The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1881-02-05

must not interfere with the shining
hours of haying-time, and you see that
it is lust as if went within doors-not
a bit of me is to be seen, and l promise
YOU won't be till the tedious sun goes
down."
Miss Hetherington had put herself
and her draperies quite behind huge
japanese honey-suckle. and now sank
into one of the big red easy-chairs, and
reached book from n convenient and
sheltered nook which was crammed
with paper literature. She yawned
slightly. The compact mass OF summer
reading took a somewhat wearIsome
shape.
land how long does this troublesome
haying-time lastP" she said.
Miss Hetherington looked up, and
was surprised to see that Mrs. Fries had
turned into an old woman. From COM
Portable middle age she had shrunk and
faded into something quite pitiable: The
red in her cheek, which had hitherto
bloomed like that in winter apple, had
suddenly fled. and her eyes. which had
always held the snap of virility, were
sunken and dull.
% It's too late to tell you not to inter-
fere with JOHN she said; /" it's too
late; the mischiefs DONE"
Miss HetheringtOn was touched and
interested. The fault she had found
with her summer reading was that she
couldn't get to believe in it. Here was
something before her eyes.
She suddenly put up her soft white
Lo-.l, f..,s, ..rb;oh cbntyay. nf loco 20
ceded, and catching the trembling,
wrinkled hands of Mrs. Fries within her
own, she drew her gently into chair
by her side behind the honeysuckle.
E" Dear madam, dear Mrs. Fries" she
said, in that low, careSsing voice which
was valuable accessory OF Miss Heth-
erington's don't, please. worry. L
assure you there's nothing to worry
about"
:" Begging your pardon, miss, think
there is,n said Mrs. Fries; g if you ain t
in earnest, my John is; and that's what
l want to talk to you about this MORN
ing. l don't say you're all to blame.
It's perhaps. just as natural for you to
go round trappin' foolish boys like John
as it is for that nasty black and yellow
spider to lie in wait for flies"
MADAME Miss Hetherington drew
herself up haughtily.
Begging your pardon again-per-
haps I'm wrong; perhaps it may be as
John hopes, though l sorely distrust it.
You amt the kind. of girl to take
kindly to farm life; and there may be a
way to leave the farm behind-the farm
and me too, and everything that might
be a trouble to you-if you only love
John. All! you draw back. / thought
you would. told John so last night.
John. says 1, she's fooling you; that s
only her summer SPORT and he tried to
laugh me off. But talked on and on,
trying to show him the pitfall he was
tumbling into, when all at once he turned
on me with a white face, and, Mother,
hushr SEE he; there's only this to say,
in that case: what's fun to her is death
to me!' And l don't say you can help
it any more than yonder spider can help
catching flies. The Lord made you
both and sent you, but wished it had
pleased Him to send you somewhere
else, and spare my john"
"rll go-rll 60 nowr' beginning, in
fact, to gather up her draperies.
Its too late now. The mischief
DONE" And it seemed that more mis-
chief was at hand, for great cry arose
from the opposite field, and bad sight
could be seen from the veranda. Moth
ing less than stalwart man dethroned
from his proud perch on the mower,
and trampled under hoofs that had al
ways seemed to move only at his bid
ding. Ai1
Miss Hetherington stood there as if
turned to stone. Mrs. Fries had dis
appeared and in the mean while they
were bringing the poor young farmer
to the house on rough litter. i APP
preached Miss Hetherington. 81 think
we had better CO., ventured to say,
for / was the only other summer
boarder. ''Come let us go and pack
up and get away, Kate"
She turned on me quite fiercely.
"You, a womanr' she said, g and
talk of going at a time like this!'
81 spoke as boarder, Kate, not as a
woman. You know we have no right
to intrude any further; we were not
wanted in the beginning; we forced
ourselves upon these worthy people"
ave didn't know there was a man
within miles," said poor Kate; that is
young mani mean IA gentle
mal-'
"Of course we didn't" l said, en-
couragingly; "but we know now, to
our, to their and to everybody's cost.
Let's get away Kate; it's the refinement
of cruelty to stay any longer"
She stood there quite dazed and I led
her quietly up stairs into our darkened
room. The whole house seemed kept
in readiness for any sort of catastrophe.
l confess 1 was dying to get rid of it,
and threw open the shutters the better
to see to pack our trunks. Upon which
Kate ran over and closed them again.
"How can you let the sun come in on
the carpet in that wayp" said Kate;
land the flies. Haven't we done her
enough injury already?'
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