Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-01-19

one of the lavender sticks and looking at i
suspiciously 'Dynamitel Phiz'z'ztl Fol
the old womanF with an expressive refer
ence to the region occupied by the landlady
"No, you old Anarchist replied Brown
Then in a fine lady's voice he said: I'll
sweet lavender Placed in your bureau
drawer, it will give pleasing odor to YOU
linen. That's right he continued in his Owl
voice, Taught was going to give you one
shan't now"
ibid they throw a bureau in7r said Ben
ton; otherwise, it is not much use to us.n
"Usen said Brown, scornfully; think OF
man who has to go without his breakfas
buying S. worth of lavender'
Don't make me laugh any more," sale
Benton; lit is weakening, and we can't affort
it. Tell me, how did you come to buy thos.
thingsF'
Whereupon Mr. Brown narrated the stor1
of his purchase.
young" said Benton, at its conclusion
land pretty
~ did not say So" interposed Brown.
1T was not necessary, replied his friend
I'VE must get acquainted with her,"
"WhyF said Brown, in not altogether
pleased surprise.
Because she may have friends among tn,
natives here, who have land that we car
handle for them. Land, my dear boy, land
that is what we want. You don't seem K
fancy the idea,n continued Benton, as Brown
remained silent; but we cannot afford to b.
romantic Just now 1t is absolutely necessary
to use every chance. You have made 9
three-dollar investment, and | don't propos,
to throw it away. l am superstitious il
money matters, you know, and l have 6
fancy that this generous act of yours may
bring us luck Three dollars worth of bread
on the waters, as it were. / shall make &
point of getting acquainted with your friend
and l should like to have you stand in with
me. If you would rather not, why, Of
coursen---
But Mr.. Brown said he would ''stand in, ,
only, be it understood, for the sole purpose Of
keeping Mr.. Benton's business proclivities
within decent bounds.
Tulita sat upon the door step of the white
adobe house looking out upon the shining
waters Of the bay The sun was sinking into
the Pacific behind Point Iona and the
soft air was full of a golden haze.
The Coronados islands and the distant hills
of Mexico were outlined in a purple silhou.
cite against the evening sky and everything
was still and peaceful-everything except
Tulita's poor little heart. Her mother had
not been very well for the last two or three
days, and the death of her father was recent
enough to cause the slightest illness to fill
Tulita with alarmed foreboding. Then they
were so lonely, she and her mother, with nc
one to care for them, and they were SO poor
it was all very forlorn, and they had just
been crying over it together, they two, in the
twilight And now, with that vague inter
est which the mind after great emotion feels
in trifling matters, Tulita sat on the door
step and idly watched the sea gulls fluttering
and squabbling over some scraps thrown
from a passing steamer, and then her eyes
followed jack rabbit which loped across the
road and disappeared in the sage brush; then
she saw two men come along and stop at the
house next to hers. This latter incident
rather aroused her curiosity, because while
sea gulls and jack rabbits were plentiful
enough in that neighborhood, gentlemen
were not, and these appeared to be gentle
men. Evidently, from their gestures, they
were inquiring for some one; but what was
her surprise when these gentlemen left the
other house and coming directly to her gar
den gate opened it and approached her.
'Is this where Mrs Lunavarita livesfn said
the elder of the two gentlemen, as they both
politely removed their hats.
Restraining an impulse to take refuge in
the house, Tulita replied that it was.
eff it will not disturb her," continued the
gentleman, may we see her for moments?
At this juncture the sonora herself, hearing
the voices, came to the door and answered by
bidding them enter.
II hope that we are not intruding," con-
tinued the stranger who did the talking:
my name is Benton and this Is my friend
Mr.. Brown"
The sonora bowed in stately way.
my friend here,n continued Mr.. Benton,
"bought some lavender sticks at the Blank
hotel this morning which we understand
were made by you"
Lavender sticks,n repeated the sonora,
slowly, shaking her head; II do not know
what that is that you call lavender sticks.
Tulita," she continued, turning to her daugh-
ter, "de que esta hablando ell caballeroi Que
son palitos de lavandrila, hija mia, sabes tn ~
Yes, Tulita knew. AT the sound of the ia
mihar words her face flushed holly, and then
grew very pale. What was the matter2 Had
she offended some law in regard to tho sale Of
lavender sticks, and were these sheriffs come
to arrest herl Or-more dreadful thought
were hers so badly made that the people who
had bought them came to make complaint to
her mothera Then she heard the gentlemen
say something about souvenirs of California,
auntS in the east, all of the lavender sticks at
the hotel being sold, and taking the liberty
of coming to Mrs. Lunavarita herself to see
if she would make him dozen more All of
her lavender sticks sold! Could it be possible,
Tulita's heart gave happy bound, and in
the excitement of the moment she turned to
her bewildered mother and poured forth her
confession, in what Mr.. Brown afterward de-
clared was the most musical Spanish he had
ever heard in his life. This was followed by
quick, sharp questions from the mother, and
pleading, faltering answers from the girl,
and then what seemed torrent Of repreach
and protest fell from the lips of the sonora.
at seems,n said Mr.. Benton, in a low tone
to his friend, ''that the old lady was not
posted"
mo, confound you," Indignantly whis-
pered Mr. Brown, ''you have let the little
girl in for nice scolding."
Then the Sonora Lunavarita, with flushed
lace ana gllStenlng eyes, turned 10 the twc
gentlemen and said, with dignity and pathos;
"Senores, have to make the apology to
you. 1t is my daughter that makes these
these
Lavender sticks" suggested Benton,
pleasantly.
"These lavender sticks, and did not know.
She is young lady, and would not have
her do work Sainted Mother it is bad
enough for me, who am old. And / did not
know, you understand! Not that my daugh.
ter ever does anything without tellina me.
she added, hastily; mo, senior, neveri She
has no secrets from her mother But her
father is dead and we are poor" Here the
senora's voice faltered little, and one of the
tears that had been gathering in her eyes
rolled slowly down her face. 1--WE are poor,
and have to work, and my daughter, she
loves me, and she says it makes her sad to
see me sew, sew, all the time sew, and she
do nothing, and so she makes these things tc
help her poor mother. That is the way of it
senior She is good daughter, and-and
~ here the senoras feeling overcame her
and, turning to Tulita, who had stolen to her
side, with little gesture of surrender she al
lowed her tears to flow unrestrained.