The record-union., 1891-05-30
ONE SUMMER.
Life Story of a Lazy Man With
a Heart.

One of the ssBackwoods Belles'' Writes
a Story Entirely Out of Her Usual
Style-''The Little Gray-Eyed Frau
Deserved Better Eate.''
Especial correspondence of RECoRD-UNIoN.l
Wag was lazy as the day was long. He
knew it, and had never been known to
deny it or apologize for it. 1t was an in
offensive sort of laziness that everyone
respected. He had happy faculty of
escaping the duties Of camp cooking and
stewing and brewing, but among his
half-doZen jolly companions a look at his
long yellow face and STOPPING shoulders
| secured his immunity from the worries
of the domestic circle. To-day he had
lain on his back in the meadow all the
long, sunny afternoon, his fishing trap
pings idly beside him, and the little brook
hurrying by with its harvest of fishes
ungarnered. He had come home at sup
per time portionless, with 'beggar lice"
and "foX-tails'' in the crevices of his
clothes, wild azalea in his button-hole,
and the sharpest rebuke he received was
the nickname 'Barnaby Rudge." For
months he had been perched on high
| stool, bending double over weary col
umns of black, spidery figures, and when
his hollow cough made their nights
sleepless the greatest complaint heard
| was poor devil"
iS,c NfN Tn.r f1,ot h. y L.,
breviated name by being too indolent to
write the last three letters of the name,
! Wagner, handed down from father to son
for many generations. A use was found
for Wag, but in time he proved unequal to
this slight task. 1t was to bring milk
| from the dairy across the creek. Finally
1t took two to perform the duty-the sec
Ond delegated to go in search of Wag.
He would be found sitting in the door
! yard. smoking a social pipe with Dutch
| Gus" the proprietor of the milk ranch,
| his bucket beside him, forgotten. 1t was
not so much the dereliction of duty that
exasperated the boys, as the fact that he
found such royal entertainment in the
company of THAT wooden Dutchman."
When he was seen disappearing across
! the footbridge, with his curly brown dog
| Lassie solemnly in his wake, it was taken
for granted he had gone to Germany"
| The usually reticent dairyman had
| CONdTu w dS, anu llGLl0 by
had told him his life's story and his plans
for the future, At the approach of any
one the conversation ceased, and the
| quiet was as deep as that which hangs
over a green pool filled with croaking
frogs when a pebble Is tossed in its midst.
| At the suggestion of Gus, Wag brought
4 over his dog-eared German reader, and
till the twilight purpled into evening
| Wag would sit with his long legs un-
reefed, laboriously chanting some mar
velous fairy tale, while Gus, from a
! cloud of blue smoke that rose from his
Iong-stemmed pipe, occasionally voiced
his approval with deep grunts of salts
| over the mountain, and with her troop of
bright-eyed children went silently across
the skies. A slight wind disturbed the
! sleeping tamaracks, and nodding their
heads and waving their long arms about,
| they whispered stealthily to one another
and gradually relapsed into silence.
Just over the rickety fence the scores of
cows were sleeping-one could be heard to
utter long deep sigh, a bell would jingle
and the stiffness was dense as before. 1t
was under this influence that Gus grew
loquacious, and to Wag be confided that
| in one week more his wife and baby girl
would come from the Fatherland. He
fortune in America. Fate had smiled on
his efforts. Midas-like his butter and
cheese had turned to gold. On this one
theme he was eloquent, and his bald
head and game eye were only partially
comical when singing the praises of
''mein frau Marie, and de leetle gal
| Gretchen"
Wag grew interested. He was glad the
little Dutch wife was coming. He was
| specializing on how to relieve the monot-
ony Of her existence among the wailing
pines and rawboned milkmen. But,
pshaw, he thought, she was Gus ideal
and would share his dull life with no
thoughts above the market for butter.
| Of course she would be short and stubby:
a face like flushed full moon, and ca
pacity for work like steam pillow. 1t
was one of Gus characteristics to think
| twice or dozen times before speaking
! You could rely on that preface to his re-
marks. He was In meditative mood
| this night, and most of the talking had
devolved on Wag. In two days more it
was expected the travellers would arrive.
and Mrs. Gus came all the way
alone?" asked Wag.
POUCH, POUCH, POUCH,
"Then you will meet her in the city, of
course?"
POUCH, POUCH, POUCH.
"Nein; my bruder he meetit de wife und
madschen und / tendit to the butter.n
well, hadn't you better go yourself
| Gus? Shed like 1t better"
For once Gus omitted the silent preface
to his reply, and slapping one broad hand
on his greasy knee, cried:
Ply dam, dot was de ideap'
The treasures from the old country
had materialized, and Wag, tying his
crayat with extra care proceeded over the
Well-worn road to be presented. When
| Mrs. Gus came forward he mentally
called himself a brute for the picture he
had been guilty of drawing. Slight and
trim as saplng, hair golden brown
that defied severe mode of dressing and
rumpled into rebellious curls, checks
like milk and roses and eyes gray and
| deep. Her quaint innocent manner was
delightful; her broken English enthall-
ing And Gretchen, the newly imported
CONNECTION, was a loyable little Dump
| hing of three years, counterpart of her
girlish mother Gus was speeches. with
JOY. His manner plainly indicated that he
would let the corners speak for them
TO explain their charms. He merely sat
beaming, his every instinct bent on the
| motions of the two.
Meanwhile Wag was specializing.
| Where In the name Of reason, he Won
dered, did that scarecrow pick UP the
pretty girl? His visits We're made with
the same regularity as Of old. and it was
Marie who listened to his combat with
the trlple-jointed verbs, clapping her
hands and uttering spasmodic shrieks
when some three-decker bore down upon
him and left him foundering helplessly
Gretchen and Lassie rolled on the grass
| together, and when the two came home
with muddy pinafores and draggled
brown coat, it was Marie who pounced
| upon the little toddler with storm of
mingled seedlings. slaps, kisses and
caresseS.