The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-02-12
PINKIE'S REVENGE.
BY HELEN HUNT JACKSON IN. H.

"What a perfect shame that she got
here to-day"
"Sh-sh-. She might here you"
Nonsense! She is down in the re-
eeption room. IdOn't suppose, if she
is from the backwoous, she has got
ears that can hear through floors"
Girls, l am ashamed OF you. How
can you be so unteeling toward your
own cousin!'
"Idon't care, mamma, she is sure
to be awkward and dowdy. Howcan
we have her at the dinner table to-
night? | shall die OF modification to
have to introduce her to Mr.. Morris
as our cousin"
perhaps she will be too tired TO
come down to dinner after such a long
ride. 1t is a little awkwardt to add an
other to set dinner party"
"Oh! mama, bless you for the
thought. You can tell her that she
is too tired. You can arrange it, l
KNOW
"Well, I'll try"
These were the sentences which fell
on the ears of Priscilla Bent as shesat
alone, waiting to see the aunt and
cousins whom she had come all the
way from Kansas to New York to
visit, of whose welcome she felt as
sure as if she had known them all her
life. 1t was by a blunder of the SER
want that she had been shown directly
up stairs into thedrawing-room, which
communicated by folding doors with
the room where were sitting mother
and daughters.
"Pinkie! What aname!" continued
the first speaker. Who eyer heard OF
such q name, except fcT a dog?"
"Her name is Priscilla" replied the
mother, "but Pinkie was given to her
by her father, when she was a little
girl, on account of her pink cheeks"
well, | shah call her Priscilla"
"And Itoo."
"Your father will not like it," said
Mrs. Bent. "But We must godown."
A swift rush OF three women down
the stair case, threeloud exclamations
OF disnlay at the sight of the empty
reception room, looks of dismay and
a smothered whisper of vexation.
How stupid of Ben. Do you srp-
pose she heard"
These were the next things in the
swift little drama which here began so
Hnauspiciously under Mr.. Silas Bent's
root this morning. And next to these
followed one which seemed almost a
justification ofallthat the Misses Bent
had said In regard to their cousin.
Slowly rising to her feet, grasping her
umbrella firmly in her left hand, rose
= tail an exceedingly tall young wom-
an, who exclaimed in a nasal voice,
We'll, l was jest a comm to look We
up | didn't know as that fine black
gentleman o. yourn had condescended
to let you know | was here. I'm most
tired to death, 1 tell you. Four days
ar, four nights In the cars is enough to
KILL an OK. But I'll beallright 'ssoon's
Iget my coffee. / reckon breakfasts
all cleared away by this time, but /
don't want much, only a cup Of coffee
ii the cook hain't thrown it out.
Pm real glad to see you. /
'spose uncle got my letter, didn't hep
And pausing in her breathless speech,
pretty Priscilla Bent lookeds leepishly
into the faces of her equally shame
faced relatives. Ii they had not been
too guiltily disturbed in their own
mmdof fears of having been overheard
In their inhospitable comments, they
might have detected a strange look
on their Kansas cousins face, a. mix
ture Of twinkle and terror. But they
saw, heard nothing except what SO
thoroughly corroborated their worst
fears. Even Mrs: Bent herself, who
had resolved beforehand to be thor.
ougllly kind to the child of her hus-
bands favarite brother, was thrown
OF her balance, and in spite
of herself, the welcome she gave was
curt and cool.
But nothing appeared to dauiit the
terrible Pinkie. Radient good humor
shone In her face; her tongue ran like
. clapper, and when the dinner party
was mentioned, Pinkie cried:
mot muchf ] amt too tired. III
just bunk down and by 8 o'clock Tllbt
fresh as q rooster We don't often get
achance TO q regular dinner party out
IN Emporia, and / don'tmean to miss
one this winter. ~Say-shan / wearm my
very best? I've read about the kind
Of clothes you New Workers wear tt
dinners. But I've got some "A No. ]
gowns, 1 tell you. Now. you JUS
show me my room, andIIgo straight
~ bed an stay there till dinner time