Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1881-02-11

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j-tansy and sweet fern and white bios
4 somed mmortelles, with here and there
! tall spike of golden-rod Haunting its vel
low flag. The sun was near the horizon
now. Crimson tintsflushed the soft VALLEY
distance, and little fleets of rose and pur
pie cFshdlets began to feck the pure SKY
4 over head. After while Kitty heard the
Erattle of the stage wheels and the snap Of
! its drivers whip. as it erunched by on the
steep road Then came silence again, bro
ken, litsleilater, by the sound of distant
voices, which she guessed to be those OF
people on the lower crossroads; but they
did not come near her retreat; nor was she
startled when soft thud of hoofs drew
near, till loud shawl" close to her ear
made her jump, and at the same moment
big red COW vaulted into the Pound with
bounce and a clatter. There was rat
tie Of bars, a dance of boyish boots on the
road, and before Kitty could realize the
situation, and scream it was too late. Tht
boots were far down the hill, and there
was she. Kitty Roach, shut-yes, actually
shut into the old feverton Pound with a
red Ayrshire SHE, whose horror from,
childhood had been COW, to whom tn.
fear Of a hon was as nothing in comparl-
son! 1t was too terrible.
Fright, no less than her disabled ankle.
kept her perfectly motionless. Even had
she been able to stir, nothing would have
induced her to reduce the distance by ali
inch which lay between her and the terri
BILE creature which was now cropping the
lmmortelles in the immediate neighbor-
hoad of the gate way. Frozen by fear, she
sat, her one hope being that Judith might
return soon, when suddenly the sound of
manly footsteps on the road restored he,
faculties of speech, or rather Of screech,
and with wild and desperate energy, SHE
screamed, so, please come here, whoever
you arel'
Come here?" asked voice; and above
the wall, close, very close, to Kitty's cor
ner, appeared head-a well-known, de-
termined, handsome head, with thick wa
w auburn hair and beard, whose ends
melted into warmer color still-the head,
in short, of Ben. Hazard, the very Benja-
min from whom Kitty was proposing to
run away the next day save one. Poor
Kitty! running was the last thing possible
now.
'.Why, whatever does this meant" he
demanded, while Kitty, flushed and half
crying, between pain, vexation and alarm,
faltered forth a. lame explanation.
$50 Judith went to get Mr.. Barrett and
the carry -all,' she concluded And l
came in here to be out of the way, and
then some one turned that dreadful COW
in. and oh, please, won't you drive her out2
am so afraid Of cows! and am expect
ing every minute that she will discover l
am here, and turn upon mel''
Had Ben Hazard had the good fortune
to be born decade or so earlier in the cen
tury, he would PROBABLY have made val
liable addition to that large force Of gen
erals which shed such luster in the late
war, so rapid was his grasp of stragetica'
81 uation, and his assumption of its key
II think that would hardly be right he
the town authorities, and might make
trouble. But I'll tell you what I'll do''-
artfully; s'I'll sit here on the wall close be-
side you, and if the animal makes the least
attempt at violence, will jump over and
protect you, even if it COSTS me the last
drop of my flood -
"Ben. don't be absurd. 1 would much
rather have the COW turned out, or BIZ
helped out myself
''It would never do, trust me, it would
never do,'' persisted the audacious lover.
And you know you may feel perfec tly
safe when you have me within foot OF
you. am not afraid of cows"
Within foot! Ben might we'll say so.
He was leaning over the wall now and the
bright hazel eyes were very near indeed to
Kitty's downcast brown lashes.
Snow tell me-" proce. ded Ben, dropping |
the bantering tone for one much more
tender-''tell me, Kitty dear, dearest Kit
ty, what did you mean by planning to go
away, day after tomorrow, without say
ing word about it to me.''
How did you known"
"Mrs. Burnett gave me hint; she felt |
sorry for me, suppose; but should have
known somehow if she hadn't. How could !
you do 80? Why did you. DEAR"
''Bep, III tell you," said Kitty, with
sudden resolution. II was-I was going |
away because I'm afraid to stay near you
any Ion ger just now. l don't know my
own mind. Pm afraid of making a mis-
lake,
The mistake of saying mo- to me?"
'Or yes The truth is, you bewitcb
me somehow when am with you. 1 can.
Judge, can't tell how it is. l want to look
soberly at the thing-to decide as ration
al woman should in a matter of conse-
quence.''
''Kitty, there is nothing rational about
love. I don't want you to decide in that |
way. If you do, all is up with me. How
cruel of you to think to rob me of my one I
chance! Don't know that once you leave
me and go away, shall seem in your eyes
the unworthy creature that am, that all !
men must be, of anything so precious as
yourself, your love. your sweetness, your
pure ardent nature. My only hope is in
winning you against calm judgment and
common sense, in making you feel that |
with all my faults. and little as l deserve
it, love you so much as to be worth just |
a little for loves sake. Oh, Kitty, listen
don't go!"
sab, Ren," cried Kitty flushed, CULVER
ing, pleased, moved; II ought not-''
Hut precisely at this juncture tho red
AYRSHIRE raised her head, gave ''moo"
which to kitty's ears was like threaten
ing roar, and charged at a brisk trot di-