The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1891-05-01
rhfther Che chIa rSaa IRine pack orren

Thither the child r2Sa king back orten
sto see that no APpr0aehed the
shut. in her absence tie bathe her face.
Nm q few minutes ~ returneds drying
6sr rfacesin her aph2n ana shaking her
wet hair in the sun No one had come:
but King Billy was gnQw awake, antiwas
sLouchip1 lazily OH toward the bush.
Efis laughed as she NV him-his great
hosd bent forward, ana nus tnlp narrow
fhoulders bowed sne laughed 70 think
I 81 his lazin.ss, ana eat be should look
SO tired afteESach,Ec4 12sass'z z.aad
chdpping. W Z.
| She was stiH ls6ghing at King Billy al
she opened the old work box to take
another peep at the yellow treasure, and
20 make quite sure that the heat hadn't
melted it away. And it was quite slowly
that the laugh died from the pretty eyes
and mouth--guite slowly, because of the
moments it took to realize and accept q
| misfortune so terrible--when she lifted,
the coarse socks and looked and saw no
little gold nugget-saw nothing. Them
horror and great fear grew in the blue
eyes, and pale agony crept over the,
childish face and made it old, and the,
poor little heart seemed to stop beat
ing.
Effie said nothing, and made no cry;
but she closed her eyes tightly for mo-
ment, and looked in the box again. No,
it was no illusion; the little nugget was
net there-ths first gold her father had
found, which had been intrusted to her
care, which was to have been taken to
! her motbse,s,sit yas rome. She put down
the box, quite faietl aud walked out
into the day ;sbut thu sun was shining
very strangely and mfstily now, and the:
blue sky had grown black aud the trees
seemed to move worldly; and the l6custs
had ceased humming from fear; but the
strange bird was somewhere near, Shrek
ing brokenly, t.What will father say2
What will father say9"
| But as the child stood there despair
iDgly, her sight grew clearer, and she
was conscious of pair OF dusky eyes
watching her through the leaves. Then
only she remembered, and she knew
who had done this cruel thing. King
Billyl And she had been kind to him.
Effie suddenly burst into passionate Sob
bing. The black figure still hovered
among the trees, often changing its posi-
ton, and dusky eyes still peered through
the leaves. Aud the laughing jackasses
few down to the old tree again, ,/and
laughed more paadly than bef,Sre =
laughed at Effie's tnlst--at Billy's graft.
tude. f5s~ 49,
1t was ten o'clock, and dark6 6ess and
quiet reigued in John Archer's hut.
Over among the tents behind the waffle
gums few gamblers and heslyy drinkers
were sill awake, and their Voices, raised
in anger or ribald merriment. might oc.
cassionally have been family heard from
the hut. But Archer, who jhad sown hi.
! wild oats, was a true worker: and he
had his little daughter, tSr whose sake
camp.
Archer had come 3som, late and weary
as usual, had eaten $nis supper, and gon,
to rest without, to} Effie's intense relief
speaking of the littlecgold nugget. Th,
child was afraid to srA eak of the loss, ant
she was not withoutI vague hopes that ,
benefcent providencel would restore the
nugget during the AHsrkness, and say,
her from this great trouble.
- EoS thia. she prayed yej = aaruasslx ha
Il sleen AZ an tha1 E%Aha nexar o,,ite