Bridgeton pioneer., 1892-11-24
A POSSIBILITY.
How Edna Gray Made One Out Of
Poor Agnes White.

I'm nothing but possibility"
pouted Edna Gray, looking suddenly
up at her uncle, as he sat on a black
mass of drift wood once part of great
wreck. Herr Lundi says perhaps
shall make a proficient musician:
father says sometime may make quite
capable woman, and old Bridget de-
clares l may become quite good look
ing one. At present am only gaunt,
meager question mark-a useless, rest
less interrogation mark"
The quiet gray eyes of Edna's listener
sought her flushed, impatient face an
instant, and then, with quiet smile,
returned to the long, white-crested
waves, which were breaking one after
the other on the wide beach. Edna
derived great comfort from that smile,
for Uncle Gregory always smiled with,
and not at, one. He never confused
her with the troublesome question::
what do you mean?"-a very trouble
some question when one does not know
-and generally understood her mean
ing before 1t was expressed.
Yes, you are possibility" he re-
peated, ''and you perhaps will never un-
derstand the blessing of it-not until
you know the meaning of an impossi-
bility." hf
NOW this response was quite unlike
Uncle Gregory. 1t was not his way to
reply in riddles, and Edna was vaguely
disturbed. Nor was there an oppor-
tunlty for an explanation. Before the
next strong wave had taken up the
quivering line Of foam left by it's pred
ecessor their tete-a-tete was interrupted.
Gregory Gray was a physician, and
as such he was suddenly summoned to
the great hotel opposite which that
portion of the wreck had happened to
be lodged by the wind and tides.
Rising, with an irritated frown, she
shook the sand from her jaunty blue
skirt, picked up the discarded sailor,
and climbed to the position on the mass
of wreckage that her uncle had occu-
pied before. From this superior height
she became suddenly aware that they
had not been alone after ALL for there,
on the other side of the debris, sat a
girl OF about her own age, plainly clad
in some dark blue stuff, which, like the
little lizard, might have taken its color
from the background, SO like the
wreck it was in general effect and
tone.
The stranger looked up, and the two
pairs Of blue eyes had an odd encontre-
ment. Edna's were angry and accus-
ing, while the others had almost a
lwistful light in them as she said:
$50 you are the possibility? In
my mind pictured you quite differ
emily" reproachfully. "Why, you said
you were gaunt, and crooked like a
question markl' E.fa
''It is very impolite to listen to other
peoples conversation" said Edna, Sc
verely.
"He knew was here. He saw me-.
the man with the kind eyes that you
call uncle" replied the other apologet-
,ically; "besides could not get away"
''Why couldn't you?" asked Edna
forgetting her role of corrector in the
inherent love of asking questions.
A faint color rose to the pale face
below her, as the girl laughed nerv-
ously. "Well, If you're possibility,
guess must be the impossibility that
your uncle spoke Of I can't walk"
and the girl drew her coarse skirt moro
closely about the poor deformed feet
that before had escaped Edna's notice.
Something rose suddenly into Edna's
throat and made it ache strangely; a
great wave of something, which seemed
to rush over her and flow toward the
girl below. Slipping from her lofty
perch she made her way to the unfor-
tunate girls side and sat down, look
ing at her with great. sympathetic
eyes.
II have to stay here until Willie
comes for me-" explained the girl,
recognizing Edna's change of manner
with an amused smile. She was ac-
customed to certain sort of compass
sion, superficial compassion given by
every passer-by-yet sweet, too, in it's
way.
SIS Willie your brother?" asked
Edna, gently, for want of something
better to say,
mo, he is my cousin; 1 live at his
home. You see 1, too, have an uncle"
said the girl, proudly; but the pride
vanished as she concluded: "but have
no father or mother-There! there
comes Willie now."
Edna looked up to see barefooted.
freckle-faced lad wheeling cheap
rolling chair along the beech. He
stared indifferently at her, but greeted
his cousin with bright smile, as he
tossed a bunch of dark red flowers into
her lap,
'Oh! oh! what are those?' cried Edna,
lifting one of the blossoms as she
spoke.
"Water-watches, five-o'clocks, ten
o'clocks, umbrella, old witch, frying
pan ahd tin cup" ratified off the boy,
but SO rapidly that Edna could distin-
guish only half what he said.
willie, Willie," said his cousin, with
gentle reproving accent, why don't
you tell where they grow?"
"Up country, off shore" was the lads
brief statement, the off shore pro-
nounced with a curious str ess on the
first word.
''rhey are called both water-clocks