The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1888-09-29
CAUGHT IN A STORM.

1--WE might just as well have been
standing behind the counter in New
York all these ten days." sighed
Barbara Hale, "for all the out-of-the-
way adventures we've had p
"Who wants out-of-the-way adven-
tures?" said Dorcas Dunn scornfully.
Behind the counter, indeed l'
chimed in Mary Vannecker. Can
you breathe in clover-scented air
like this behind the counter? Can
you get mountain view like this
from Sixth avenue? What more
would the girl want, should like to
know"
Barbara sighed once more, and
shook her head.
"It is all so tame," she said. "It
isn't what l expected at ALL"
The three girls-Barbara, Dorcas,
and Mary-were sitting on a side
hill, under the shade of a grand old
cedar tree. Barbara, who had once
taken a quarters lessons in drawing,
had a Switchboard in her lap, and
was trying-with but ill success, it
must be owned-to reproduce the
lovely, ribbon-like curves ofthe river
that wound its way through the val
ley below.
Mary had her needlework in her
lap, and Dorcas with her hands
clasped under her head, had long
given up all attempt to read the
paper-colored novel that she had
brought with her.
"The sky and the sunshine are so
much better" she said.
They were three shop girls-bright,
ambitious, spirited young things,
full of life and aspirations, even
though they were kept down by the
force of circumstances and they
had dubbed together their slender
resources in order to enjoy their va
cation to better advantage.
Dorcas the business member of
the firm, had bought an excursion
ticket first, and travelled out to
Schepp's Valley to see what could
be done. But it is needless to say
that the hotel and clearinghouse
prices were far beyond their simple
means.
"Is there no place." she said
"where we could obtain one room
and the very simplest fare, for less
money ?"
"You might try Old Man Nor
ris's," said the portly dame who
kept the Valley house. "It's a quiet
place, and Mrs. Morris she amt no
great of Il cook, but there's them as
has boarded there, I'm told"
"Where is it ?" eagerly asked Dor
cas-.
And the landlady went to the
door to point out a slender blue
thread of smoke that was curling up
heavenward from a mass of woods
on a distant hill, and once more
Dorcas set forth on her pilgrimage,
this time with undoubted success.
She engaged one room. The
board, to be sure, was plain, the
bed a coarse husk mattress, with a
blanket spread on the floor for Dor
cas- herself, the furniture home
made and unpainted. But there
was grove of pine woods in the
rear the blackbirds piped their sill
yer flutes all day long, and the bees
darted in and out of the red lilies
by the garden wall, and our three
heroines believed themselves to be
in Paradise.
But even as Barbara Hale thus
bewailed herself, II portentious shad-
ow swept across the sun, and look
ing around, they saw that a mass of
livid purple thunderclouds had pill
ed themselves up along the western
sky, while distant mutterings, and
now and then sudden flash, an
nounced the coming of a storm.
Dorcas sprang to her feet. Barba-
ra began hurriedly to fold up her
sketching apparatus, Mary put her
thimble and scissors in her pocket.
1--WE must get home as quickly as
possible !" cried all three.
But in availing themselves of a
"short cut" across a patch of woods
they got hopelessly lost. The sun
set behind the purple battlement of
clouds, the dusk fell rapidly in these
dense woods, and the rain began to
patter down in huge drops.
Barbara, the aspirant after adven-
ture, began to cry.
"We are lost p'she said.
"Lost Nonsense I" said brave
Doras.
"When can see the railroad
track shining down below Who