Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1893-01-04
CHA E AN00G 4 \.
BY F. A. mitchell, (LATE U. S. A.
Copyright, 1892, by American Press Association.

lode to the Spirit Of Nature" alone; but
with beautiful girl beside him, the
half moon sinking in the west and all
nature in repose, he momentarily forgot
his assumed character entirely. He be-
gan, intending to give only few lines
and not to forget his dialect; but the
spirit Of nature was in him as well as
in the poem, and by the time he had re-
cited few lines he was as oblivlous to
the character of Slack, the farmers son,
as il he had been the poet himself. Sud
denly he awoke to the consciousness Of
having given the whole poem in his nat
ural tone and with his ordinary accent.
"Mr. Slack" said his listener when he
had finished, Ibid you learn that from
man in Jasper
.No-no-I-waal." he stammered, 81
readsftin 8 BOOK"
- Ee-seele "a glance at his companion,
but failed to detect any unusual express
sion on her face. He took courage.
"What do you raise on your planta-
iong' she asked.
''Oh, we put in some potatoes and
coxn and straw this year"
''Straw:"
mo, no; not straw" Mark was as
little conversant with the farmers art
as he was familiar with the poets. 81
mean hay"
The girl looked at him and smiled.
1.-The wheat was all gotten in early
this summer, am told" she remarked
casually.
"Yas, we got in ourn early. We jest
finished up before KEN away"
why, Mr.. Slackr'
Mark knew that he had blundered
again.
"Wheat is gathered in July" she in
formed the young farmer.
"I mean the corn," he said wildly.
"The corn comes later. 1t is ripening
now"
Mark felt it was all up with him so
far as deceiving Miss Fain as to his being
farmer, but he struck out boldly to
undo some of the mischief.
"Waal, you see. Miss Fain, to tell the
whole truth, dad he don't reckon much
on my farmen. He says oughter be a
perfessor or somep'n O. that Sort"
"a gentleman, for instance" -
Mark made no reply. For the first
time he detected irony in her tone.
''Mr. Slack-if that is really your
name, which l don't believe-you are
certainly not very complimentary to my
sense of perception"
"How so?" ...
I'm trying to make me think you are
not an educated gentleman"
Mark saw the futility Of keeping up
the sham with Miss Laura Fain any
longer. He resolved to give her so much
of his confidence as was necessary to
keep her from betraying him, if indeed
he could do so at all. His manner and
his tone changed in twinkling.
"Iwill be frank with you. l am not
what l have pretended, but l am not
here to injure you or yours"
"Who are your She spoke with q
certain severity that she had not shown
before.
II Icannot tell You. My secret is not
my own"
care you Union mani"
"Yes."
"a northernerT
"Yes; but let that suffice. You would
regret it if l should confide anything
more to you. Yet from this brief inter-
view have learned to trust you suffi-
ciently to place my life in your keep
ing"
She thought moment. A faint shud-
der passed over her.
81 don't want to know your secret"
evil you tell your mother what you
have discovered?' asked Mark an1ously.
"Not for worlds"
.sYou suspect he paused and
looked at her inquiringly. .
"Yes, yes. Don't say any more. Don't
breathe another word. Only go away
from here as soon as possible"
81 shall go tomorrow morning. l
shall always hold you in grateful re-
membrance. You are a splendid-a
lovely woman. owe you"-
eyes. yes: go-go early"
She rose and went into the house. In
few minutes colored boy came out
and told Mark that he would show him
to his room. As Mark had been there
before, he knew this meant that ne was
expected to retire for the night.
AS he went by the parlor he glanced
in. The mother sat by lamp on a
"center table" reading. Miss Fain's
face was also bent over book. 1t was
white as the margin of the page she pre-
tended to read.