Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1890-02-22

that it was shame that pa had spent
thousands of dollars on our school bills,
piano lessons and French teacher, and
after all we couldn't teach even the school
| in this district! And there's Nancy Far
mum, who's never had a dollar spent on
her schooling, got it all in the public
school, and has earned ten dollars week,
for forty weeks a year, for the last five
years; has helped her ma for her board,
fore and after school, has dressed well,
furnished her mas parlor up, and put
money in the savings bank; and you two
girls can't give even the neighbors' chill
dren lessons on a melodeon! Oh, | am
sick of hearing it all; and the worst of
the whole is-it is true; and, as much as
we hate that old farm house and the way
| grandpa and grandma live, we have no.
where else to ber'
"Well, what can't be helped, can't; so
what is the use of talkingl We may just
as well make the best of it and come
right down, and take what fun there is
going; so let's walk on to Betty Plum
mers and tell her we will accept her in
vitation for tomorrow night, aud go right
in for good time with the neighborhood
young folks. said at first | never would
do it, but then did not expect to stay
here forever; now begin to think we
may. But, let's draw the line at marry
ing; we will flirt with the boys and have
good time. Twill be something to
take up our time. Grandpa and grand
ma will like all but the flirting; they
will begin to have hopes of us and think
we are at last growing sensible, and we
can keep dark about our real opinion of
folks and things. l hope, though, they
witt not play kissing games. Just think
of having grandpa's hired man kiss us
| OF course, he is invited"
Betty Plummer was quite overcome by
the sudden cordially of Mabel Tinkham
and her adopted sister, Mary Peck, and
for the rest of the day was in quite
| fiutter of excitement over the event.
Roland Holland and his friend, Jack
Staples, had CHANGED upon the Plummer
farm for their hating place in this neigh
borhood while sketching. When they
returned to late dinner the voluble, gay
hearted Betty chartered of her morning
callers, and with country freedom soon
had given the young men full history
of nelghbor Tinkham's oldest son,
who had ''years ago let the farm and
gone to New York as clerk, and later
had become what the country people
called stock gambler; had been rolling
in money few years, and married a city
girl; later had lived in Europe a few
years, and then, lust as all gamblers do,
suddenly he began to lose, and all at once
| found himself at the bottom of the heap
and glad enough to send his two girls
out to his old home, which had never been
good enough for them to visit when they
had lots O. money"
She told the young men that the girls
were real nice, but couldn't do thing to
earn a dollar, and seemed actually proud
of it,
Then she talked of her valentine party,
and the young men having identified
Mabel Tinkham and Mary Peck as the
two stylish young ladies of the morning
episode, entered heartily into Betty's
plans, and soon had given the quick
witted country girl some hints about
valentine tricks. Betty was always ready
for a good natured joke and readily agreed
to their suggestions.
| In response to one Of these she went
over to grandpa Tinkhams on the eve
ming of the thirteenth and told the girls
of these tricks. One was for the girls to
take an early morning walk on the four
tenth and the first man they met would
surely be their future husband! Others
were to be tried at the house. One of
these was to go out into the dark, and
standing on the doorstep unwind ball
of Irvine for few yards and holding the
end of the Irvine in one hand, with the
other throw the ball as far out into the
darkness as possible, then begin to wind
up the end in their hand, repeating these
| lines
II wind this long line so very fine,
Hoping to find at the other end,
| The love | would call my valentine,
/ The man I'd choose for lover and friend"
Then, unless one was a predestined old
maid, at the end of the line would stand
| before the maiden her future husband,
who would yield the line to her, clasp
her in his arms and take his first kiss and
disappear in the darkness, and when the
Fates were propitious she would meet
this very man, perhaps be introduced to
him in the most prosaic and orthodox
manner; but surely some day he would
come to claim the hand of the maiden he
had kissed in the dark
II shall go for walk before break
fast tomorrow morning, Mary; will you
go too3" cried Mabel, gleefully.
! ''Indeed will not. You'll be sure to
meet somebody's hired man driving the
COWS to the spring for water" replied
Mary, scornfully.
Then she continued, II will control
my Impotence to see my hero until even
ing. shall throw the ball of Irvine
from your back door step, and let it
roll down the slope into the garden, and
then gently draw my hero up to give me
that betrothal kiss, and as it is hardly
properto accept anything from a stranger,
will return 1t at once, and Mary joined
in the general laugh.
Betty went home and reported.
Early the next morning Mabel went
out for walk, and for half a mile met
no one, not even hired man driving
cows to water, nor a milkman going to-
ward the village.
Suddenly, as she turned corner, she
came face to face with the dark, nous
tached stranger she had seen few morn
ings ago posing so gracefully beside the
stone wall as his friend sketched. With
chiyalrous air he lifted his hat and
passed around the corner.
Mabel was not more romantic than the
ordinary girl, yet her heart throbbed
more rapidly, and the rich color swayed
back and forth in her shapely cheeks, as
she wondered if there could be anything
in such happenings, and queried mentally
over and over again, 'who could ne be,
where from, and with whom was he stay
ing in that neighborhood, and would she
maybe sometimes really meet and speak
with him2'
! But it was time to return for breakfast,
and, To- he was returning, and politely
lifted his hat once more from the close
cut, dark, curling locks.
Evening came, and Mabel and Mary
were much entertained by the society into
which they were for the first time intro
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