Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-12-13

was absorbed and satisfied. One day an idea struck him. ''Grace," said he, II found little bit down here the other day that I'd like to have you ,sketch-to send home, you know. You'll do it, won't your"
 "Why, of course. I'll speak to MT. Fleming"
 "Oh, hang MT. Fleming" Woodson broke in. "F1eming's all right in his way, but want you-your sketch, you know" The place was quite distance away, over the mesa. They set out for ii the next day.
 "Here it is,'' Woodson exclaimed, after quite a tramp, pointing over the burning plain to where row of cot tonwoods were banked against the sky, tremulous in the vibrant air.
 Ut doesn't seem to compose very well," Grace murmured, holding the tips of her fingers together and inclos ing the picture in rosy frame, through which she gazed, half shutting her eyes in truly artistic intentness.' Well, never mind that; get the char acter of it. You know Fleming says the characters the thing. That's what I want-the characteristic true char. acter of this beastly country" So Grace donned her big blue apron and set to work with her biggest brushes. But some how she had trouble. The quality of that sky, burning with light and yet deep in hue, did not seem to reside in cobalt, however fresh from the tube. The value of the stretch oi plain, tremulous under the faring heavens, disturbed her, too, and when she came to put in the airy wall of cot ! tonwoods along the horizon the whole thing ended in painty muddle. | "Oh, I can't do anything to-dayr
 Grace exclaimed, petulantly, wiping her troubled brow with the back of her hand and leaving streak of blue along | her forehead that intensified her pug
 zled look.
 "Why don't you put those trees in grecn2" Woodson asked, with serious concern, as Grace renewed her strug
 gles with the regulation blues and purples-
 But I don't see them so," she
 murmured in a moment of absorbed eff. fort.
 Grace" he blurted out almost be.
 fore he knew it, q don't believe you
 see anything, Excuse me, but I don't
 believe you ever did. don't believe in
 your art; I don't believe in your ca
 reer; l don't believe in your indepen.
 denGe! You're simply spelling the
 incest girl in the world with it. You
 see everything through Fleming's eyes.
 You see things blue and purple because
 he does; and he-wsll, he sees things
 that way because some fellows over in
 Paris do, and don't believe in it.
 There, now, I've said it, come-". But it was not arranged that he
 should finish what he had to say.
 He had looked down to the ground
 where he sat as he spoke o1 Fleming. When he looked up, Grace
 was several feet away from him, hur. rying down the hill, with her head bowed.
 ''I'm a brute, a miserable brute!' tI Woodson remarked to himself with
 considerable force, as he watched her striding toward the half!dry creek s ''But some one ought to have
 told her. Her art is a. foolishness . Look at Fleming. even. He's forty, and I'd like to know where he'd be if ii
 wasn't for his teaching. But I'm g brute, just the same, 8 heartless
 bruteI'
 P There was plum thicket along the P creek, and watching Grace disappear , within it Woodson set about picking ur F her sketching kit. This done, it oc cured to him that it would be prope, f penance on his part to wash her brush a es-he had always hated dirty brushe. 7 so. Gathering them up, he started to
 ward the creek. When he got there hs
 could see no sign of Grace. Could it be
 that anything had happened to her 4 The thought made him catch his breatl | Fo- Ha eLo
 pulsive-capable of any rash move in
 stirring in the plum thiclzet, and cam, r face to face upon her in a little open d ing, crying softly to herself. "Grace," he called out, ''why, what
 the matter? Iknow Pm brute, but
 didn't think you'd take it so.'
 ''Oh, can't you help me?' she plead
 cd, and began grasping about and feel f ing aimlessly around with her hands.
 He saw that her hair was loosene
 and that her wrists and face wer
 scratched and bleeding in a doze1
 places.
 "Why, what's the matter9" h 'o queried again, as she came groping tc
 ward him and stumbled against him. ,r Cant you help me at all?" A' 'Of course l can, small girl, your le all right. Nothing shall touch you, II he reiterated as his arms closed aroun her.
 II ''Oh, silly. can't you see I've lost m s. glasses!' she exclaimed, pulling ava le from him and flushing red among tn e. greenery. But he held her tight.
 "You don't want them, you see bel 'n ter without sShem, blue eyes. Comics K now, you never really saw before ot Give up trusting in those wretche' 1e glasses and trying to be independent Id Come, see your career through m lP eyes"
 of But still she held back at arm lg length, really defiant His fingers lei re a white circle where they clasped he oe wrists. She seemed ready to cry an he then smiled instead. You'll get ID es glasses if promise?"