Evening journal., 1890-09-10
THE FIDDLER'S DAUGHTER.

Occupies ter their placesl Git aroun' thar,
Buck johnson, ef yer goin' ter daince-
Honah yer pahdnah; objict ther same jine
hands an circle ther hall-an' circle Their
halll"
Keen and sLrill as the notes Of frightened
jay rang the opening chords Of the "Arkan-
saw Traveller drawn from the gayly rib
boned violin, by the delft fingers Of "Old
Brisbane, who had furnished the music for
all the Snake Ridge ''shindigsn from time
immemorial; ting aling ting, "from the fly
ing knitting needles with which "Widder
Thompson's jim" WAS .'knockin'n rude
accompaniment on tho Same instrument;
'thumpity thump,n as heavily shod feet rat
tied on the uneven hoor-and the Christmas
balln was fairly under way.
"Promenay single back agin One at er
time-one at er time,n sang, rather than
called, the gray bearded Brisbane, following
his usual custom Of "dewin' his own prompt
inn "Trot aroun' thar lively you Teller
from Pond Crick. Git reg lar Swiss move
ment on ye, an'-Fust foah foh'd an back l
Foh'd up, an right an lef7 through Git
over on that side, Molly Ann Meeksi Lady
chain; chain-a-back; sling 'em right an lef
AM poun' sandW
"Jes' see EN- lSnockin' Their backstep,n ex-
claimed my companion as we stopped just
| outside the door and looked ia upon the
merrymakers "See that Teller in Their blue
shirt ana big bootsl He had pow'rful chill
this afternoon; / seed i'm ABOUT an hour by
| sun an he was burnin' up with fever. Don't
look much like il now, duz her
He surely did not 1t was his turn to
forward and back and with proudly erect
head, one hand on his hip, and the other ex-
tended as high as his rather diminutive
partner could reach with her finger tips, he
was executing complicated step, half way
between double shuttle and a series of
crow hops ben allus did beat thar Jews
ter daince, continued my guide, with no at
tempt TO conceal his admiration, pears like
it comes material fer him ter sling them big
feet Of hisn. Shucksl Ell cu'd on'y daince
that way I'd never dew nothin' else
"Who is the young lady who is dancing
with himT'
'Rinda Brisbane. she's ther fddlers gal.
Ev'ybody thinks a heap Of that little ole
gal. Purtiest gal on Snake Ridge, think;
blest il don'tln
''Fust lady Ter Their right, an cut er mighty
fine yociferated the fiddler; and the long,
quivering bow leapt across tie strings with
renewed vigor, while the keen, gray eyes,
sparkling amidst tangled wilderness Of brist-
ling beard and dangling foretop, critically
nobed the 1.-THE movements Of Molly Ann
Meeks-the ''fust LADY, in question. "Swing
'em ef yer want tew, and cheat i'm eff yer
kinm
With enticing grace the agile dancer hoated,
e.. -. a.
Of the blue shirt, sprang forward, with ex-
tended arms, and then, with a hooking bow,
darted aside, and back to her own partner,
| who Swung hern with rude courtesy, and es.
| corted her on to the third gent, who had al.
ready prepared for her coming by backing
/ out into the circle and commencing q very
awkward but energetic war dance in honor
| Of her arrival.
"Dh you SEQ thatf queried bystander
anxiousy.
Cheated Ben Coffee /" muttered my com
paniou, In almost breathless excitement
Don't that beat YER
Thought Ben an Molly had done made II
/ up ter Martyr remarked third. whats
wrong now, wondergn
"It's all on account Of that Brisbane gall
eagerly asserted an elderly lady, who had
| lighted her corn cob pipe and stationed her.
self in the doorway II lSnowed thard be
trouble when Ben TUX Kinda on ther floor fer
| the first dance. Molly Ann amt goin' ter bt
run over by no SIGH trash as them Brisbanes
/ 1t don't run in Their Meeks family ter play
second fiddle ter nobody
81 reckon Ben kin dance with who he
i pleases, muttered the stalwart youth who
had accompanied me from the little hotel al
Snake Ridge Village. course he'd rather
daince with 'Rinda ey'y time Anybody
would-an' so would I Kinda is a nice littl,
gal, ef she has bin Off ter skule; thar hain't
nicer one in Arkansaw-nowhar.
left him arguing the case with the garru
lous old dame, and crowded my way through
the room to the iiddlers side He acknowl
edged the presence Of a stranger with a Sigh
nod, and moved along on the rude bench il
order that might be seated.
. Second gal dance as purity as she KIM
! Evenin' stranger Take a seat-swing tina
man in Their staked an ridered Shirt Look
little like rain outside reczon-po'rful biz
ring aroun' the moon las night Balance tel
Their nex'-Hope it'll keep dry tell gethe
my corn-'Swing him ef yer love imam
git my house re-kivered, bekase-' Balance te
Bill jackson, thar'-the ole house leaks like
sifter-'Swing i'm ef We hey tew. Swing ye
| money, an all corn breadl
was, as it CHANGED, fair performer 81
the clarinet, and had my favorite instrumen
| with me.
As it caught Brisbanes eye he nodded hi
head in approval,
"Chip in he exclaimed, as he started th
third lady on her trip around the circle
This ere ole she'll is tuned ter concert pitch
allus keep 'er thar. Put on a full head o
1 af.a arttr b. nr L.
The first blast on che 'leetle hawnn as on
Of the bystanders at once termed It, drew tn
attention Of everybody in the room Tn
"Widder Thompsons JIM stopped knock
inn the strings and dropped his knitting
needles In surprise, while dancers aud spec
tators alike favored me with stares Of sur
prised interest. In the entire assembly
noted but one exception TO the general rule
Kinda Brisbane ''the fiddler's little ole gal,
r as my companion had lately termed her-m
, own demure little 'Rinda-gave one startle
glance In my direction, and then her eve
dropped, and could discern a wave Of colo
Q sweep over her face
e She had been expecting my coming, bu
I | not so soon; and the notes Of the clarinet
2 so familir TO her ear in the bright, beautifU
days Of the past sumsier, had been to her ID
first intimation Of my presence
Our eyes met, for an instant, but that wa
e the only sign of recognition on the mart q
sther restrained my desire to rush to he
side, and turned my attention strictly TO m
duties as assistant musician. Ny sole bus
Q ness on ttis particular occasion was 10 pr,
D pitiate a stern and unrelenting parent
r and ] was determined to let nothing whai
ever swerve me from my purpose
Old Brisbane seemed delighted with Il
e slight assistance l offered him, patted h