Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-03-27
BIARS BACKSLIDING.

~ In the sun shone down warmly,
y fho rools Of the houses and bars and the
~ dirty drIfts OF snow IN the fonce-corners
toneod daxxiingiy bright beneath It The
s ESom a BARS two-seatedlbuggy dripped
f11lA mud, and the tall red horse was well
no1ofod.
Goepbeu PInney's place was severely neat
~ nj rerticuIarn The square house was
x - The yard was undecorated, save
= svorgreen bush set with geometrical
- On each side Of the brick walk, and
611iptsCal fower-bed whose baroness was
6ood nor by the large pink sea.shells which
sgtered II the green paper shades in the
= IEcnt windows were rolled up as nearly as
o1Dthle 10 the same point, and gave
s1lImpse Of chair-backs set close against the
sN6ll.
The door opened before Biar could alght,
md girl came ont. She wore red-and-
black checked shawl over black alpaca
dress and she came down the walk with
s(ifiness which indicated a consciousness of
being dressed mp. Her thin, freckled face
wore pleased look.
Good afternoon, Louise" said Biar.
/" Good afternoon, Biar," the girl respond
ID. al was all ready, and 1 thought there
wasn't no need of your getting out and COM
She climbed into the buggy unassisted,
and sat down on the front seat beside the
long-legged, light-haired, serious-visaged
The mud splashed up on them as they
started away. But Biar was keeping COM
pany" with Louise Pinney, and it had not
entered their heads to omit their usual Sun
day afternoon drive because tho going was
bad. Neither were they disturbed by their
lack Of a single buggy. The twoseated one
was all that Biar possessed, except lumber
wagon, and they would not have stopped
Ia L. hatr
should think this was first-rate sugar
weather." said Louise, as they logged along
You hain't tapped yet, s'pose ~
We're going up to the sugar-bush to-
morrow, IL this warm spell hangs on" Biar
responded.
They drove on silently after that Neither
was much of a talker, and it did not occur to
them to talk for the sake of breaking the
pause. They often rode for miles without
speaking and without embarrassment from
the SILENCE. Biar flicked the horse OCCASION
ally with tho frayed tip of the whip; Louise
sat quiet, her plain face lighted with a simple
content
.s Mis- Baldwin's got visitor" she said,
~ they came in sight Of long, yellow
painted house. She's got her cousin from
over in Jacksonville Mandy Sawyer's her
name. Her folks are away from home, and
she's staying to Mis- Baldwin's while they're
gone. j was down to Mis- Baldwin's yester-
day, and she introduced me. She's real
lively acting girl"
Is that her ?" said Biar.
He was gazing admiringly at a young girl
who was standing at the Baldwins' front
gate. She was fifteen at the most, but she
was tall and plump, and there was a marked
pretension to style and gayety i'm her blue,
silk trimmed dress, her white beads and the
ribbon on top OF her head. She was pretty,
too, from rural standpoint-she had red
cheeks, sharp blue eyes aud a profusion OF
light curls, which fell about her round
face in the manner of an old-fashioned china
doll
"How d. do, Miss Pinney," she called
out
Biar was staring at her broadly, and she
gave him pert little nod. He turned to
look back at her as they drove on, and she
returned his gaze boldly, shaking back her
curls jauntily and swinging herself on the
gate.
90 She's pretty good-lookiug," said Biar
but that was a feeble expression of the ad-
miration with which Miss Mandy Sawyer's
blooming charms had overpowered him.
Biar generally dropped in at Stephen Pin
ney's two or three evenings week it was a
necessary part of keeping company.
That week he did not come. Louise put
on her black alpaca every evening and took
it oil at half -se%ef Biar never came
later than halt-past seyen and there was nc
need Of keeping ii on alter that time and
wearing it out She did not know why he
did not come but she had full trust in him,
and his non-appearance did not rouse heI
suspicious But Lyman Baker came in to.
wards the end of the week with a piece oi
news.
Lyman Baker had been mildly attentive
to Louise before Biar Gillett's succession.
He had not admired her particularly-he
flattered himself that he knew good-look-
ing girl when he saw one but he had estab-
lished an enviable reputation as lad US man,
and to keepi untarnished it was necessary
that there should be no girl in the neighbor.
hood who had not "gone with " him. lie
had bestowed his preference on Tilly Dill
ingham of late but he was leaving Tilly Sc
verely alone at present because she had had
" other company when he had invited hei
to the last sociable. He was a short, bony
young man, with small dark eyes and q
prominent tooth. He had clerked for a
month or so in a shoe store i'm the nearest
showed itself in his spotted cravat and his
celluloid cuif-buttons.
There's a smashing girl down to Bald
wins" was Lyman's opening remark. 1t
was a term which had been frequently EN-.
pIoyed at the shoe store.
Stephen Pinney, his wife and the - hired
girl !" were in the sitting room. If it had
been Biar they would have retired to the
back part of the house, because Biar was
steady company" and steady company
was never infringed upon by the family in
general.
81 met her and Biar Gillett out walking
jest now," Lyman pursued. They say
they're going together"
Louise looked at him. Her thin cheeks
grew hot and then colorless. Stephen Pin
ney and his wife and the hired girl looked at
her anxiously, and the former addressed a
remark to Lyman Baker concerning the
working out OF taxes on the road. He him
self was road -master and he didn't calculate
to have any shrking His season.
Louise sat silent, smoothing down her black
alpaca-Lyman had come before half past
seven-and saying nothing. But when he
finally got up to go, she rose also.
BE you certain it was him p she said.
"Who ?' said the young man."
+" Be you certain il was Biar ?"
That met walking with that girl that's
to Baldwin's? On, lahd yes" Lyman re-
spondtd.
The hired girl looked sharply at Louise
where she stood without moving after Ly-
man had gone.
She was not cook, nor a servant-she
would have resented being called such she
was "hired girl" She was on equal terms
with the family she ate at the same table,
occupied the sitting-room when not engaged
In the Kitchen, and entered into the family
discussions.
Al declare fort, Louise" she said, with
sympathizing asperity, "if I'd take on to
worry. Biar Gillett amt the only feller in
the world-great spindie-legged thing ~
Louise only looked Mt her silently. 1t was
beyond her power not to worry it was be,
yond her power to be anything but utteIly v
lost and miserable under this great calamity;
and she was too simple and honest to pre-
tend 10 anything else. She had never
tnought much about her feelings towards
biar .iiiett but now she realized dimly
that the pale-haired, solemn faced Young
man was in some wav naoaosar, 30 10. ~ e