Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-09-12

questions which had nothing to do with Laurel
| Run. and only bothered her and made her
/ head ache. and she had usually referred them
/ 10 her admiring Deighbor at Hickory Hill for
explanation. who had generally returned them
TO her with the brief Endorsement 'Purp, stuff;
| don't bother" OR, Hog wash: let it slide"
! She remembered now that he had not returned
the two last. With knotted brows and . slight
pout she put aside her private correspondence
| and tore open the first one. 1t referred with
\ Official curtness to an unanswered communities
| tlon of the previous week. and was compelled
| to remind her of rule Al Again those horrid
| rules! She opened the others; the frown
| deepened on her brow and became fixed
| IL was a SUMMARY OF certain valuable money
letters that had miscarried on the route and Of
| which they had given her previous information
| For moment her checks blazed How dare
they; what did they mean? Her waybills and
| registers were always right; she knew the
! names OF every man, woman and child in her
| district; no such names those borne by the
| missing letters had ever existed at Laurel Rum
| no such addresses had ever been sent from
Laurei post oihce 1t was a mean insinuatlon
she would send in her resignation at once. She
/ would get the boys" to write An insulting let
( ter to Senator SlocuE. hrs. Baker had the
feminine idea of government rs q purely per-
sonai institution, and she would md out
\ who 1t was that had put them up to this
pryinS, crawling ilapudence. 1t was prob
| ably that wall-eyed old wife OF the post
/ master of Heavy Tree Crossing. who was
jealous of her. ''Remind her OF their
| previous unanswered communication" indeed
! Where WIS that communication, anyway! She
| remembered she Lad sent it to her admirer at
/ Hickory Hill. Odd that he hadn't answered it.
| OF course he knew all about this meanness-
] could he, too. have dared to suspect hert Tie
/ thought turned her crimson again. He, Stan-
/ ton Green. was an old Laurel Runner. friend
OF Johns, little .'triiin'" and ''presoomin'."
but still an old loyal pioneer OF the camp. Why
hadn't he spoke up!"
There was the soft, mufiled fall of the
horse hoofs in the thick dust of the highway
tie jingle of dismountlng spurs, and firm
tread on the platform. No doubt one of the
boys returning for few supplemental remarks
under tie feeble pretense of forgotten stamps.
1t had been done before and s. he had resented
it as ''cavotin round but now she was eager to
pour out her wrongs to the first conner. She
had her hand impulslvely on the dos of the
partition, when she sto} pod with a new sense of
her impaired dignity. Could she confess this to
her worrhipers? but here the door opened
in her very face and stranger entered.
lie was a man OF fifty ,compactly and strongly
| built. \ squarciy cut go&tee, slightly streaked
with gray, 1ell straight from bis thin-lipped but
handsome mouth; his eyes were dark, humor-
Gus, vet searching. But the distinctive quality
that struck Mrs. Baker was the blending of ur-
ban ease with frontier frankness He was evil
IDENTIFY a man who had seen cities and knew
countries well. And while he was dressed with
the comfortable simplicity of a Californian
mounted traveller. her inexperienced but fem
mime eye detec led the keynote OF his respecta-
bility in the carefully tied bow OF his cravat.
The Sierran throat was apt to be open, free and
uI.fettered.
"Good-morning Mrs. Baker," he said, pleas
antiy, with his hat already in his hand.
Pm Harry home OF San Francisco" As he
spoke his eye swept approvinsly over the neat
inclcsure, the primly tied papers and we'll
kept pigeon holes. the pot OF flowers on her
desk, her China silk mantle and killing little
chip hat. and ribbons hanging against the wall;
thence TO her own pink flushed face, bright
blue eyes. tendrilied clinging hair, and then
fell upon the leathern mail bag still lying
across the table. Here it became fixed on the
unfortunate wire of the amorous expressman
that yet remained hanging from the brass wards
of the lock, and he reached his hand toward it.
But little Mrs. Baker was before him and had
seized it III her arms. She had been too preoc-
cupied and bewildered to resent his first intru-
sion behind the partition, but this last familiar
ity with her sacred official property-albeit
empty-capped the climax of her wrongs.
'.How dare you touch it' she said indig-
nantlv. "How dare you come in here! Who
are you, anywaA Go outside at once!'
The stranger fell back with an amused ,depre-
catory gesture and long, silent laugh. lin
afraid you don't know me, after all" he said
pleasantly. I'm Harry Home, the depart
ment agent from the San Francisco Office. My
note of advice, No. POI. with my name on the
envelope, seems to have mIscarried. too"
Even in her fright and astouishment it
flashed upon Mrs. Baker that she had sent that
notice, too to Hickory Hill. But with it all the
feminine secretiye instinct within her was now
thoroughly aroused and she kept silent.
Il ought to have explained" he went on
srlilingly, but you are quite right, Mrs.
Baker, he added, nodding toward the bag.
AS far as you know had no business to 20
near it. Glad to see you know how to defend
Uncle Sans property SO well. was only bit
puzzled to know pointing to the wire) if that
thing was on the bag when II was delivered to
you?'
Mrs Baker saw no reason to conceal the truth.
After all this official vas a man like the Others
and If was just as well that be should under
stand her power. Its only the expressmans
foolishness," she said, with slightly coquetish
toss Of her head He thinks it smart to tie
some nonsense on that bag with the wire when
he filings II down..
MIR. Home. with his eyes on her pretty face,
seemed to think it q not inhuman or unpardon-
able folly. las long he doesn't NEEDLE with
the inside of tine bags suppose you must put
up with it, he said, laughlngly. dreadful
recollection that the Hickory Hill postmaster
had used the inside OF the bag to convey his
foolishness came across her. 1t would never
do to confess it now. Her face must have
shown some agitation. for the official resumed,
with half paternal, half reassuring air, But
enough of this. Now, Mrs. Baker, to come to
my business mere Drleuy. tuen, IL QOeSn I
concern you in tine least, except so far as it may
relieve you ard some others that tho depart
ment knows equally we'll from a certain re-
sponsibility and perhaps anxiety. We are
pretty well posted down there i'll all that con-
Germs Laurel Run, and / think with q slight
bow we've known all about you and John
Baker. Ny only business here is to take your
place tonight in receiving the Omnibus way
bag, that you know arrives here at $3.50, doesn't
it,
..Yes, SIR" said Mrs. Baker, hurriedly, "but
it never has anything for us, exeept'-she
caught herself up quickly, with a staInmer, as
she remembered the signing Green's occasional
olferinss-''except notification from Hickory
Hill post Office. II leaves there" she went on,
with an affectation Of precision, lat half-past
eight exactly, and it's about an hours run
seven miles by road.
.Exactly,' said Mr.. Home. "Well, / will re-
ceive the bag, open it and dispatch it again. |
You can, if you choose, take n holiday"
But, said Mrs. Baker. she remembered
that Laurel Run always made point Of attend |
ing her evening lcvee on account of the supe-
rior leisure it offered, there are the people
vino come for letters. you know"
II thought you said there were no letters at
that time" said Mr.. Home quickly.
''NO-but-but-" (with u slight historical
stanmer) the boys come all the same
On said Mr.. Home. dryly.
"And-O Lordr' But here the spectacle of
the possible discontinue OF Laurel Run at
meeting the bearded face of Mr.. Home ill.,