Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1890-01-24

The next day six white shirts duttered
upon the Millers' clothes line; tine next
day--stiff and shiny and odorous only
of Heavens pure breezes-they went to
their owner, and Joe brought back TO
his mother in return the silver which
looked to Phrosy brighter and better
than silver ever looked before. He
brought something else, too, an over
grown bundle of shirts which had evil
IDENTIFY seen sorrow and had not lived
the lives that aristocratic white shirts
ought to live.
These belong to the mill boys" he
explained, .'they got sight at the
others and nothing to do but they must
send these down. They're a pretty
hard lot" meaning the shirts and not
the mill boys) "but I guess your old
woman can get 'em clean, mother"
And his mother, chuckling little as
she thought of "her old woman" took
the bundle and informed her son that
anything of the kind was welcome until
further orders.
That week, in the neighbors' estima-
tons, Ben Miller fairly blossomed with
shirts, for the number of those useful
and ornamental garments that hung on
bn hilIar,i
lutcly unprecedented.
Thirteen shirts for one poor work
ingman is the worst l ever heard!" as
severatcd the woman next door, whose
propinquity gave her, in her own csti-
nation, right to criticise the Mllers
with more frankness than "manners.
Il wouldn't slave myself to death for
the sake of Ben's vanity if / was his
sisterr'
But Phrosy smiled serenely.
~ don't call Ben over vain myself"
she answered, sand I'm sure l am not
shaving myself to death or near it for
any one, and as long as I'm satisfied l
don't see what difference the size of my
washlngs ought to make to any one
else" And with this the offcious
and wouId-be inquisitive neighbor was
forced to retire discounted.
Phrosy went to the picnic under Mrs.
Jenkins protecting wing (ono of firs.
Mller's whilom cronies consenting glad
ly to come and spend the day with herr
and she had on fresh pink lawn and
ribbons to match and looked for all the
world like a peach blossom.
The picnic was near the sold Brad
bury ranch" and its new owner-a tall,
sun-burned, masterful young fellow
with plain, sensible face and a pair of
eyes that seemed to Phrosy the kindest
that she had ever seen-made them well
come to his home and was as hospitable
as true Californian always is; aud
some way Phrosy was shyly conscious,
after the first, that those kind eyes
looked a trifle more kindly upon her
than they did upon some of the more
noticeable girls.
Phrosy was always one of the useful
ones, and when it fell to her lot to
oversee the arrangement of the lunch
her new acquaintance very quietly dis
engaged himself from the others and
devoted himself to her assistance, and
Ben Miller, looking on from dist tance,
saw and approved.
'Phrosy's worth her weight in gold,"
he said to himself, "and Dalton is Just
the kind of fellow that she ought to
have. I'd give four bits to have it turn
out that way"
That night Phrosy came home tired
but radiant. John Dalton had har.
messed up his two-horse team and
brought part of the picnickers down to
the village himself, 'just to be socia-
ble," he had said; and he had invited
her to sit beside him on the front seat,
and he had, moreover, told Ben that he
was coming down to play him game
of checkers now and then when the
evenings got little longer.
What wonder was it that the world
seemed rose colored to Phrosy2 and
what wonder was it that when John
Dalton-not waiting for the evenings to
lengthen perceptibly-made his appear
ance in her home and, after making
friends with her mother, proceed ed to
devote himself especially to that lady's
daughter, that she thought herself the
happiest girl in the world. Only one
thing shadowed her heart. Supposing
that he should be angry when he found
out that the shirts, which still came,
throuph Mrs Jenlxina IN that pouotari