The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1893-02-10


late afternoon. The golden light lay
over the rough logs, the low chimney
and glittered on a heap of tin cans
just outside the door. The stream
rippled softly. The shadows of the
reed grasses was on the doorstep
The wrathful little girl stood there
Just thrilling with interest. She eX.
pected every minute to see the crab
| bed, selfish old man emerge from the
open door. She moved slowly toward
it.
There she waited. Not Il sound,
not breath.
Slowly she crept to the door and
peeped around the jam with eyes of
startled expectancy. No one was
therA. She stepped on the door-log
with an air of possession, and gazed
boldly into the reom.
| well shoot the house - was her
slow comment, rs she contemplated
with childish disgust the dirt and con-
| fusion.
Now was Hetry's chance-the old
man gone and his possessions were at
her disposal. She could tear, rend,
| destroy, burn.
But she stood in the same position
| looking intently into the room.
Suddenly she turned around and
| gazed into the stream. Her face was
thoughtful.
Suppose began. Then stop
ped with dreamy eyes and sat down
on the doorstep with her chin in her
| hand. Just supposing," she began
again, and then fell to digging the toe
of her shoe into the soft earth.
Suddenly she jumped up and disap.
| peared inside an hour passed with
little more sound than before.
Then Hetty came hurriedly out with
queer expression ON her face, and
almost flew from the cabin straight to
her home.
She was in her place at school as
usual next morning. So was the
teacher. There was a subdued and
painful atmosphere in the room. The
! classes moved to and from their seats
seeming to keep a watchful eye upon
the teacher as though she might do
something strange at any moment.
Suddenly every head turned at a
tremendous knock at the door.
Hetty Cummings heart gave one
| leap and then she commenced to work
arithmetic as she h.,d never worked it
| before.
At look from the teacher one of
the boys opened the door. A tall man
edged in and made his way to the
desk where the teacher stood. He
had bent shoulders, struggling gray
whiskers, uncertain, light eyes. If
Hetty had looked up she would have
seen a scared expression in them to
match that in her own The teacher
waited, standing. The children drop
nod ouarvt hinor RI liStpn
"Mom," he began, one big hahd on
the desk and his eyes looking out of
the window, Il come down t. thank
we for what we did to my cabin.
faint had woman's hand ont since
it was built, an wen come home tired
plumb out n foun' that room a-look-
in like my mothers sittin' room at
home the cupboard Strengthened out,
in the bed made like white mans,
N the sugar bowl clean-why, | just
darsent stay in. An | sat down on
the doorstep, an the crickets or suth-
in kept talkin', an it got to seemin'
like | was sittin' on the doorstep t
home, N the Sunday school teacher
had when | was a boy-why, she kept
a-comin' up, and suthin' run through
my mind about Goals O. fire bein'
heaped ON peoples heads, an l says,
It's that school teacher, that's who it
is She's been a-heapin' Goals O. fire
onto my head And then the cricket
or suthin' seemed to say, 'Supposin'
it was that Sunday school teacher
that was a-tryin' to teach way out
here in the wilds 'thout nobody to
care whether she lived or died-just
supposin' somebody ent her a letter
like that'-here the old man straight
ened and turned a steadier eye on the
teacher-'n so | thank you, young
woman, N the hull of you kin come to
my ranch N if | don't give you the rast-
finest good time ever you had then
I'm not a better man."
He turned at the last words and with
two shaky strides was out of the door,
before the astonished teacher could
say a word.
She looked dazed until her eye rest
ed on Hetty Cummings-one look was
sufficient to tell her that with Hetty
lay some part of the mystery. Just
what Hetty' S look was like / could
never tell you-how astonished and
delighted, how wide-eyed and glowing
with intelligence Anyway that look
enabled the teacher to say calmly ::
The third class in arithmetic will
please step to the 'front.'
1t was hard for Hettie to wait until
noon. Yet when noon came and she
was called to the desk she felt uncom-
Portable. The teacher looked into her
flushed face and downcast eyes and a
haIf-smile came to her lips. ''Hetty,"
she sad, what do you know about
Mr.. Johnson's house p The little
touch of demand in the teachers tone
brought Hetty's fire to IL glow. She
threw back her head. why, L WAS
goin' to fix old johnson for writin'
that mean letter to you, that's all
and I'd a-done it too-only SAY, wasn't
it funny, teacher? ?" drawing closer in
an awed way-'that's just what said
about him. His house was just awful,
teacher, an so lonesome, an got to
thinking now just 'sposin' it was my
father livin' like that y an | just
couldn't help tiXin' it up and say
you won't !ell him who it was, will
you? Cause it will be all the same to
him. Wasn't it funny that he said
supposin' about you? 1t must be a
good thing to suppose about people,
don't Won think Cause | felt fear
full happy afterward. 1t must be a
fearful good way she added dream
lily, remembering the old mans face as
he went out
The teacher stood quite still little
while. Then she put both hands on
Hetuy's shoulders and looked down
into the brave black eyes and said
'Hetty, I'm not going home, I'm 60
ing to try supposln' about everyone
here. I'm going to stay, Hetty."
The teacher and johnson and the
whole school silently agreed in their
minds on the day of the picnic that
Just supposln" waS II Fearful good
way" of looking al things.