People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1892-09-02
CHAPTER ".
I FORM ONE FRIENDSHIP AT LAST.

Eyes, they will, too" he reasoned.
"YOu just be good and cheerful, and
make people love you"
Il do try to be good" l cried. 81 try
to do everything can to please people,
but it don't do any good. They won't
love me, they won't believe me.
never try to have my way, but | give
up to my sister all the time, and yet
people say I'm stubborn. Oh, wish
could die, and then I'd be out of the
way and nobody would blame me and
M, Judge me. I'm not stubborn.
know I'm not, and | don't like for peo-
PIE to say | am"
81 know you're not, he said, positive
ly, land if | were you wouldn't care
what people said. They don't know
anything about it"
But it's so hard to be always blamed
when I'm not in fault" sobbed, check
ing my tears little. "She said people
didn't love me, and that | was unhap-
Ply because | was mean"
who said that?" he asked.
'She did. Mrs. Brown"
my aunt?"
THAT lady who was just here, ;" | re-
piled.
The boy let my hand go and whistled
little, and | thought I'd driven him
from me, and that he was going to hate
me, too; and began to feel more mis-
cradle than ever. But after the lapse
of moment he came nearer, and
smoothing my hair with the greatest
gentlenesS, said:
Don't worry about what my aunt
said. She didn't mean to hurt your
feelings. She just don't know, that's
all. | knew she didn't know, and that
you wasn't stubborn, and it made me
sorry to hear her talk that way; so after
we'd gone a little piece I told her l
wanted to hunt some more flowers, and
| came back, because l knew she'd
made you feel bad. My aunt's good
and kind, and she'll love you when she
gets to know that you are not stub
born"
"She won't ever know that" | OBJ
jected, eeasing my tears almost en-
tirely.
Eyes she WILL" he replied, quickly,
for I'll tell her. I'll tell her all about
it." he continued after pause, land I'll
make her understand that you're good
girl, and that you amt to blame for be-
ing unhappy. She'll love you then, and
be kind to you, and maybe that will
make you feel better"
| stopped crying altogether after that,
for in the prospect of having some one
to love me l forgot all my burdens of
sorrow, and my heart was flooded with
a happiness l had never known before.
l felt that having the love of one per-
son to lean on could bear all my
crosses and sorrows without feeling
their weight, and that, however cruelty
l was treated at home, the knowledge
that one heart beat in sympathy with
mine would make my life very happy
indeed.
Seeing that l was recovering my spir-
its, my companion exerted himself to
advance my cheerfulness, leading my
thoughts away from my troubles with a
tact worthy of a much older head, and
within a short time we were chatting
and laughing quite gayly.
What is your name?" he asked, rath-
er abruptly, after we had talked for FIVE
or ten minutes.
Instantly tinge of the old pain came
back to my heart, but it went with a
breath, and still smiling and happy l
replied:
MY name is Agnes Owens"
That's very pretty name" he re-
marked. 81 like Agnes the best of any
name know for girl Don't you like
it?"
Eyes, l like Agnes" l replied, the
feeling of bitterness creeping into my
heart again, land l would be happier II
people would call me that. But don't
like to be called Ag, and that's what
everybody calls me-"
That's not so NICE" he said, slowly,
land they oughtn't to call you that"
Il don't like for them to, and I've
cried about it, and begged them to
quit, but it didn't do any good. You
won't call me Ag, will you?"
mo, | shall call you Agnes. But if ]
were you" he added, 81 shouldn't care
about my name. 1t doesn't matter,
anyhow. Now my name is William
Hanly and everybody calls me VIII, and
that's very nice, but if people wanted
to call me Bill they could, and
wouldn't care"
"Well," l said, little better salts.
lied on that point, II wouldn't mind be-
ing called Ag, so much, if people
wouldn't speak so slightingly of my
looks. don't like for them to say I'm
red-headed, and call my hair 'wisps.
You wouldn't like that, would you?''
Il don't believe I'd care much. Yor
see' boys amt particular about suci