Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-01-31

deluge of milk on the floor. TIE Swed,
was surveying the ruin with her arms
akinlbo.
81 har upsided it." she remarked in ex
PLANTATION.
Unfortunately her mistress temper
was also 'upsided." She proceeded te
give Inga scolding, which made nc
more impression upon the reel pient thar
it did on the wood-box she was filling
SEEING this, Lou desisted as abruptly a:
she had begun, turned her back On the
offender, and went back TO the dining
room just in time to see figure dash
down the garden path and out the gate
It was Bob who was thus deem ping
having stuffed his pockets with eatables
No second walk to town foI him!
What was to be done? There was nc
use in pursuing; no use in getting angry
Everything seemed against blue; for thai
reason, if for no other, my heroine made
up her mind to have it even if she had
to go for it herself. There vas not time
enough for that, however and she did not
like to ask Jeremy, who was enjoying {
cigar on the piazza before dressing. But
there was Inga; she could go.
|
ished at her mistress sudden change o!
tone when she came back to ask her &c
leave the dishes and go on en- errand
She made the unfailing reioinder, 'yess.'
and was ready in two minutes. Thinking
to be quite sure this time, Lou wrote
what she wanted on a slip of paper
The Swhde departed, holding this IN one
hand and the money and the door key in
| Wa
Lou was at liberty to commence her
toilet. 1t was already past z, and dark
because of impending storm. There
were ominous mutterings of thunder.
Going through the process of dressing
mechanically and hastely, my heroine in
half an hour stood before the mirror
fully arrayed. Now, indeed, the time
for decision had come. IDga would be
back soon, and there would be plenty of
time to knot up the blue ribbon should
she wish to wear it. Or she might begin
now on the crimson lying on the bureau.
Which should it be?
How foolish! How like the traditional
| donkey between two stacks of hay! She
laughed, then noticed with vsxation that
eyes were heavy and her cheeks as white
as her dress.
"This will never d." she sOliloquized.
shall have to try the crimson to light
myself up. I'll make the knots anyway"
! Fate surely favored crimson. She was
a long time about arranging the bows,
but Igna had not retu-ned when they
were finished. So, just to see the effect,
she pinned them In place on breast and
hair and belt, and then stood looking at
herself with pardonable pride in her own
beauty. What was she thinking, as she
gazed at her reflection with the light in
her eyes and that flush on her cheek?
She saw herself. in fancy, Roger Mars
toms euvied and congratulated fancee.
She saw his eager, dark, triumphant face,
and then she turned away and put up her
hands to shut out another vision-a
vision that caused the flush to fade and
the gaze to waver. Only pair of blue
mirrors depths, first in wonder, then in
pain, reproach, despair, and finally-yes
finally in soOrn, scOrn of the girl who was
about to make the most brilliant match
of the season.
The gate fell together. Inga was the
last coming, and the noise of voices told
she brought with her her "man" Carl,
who usually spent his evenings in the,
jennings kitchen. Lou hastily unpinned
the crimson bows and threw them Oh the
table. Her cheeks seemed to have Dor
rowed the ribbons vivid color as she
answered the Swede's tap at the door and
eagerly extended her hand for the little
parcel the latter rendered.
"I'm so very much obliged, Inga."
"Yess."
mo matter about change. Keep it
for your trouble"
| "Yess."
Lou had opened the package. Sudden
ly. with an exclamation, she retreated to
the gas Jet to examine what she held
more closely.
"Why-why, this ribbon-this ribbon is
yes, it is-its greenr' Even the stolid
Swede recoiled little before the indig
nant glance that accompanied the next
words. "How could you make such a
mistaken"
| Inga forgot her conventional response
and stammered: "He haf say blue'-
She got no further in her speech
Her young mistress-this case is worthy
of record as being the only time Inga was
ever astonished in her life-her young
mistress threw the ribbon into the mid
die of the hall, slammed the door in her
face and locked it. Then, careless OF
the lace hounces she was running, and
quite Indifferent to. the fact that the hands
of the clock were getting around to g.
she threw herself on the bed and gave
way to a perfect tempest of passionate
| tears.
She cried until she was completely ex-
hausted. And when Jeremy-thinking
that patience had ceased to be virtue
} came up and tapped at the door, she was
quite presentable and had to answer
through the keyhole, as it were. She
said, with now and then telltale falter il
her voice, that she had dreadful head
ache, that, though she was very, very sor
ry to disa ppoint him, she couldn't go.
: Jeremy was puzzled. The unsteadines:
of his sisters voice, and the sight of the
crumple ribbon, which ne took to be {
blue one, on the floor, made him guess
that something was wrong; bat In appar-
ent good faith he recommended tea, cam
phor, ammonia, etc., and proposed to cal
up Inga.
His sister peremptoriiy vetoed this.
81 shall just GO to bed," she declared
through the door, land you mustn't loss
any more time. You can make my ex-
cuses TOTO any one who inquiries"
"Oh, hang excuses! There, don't NEAR
! that; but you know / hate parties.
won't go at all. I shall be q deal more
comfortable at nome"
} Jeremy meant what he said. Lou pro
tested, entreated, insisted, quite in vain
| He preferred cigar and novel of any
kind of a "route," and was frankly re-
lieved at the prospect of a "oozy" eve
ming at home that the point was abandon