The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-12-29
THU NEW Inland"


ing poas when he first came
Sho had not heard him come around the
hoase, and when she looked up and saw
him standing there regarding her with
smile on his homely face she did what all
women have done since the days Of Eve
under the same circumstances-scream
and knocked the pan of shelled peas off the
Etsle stool and sent them rolling over and
Oyer on the soft grass in all directions
He saw the mischief his untimely appear
anco had created and sprang forward to
help gather up the peas, saying.
81 beg your pardod, na'am. Pm afraid
have frightened you"
ssIaw sakesi'' exclaimed Mrs. Goodrich.
finding her voice at last. 81 should think
you had What do you mean by sneaking
Ground the house like that? And who are
yen. and what do you want here?"
"I Just came over to see if could get
Job On the farm. I heard that Mr.. Good
rich had broken his arm and wanted to get
0noEher hand.
40 they went In and saw Seth, who was
lying in the little darkened chamber over
Che dining room, and it was agreed that the
@sw hand was to work around the farm till
SITTER harvest, and that he should receive
&4b Do<1lo csiiA A6NC % AOtln W llInlSCll3 ctuu
esSo have the privilege of taking his meals
Nth the family and not with the help.
He was o tall, broad shouldered young
fellow, with tawny hair and mustache, but
his voice was marvelously soft and rich,
and his hands were as soft and shapely as a
wOman's.
For nearly a month he worked steadily
around the farm, and as Mrs. Goodrich con-
fdentially informed her husband he got
through with more work than any other
man on the place. During all this time he
had never seen Purity, for she was nearly
always waiting on her father in the sick
room, but in fact he had no desire to see
her-a simple, rosy. buxom country girl,
as he imagined her.
But one day when he was at the dinner
table Mrs. Goodrich came flying down
stairs and told him to hurry off for the doc
tor, for Seth in turning over had rebroken
his arm and was in terrible agony.
II will see your husband, Mrs. Good
rich," he said. Amy delay would be dan
gerous, and perhaps I can do as much for
him as your DOCTOR"
You see himp' replied Mrs. Goodrich.
go right off for DR.. Hayes, tell you, and
bring him back this minutei"
But the hand paid not the slightest at
tention to Mrs. Goodrich's command and
calmly walked up the little crooked stair
way to Mr.. Goodrichs room. AS he enter
ed the darkened chamber he heard the hard
breathing and half suppressed groans of the
patient and the little hysterical sobs of some
one else, whom he rightly conjectured to be
Purity. Then there was futter Of white,
and a warm little hand caught his own
lol -, f<xf 1,a hal
lous voice said:
'sOh, doctor, it was my fault He tried
to turn over himself when was asleep,
and-and-if he should die!'' And the voice
died away in little shivering sob while
she chung to him.
There, therep' he said sit may not be
as bad SIS you think. Now, if you will let
us have little more light, we will soon see
about it"
She ran to the window and parting the
curtain stood with her back to the bed cry
ing softly to herself while he removed the
bandages and spIints from the sick mans
arm and examined it. Then he exclaimed:
At might have known It'll BY Jove, this
is luckyl Here, little girl, "he added, bend
ing over his patient. get me some water,
some lint and some old linen and don't cry
any more, for this is the best thing that
could have happened The limb was so
clumsily set before that it would have been
useless if it had ever set''
"Oh, doctor'' and then pair of soft arms
wound around his neck, pair of still softer
lips just touched his forehead, and with q
dim vision of delicately beautiful face be-
fore his eyes the ''dootor" stood staring at
: the chamber door.
He understood in a moment that in her
excitement and the darkness of the room
she had supposed him to be the old family
DOCTOR and crimson flush suffused his
face as he heard her light, swift step On the
vstairs and Purity came quickly and noise
> lessly in with the articles he had sent for
AS she came between him and the light he
raised his head and looked at her. He saw
la pale, pink oval face, with soft brown eyes,
in mass of wavy brown hair, and
4 q slender, graceful form, and then he turned
]. away again and went to work on his pa
tient.
After he had finished, Purity shut out
sthe light once more and said:
"Oh. doctor!' and then a pair of soft arms.
I ''I'll go down and get you some lunch
and you will come over tomorrow, won't
your
He paused one moment devouring her
with mis- eyes, his face burning and his
breast ON fire, and then passed on out to
the field to his work.
A week later, and Mr.. Goodrich was sit
ting in the little dining room. Purity was
gliding around setting the table for the
early supper Mrs. Goodrich came in hot
and painting, and dropping into chair be-
tween her husband and the open window
took off her bingham bonnet and began
tanning herself violently, exclaining:
There, now. | declare to goodness, it
never rains but it pours. That clumsy Bill
Poorman has fell off the hayrick and
broken his leg. and to cap the climax the
new hand just told me he was going to leave
today tried to get him to stay every way
and offered him $15 q month, but he said he
must go, and that, | believe, is all your
fault, Seth Goodrich"
GOOD Lord, S'manthap cried Seth Us
his indignant wife stopped to catch her
breath, 'how could keep Bill from falling
off the rick Or the hand from leaying?"
well, don't know, I'm sure. But l be
iisve you've been 50 ornery to him while he
tended you that he thinks you're that way
ali the time and he's going to leave before