in the summer time. The women folks
down below as well as up here have to
have their turn at teaching then"
Tin peddlin' is a dreadful payin'
| business, I've heard tell"
"Well it is tolerable. faint quite so
! genteel as school-keeping, but I'm for
! getting on in the world I've most paid
| for snug little farm already and l and
my mother manage to live pretty COM
| Portable.
This amt so bad" thought the
widow. "He's forehanded enough for
SO young a man, and he's orful took with
way he looked at her. [ did lot on her
marryin preacher, but folks so high up
IN the world haint so dretful common,
especially single ones. But there, cts
no use, she's SO bashful she won't speak
| tew nobody, won't let nobody git ac-
| quaipted with her all L ken say or dew
Phebe, she called, stepping to the
door, Il wish you'd hurry in n pour
the new schoolmaster's tea for him
whilst I go daown sullar n work over
my butter. Els got few be done afore
dark, yeou kneow."
Phebe appeared with look of dire
/ distress on her lovely countenance and
did as she was hidden, but she did not
once lift her eyes during the whole time
she remained In the room.
"This bread is frst-rate, full as good
as my mother makes, if not better. l
shouldn't wonder if you made it your
self, now" said he, attempting to speak
with his usual jaunty, self-important
| air. But for some reason or other he
felt a strange embarrassment, and was
surprised at himself. "What is there
about this pesky girl that makes such a
fool of me 2" he thought, angrily.
The distress on Phebe's face deepened
to actual despair as she gasped hardly
! audible eyes" She wished with all her
heart that the bread was as heavy as it
had been yesterday, then perhaps he
might have kept silence. "You're a
going to be one of my scholars, hope, %
he proceeded with glance of open adj
miration, though given with a rather
| shame-faced air. He did it to assure
himself that he dared to do it, feeling
unhappily like tue old woman who did
not know whether she was herself or no.
Phebe stammered something, which
sounded like 81 don't know" and
moved as far away from the table as
| possible
"Bashful as partridge, he thought
"Well, so much the better; / don't like
forward women. She amt used to see
ing anybody but lumbermen, and river
drivers and that sort of clodhoppers, [
s'pose, and is kinder frustrated at seem
me. But what do / care about her any
l. - IL, 1
that [ ought to marry a rich woman
Rich widows are plenty every now and
then. [ don't imagine her mother has
much OF any property"
As soon as he had finished his meal
! Phebe hastily removed the dishes from
the table and escaped into the kitchen,
and he saw nothing more of her until the
next morning. She appeared then In
celestial blue, which harmonized Won
| derfully with the rich sunburn on her
blonde cheeks, and one of the other
boarders, a handsome, stalwart young
lumberman who sat beside her at the
| table, regarded her with devotion and
talked to her in low tone, so low that
no one else was able to hear what he was
! saying.
/ Phebe seemed filled with confusion,
and beyond a blushing yes or no made
no reply, but the schoolmaster became
| instantly fired with jealousy, and COM
menced to draw all attention to himself
by his boastful and pompous talk. He
talked both of commerce and learning
until the two young lumbermen looked
properly subdued and became silent.
"Speakin' ov books said the land
lady, 81 bought one ov pedlar last
summer 1t has got an orful pooty
cover, but there's poetry inside; p'raps
you'd like to read that. / can't say as
how L enjoy sech readin' myself, but
Phebe she's all kerried away with it.
81 generally make my own poetry,
said the schoolmaster, grandly.
An awed hush succeeded this an
nouncement, and for the first time Phebe
lifted her eyes and looked the consequent
tial gentleman full in the face. 1t was a
shy, brief glance, but filled with half
awed, half-admiring interest. The
schoolmaster started when he met their
gaze as if he had received a blow, and
from that moment he was a changed
man, so bound by the chains of love
that his mind took no more ambitious
flights, SO anxious with its doubts and
fears that he lost his fippant manners,
and became subdued and silent, so hum
bled by it's insight that he no longer
held his head above his fellows, so soft
ened and changed by its influence that
his mercenmy projects ell went to
naught.
At the end of the week it was voted
by the other boarders that the schoolmas-
ter was good Teller, awful ditfrant