Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-08-02

to appreciate tho beauties OF Its diction.
Had it been a business letter your questions
would have been answered at once; as it is,
I believe the st. wishes them left unan-
swered through the year. Sincerely,
DOROTHY PORTER"
Dorothy posted her letter and
thought of Mr.. Hutton. I suppose you
think Tn going to tell you just what
she thought, but 1 am not; that's for
you to imagine. I'll mention that al
though she stayed in her studio all day
she seemed to accomplish very little.
Dorothy always does things thoroughly,
and when she muses. she does it as she
paints, with a great deal of vim.
Il never saw Dorothy so Interested
in the postoffice," said Mrs. Porter.
"SEe has been once or twice herself
when we were not expecting letter
from anybody in particular.
Even mothers don't always UNDER
stand girls, not but that 1 always I'M
derstand mine.
In a day or two Dorothy's answer
came. Don't let's be so ceremonious.
I'm so anxious to read it that I'll peep
over her shoulder. and noboby'll see
me but the mullicns, and they are
country things. am not a bit afraid
Of them.
DEAR MISS PoRrER:-I don't know
whether to be displeased at your note or
In t,>C1,
busy man to write an unnecessary letter:
in another it affords an additional oppor-
tunity to hear from a very bright CORE
spondcnt. most humbly apologize for the
lcvity of my postscript, and on my bonded
knees ask for an answer to my question"
Here Dorothy turned over the letter
before had finished reading it (strange
how inconsiderate some people are
and all I could see was:
Up. S.-As you take this part of your let
ter most seriously to heart. please consider
the above business document of the hign-
estimportance requiring prompt attention.
"R. p. H."
Now what there was in that letter
that [ didn't see might have been the
most important of anything in it; and
the most provoking part of it all is that
l have some affairs of my own that I
must attend to-, even if I don't watch
Dorothy. But this morning, after I
had gone home, l happened to see
among the news items in the Gazette
that
"AIr. and Mrs. r. P. Hutton are at
the Vendome for few days."
Alack! Alack then he's married after
all, and Dorothy in her studio is think
ing too much about him. What shall 1
do? 1 think a minute, and then pick
up the paper and fold it so that his
name can easily be seen, and then 1
slip into the studio while Dorothy has
gone to speak to her mother, lay it near
the easel, and hide behind the door.
Now don't like hiding behind doors,
but how should I ever know whether
Dorothy read that paper or not ii 1
didn't.
Well, Dorothy came back and sat
down at her easel without ever glancing
at the paper. She was greatly inter
ested in bit of woodland she was
sketching, and worked for an hour
without stopping. How my poor legs
did ache standing there afraid to move !!
For Dorothy can't bear anything that's
mean, and, if she found me. she'd
never speak to me again.
Oh, dear, I feel as the boys do in
school who shy spit balls at the
studious ones. I'd be willing to
do anything to stop such amaz-
ing and ill-timed industry. There,
she's beginning to bite the end
of her pencil. I think she's going to
stop. Yes, her eye has caught the pa
per, and she takes it up and reads the
item about Mrs. Hutton" aloud.
Dear me-" she says quietly, ST had
no idea he was married" Then with
frown, or sigh, OF another word,
she falls to work again, and draws for
another hour. My poor legs! I shall
drop! All my sympathies, too, wasted
on that heartless girl. She deserves to
be an old maid and 1 hope she will be.
What on earth can I do! The chill
dren will be at home from school. and
no dinner ready. It must be 10, and
I've stood here two good hours.
"Dorothy. Dorothy, come out for a
race" cries BERTHE at the open window.
Blessings on thee, barefoot boy" an
swers Dorothy, and starts.
1 start, too, and rush home to find
hungry children. House is empty
Have they gone back to school?
glance at the clock. Ten o'clock.
Mercy on me, have only been gone
fifteen minutes and suffered all these
agonies.
Now I suppose you will say I am a
very imaginative person, ard you won't
listen to anything more that I have to
say. Well, I can't tell you any more
about Dorothy, for my brother Isaac has
come, and he says that his wife is sick,