The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-06-19

''n nat - e3CldlLucO n1lSS EfoB oAN ~-
mild blue eyes flashed.
.sNow, mother" deprecated the farmer,
"you have misunderstood me altogether"
"What did they say:" asked Eva, turn
ing to her mother with a sweeping glance
that established both Billy and the oid
farmer as culprits at the bar of Judgment.
s'They said,n answered Mrs. Fuller de-
liberately, and glancing at Billy as much
as to saw: 'And you had better not con-
tradict it, either;" but she refused TO see
the prohibition to speak in her husbands
frowning countenance-"theys said you had
no business to take little rest and lnno-
cent pleasure after workln' hard all
mOrnin' cookin' their meals; that you had
no right to go buggy-ridin' with Mr.. Phil
lips, or any one else, for that matter, with
out huntin' all over the place to ask your
father, and runnin' out to the field To see
if Billy don't object"
Now mother, how you do pull per-
sons words all out of shape" protested
the old man, while Eva seemed to become
several inches taller as she Strengthened
up With wrath and looked defiance at her
father and contempt at poor Billy. ibid
we say, or even hint at any such thing,
Billy?"
Billy had not spoken since Eva's en-
trance; but now that he was directly APP
pealed to he got up from the table with
considerable native dignity, and returned
we did not" ne answered, addressing Mr..
Fuller; "and if your wife will take the
trouble to make little better roundup OF
her recollections, she will remember that
what said was about nobody and nothing
but Mr.. Phillips and his eighty-acre piece
of corn; and she might know by this time
that, whateyerI felt, l would be the last
person to say a word against Miss Eva's
doing what she had mind to; at least L
would say it to nobody but Miss Eva her
SELF" and the young fellow marched out of
the room with an air of being justly and
decently offended. Eva followed him with
her eyes, not at all displeased to see how
handsomely he bore himself.
81 tell you," declared Mr.. Fuller, when
Billy had gone, civilian Wentworth is not
fellow to be made fool of either by him.
self or by Others"
"Nobody ever said he was, that l know
Of" retorted his wife, who found it in her
mind to make an answer, though the re-
mark demanded none.
soothingly; and he straightway entered
into an explanation of his position
to his daughter, and showed how he had
only been deSirous of discussing the
matters of wealth and worldly position
i'll general way, with perhaps few
illustrations from their acquaintance, but
with no intention of making special appli-
ETY. of Eva's riding in Phillips buggy; and
when his wife had persisted in introducing
this matter, all that he had claimed was
that what Eva should do was of conse-
quence to others besides herself. "And Pm
sure, Eva," he appealed at the end, "you
wouldn't want your old dad to say he
didn't care darn what you did or what
became of you; now, would you 2"
No, indeed, Eva wanted him to say
nothing like that; and she kissed the kind
old man and brought his pipe, as if she had
been the meekeSt and most obedient child
the world had ever known. She was really
very loving and tender hearted, and when
she saw how her father, through his weak
ness for words and evaSive discussions and
his aversion to displeasing herself, was
determined to admit nothing, she forbore
to plague him. and resolved to have salts
faction from Billy. He had carried him
self with so much independence, and even
something approaching disdain, during
their pleasant family dispute, that she had
no feelings of compunction on his account.
She had felt sorry for him for minute or
two, but the feeling had disappeared as
soon as her mother had spoken; and now
she went out to where she knew he was
smoking cigaretteS,-fOr Billy had not been
able to leave off this habit after turning
from a herder into plowman-thinking
that her only object was to torment him a
and love each other more than ever.
She found him, as she had expected, at
full length upon the grass, in his favorite
position and occupying his favOrite place
near the hammock. The hammock had
been procured only after a similar novelty
| had made its appearance for the bene-
| fit of the Misses Phillips, Roberts
sisters, and had been swung be.
| tween its posts but a few weeks; yet
in that time Billy and Eva had become SC
accustomed to staying there, in the long
summer twilight, that it would have been
/ a surprise to either had the other failed to
| appear.
| She gracefully took her place in the ham,
mock-for she was as 1.-the and full of grace
! as a aleopard-and waited a while in silence
not so much for her love to begin-for she
hardly thought he would of his own accord
| brOach the subject she was anxious to dis
cuSs-as to enjoy the stiffness, and the soft
| air slightly perfumed by Billy'S cigarette
and the gentle twilight hour. The light
| had faded out of the west, vet the distant
| level horizon that separated the sombre
earth from the descending sky was plainly
marked. The moon, just past the meridian
| had been growing brighter and brighter as
| the wealth of color had failed from the
clouds, and the shadow of the house, as il
crept towards Eva and her lover, became
more and more distinct.
| Il
! pleasant their evenings here had ALWAYS
| been, and that tonight she had made uI
her mind to torment Billy. He was, NJ
! doubt, comfortably miserable already; but
| she should take care, she told herself, thai
they did not part in anger, and that Billy
should be made happy in proportion to his
misery before they separated.
"Shall swing you 20 asked Billy, atlast
She threw him the end of a rope, which
| l. slx-x tba half
ripened barley straw, and without disturb
ing himself he gently swung the hammock
and its fair burden back and forth.
"Did YOU want to talk with me :" she be
gan, holding the other end of the rope. L
was the next best thing to holding his hand
she thought, and had the advantage o
affording him no assurance that she wa
going to make him miserable only from
wantonness.
"YeS."
"What did you want to say~
SIT didn't make any difference"
SIT didn't make any difference: Does
now:"
mo-" answered Billy, lighting anothe
, cigarette, which he had taken the precau
ton to roll in advance, without stOppini
, the swinging.
"O," she said, after watching him
, minute, ''you had something particular t
saw, but have concluded not to say it."
"No; l meant l only wanted to talk t
YOU, and it didn't make any differenc
, what we talked about"
, "How nicen she exclaimed, with a snee
, so slight that it was entirely lost on Billy
.'But them" she continued, ''you said a
, supper that you had something to con
|. plain of to Miss Eva herself"
! 81 didn't mean that, and, if remembel
that wasn't just what l said"
; "Well, it sounded like that What di
you say, then"
, That ii intended to complain of you
would do it TO you, yourself"
"Well, you called me Mss Eva,' an
, seemed very high and mighty. any way.
The tormenting and complaining wer
, going TO be more difficult to bring abou
than she had thought fOr-at least in th