Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-04-15

suddenly startled by hearing voice lamenting and calling her name as if from the bowels of the earth, and springing up, with her visual peculiar ity very marked, she ran out ana east ing her eyes about in terror found that l the voice proceeded from the cistern. Leaning into the opening to that cim- merian cavern she could hear Absalom tloundering in its collected rain. Evi- | dently he was treading water. or the l fluid was of depth that precluded any other employment than splitting it out, for he alternated each word with q spurt of water. 70 Absalom! Ab- l salon! is that you?" erred Miss Popp, ! wringing her hands.
 "Yes-spurt-its spurt-O-spurt = l. spurt love -spurt- you so-spurt-get a. spurt- clothes spurt line-spurt Popp- and-spurt-let it-spurt down spurt-q- spurt-q-quick!' said Absalom.
 Very quickly, indeed, did little Miss | Popp spring into the kitchen and pro- cure the clothes-line; winding it about her waist, she dropped one end into 1 the cistern, and sitting down flat upon I the ground braced her feet against the the cistern curb. With might and main she held on while Absalom clambered up the rope. Very besozzled and l oozey his shoulders and head emerged \ from the opening. and bearing himself upon his hands with his legs dangling in the cistern, he paused and looking ! lugubriously at Miss Popp upon the l ground, he quavered: 70 Popp! Popp!
 with a melting twitter, caught him I by the head and kissed him. ] Whether or not Absalom fell
 into the cistern while in one of
 these troubled frances of thought, or flung himself headlong into the gi- gantic jug out of sheer dispair of ever
 unriddling Miss Popp's attitude, will always remain Q mystery. But that
 the days went forward very smoothly between them thereafter is definitely recorded, and also that after this climax of his troubles Absalom always called the object of his devotion Poppy"
 letting the syllables slip from his tongue with lingering honey-like drip that
 was very soothing to that girlish person.
 Also about this period he found his
 field of action very materially enlarged l-Joel Whitney charging him with
 numerous pieces of unimportant bus
 mess on the outskirts of his affairs,
 and accuracy. Thus it was that Absa- !
 about the premises, came at length to
 distribute his services in many avenues
 of Joel Whitney's growing busi- tness, leaving little John Earling and Harry to the care of Ether, a
 necessity that he gricvously re-
 grctted. For one of the chief
 enioyments of his life thus
 far had been to roll about
 the sward with these delighted chil-
 dren, turning somersaults, walking on his hands, hanging by his toes, and setting them wild with an amending variety of supple featss But life at
 length for this untutored youth had
 been skinned of its first sweet froth,
 laying bare the thicker but not less alluring body of the stream. However,
 it is extremely doubtful if at this season of his career any definite inclination
 or ambition actuated Absalom beyond
 the vigor of his legs. At least those
 long and lusty members, in this forma tive period, to a casual eye seemed
 rather to lead than to be led by theil
 mental supplement-, and indeed were apparently capable in themse. es O
 almost any reasonable ambition. Tha 1 they were unusual legs Joel Whitney
 was not long in discovering, nor long with his usual latitude of privilege
 and astutcness of instinct, in setting their energies in pursuit of his owl | multiplying and profitable affairs Still, this was doubtless quite as bene ticial to Absalom, passing. the ques ton of gratitude, as to Joel, since il 7 the end he harvested the priceless les son of well-directed experience.