Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-12-15
NO. so.

yet In the quiet of the home. going, said
to. myself, L will listen to him, perhaps
AT last we reached the waterfall, which,
with its accompanying heights and charming
scenery, repaid us for the long ride. 1t vas
hard to tear ourselves away, and when we
did turn the heads of the spirited horses in
the direction ofhome it was very late.
:" we shall never be in time for the party
l said, as the twilight deepened into dusk.
Must you pay at the toll gate The old man
is half blind and it will take him an hour to
hunt up change. Run the toll, Just for the
fun Of it-you can pay him afterward.'
=" That wont do, said Ned I'll have to
get a bill changed, though. just take the
reins second. By the way l never heard
the end Of the sentence. At that moment the
spirit Of mischief seized me- snatched the
whip and touched the near horse Then 1
only heard the thunder of hoofs and the whirr
of wheels, saw Ned's eyes flash fire in the
semi-darkDess and his face grow pale Be-
fore he could take the reins from my mex
perienced hands, we had run the toll in
good earnest, and the horses were flying over
the bridges as only frightened horses can. It
was as much as Ned could do to guide them,
and twice we were in deadly peril.
On they sped, young Hamilton standing
without hat, his teeth set. his lips white,
his frame rigid while the veins of his fore
httu hAbOu bub llhb WulB-COTus Jubl bhL
back and held my BREATH too frightened to
cry out and catching at whatever was near
est to steady myself as they raced down the
long, hilly street to the village, at the foot of
which they slackened their speed and were
soon under control.
THAT was a mad freak of yours, was all
the young man said, as he helped me out at
the door and knew by the expression of
his countenance that l never should be asked
to ride behind his grays again.
II went to the party, seemingly as gay and
ight-hearted as ever. If any feeling of re-
gret lurked under my careless speech and
manner, Ned should never know it. In the
midst of the fun, when 1 was holding my lit
tie court and the laugh and the jest were 60
ing round, who should appear upon the scene
but my father, in his homely, patched clothes,
quite regardless of the figure he cut in the
midst of that brilliant company. He walked
straight up to me, his hair in disorder, his
face as pale as death.
" Jack, says he, did you run the toll to-
day.?
% The horses ran, said, with touch of
levity, though trembled from head to foot
What did they know about toll?
We'll, the bridge keeper has been to the
house, Jack. He told me the young man was
getting the money when you caught up the
whip and set the horses to running. Now,
there's fine for that, an I've got to give So;
he wont let me off-and 1 amt got five cents
to my name Tears stood in his poor, weak
eyes, and regardless of the surroundings he
took out his handkerchief and wiped them
away. Imagine, if you can, how felt
" Allow me to pay sir, said Ned, coming
forward and that capped the climax. could
have screamed with modification. Just ran
out of that room, without waiting for wraps
or anything else, and few home so ashamed
that l think hardly knew what l was doing.
As you may suppose, 1 cried pretty much all
night, and it was long time before recov-
cred my spirits.
81 have no doubt it lost me Ned Hamilton,
too" said the old lady, with a queer little
toss of the head but that didn't matter much.
He left me and took Mary L an, old Deacon
Beans daughter-the pink of propriety, and
who would no more have dared to say her
soul was her own than she would have dared
to ride wild horses. 1t was a little mortify-
ing at first, but after his marriage folks said
that he was miserly almost beyond belief, and
l am positive Molly Hamilton only has one
new bonnet year, poor soul!-though by
this time she may have gone where they don't
need bonnets.
However, 1 was cured from that time of
my thoughtless pranks. l went to work and
soon paid back the s., and more than that,
l paid off the mortgage on our little home in
time"
'And then you married grandpa ?" said
Lily.
"Yes, dear, he was worth thousand Ned
Hamiltons-but poor father how often 1
have heard him say that was just as good as
boy.-Na1y 4. Denison IN our Continent.