Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1881-05-06

= dainty before her, nothing tastes like pi,
caninny."
''Is there anything they will not eat
,, urged Larry in despair.
Il have never known them TO refus
anything but pumpkin pie.
The young man groaned aloud. Moth
ing sacred from such depredators but IN
own abomination in pastry-pumpkil
, pie.
Miss Lowell had finished her mornin.
: with the microscope. She restored th'
specimens carefully to their respective
boxes, and bade her pupil adieu. TheI
Larry grew restless the house sat ol
him like Chinese hat on n mandarin
head. There was a break in the clouds
and he bethought him of speckled
charmer he had seen feeding the day be
fore on a heavy corner Of the Home Weir.
So he went away whistling "A very big
trout lay under root, and only return,
ed when the firefiies hung their lamps IN
the hedges, and the house was bubbling
over with gayety and guests from town.
Larry was in a very meditative mood
that night. 1t was quite beyond his phil
osophy to reconcile. the Miss Lowell OF
the microscopic morning with Jinky OF
the Kaleidoscope evening but he did
observe that the young woman mad lovely
hair and eyes, a charming mouth, peach
blow complexion, and shoulders-really
her shoulders were beautiful
The next morning Larry started ont
through the garden. Auntie wanted sweet
fern to steep for her rheumatism, and
across the garden was the shortest cut to
the hillside haunt of the fragrant herb.
He pushed through the currant bushes.
sending the red-ripe berries to the ground
like sanguine tears, and was about to
leap the fence when a small feminine voice
arrested his progress.
Don't Jump over there, Mr.. Poindex-
ter you will ruin this ant hill.
Poindexter looked over the fence.
There, beside an immense ant nest, was
Miss Lowell with the plucked body OF an
African birl, that morning deceased, IN
her hand
Might ask what you are doing, Miss
Lowell 2" he meekly submitted.
Arranging for the dissection of this
atomy by the ants, Mr.. Poindexter. You
know they are experts in preparing or
nithological skeletons for wiring"
So things went on through the hot
summer DAYS, and Larry was distracted
betWe cen Miss Lowell and Jinky to the
verge of desperation. Boston and blue
teas faded from his mind, and he rested
Oh his theories uneasily, as bumblebee
on bed of Canada thistlas.
1t was the beginning of September "A
day when the clouds talk of heaven, and
the air whispers softly of partings 'twixt
heat and humanity the open window,
that Dolly sat swinging back and forth III
her rocker, and her brother evolved HIM
self out of cloud of consuming nico-
tine, and drew his chair fraternaily
close.
Dolly" said he, 81 have found a wife
after nv own heart, and this afternoon l
am going to ask Miss Lowell TO marry
me"
Dolly rubbed her Lards softly and
said =
"Do you think you can be happy with
girl 30 rapid and vapid,' and Jlnky is
such name 10 call ones wife.
Now, Dolly, don't be hard on fellow
l hardly knew her when l said that. She
is the most charming and intellectual wo-
man ever met, and if she will become
Mrs. Poindexter l shall be the happiest
oaf this side of Paradise.
And Dolly smiled demurely, made
virtue of silence, and bounced her rock
ing chair more fiercely than ever.
Jinky was under the mulberry trees
watching their silver leaves shiver in the
wind, and turn shining faces helplessly
toward the setting sun. Somehow the
Reuue des Nondes failed in interest. and
Larry came upon her quite suddenly as
people always do appear suddenly when
one is thinking about them.
Il nm trying to determine what to wear
this fall, she said, a little awkwardly,
turning the pages of the Rernc with an
attempt at nOnchalance.
"Wear n wedding dress for me, Lor
raine," he answered, all abruptly, color
ing with earnestness to the tips of his
ears.
Jinky's face grew sweet and tremulous
for one little moment, and then flushed
up with painful red, and there was
spectacle wicked, hirtatious Jlnky Low
ell in tears.
81 can not do it, Larry. I'm fraud
I'm not bit intellectual l don't know
anything at all about bugs, and science,
and things, and l Just read it up out Of a
file of old magazines because Dolly was
afraid you would marry some dreadful
cIthture HI sptctaclcs, anu lsliiS, anu
mind, and l thought it would be no end
of a lark to cure You. Tn awfully sorry,
Larry y and the tears flowed afresh.
Larry had ceased to idealize he had
but one well-defned desire. He had his
arms around Jinky's waist, and her head
was on his shoulder, and he did not un-
derstand that there was any fraud about
her that robbed the situation Of its pleas
ure, so he essayed to dry her eyes with
the Indian-silk scarf Oh her garden hat,
and asked under his breath
''Do you love me, Lorraine?'
And Jinky rescued the scarf and told
him Yes"
And Dolly looked out of the window,
rocked furiously, and clapped her small
hands noiselessly, telling herself the
while
"A cure-a cure-a double cure He
loves her and she loves him, and Jinkv
will make the jolliest possible sister-in-
law"