St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-05-21
RuSSetS.

A late March twilight, with bitter
frost in the air, the new moon Just dip
ping its golden horn behind the maple
swamp in the west, and the ground
sounding crisply under foot. We had
lust come in from foddering the cattle
1--WE" sounds rather singularly when
YOU reflect that it meant Kitty and me,
two girls of seventeen and nineteen,
but, you see, there wasn't any one else
to do it, Father had been bedridden
ever since that last attack of paralysis,
aad we could afford to hire no one to
take his place about the farm.
| was in great spirits, playing with
pussy, who came to meet us with her
plumy tail erect but Kitty leaned
sadly against the wooden mantel and
looked into the fire with mOurnful
eyes.
kitty" cried |, at last, "what makes
you look so dull ?"
"To-mOrrow is the third of March, ="
said she gravely.
"What of that 2" | demanded.
"DOn't you remember The inter
est on the mortgage comes due tO-mOr-
row"
$50 it does" said |, my radiant face
falling faster than the thermometer on
freezing day. "Thirty five dollars |!
And we have nothing to pay it with
except the fifteen dollars Laura OsgOod
paid for the old melOdeOn."
perhaps Willis Avery would wait"
suggested Kitty.
| drew myself up slightly.
81 don't choose to ask him to wait"
said /.
Now it happened that Willis Avery,
who held the mortgage on our home
stead, was the son of "A neighbOr and
an old playfellOw and boy bean of my
own, who had gone to the prosperous
young city few miles north of us and
commenced business on his own ac-
count, and | had IA particular aversion
to asking aid or help of him in any
way. | might he poor, but | was also
proud, and Kitty was quite sympathet
ic enough to understand me.
"But then what are we do ?" said
Kitty.
sat down on the hearth rug, with
my chin in my hands, and stared earn
estly at the big cracking back log.
Pussy crept away and nestled down in
the corner, as if she knew by instinct
that there was change of tempera
ture.
"Look here, Kitty" said suddenly.
"ThOse russell apples"
"Well ?"
1--WE can sell them. There are eight
barrels at the least. Eight barrels at
two dollars and fifty cents a barrel"
"My dear Addy, no one will buy
them at One-fifth the price. Apples
are a drug in the market"
"Here, | grant you but not in the
city. | will take them to MapletOn
and sell them"
"You will, Addy ?"
"And why notP Squire Dyson would
charge at least twenty per cent. com
mission and make favor of it at that.
| can't afford either the price or the
patronage. Don't say anything about
it To father. He would only fret and
raise objections. What must be done
must be, and am the girl to do it,"
"But, Addy, how ? All this seems
son perfectly wild and visionary to
me-"
''Wel, it needn't for, believe me.
it's the most practical thing in the
world All we have to do is to sort
the apples out in barrels, nice and
sound. / can easily do it by lantern
light to-night-and Tomorrow morn
ing we'll rise early, harness old Dob
bin to the lumber wagon"
"But how are we to get the heavy
barrels up into the wagon ?"
"GOOsie ~ cried |, laughing, "can't
| put the barrels up into the wagon
while they're empty, and fill them at
my leisure And III have them sold
at Mapleton before you've got the pork
and cabbage boiling for dinner"
''But where will you go r. asked
Kitty.
ooh, know of lots of places. | went
once to town with Obadiah Fairweath-
Ell when he sold lot of cheese. | have
"A pretty good idea of the locality of
the commission stores, | can tell YOU"
"After all, Addy," hesitated my con-
sentative little sister, sit isn't wO-
mans work"
"Why isn't it, | should like to know,
so long as a woman can do it At all |
events, a woman must pay her debts
so, if you'll hurry up the tea, I'll be |
off to the barn.
"And what shall we tell papa 2"
"Oh, he'll think I've gone to singing |
school with the Dyson girls, and | |
don't think it's Christian duty to I'M
deceive him. answered L.
But notwithstanding the brave face
| put upon affairs, my heart quivered
a little the next day as | drove off to-
ward Mapletou, with the scarlet stain
of sunrise dyeing all the east, and my
own cheeks flushed with the keen
morning air.
But it wasn't so bad, after all. With
pardOnable egOtism, / supposed that
everyone would be staring at me, but
on the contrary, a young woman sell
ing lapples might be the cOmmOnest
sight in the world, so little comment
or surprise did it apparently excite. Mr..
Holloway, of the firm of Holloway
Brothers, produce and commission mer-
chants, didn't want any apples | speed
lily learned.
"Just bought a shiplOad from Alba
N.Y." lac said, as carelessly AS if ship
loads OF apples were as common a pur-
chase as ten cents worth of tape. Aud
drove on, beginning to feel minutes
finally small. |,