The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1888-12-08

floor.
"Aliow mel Did you want to get
outln
For the woman with the green veil
was making vehement gestures with her
hand to the driver. She put up the
trumpet with an in curing expression of
face.
"Did-you-want to get outl'
roared Col. Jones into its con voluted
depths, the veins starting out on his
forehead as he did so.
''Yes, sir, please" said the woman;
and the courteous Colonel himself got
out to expedite the removal of tho bas.
ket, the trumpet and sundry brown
paper parcels which constituted the be-
longings of their fellow passenger.
Tho green yelled head bobbed &C
acknowledgements, the Colonel lifted his
hat like modern Don Quixote, and the
stage, enveloped in a cloud of dust,
rolled away toward the brightnep of
the western sky. The yelled pas
senger caught up her parcels, skipped
over the stone stils With amazing
alacrity for 50 apparently feeble per-
sonage. and few like deer across the
wooded solitudes until she came to a
low, red farmhouse, aud entered cosy
kitchen, where q middle aged woman
was making black berry pies.
'Hcre's your trumpet all mended,
Aunt Ro1ana," said she. "And here's
the alpaca dress and the three yards of
flannel and the basket with the tea and
sugar and spices. What are you going
to have for suppcrl"
"Spring chicken" said Aunt Rox-
anna in the soft, subdued voice peculiar
to deaf people. They're on the but
try shelf, all dressed and ready. And
baked potatoes; and calculate to have
them pies ready to go into the oven
right Off"
"Splendid" said Lurana Hopkins.
81 want one of them. And l must
have the chickens and that loaf of gin
gerbread."
LA, mew said Aunt Ro1anna- SIS
the girl crazy2'
"Its for the schoolma' am, Aunt Rox-
anna" explained Lurana, with her rosy
mouth close to the ear trumpet. 'Her
bcaus father came up from the train
with me in Zadoc Hawley's stage, and
he took me for deaf woman, because
of the trumpet, l suppose, and talked
before me to his friend real free. And
he's come out here to surprise the
schoolma' am, and find out whether she
is good housekeeper or not. And if
she isn't. he's going to set himself dead
against the matchr'
81 never heard nothing like it in my
life," said Aunt Roxanna.
"And she isn't-you know she isn't9'
said Lurana- "She just lives in half OF
the Widow Skerritts house, and boards
herself on bread and milk. But she ia
as sweet as peach, and people can't
have all tho accomplishments at once---"
'No, to be sure not" said Aunt
Roxanna, her slow wits following
Lurana's rapid speech with considerable
difficulty.
"And she shan't be cheated out of
her lover, not if 1 can help it." said
Lurana, hurriedly packing the broilers,
neatly wrapped in a napkin. into her
basket, and supplcmcnting them with a
loaf of spicy smelling gingerbread, two
uataked black berry pies, pan Of bis
cult and glass jar of honey. "Now, a
little canister of coffee" she sail land
some OF those pickles, and believe
that's all You must hunt up some
thing else for supper" S~
And once more Lura1a sped across
the fields, crossing noisy brook on the
perilous span of fallen tree, picking
her way deity through the hummocks
OF a swamp, aud reaching the Widow
Skerritt's cottage, while the Blue
Station stage, travelling tho regular
road, was still good mile and qul:-
ter dway.
Alice Alden, the district school
teacher. was just putting the last
stitches Ia blue checked giasham
gown that she was making wh.n Lurana
rushed in like hazel eyed whirlwind.