The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-04-22
The Long-Expected Letter
BY HELEN FORREST GRAVES.

BY HELEN FORREST GRAVES.
: The yellow narcissus was all in BIOS
som in the little yard that fronted the
village postoffice; the maple trees had
dropped their red stars long ago, and
here an6 there one found pink clus-
tiers OF honey-swect trailing arbutus in
the woods.
Isabel Islay had bunch in the front
of her jacket as she sauntered up to see
if there were any letters; but they were
NO pinker than her cheeks.
A little group of men and women had
assembled there for the same purpose.
The women eyed Isabella, and wondered
how it was that her dresses always "set
SO stylishly;" the men looked admir-
ingly at her big blue eyes and rosy COM
Z plexion.
Two or three other mill girls joined
her; they laughed and talked gaily as
the speoacled old postmaster sorted the
mails.
At last the unpainted pine partition
slid back, the spectacles appeared in
the aperture and the postmaster cried,
: briskly:
.Naow, thenl Who wants their
mail?"
], Isabella stepped briskly forward.
Anything for me, Mr.. RiderS" said
= she.
'Islay, Miss I. Isabel Islay. Miss
{ Isabel Islayr" read out the old man.
-."Three for you. Who next3"
81: sIsabel gets all the letters!" giggled
the mill girls, as Isabella received her
treasures. "She might divide with us /!
Hear comes Miss Seaman. Now for
some fun"
A pallid, pinched, old-young lady
here advanced with smirk on her coun-
: tenance, and faded shawl, whose folds
scarcely covered the fat basket that she
carried.
"Anything for me, Mr.. Postmaster"
she demanded, with ill-simulated indif-
!, ference.
"No, mum" carelessly answered the
official.
care you sure2"
-. "Yes'm"
"Oh!". A blank expression crept
: across her face. "But 1t really don t
signify. I just thought I'd inquire, as
chanced to be passing"
And she withdrew, amid the very
audible titters of the mill girls.
"There amt "a mail comes in, said the
! postmaster, oracularly, "but Miss Genny
Seaman's here a-watchin' for it. And
sne never gifts letter-not so much as
postal card. should think she'd git
tired O. runnin'."
'sMiss Genevieve Seaman2" said the
carcworn woman Of the house where the
mill girls boarded. "Oh, that all hap
pened years ago! She had beau, OF
suthin', and he went away-nobody jest
knew whar. Reckon she didn't know
herself. And it sort of upset her brain,
and she hain't fairly been herself sence.
She's very good dressmaker, and she
trims bonnet quite scrumptiously, and
30 she earns decent livin'. But she's
been expectiu' a letter this twenty-odd
year, an it's never come"
= "Girls," said Isabel Islay, as they sat
at the round table that evening, laughing
and talking, 'sit's near the first Of
April! Let's write a letter to that poor
OLD thing from her lover in the East"
"Was he her lover2" said Lucy
FELTON,.
z "Well, from the man she imagined
to be her lover. Let's make it fervent
as fire and sweet as sugar. Let's lay il
on thick.
s'In short, let's make an April Fool OF
Miss Genny Seaman" said Mary Crane,
who was retriming an old hat with lilac
ribbons and bunch of violets.
"Just that" said Isabel.
"But you don't even know the fellow:
name"
II can find that out. Mis-. Webb
knows, and 1 can easily coax it out OF
her. 1t will be such fuul"
1t was the morning of the first of Apri
"A blue-skied, breezy day, with the all
full of growing scents and bluebiro
whistles-and soon after the cumbrous
old four-horse stage had crashed through
the village, the usual crowd began tc
assemble in the little postofficc.
Isabel Islay was there, and Lucy FELTON,
and black.eyed Mary Crane; and present
ly Miss Gencvieve Seaman came trip
ping in with the peculiar gait which the
irreycrent village children compared to q
cat walking upon walnut shells.
"Two for Miss Islay," said the ole
man, scrutinizing each letter with pro-
voking slowness. "One for Squire zurab
bablc Jenkins; one for Widder Hopper,
and o.c for-Miss--Geuovieve-Sea
man
Isabcl flashed merry glance at hel
companions as the poor little dressmaker
tiptoed up to the counter, her color
changing from safforn to scarlet, her
faded blue eyes full of intent rapture.
':Is it true!' said she. GA letter fol
-me2 And I've waited for 1t all these
years9 all---thcsc-ycars"
She hid il uudcr her shawl, cast de-
fiant look around at the ncighbors' faces
and hurried away, like a startled wild
animal to its cover.
She could not open that letter with
other eyes upon her. She felt that she
must treasure it to herself, like Que who
has discovered O preciouo level.