The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-08-18

| her purse had not been aDSJracIeu Wltnln
the last two minutes by any OF the listless
passengers, and hurried to the door.
The train had stopped at little flag
! station, whose only accommodation for pas
| sengers was a small platform, at present
covered with snow.
| AS May hesitated an instant on the car
steps, tall figure seized her, and carrying
her across the platform deposited her in the
sleigh, and the train moved off before she
| could recover from her surprise enough TO
| ask timidly: "Where's nay trunkF"
| You don't mean to say that Pm such an
| idiot that I've lot the train go off an carry
| off your trunk!n demanded the tall man in
tones of poignantdisgust.
Il don't see the trunk anywhere" she
answered, ignoring the question of the
stranger imbecility.
| oval, / snum," said her disconnected
companion, ''you must think Pm the gol-
dern-the biggest gump you ever come
acrost There WANT nothin' in it you want
ed, was they2' he asked, as though people
were in the habit of travelling with baggage
for which they had no earthly use.
eyes" she admitted 'every thing have
was in it, except what l have in this bag"
"Jewhitakerm exclaimed the other, "ef
you'd only chuck somethin' at me to pay for
bein' such loon, I'd feel better. Ispose,
though, you hain't got nothin' you want to
waste on such a fool.n
"You see it showed, so didn't much ex-
pect We, though of course I'd hev come eff it
had showed bilin' water, an ez I'd been
a-waitin' for ye nigh ON to three hours,
was so consummedly tickled to think you
come / didn't stop to think about nothin'
else. Can you git along without it o-night!' ~
| so yes,H she answered, Il don't care, if
it isn't lost"
"Then that's all right " he said in a greatly
relieved tone, getting in the sleigh beside
her. 'rll get it for We to-morrer eff hey to
overhaul every train in the State with my
own hands. G'longW
The horse moved little, but refused to
start
"Git up" he called louder, 'what ais
yes" Then in different tone he exclaimed :
oval, by gracious! eff | amt the biggest
fool tibet ever-I don't know what amt
unhitched the critterp'
While the crestfalen stranger proceeded
to remove this slight obstacle to their loco
| motion, May burst into hysterical laughter.
81 don't blame We none for laughin'," he
said. 81 shouldn't find no fault eff We said
you wouldn't ride one step with such a
| lSnownothin' ez be-"
| Ao there was no mouse IN Slght, and the
Snow was nearly two feet deep and still
falling, no inviting alternative seemed to
| present itself, and he got back into the
sleigh, saying .Iaintively: 81 amt always
this way, but [ was so bejiggled at seen' We
don't seem to know whether I'm a-foot or
a-horsebacl1''
May was too bewildered and frightened to
make much reply to the strangers self-ac-
cusations.
She supposed that he was the ''hiring com.
mittee" who was to meet her at Hunters
vile, where he lived, and take her to his
home, where she was to board, but her
natural timidity and morbid fear of doing
any thing to ''attract attention. kept her
from asking any questions
The night was very dark. A lantern
hanging on the dashboard cast grotesque
shadows of the horse on the roadsides from
which, now snow drift, now an evergreen
loaded with snow, apparently leaned for
ward for an instant, and then drew back
| into impenetrable gloom.
vague sense of horror added itself to
the Inconsistencies of the trembling girl
Perhaps the man beside her was no com
mon-place committeeman at all-indeed this
executive stranger was very unlike the ideal
committee to whom she had sent her little
/ WV tAubSllf lC-puhStutiGCu lCJtGIS, ltdTIul
lest his critical eye would discover some un-
pardonable grammatical error which would
make her timid aspirations toward the
dignity of a school ma'am absurd in his
| sight.
| Perhaps he might be some robber who iu-
habitated the Businesses of these gloomy
mountains, who had left her trunk for some
not very obvious reason of his own, and
who would shortly add the contents of her
bag and purse to his ill-gotten spoils. His
! features were not visible in the darkness
and might wear an expression of inconceiv-
! able ferocity, but the tones of his voice were
| so sensible, kindly and whole-Souled that
she felt an observation-disclosures of comfort
and security whenever he spoke, though in
the long intervals of silence that fell upon
them as they journeyed slowly and labori-
ously through the snowdrifts and darkness,
her fears could hardly be controlled.
''Youre little thing, amt yea" he finally
remarked, abruptly.
Yes she faltered, feeling that he might
consider this an insurmountable obstacle in
! the way of her managing the big boys in
school,
"Would that be any objection9"
Land, no." he responded, reassuringly.
81 like little women"
| MAY nad a aim, undennGd feeling that
when school was regulated by the likes
and dislil1es of the committee, there was an
imperative call for civil service reform
| somewhere.
A wild and improbable tale she had once
heard of a school committee who always in
sisted on kissing all the female teachers
flashed across her mind along with a vague
fear that this man beside her might resem-
BILE him in this respect, bus she blushingly
dismissed it as an immodest suggestion, I'M
| worthy of any decorous imagination.
Presently her companion, after clearing
I his throat several times preparatory to
speaking, but not being able to carry his
conversational attempts further than an
abashed ''Gid dap to his horse, began with
a manifest effort and much unaccountable
confusion and embarrassment, which he
tried vainly to conceal by interpolating
various remarks of encouragement to his
horse: "Ive got your letters an you've got
mine-g' lang-an' I'm suited an pleased ez
-ez-gid dap-but, eff you hant, all you've
| got to do is just to say-git out of that-the
word, am shan't find no fault-what yer
doin'-nor blame you none. I'm a kind man
do yer want me to hit yer again-ef l do
say it-what ails yerl-an' | don't think
| you'll ever be sorry, but eff YOU should