The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1893-10-27
THE Blue MANUSCRIPT
By MARY KYLE DALLAS.
lcopyrisA5, 1888. By American Press association
CHAP1L2 W.


and assembled the porch. He knocked al
mons. He waited. All was silent, as
though he stood at the gate of an en-
chanted castle.
Resolving to wait until some one was
ready to answer him, Gregory turned
from the door and began to pace the
porch. The sound of his footsteps
brought a little mongrel dog from the
mysterious interior of the mansion-a
dog who seemed to resent his presence
and who began to bark savagely, paus-
ing at intervals to snarl and growl.
This noise had not continued many
seconds before the young woman in the
hammock aroused herself. She opened
her eyes, turned her head toward the
house and sat up. Perceiving the figure
of man upon the porch, she detached
the infant from her bosom, adjusted her
dress, CROPPED in the hammock for lost
hairpin, which she found at last in the
baby's chubby fist, arranged her hair
with more haste than elegance and came
slowly up the path, her slipshod shoes
Tapping behind her.
''Well, she said, pausing at the foot
of the steps. Looking for somebody,
mister she spoke snappishly and
frowned upon him as she did SO.
"Yes, madam, for Mr.. Bud" said
Gregory, taking off his hat.
His politeness seemed to propitiate the
young mother: She smiled.
''Well, mister" she said in gentler
tones. ''they is Budses here, but not any
Mr.. Bud. Poor payer has been dead
quite some time. Was it payer you
wanted? Jefferson his name was"
sit is r. Bud for whom 1 am in
search, literary man, an anthor," re-
piled Gregory.
Writes books?" asked the young
woman.
Eyes" said Gregory, Eyes, madam"
'cPshawP' cried the young woman
swell, declare! z. Bud-I know now.
Sit down in the parlor, and I'll go M
and see."
She assembled the steps with the baby
over her arm as a waiter carries a nap
kin, pushed open a door-one just with
in the outer entrance-and bade him en-
ter with nod.
It was an apartment full of that de-
pressing gloom and chill which belong
to the ordinary rural best parlor.
There were ancient shades at the win
dows decorated with scenes upon the
Rhine in which ruins figured conspicu-
ously. and a red and green ingram car
pet much darned, some cane chairs, d
a table which supported a group of wax
fruit in black basket, and many speci
mems of humble fancy work-autum
leaves gummed and pinned to paste
board backgrounds, air castles, caro-
baskets in perforated board and photo
graphs i'll acorn frames.
A kerosene lamp perfumed the air, anC
the CRATE was hidden behind ''grat,
apron made deliberately of small. ova
sections of pink and green tissue paper,
fringed and curled, thing that died O.
its own hideousness 20 years ago, and O.
which this perhaps was the only sur
viving specimen.
Gregory had looked at this monstrosit
for want of more interesting object O.
contemplation for 10 minutes, whel
some one ran lightly down the stairs, az
preached the parlor door and stood ther,
for a moment in timid, hesitating way.
1t was young girl, slender and fair
with delicate, regular features, a httle
pink mouth and large blue eyes, as clear
and bright as those of a baby. Her fail
hair, which was of the rarest shade, that
blond which has no gold in it, was
gathered in one thick braid at the back
of her head and tied midway with blue
ribbon that might have been cut from
the same Piece as that which bound the
manuscript which was Gregory's rea-
son for being where he was at the mo-
ment.
She also wore blue lawn dress, some
what faded and little shrunken. and
little blue belt with a mother of pearl
buckle.
Shabby as the costume was, Gregory
instinctively comprehended that this was
not her everyday attire and that she
had arrayed herself with care to receive
him. Was this Miss Bud? Was she
the authors daughter? She seemed too
young to be anybody's wife. He arose
bowling. She advanced with a little po-
lite motion Of the head.
''How do you dor she said. TSister
says you want to see R. Bud" :;
II have come from New York to see
Mr.. Bud" he said. SIS he at homer
''Take a seat" she answered. ''You
4uuOG 10 IA1Cus Ol1ppOOO JON OSeAAO IL
the stage. I heard it stop. You want
to see r. Bud?'
1T is about the manuscript ofAa nov
ell" said he. ST come from the publish
ers. lam Gregory Blanchard. the jun
ior of the firm. May ask if
Eyes" said the girl, interrupting him.
at knew about them, because the min
listers wife had the book of pieces for
the school children to speak published
there. That is how found out. It is
very hard to find things out up here"
Naturally" ne answered. He was
thinking as he looked at her that she
bore much resemblance to little mild
faced picture of the Madonna that he
had seen in a church abroad. The ex-
preston was identically the same in its
intense gentleness. She was pretty
very. very pretty. A sort of human
illustration of light shade of pale blue,
he thought, laughing inwardly at the
fancy. But he had not come to Pohat-
cong to talk to her. He wondered that
she sat there and smiled and seemed to
wait for him to say more.
The young woman whom he had just
seen in the hammock was now walking