River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1890-05-01

in house like that?''
s'Oh, I'd like it,
''All right then; I guess well build
one when We get back to Boston. Well
get patent improvement on that one.
I'll fix shafts to the pole and will hitch
one of the horses to the shafts. and then
you will go around steadily all the
time"
But wouldn't that make us dizzy.
papa"
well, it's rather dizzy idea, all
round"
Now, Henry" whispered Mrs. Du-
rand. reprovingly, ''how cdR you expect
the child to talk properly if you use
such language to her?''
why, my dear, Idon't expect her to
talk properly. All you ask, of course, is
that she shall simply be perfection.
That's not asking much, still my ex-
pectatiOns are on a somewhat lower
level"
Miss Laura meanwhile ran along
ahead as usual Mr.. and Mrs Durand
stood for moment admiring the view.
Below them lay the picturesque Town
of BOulOgne, with the cathedral dome
rising white above the walls of the old
town like a smaller St Paurs. Far to
the front stretched the blue waters of
the English Channel, dotted with the
white sails of the ships and the brown
sails of the fishing-boats. Between the
two long piers that ran out from Bou-
logne the two-masted, double -piped
railway steamer from Folkestone was
coming-in.
Where is Laura?" cried the mother,
suddenly.
The child had disappeared. Durand
remembered with thrill of fear the
high cliffs that were just around the
fields.
I'm find her." he said, and started on
a run down the road. When he came to
turn he saw that his little girl had
made another discovery. He waved his
hand to his wife to show her that it
was all right and then proceeded more
leisurely to where Miss Laura was sit
ting by the roadside.
We'll. Miss Lalal, you have given
your mother and me fine fright You
should not run away like chat"
Il won't do it again, papa, but just
look what have found"
Laura was sitting at the foot of one of
the wayside crosses that are so common
in all continental countries. In the
grass at the foot of the large stone cross
there were a great number of what
seemed to Durand to be little wooden
daggers- They were stuck point down
ward in the soil. Some of them had
evidently been there for many years;
others seemed TO have been put there
quite recently.
What are these funny little things
here for?''
I'm sure don't know. / never saw
any of them before" He took from her
hand the little wooden dagger she had
pulled up and looked at it.
''Oh. mayn't take that home with
me. Then l can tell Ellie Holden that
l took this from here with my own
hands"
Il don't know about that Miss Lal.
You see. although it is really not Of any
particular value, still it isn't ours. Per-
haps can buy you one in Boulogne."
Il don't want one that you buy. /
want this one that / picked my own
self" Miss Laura was tired and sleepy,
and had the symptoms of being just
little out of temper.
'Lal, you're like that bit of wood
your own self You're little cross.
No, Laura didn't see. She wanted the
little cross and nothing else.
well. Lalal, we'n see what your
mother says. Jump on my knee till
she comes If remember rightly you
viii be sixteen years old next week"
Now, papa, you always say that
You know I'll be only six next week"
''Oh. so it is, six, that's it,"
There was no answer, and when he
looked down on the fair curly head
nestled against his arm, he saw that his
tired little girl had dropped asleep.
He smoOthed back the clustering curls
and kissed the sunburned, rosy, chubby
face.
HAS Laura gone to sleep?" said his
wife as she came to the wayside pair.
'Just this moment dropped off,"
well, see the carriage is coming
over the hill I'll wrap her up snugly
and | think she won't take cold"
So the tired little girl, with the
wooden cross held tightly in her arms,
rode back to BOulogne and missed
another sight of her wonderful wind
mill
Mrs. Duran1 thought il was not quite
the right thing to have taken the little
wooden cross, but now that they had it
she made no objections to its being
packed away with the other things that
Miss Laura had received during her
trip abroad. So the French cross found
its way to Boston. Durand thought of
making a paper knife of it, but Mrs.
Durand never liked the sight of it, and
as Miss Laura quickly tired of it, the
little wooden dagger or cross soon disap-
peared. If Mrs Durand had been in the
habit of going into her kitchen, which
she was not, she might have seen the
cross there, the cook having found it
knocking about and placed it above one
of the windows.
That winter Durand and his wife be-
gan TO be very much troubled about
Laura. There seemed to be nothing
particular the matter with her. but she
lost all her boisterous spirits. As spring
approached she got no stronger. Her
rosy tHtekS grew pare anu IulH luSDedu
of walking and running around the
house with her usual elastic step she
Jagged YEARLY along. She was very
tired, she said, but that was all the com
plant she made. She preferred to lie
quietly curled up on a sofa to running
around and playing with her dolls and
their houses. The doctor seemed rather
puzzled. At first it was thought that that
portion of our modern improvements
known as the drainage was defective,
but the appointments of the house, as
far as that was concerned, were of the
most recent and perfect description.
Durand knew very well that many of us
die of our modern improvements.
But science had done all that was pos
sible for his new Boston residence. At
last the doctor said that a change of air
should be tried. Mrs Durand did not
want to leave until the weather was
more settled. besides she feared to be
away from Boston and her physician, If
Laura took seriously III.
One day Durand's clerk called him to
the telephone.
Ask what's wanted" he said; I'm
very busy
Il think il is Mrs. Durand, sir"
Dnrand jumped up and went to the