Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-08-24
THE RUNAWAY RINGS.
Mary Crsy's story.

grandma, don't YOU know what / mcan9
! mean the rain-man! lie AWAY. comes
out of that little weather-hOuse ON the
mantcl, and looks around. YOU know.
before n begins tO rain. And there.
just see. its pouring this minute. and
there arr lots Ot people going by with
umbrellas. 10 makes me think IT that
time last winter. when IL rainctl 80 hard
and i lost those rings. ID YOU want to
hear about 10? Wen. YOU iu,t lie still.
aud III tell you. and wen have tc1u-
tiful time. Isn't IL perfect state of
bliss To think I've got home and can
take care If YOU?
But | did like To- be- ut Washington.
II didn't seem like winter. with the rain
a-raining and the sun a-shining. and no
snow hardly overland the STREETS lust
Rs clean as n floor
Besides love Auntic bradford: shes
my favOrito friend. Aud "a hotel j.
splendid. there are 80 many children i'm
IT, Only they're not all alike. some
arc ever so nice. and some tCOHh be
nice " they didn't have temper.
Now there was Cora Griswold. She
had n temper like this: see me walk
across the floor, grandma. with nv
head thrown back-sO. That was the
Kind Of temper she had. But she
didn't have IL very often. and liked
Cora; mean. almost always I did. |
never saw girl with So many rings nm /
earrings and gold bracelets and things.
Did you ever see an honest true dia-
mOnd, granny. hard enough To scratch
ON the windOw-pnnr and bright enough
To put your eyes out almost? Well.
one of COra's rings was diamond; I
suppose 10 came out Of mine. And
one OF her rings was red; | forget the
name Of IL; fiery, rosy red. and all of n
twinkle, with row of pearls around II.
like little white currants.
Well, ] used tO borrow Cura's rings
and bracelets sometimes. and she used
To borrow my old silver bangles don't
see what she wanted 1T them; Just bands
ot silver with tvC-Ccnt pieces dangling
down! but Auntjc Bradford didn't an
prove at INV wearing COra's things.
Little Mary. ! don't approve of bor-
rOwcd iincry.' said she.
SO she wanted mc to take them back
and | always did take them back: hui
sometimes | forgot and borrowed them
again. | don't remember how 1 han
pcned to forget
But o. I'm not telling the story right.
We lived up. up. mp, away up ON the
fourth hoor nuntic and land AWAY,
went up aud down in nm elevator. Our
room was large and ever So pretty. with
two windows IN Il, where YOU could look
right out ON the avenue. And there was
n iirrman used To- come In and fix the
fire in the CRATE.
slept with auntic. and sometimes I
wouldn't wake In the morning till ever
80 late. and she would go down to
breakfast without me. hut She din't
care; she said she didn't expect me to
ret up when | was asleep. for how
could i, you know? And bv and by.
she always came back and curlcd nv
hair AMI let me 20 down 10 breakfast
with Cora and her mamma and the
baby.
But before I'd go down. and before
auntio'd como back and while I'd be-
asleep. the fireman would come i'm with
his bucket aud iiX the fire. ought 10
tell about this, So You'll understand
better when ! gvt TO the rings. You
never knew whether there was coal-dust
uu his facc or not. for ne was always a.
black rs he could be. and couldn't be
any blackcr. His name was Liar. lust
n II he came out of the Bible. bat some
how didn't think he was very piouS.
No. / seemed Co think he was rather
ui-piuus, because he rolled his eyes
around so much and kept laughing To
himself. And there I'd be fast aslccp
ON the bed; but sometimes I'll lust
peep out under my evclasbes.
and he'd be- taking down some of the
pretty things from the mantel and look
ing NJ them and laughing To himself.
/ thought Il was very impolte. He
Oughtn't to have touched single thing.
now ought he. with his hands rs black
~ n cOalP But never once thought Of
his stealing-not hcR.
Well. ono night after I'd borrowed
those rings back again-the diamond
ring and the red one with white cur
rants around til put both the rings in
abluc box-or ! thought did-and set
the box on the bureau right under the
looking-glass. And Lena stood at the
door and saw me.
Why. I forgot to tell you about Lena
She was the chambermaid that went
around all day with n pink handker-
chief tied on her head and broom and
q pail. She was French. She ALWAYS
walked into my room before I was up.
same as Liar did. And she laughed
and shook tho feather duster at me
sometimes. suppose she wished /
wasn't here on the bed. for she wanted
TO take OF the sheets. She didn't
know how TO talk the American
language very well. but didn't blame
her. OF course. French people have to
learn 10 talk, Just like babies. But she
was a pretty girl. and I supposed she
was a great deal better than Liar. She
told me one day that she could say her
prayers In French. and so / never
thought Of her stealing those rings
uof hen.