Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-02-16
Meanwhile he arrayed his shapelv


sion among the blazers and tennis suits
: of sunnmerlng Manitou. Grace WAS alb
Solbed and satisfied. One day an idea
struck him. Grace" said he. Il found
Il little bit down here the other day
that I'd like to have you skctch-to
send home. You know. You'll do it,
won't you?"
why, of course. I'll speak to Mr..
Fleming"
'Oh, hang Mr. Fleming" Woodson
broke IN. ''Fleming's all right in his
way. but want you-your sketch, you
know"
The place was quite distance away,
over the mesa. They set ont for it the
next day.
Here it is" Woodson exclaimed at
ter quite a tramp. pointing over the
burning plain to where row CT cot
tonwoods We're banked against the sky,
tremulous in the vibrant air. There,
do that; call it "A Hundred in the
Shade. or something like that
| 1t doesn't seem to compose very
WE'LL" Grace murmured, holding the
tips of her fingers together and inclos-
Ing the picture in Il 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
l want-the Characteristic true charac-
ter of this beastly country"
So Grace donned her big blue apron
and set to work with her biggest brush
es. But somehow 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 Of
plain renulous under the fiaring heav-
ems, disturbed her, too, and when she
came to put in the airy wall of cotton
woods along the horizon the whole
thing ended in a panty middle.
''Oh, l can't do anything today"
Grace exclaimed petulantly, wiping her
troubled brow with the back of her
hand and leaving a streak of blue along
her forehead that intensified her prlzzl-
ed look.
''Why don't you put those trees in
green?" Woodson asked with serious
concern as Grace renewed her strug-
gle with the regulation blues and pun
pies.
But l don't see them So she muir
INJURED in a moment of absorbed effort.
"Grace," he blurted out almost before
he knew it, 81 don't believe you see
anything. Excuse me, but l don't be-
lieve you ever did. / don't believe in
your art; don't believe in your career;
don't believe in your independence!
You're simply spelling the incest girl
in the world with it, You see things
blue and purple because he does; and
howell, he sees things that way be-
cause some fellows over in Paris do,
and I 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 of Fleming. When
he looked up Grace was several feet
away from him, hurrying down the hin,
with her head bowed.
''Im a br11te-a miserable BRUTE"
Woodson remarked to himself with
considerable force as he watched her
striding toward the half dry creek.
'But some one ought to have told her.
Her art is all foolishness. Look at
Fleming, even. He's forty, and I'd
like to know where he'd be if it wasn't
for his teaching But Pm brute, just
the samoa heartless brute!'
There was a plum thicket along the
creek, and after watching Grace disap-
pear within it Wocdson set about pick
ing up her sBetching kit. This done, it
occurred to him that it would be pro-
per penance on his part to wash her
br1lshes-he had always hated dirty
brushes so. Gathering them up he
started toward the creek. When he got
there he could see no sign Of Grace.
Could it be that anything had happen
ed to her? The thought made him
catch his breath for a moment. He
knew she was impulsive-capable Of
any rash move in moment of excite
ment Then he heard stirring in the
plum thicket and came face to face
upon her in little opening, crying
softly to herself.
Grace" he called. "why. what's the
matter? I know I'm a brute, but 1
didn't think you'd take it So"
"Oh. can't you help me?' she pleaded
and began cropping about and feeling
aimlessly with her hands.
He saw that her hair was loosened
and that her wrists and face were
scratched and bleeding in dozen
places.
"Why, what is the matter" he
queried again as she came cropping to-
ward him and stumbled against him.
Cant you help me at alp
"Of course I can, small girl; you're
all right Nothing shall touch you," he
reiterated as his arms closed around
her.
ooh, silly. can't you see I've lost my
glasses?" she exclaimed, pulling away
from him and flushing red among the
creenery. But he held her tight.
.sYou don't want them; you see better
without them, blue eyes. Confess now,
you never really saw before. Give up
trusting in those wretched glasses and
irving to be Independent. Cone, see
your career through my eyes"
But still she held back at arms
length. really defiant His fingers left
a white circle where they clasped her
wrists. She seemed ready to cry and
then smiled instead