Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-03-10

wouldn't 60 out for flowers again that
season, when just before me young girl
started up. Ny only thought at first was
that she was unusually handsome: for
though meanly dressed in an indigo-blue
cotton gown, she was as handsome as a
picture. Her black hair, coarse and
straight as gypsy's, was knotted in a
careless heavy mass at the back of her
neck, and grew low over her forehead,
shading eyes which were as black as poke
berries. She held knife in ooe hand and
| basket in the other, and I saw that she
had been searching for nervine and sassa-
fras. We joined each other, and rambled
about for an hour longer, talking about
herbs and flowers, and remember that I
took quite fancy to her. At last she
said, Your folks will be anxious about
you as soon as they learn that I am out
here oh, no. says L; I often take long
walks by myself, and Rex here takes good
care Of me- Rex would never hurt me-
! said the girl trying to pat the dog, which
| skunk close to my side, and perhaps you
would be afraid yourself if you knew who
am who are you?' [ asked. Some
people call me Witch Hazel she replied.
swell, will not say that was not a
little taken aback; still, she wasn't so
frightful looking as the old one, and I an
swered up as pert as could, you are
Dycie Hazel, who lives at Durl.ee's tav-
| ern'
oh oof6 hn ~IoI % Isx1n
there yourself. or in worse place even. if
you had home like mine. Mother has
! driven us all away. There we're my two
| brothers, they couldn't stand things, and
they went east to work at machine shop.
One day mother had fit, and when she
came out Of it she said they were both
dead but they would never be buried
Two days after we heard that the boiler
had exploded and there wasn't enough
found Of them to make a funeral. After
that mother took on worse than ever, for
the boys were all she cared for in the
! world. ran away and Joined a show. I
performed long time dressed as boy,
| but father dropped everything and hunted
! the country over till he found me and
brought me back. When we got home
mother banged the door in our face and
| told us we shouldn't neither of us enter it
again. Then be took me to Mrs. Durkee
and bound myself out to her. He's at
| the poor-house now, but when I'm of age
am going to work FOR wages and get him
| out. Mother lives all alone at the old
! house with the devil,
| "Seme way the girls story touched me,
| and put my arm around her. 4 am your
! friend, Dycie Hazel, says l. Il am almost
as friendless away out here as you; let us
| befriend one another
"When winter set in, the measles broke
out in my school, had never had them,
and they 60 hard with grown people.
I Down came, and as bad luck would have
it, your grandmother had never had them
either, and down she came; and not soul
to nurse us, for your grandfather and the
boys were up North chopping. We lay
| there two days, each of us too sick to lift
the hand for the otheZ. On the third day
in came Dycie Hazel. L knew you were
sick, says she; something told me so, and
I've come to nurse you. Mrs. Durkee
| doesn't need me more than half the time,
and can spend the nights here.' And so
she did, footing it back and forward
through the snow until we were both
well. I didn't get real hearty all that
winter; but when spring came, and the ice
broke up, and Will Darby came down with
his first float of logs, I was all right again.
It was Dycie's nursing that pulled me
through, but it was the sight Of Willis
face that put the finishing touch to the
business. But Will was not quite himself
that spring. When he came to the house
I was not at home, for Gershom had come
to take me out to ride, and your grand |
mother had persuaded me that it would |
do me good to 60. When 1 came back,
there he was sitting on the doorstep play
ing with Rex. He didn't say anything |
but he looked queer. Your grandmother |
told me afterward that he asked her if |
that sort of thing had been going on all |
winter and she told him it had. For she |
was anxious that we should quarrel and |
that should marry her brother. Il didn t |
think anything of his queerness until af- |
terward, was so glad to see him again.
remembered his hair had grown pretty |
long up there in the woods and I offered |
to cut it for him as he was going down in
to civilized parts. All right. Delilah, |
says he. After I had cut his hair wrapped |
it in paper and put it in my desk in the |
school room. Often and often, when
was teaching those Fostering young ones,
would slip my hand into the desk and
stroke that paper, aud it seemed to give
me heart and strength for my tasks.
''Some time after he went away had a
visit from old man Hazel. He was Gu
rious creature. He said that Dycie had
told him that I had been kind to her, and |
he wanted to thank me for 1t. I think
Dycies got the making of a good woman
in her. iii do anything in my power for
her., said; and I asked him why he had
given her such strange name as Dycie.
Rightly it's Boadycie,' says he; and l
knew that he meant Boadicea. He staid
and talked quite while, and he accused
his wife of all their misfortune and of all |
manner of wickedness, and said that when
she died he would dance on her grave
You say you are willing to help Dycie,
he added, just as he was leaving. 'and you
can help her if you've mind to. She new
or had any learning to speak of, but she's
took notion she'd like to come to school
this term, and Miss Durkee she's given
her leave. So if you'll sort of hear her
lessons private, so as not to shame her be-
fore the young ones, it would be a great
favor, for Dycie's desput high-sperrited.'
1.-The next Monday Dycie came, and it
seemed to me I'd never seen her look so
handsome. The bold, hard manner, which
was the only thing about her that I did