Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1886-03-25
WHISTLER'S MARE.

baked In ner Ilte-lltllt, ana iel uie teii
YOU, she'd be of no more account with
me than any other horse, if it wasn't
for that very thing.
You used 10 know Becky Ash, per-
haps +? If you did, you knew her to be
the brightest and prettieSt and best girl
in the place. courted Becky for two
years, and everybody thought we'd be
married for sure. Well, just so l
thought, though We hadn't said so to
each other in so many words. | was
young, so was she, and | thought it
best to get something of a start in the
world first.
That was all we'll enough, you think,
and so it would haye been if Sim Dur
went hadn': come our way with his
pleached -out face and soft hands.
Everybody said at once, he'd cut me
out, for Becky was by all odds, the
best looking girl in the place, and it
! pleased her to be noticed. So when he
asked her to go with him to the picnic
that we'd been looking forward to so
long, and she said yes, l vowed and de-
clared that Sim might have her fer all
me; I'd never go with her again.
Sim waited on her after that, right
and left. She couldn't stir out Of doors
but he was with her 10 carry her para
sol, or her shawl, or her fan. He drove
a stylish turnout aud took her every
where. She was clipper as bird
whenever happened to be around, but
I wasn't long in making up my mind
that she wasn't half so happy over the
swap she'd made as she might be, and
one time when lot of us had gone to
| the lake for driye and took another
| girl, just to show Becky didn't care,
l found me sitting on great rock by
herself, crying.
You ask what I said to her ? Not a
word. I hadn't spoken to her, nor she
to me, since the day she cut me for Sim
Durwent, and wasn't going to be the
first to speak. She was the one to
blame not me, and If I'd seen her going
to be married to Sim and knew word
from her would put an end to it, l
wouldn't have said it.
could think about her all day, and
dream about her O. nights, because that
was something that l couldn't help.
But to speak to her To ask her to
make up with me and take me back ::
The words would have choked me, and
the longer things went on in this way,
the less likelihood there seemed to be of
their coming to rights between us.
Becky's father looked crossways at me.
He didn't like Sim and he thought Ia
only been fooling. and laid his going
with her all to me. And then, yon see,
nv father thought me goose and a
'ssofty" to let Sim have it all his own
way.
One day father and 1 were drying &
along the road with Nance in the shaft S
when, just at the foot Of Benser's hill
you know what a long, steep hill that
is and how narrow it is all the way to
the top-we overlook Becky walking
at rate that showed twas no fault OF
hers that we came up with her.
"Whoa," said father, putting the
lines in my hands and jumping out oil
the buggy. "I'll change place with you
Becky. You get in and ride and let me
walk"
Becky colored like poppy, and look
ed as If she'd rather walk her feet off
than ride with me, but father had got
her by the arm, and before you could
say Jack Robinson he had got her, by
pushing and lifting, into the buggy.
go on" said he, "and when you
get to the top of the hill, III get in be-
hind"
Becky drew a long breath at this
promise, and own I thought 1t was
just what father ought to do, after
throwing Becky and me into one anoth
er's faces the way he had.
showed up as snug to my end Ut the
seat as l could, and Becky showed lof1
the other way, and we were ready for
start. We were, but Nance wasn't
The creetur wouldn't bulge an inch.
L coaxed and scolded and whipped
her, but she stood there so stock still
that 1 thought she must have gone to
sleep, and l got out to see. But she
was wide awake enough by the looks OF
her eyes, and if you'll believe me, the
Jade actually looked mischievous.
tell YOU began to feel desperate un'
comfortable. Father was out of sight
over the hill and what TO do [ didn't
know. If I'd had match about me, |
should have fired her, or. if Becky
hadn't been there looking on, should
have unhitched the contrary creature,
and whired her round and round, nose
and tail on a race, till she'd be glad
enough to go ahead. AS it was l got
back in the buggy and made up my
mind to tire Nancy out. All l had tc
do was to gather up my patience and
wait and wait till she took it into hel
head to 60.
When took my seat in the buggy
Becky made move to get out, but her
| bo6 dnatoJ , ,t ovar thn Cnat apC