The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-12-28
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"Why did you resign at the postoflce p
he queried. with the familiarity of an
old acquaintance, as he walked up the
street beside her.
Her first thought was to give him
an evasive answer 81 will tell you
the TRUTH" she said, quietly, "Mr.
Wynne wishes more responsible help;
in fact, wishes gentleman assistant"
The young man whistled softly. al
was given to understand that you were
leaving of your own accord, though
not in the same words" he returned,
cor / should not have accepted the
majors offer"
She laughed, a trifle forced and un-
natural. "You are not at all to blame;
L hope you will succeed, and l am con-
fident you will give satisfaction. -
With these few words she left him,
tripped lightly up path to door and
vanished, while Allan Gray mused to
himself: 81 don't understand this
matter She is certainly more compe-
tent than [ am, fully understands the
work, and will work for 500 year
less than the salary he has offered
me-"
For the next month Kitty Marble
and Allan Gray labored together sort
ing letters and papers, filling mail
bags and waiting upon the rough
crowd who came from out of town, for
Unionville had no rival postofice for
miles. And Major Wynne took a
vacation during this month, return.
ing with a smile even more alfable
| than usual.
And Kitty, failing to find anything
more promising, accepted the school in
district No. s, and strove with COM
commendable zeal to instill some en-
thusiasm into the thick heads of the
stOlid crowd over which she was in
stalled as ruler.
The schoolhouse was but four miles
from the village, and during the fall
term she visited home two or three
times week, meeting always warm
greeting from the business men and
Others who remembered her bright face
and cheerful ways so well. And the
village gossips noticed and commented
upon the fact that Allan Gray was fre-
quently seen driving Major Wynne's
spirited colt, with Kitty Marble seated
IN the buggy beside him, for the major
seemed well pleased with his new as
sistant, and was disposed to favor him
in all possible ways.
But when the bleak New England
winter came, and the snow lay piled
in deep drifts, poor Kitty had a lone
some time indeed, for somehow the
major had changed slightly toward
Allen Gray and no longer rendered him
the use Of Lis colt nor gave hila so
many holidays as formerly, though the
young man. could not really say that
Major Wynne ill-treated him in the
slightest degree.
The winter term of school was two
thirds over and in another month
Kitty would be at home again. The
committee lad praised her, as she
thought, more than she deserved, and
one of the village schools had been
offered her, and the thought of being
once more daily resident of Union
vile, to say nothing of a largely in
creased salary, helped her to bear the
monotony of her present life. She sat
talking with the woman of the house
where she boarded the evening after
this welcome news had been impaired
to her, Her heart was light and her
whole being thrilled with happiness.
"Well," said the mistress of the
house, whose husband was away in
the lumber woods, "I'm mighty glad
for your sake, though we'd like to have
y'here ag'in. You've done more good
to these young ones Of mine than all
the other teachers put together. Zach,
here, was apays called Ounce till you
took him in hand, an now he can fig
ger an write an read an spell, an
land only knows what he doesn't
know"
The rude, unlettered mother smiled
proudly upon her awkward, half-grown
boy as though she believed he would
be at least a college professor before
many years had elapsed, while Zach
grlnned bashfully and turned away to
hide his confusion. The lad walked
over to a window and looked out.
Then he started back quickly, all traces
of grati6ed vanity gone from his
freckled face.
"Oh, marin ! teacher there's ter
BILE fire som'eres y he gasped; "look
out an see %
Sure enough, when the startled
women and frightened children looked
from the windows the southern sky
was FED with the light of condagra-
ton not many miles away.
Its Unionville," said the mother of
Zach, when she had found her voice;
" the hull towns agoin'," and she sank
back helplessly in her chair, while
Kitty trembled with anew-born terror.
If the town was burned up what
would become of her promised school
in the village with its attendant hap
piness?
Nearly the whole night long they
watched the huge masses of fame
frightened smoke roll up and surge
away to the eastward, for a strong
west wind was blowing.
The next day they learned that over
dozen buildings of more or less mag
nitude, including the postofiice, had
been swept away, the fire raging till
was left upon which to ex-
pend its fury, though an easterly wind
would have swept nearly the entire
town.
1t was couple of weeks before
Kitty walked the streets of dearly-be-
loved Unionville and looked upon the
blackened ruins of what had once
been imposing walls of clapboards and |