New-York tribune., 1891-10-18
FRACTION CORNERS.
THE MINISTER'S GIRL.
ii.

,,-se was moving so slowly that IL seemed
i h.n asleep. And still the road stretched
:, ,he hill between the oak trees which held
their whitening leaves. Here and there
-. bayed out among the milder hues There
,sre;avs and chick calling some
- squirrel had just run across the tracS
:. sro,t Of the horses nose with chestnutourr
u his mouth .s .ouewhat
...hhv phaeton, in which sat o woman. enc
-. dressed in gray and she had a bunch OF orlen'-
..,ored ssters at her belt She was very uark'
"a her eyes were brown and soft
IN, horse had now come to place wnere
g.. ,cad branched He stopped and looked
,.aitatively back at his driver
Il don't know which way to take any n'ore
Dan you do" she said aloud
She stepped down from her seat and wene anu
.,,mined an old guideboard which nao ianeh
into thicket Of goldenrod. AL she oouiu iesns
decipher were the letters gh, ano manu- pOA'''-
ing into the golden-rod
u.r. Won lost nothin' ?" drswled voice
,Jos TO her. 1t was so close sna' she 'u"'pe"
hack into the dusty road.
sorIv nv vsy." she answered as she saw an
Ia woman standing very near her. 1t was one
=, ,bat kind of old women who have sort OF
.i.nb.nt skin. with large, well-dehned wrinkles
$3.50 along the cheeks and under the chin, ana
vho seorn the aid of artificial teeth at'er 'neir
own have gone She had on what hao once
been a black satin mantilla. IL was now wadu'o
and was as its wearer was convinced, an cur
rsr,lv suitable garment for fall. black stn'w
nat with i,s brim brought DOWN each sac =,
the face by broad purple strings OF heni"en -
cashmere. She had tin pail in her mana anu ss A.
the nail was about quart of the brillan' pO''
Of the Green Mountain bean. ..tb
She had evidently come from nano"
which led from the woods near the no
Gu. smiled now in evident contempt l0i "
who could lose her way where she heiSei-
familiar. -, ..,,r.d Miss
r.xon nnllins At her gauntlets in some conlu''ON
beneath the answering gaze of the old iSuS. .uh-
II guess YOU must have come from tne o''"s
ton way, didn't you?" asked the "on'~-'
mo. / didn't" .L.r o.,
-Mebby you're goin' old stOusht'n way 'DeA'
@No."
-Ainrp"
sNo." ~ ,s
Miss Faxon wafked up to her norses no"u
and gave the animal some grass she nau puiieu
o., IL She believed If she were patient kne
.bould vet be able to dig out some useIul ln-
to,ns.ion from the brain Of this stranger
Amt you gldin ei4"AN w ~
alone so I"
why should / be afraid?"
aTrampe." said the old woman, concisely.
sIs there any village near?" now repeated
Miss Fsxon. after looking at her watch
List down the other side of the hill there is.
What's the name OF it
sThey kinder call it Fraction Corners
sh you'll take me apiece, jest as lives snow
xou the way right long" continued the oio
lady.
She was helped into the phaeton and sat up
night with her pail of green beans on her knees
It's a straight road" she said you couldn't
mis- il if you tried Tsint morn n half mild,
neither. / really s'pose," with something IKE
a smile moving the leather cheeks, that could
er told YOU the way jest well 'thout ndlns'
YOURS welcome to ride"
I'm sure I'm much obliged. Have you heard
pothin' bout the wskenin' Of religious feenn
there is to Fraction Corners? ?"
The old woman did not wait for any answer
20 this question She went on to say that she ex-
pected the wakenin' owing TO the new min
ister They'd got new minister at Fraction.
Did We know that?'
sYes, i knew that"
aMebby you're acquainted with the man ?"
1--WE met him"
sHe's begun well, but Of course he can't hold
ant No minister can make revival last the
year round. You can't go to getherin' in sheaves
eyery minute of your life, no matter how mucn
you pray n shout"
Miss Faxon glanced at her companion to see IL
this last were spoken satirically. But the dim
old eyes were fixed earnestly ahead, and the fallen
IN mouth was shut gravely.
SIS Mr. Whitehead iked?"
The question was put hesitatingly.
eofA %bn
= shrewd look. "Yes, he's liked a lot There's
interest felt in religion by folks that you wouldn't
expect. That gal Of the Gray's now guess
III stop to this turn. Here's the beginning OF
Fraction. The Corners themselves is further along
Mercy sake! There's the minister now. and the
GRAY gal She's dressmaker. You see she
seems to be some stylish. Some folks think
she's han'some l say she's just made outer
dough never could stand that Gray gal
By the time she had finished speaking she had
reached the ground in safety. Miss Faxon took
little note of her last words. She looking
Ut the two who were walking toward her. The
minister's tall form seemed very tall. The girl
was somewhat apart from him. Neither appeared
TO be speaking.
few rods away from the slowly-advanciAg
horse and phaeton Miss Gray paused in 'front.'
Of an old low house. The door Of this house
was quickly thrown open and woman appeared
on the Threshold.
"Loller Is that you' I wish you'd come
right in. Here's somebody It's been waitin' TO
see you bout dress She wants to know if it
can be made over 'thout bein' too expensive"
Miss FaxOn saw the girl make a slight gesture
and laugh as she went toward the house.
The minister strolled on alone with his hands
behind him. His head was bent; he seemed
much absorbed
The horse stopped, obeying a gentle pull on
The lines.
Inc iaay In tho phaeton bent forv- slight,
eager smile on her face.
Joseph" she said.
M "hi'ehesd paused and looked full at her