Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1885-12-24
AN EXCHANGE.
Argyle Meriweather's Giving and Receiv.

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M~erlweather, who had been--al-
though a few years her senior
her playmate, and for a time
her schoolfellow, always ready to
tease her himself, but quite as ready to
come to her aid if anybody else did,
lie seemed to look upon her in the
light OF a possession, which he had a
right to have his own way with, but
was equally bound to protect. So it
was with great surprise that as they
grew older and Argyle bloomed sud-
denly into a lovely girl OF 16, with hair
OF genuine gold and eyes OF bewitching
gray, she found, after a slight contest
with Sam in which she had expected
oil course to have to give up as before,
that Sam was very w~illingto succumb
completely to her will, feeling amply
rewarded if she smiled upon him or
praised him. AS soon as she beganto
realize this unexpected change of al
~talrs-being like most girls OF her age
a little tyrant-she seized the reins
n kept them-not always out of
sight. Her second surprise was to
lind that there were some things which
even she could not make Sam do-for
which, with true feminine Inconsistent
cy, she liked him twice as well as for
the many things in which he yielded
other.
When Sam declared himself her low.
er, she felgned a pretty establishment,
and said mo" positively, but would
have relentcd-so grievously did she
mss HIM during the two weeks
that Sam staid away, had not-unfort-
unateiy Tor Sam-her second lover
appeared on the scene and engrossed
all her leisure time and attention.
ms was "A stranger, an officer in the
army, and his name was Clarence Du-
pont, from Thibodeaux Parish. La.
lie came to the neighborhood on a
Through obtained by a slight wound
III his arm, and brought q letter o! in
PRODUCTION to her father from his UNI
Gle, an old friend and classmate of
DIR: M~erlweather's. After his first
call, he came frequently, for he was
staying with friends who lived at a
distance OF a few miles only, and the
ride and talk with his pretty young
hostess was an agreeable enough di.
yertlsement for n summer day. He
began OF course by making love, rs a
courtesy due to the sex, but soon fell
over head and ears in love, after his
ardent southern fashion, and conduct
ed his wOOing after n style very differ
ent from poor Sans slow and earn
est way. he was very Jealous. and
III complete dispair, or very ecstat.
&c, and on the point of announcing q
betrothal to all his acquaintance;
and Argyle, who had never given a
serious thought to marrying this
new admirer, fOund-it equally hard 60
restrain his hopes and fears. When
at last he would have a final decision,
and received negative one, he took
his departure in the depths of gloom,
bringing tears of self-reproach to Ar
gyle's beautiful eyes aud filling her
heart with alarm by threats OF sui
eide. and hints of a speedy death on
the bloody battlefield.
Argyle was very young, and she was
much troubled about it, and wished
that Sam had not been so foolish him
self-it would have been such a COM
fort to have him reason and laugh her
out OF her fears, or even scOld her for
her seltishness in amusing herself at
the expense OF another's pain.
Il viii never Ire SO wicked again."
sighed Argyle, and she went off to get her
fathers shirts to mend-the mending
had been accommodating during the last
few weeks-as a proof of her genuine
and profound repentance. She perse.
vered in her course of amendment, as
illustrated by attention TO darningand
repairing everything she could lay her
hands on, for the next fortnight,
and | regret to own that she found it
uncommonly dull, and there were mo-
ments when she would have relapsed
into former %inlquities had not both
her lovers been safely out other reach,
and a long rainy spell kept others
from calling.
At last there came bright, beautiful
"NSlAllIA III Nli VdllN autumn WI
Meriweather was reading his morning
paper. This was always a lengthy
occupation, consisting of an absorbed
perusal of the editorial columns, a
business-like investigation of extracts
from other papers, and letters OF cor
respondents, and at the last q by no
means Indifferent review of the adver-
tisements.
Argyle, who had presided at the
head of his table eve since she had
been left n motherless child ofl0years
old, and poured out his coffee for him,
watched his proceedings this morn.
ing with an interest quite new
in her pretty ladyship. Usually
she professed a supreme indifference to
the newspapers and their contents,
and if she did not receive an azure or
rose-tinted missive OF daintiest size
from one of he own correspondents,
which was n rare occurrence-as she
was herself incorrigibly lazy about an
swering her letters, her occupations,
after finishing her own breakfast, con.
sisted in feedingthe two brown settlers,
Dash and Dare, and gathering flowers
to arrange in the sitting-room. 1t was
a very lax household in its ways, but
Argyle, to do her justice, was fond OF
early rising, and enjoyed the fresh,
cool air Of dawn, and the run in the
garden for the fruits for the breakfast,
which was the meal her father prefer
red above all Others, whilethe dew was
still fresh upon them. She had gener-
ally aired and busted both rooms,
superintendent the making OF the coffee
and the preparation of some appetiz-
ing little side dish, Mr.. Meriweather
being decidedly m epicure, and had
eaten her own simpler meal before her
father appeared. /
He was the most absent-minded and
unobservant ofmen, but this morning
even his attention seemed to be
awakened by Argyle's remaining at
the table, and by her rather uneasy
chances toward his paper. He pushed
up his gold spectacles and looked at
her with an amused smile.
"Well, Argyle, are you expecting any
special news from the papers to-day"
"Ye-es,-no, papa, no news specially