The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1893-12-01

close to her mouth. After that / never
forgot to have an orange, or nectarine,
or some apricots in my wagon when |
stepped at Barwells. Sometimes the
milk can would be on the stoop, and |
would not see the little maid for several
days, but when | did see her again !
would give her all the good things that
had accumulated in my wagon since the
last time saw her. And good things
had way Of accommodating very rapidly
at that time,
Once when Mrs. Barwell happened tc
be up early to get a picnic party success
fully off her hands | saw her seize the
littlelmaid and drag herinto the kitchen.
And thought she struck her just as the
door was closing, grew hot all over
and thought savagely that if Mrs. Bar
well had been man should have called
her out. As it was, ! had a fancy that 1t
would do me good to get out and assault
Mrs. Barwell's kitchen door and fling
my opinion at her gratuitonsly and forci-
.
bly,.
But neither course seemed quite feas
ible. Ipicked up my whipifuriouslyand
looked around for something to lay it
ento. As l,could see nothing available
for that purpose but my patient, good
tempered horse, who never gave me the
slightest excuse for savagery, put it
down again with a resolution to make
things more even some day, though ii
never entered my ridiculous head in what
particular way could accomplish the
leveling process. But the little maid got
a whole apronful of the incest peaches
and nectarines and pomegranates in thu
market the next morning when stopped
to deliver the milk.
So time went by until the little maid
had grown into q slip Of a girl and would
have been pretty one, too, if she hadnot
been so thin and white as to the cheeks
and staring as to the eyes. She had
beautiful eyes, but they in company with
her other features had grown SO starved
TINT it made anybody hungry only to
look at them.
About the time that began to notice
these little things about her eyes and
features generally, thought she began
to be a little shy, The milk can always
stood in its place on the stoop, and ! had
nothing to do but pour in the milk and
drive off, which you might say was y
much more convenient way.
But as day after day and week after
wsel passed and did not see her it did
not seem SO very comfortable after all,
i wondered il she were i'll or had gone
away. remembered how she used 10
look as she stood in the faint light Of
the morning holding the big can in her
arms. wondered If her eyes were still
50 biz and wan and hungry and half
frightened looking, wondered Il her
face was 50 pallid and pinched, and If
she still shiyered SO in the morning wind
that came up chill from the sea.
| By that time quite large pile of good
taings had gathered in my wagon, for !
could not bear to throw them away and
thought every morning that maybe the
little maid would come out | thought
once Of piling them up around the milk
can and leaving them for her to find,
but was afraid some one else might
come and find them first.
So it went on till one morning just as
had filled the can and was going down
the path the kitchen door was thrown
open with a bang, and the little maid
rushed out, Mrs. Barwell hard after her
with some heavy thing in her hand,
lifted up high to throw at the girl.
Quick as a flash caught the little maid
in my arms, and put her into my cart,
and jumped in after her. and drove of
faster than | ever drove before in my
life, Mrs. Barwell running after us
down the street. But she soon gave up
the chase.
Down the lane we dashed, under the
low hanging branches Of the pepper
trees, that touched me softly in the face
as we passed The breeze blew softly
over us, laden with the fragrance that
drifted from the rose trees that bloom
perennially in the dooryards along the
way.
/ Presently the little maid looked up at
me with a face SO rosy that | should not
have known her had met her anywhere
else There was look, half frightened,
half confding, in her eyes, and as met
that look / knew all of a sudden why 1t
was that / had missed her SO, and why
had wondered SO much about her eyes
and her face.
/ / bent over her and shouted "Will
you marry me?' for the horse was gal
Looping, and the wheels were crunching,
and the cans were rattling, and If had
whispered the question as men in stories
and poetry do she would never have
heard me. And when she. slipped her