Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1884-08-22
SAUCY EYES.

She came smiling across the field, her
arms laden with hawthorn bloom. Harold
Carleton, as he saw her, thought her the
very incarnation of spring, she was so
young. so fresh. so full of exhuberant vi
tally. Yet she was only cottager g
daughter, apparently. for her dress though
neat was cheap. She glanced up at him
as she passed. with her great eloquent
eyes, half sly, half mlschievously.
Harold was fresh from Cambridge, and
at eighteen thought himself quite in
another sphere, even in point of age. from
the rustic of thirteen. He was disposed
to be patronizing.
'.What's the hurry, little Saucy Eyesa'
he said. ''Stop and give fellow kiss. .
"My name isn't Saucy Eyes, and you
know it. Gentlemen" and she emphasiz-
the word, ''when they speak to me call me
Miss Kent"
She had stopped to say this, and she
now walked on with head erect and the
air of a princess.
"Whew!" whistled Harold, "but I've
made mess of it. No cottager's daugh
ter has an accent like that. Who the
deuce can she be? A regular little spit
Gre, though"
He had ventured to ask the landlord
He had come to this picturesque. billy re-
gion on trout fishing excursion, and
knew no one there.
"Oh, that's the minister's daughter"
was the reply. Had her arms full of haw-
thorn. you say? Yes, there's plenty Of it
about here; one of the few places there is.
We've miles of hedges. Miss Kate was
taking the bloom home to decorate the
parlor. She's rare one for flowers. You
should see her decorate the church Christ
mas. All the young ladies give way to
her in that, though she is but child as
YETI
"lf she grows up as pretty as she is
now. she'll make many a fellows heart
.che," said Harold, phllosophically, as he
helped himself to another trout; and in
FIVE minutes more, so excellent was the
dinner, he had forgotten all about the
hid.
Years passed. Harold had taken his
degree and was now studying law, the
profession of his father, Hugh Carleton,
and his grandfather before hin. Just be-
fore the summer vacation began he had
received letter from home.
I'VE shall certainly expact you, DEAR
bio oothor vproto S.fhic opd auil 70
no excuse. It has been two years since
you were at home, remember. We have
such an accession, too. to our society. Our
new rector is most excellent man, and
has such charming daughter, very
pretty girl, and so bright, intelligent and
high bred"
Now Harold who had gone the summer
before to France and Germany. had
thought this year of going to Nor
way-had almost given his promise, in
fact, but at this appeal he wrote back that
he would come home and spend the whole
vacation at ''Inglewood. F" for that was the
name of Hugh Carleton's place.
"Dear mamma, it was so hard on her
last year, he said to himself.
The very day that Harold came home
the rector went away on four week s
visit with his wife, and the last words he
said to his daughter, as he got into the
carriage were
"Good-by, Kate, and don't forget to go
up to Squire Carleton 8 and ask to have
the gardner come to see the garden. The
squire told ne to send for him only yester-
day. With his aid we can manage to keep
the garden very NICE"
81 suppose might as well 60 at once"
said Kate, when the carriage had disap-
peared. dear old papa, am sorry you
and ma have gone, but I am going to
have lots of fun, with no one but old Nan
ME to look after me-" And her eyes
fairly danced with the mischief OF eigh-
teen.
Harold Carleton himself was in the gar
den when Kate came in. He had arrived
Unexpectedly the night before, a week
sooner than he had expected. He was
fond of little amateur gardening at
times, and was just now bending over a
moss rose bush, hoe in hand, His back
was toward Kate, and she, supposing him
to BIZ the gardener, called out:
"Oh. Adam-that's your name, hear
please ask Mr.. Carleton IT he can spare