The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-08-12
BEFORE ANYTHING
HAPPENED.
There Are Two Ways of Looking at
Things, and Sarah Tried Them.
BY JAMES c. PURDY.

Ii is dreadful to have TO go on living
this way. I'm tired to death of it.
believe there's not another girl any
where that has so much to put up with
as have. I'd give anything for a
change-anything ~
"What kind ofa change do you think
you would like, Sarah?''
"Any kind. / can't think of any
thing in the world that would not be
better than this"
The kind, shrewd eyes behind the
spectacles looked at the young girl Gu
riously for few moments. Miss Brin-
ton had come through many troubles,
and now faced life alone, but with
brave cheerfulness. She knew good
deal more at sixty than she had known
at sixteen, but Sarah Allen was not
quite ready TO believe that-yet.
''There are several million things in
the world vast deal worse than this"
said Miss Brinton, quietly. ~ only
nope you may not nave 10 nnu any Oh
them out for yourself"
With that she went out of the room.
Sarah looked after the briskly NOV
ing figure, her pretty face flushed and
the discontented frown still puckering
her forehead, and called out in reck-
less defiance
81 hope | mayp'
This was before anything happened.
That evening Sarah was still think
ing about the misery of having ''to 90
Oh living like this" Indeed, she had
thought of little else since that visit
TO the rich cousins in the city. She
had been all the time in a state of pro-
test against life as she had TO live it in
the quiet little country home. Happi
ly, she was not yet past loving consid-
Grafton for her father and mother, so
she did not inflict her complainings
upon them. She had intended to spare
Miss Brinton also, during the lady's
visit TO their house, but Miss Brinton
was such an obstinately cheerful per-
son that people had to tell their troub-
les To her sooner or later.
There was no reason whatever why
Walter should be spared. There is no
use in having a big, good-natured
brother if one be not at liberty TO call
upon him for sympathy and help and
redress of all grievances. So Walter
was aJt spared. Sarah followed him
out into the ga.den, when he went out
there after supper to rest himself by
working for two long hours, she vexed
his soul with the story OF her discon-
tent.
al wish | were boy, nineteen years
old ~ she said at last, putting a dis
agreeable emphasis on the personal
pronOun.
"That means you wish | were the
girl, and only sixteen, 50 that you
might do big things for me. What
kind of things? What do you wish
me to do more than / am doing?"
Walter spoke trifie more sharply
than usual. Perhaps he was getting a
little tired of listening to grievances
perhaps he did not quite like being set
down in the boy class and having the
rod of correction shaken over him i'll
this fashion. Sarah went on with
what she had to say, precisely as if he
had not'spoken.
"If were boy, nineteen years old,
I'd be ashamed to drone away my life
helping to manage a creamery in
sleepy, moss-grown little town, and i
wouldn't do what | was ashamed Of.
I'd have some ambition I'd go out
somewhere and conquer the world !
I'd get rich I'd make name for my
self! I'd make my father and my mott-
er and my sister proud of me. That's
what I'd do, if / were a boy, nineteen
years old p
1t was so dark now that she could
not see the look on her brothers face,
and she was rather glad of that, as the
silence following her latest outbreak
continued; il was handsome face and
a good face, and generally il was a
pleasant face, but sometimes, of late,
she had brought an expression into it
that she would rather not see. She
was not afraid of Walter, but he could
make her little uncomfortable now
and then.
"IfI were girl, sixteen years old,
I'd try to have little sense ~
That was the answer she got after
all that long wait and the look in
Walters face could not be a pleasant
one if it matched the plying contempt
of his tone.
"You're more of baby now than
you used to be before you could talk"
he went on slowly, after another little
pause. YOU'RE worse than a baby,
Tor baby can't be wicked. l can put
up with your talk aoout me, for it's
nothing but froth. / have good place
and / get good wages, and am going to
be partner after while, and father
aud mother would rather have me
here with them than away off some
where, so I'm going to stay. whether
you like il or not. L know Pm not
much of a genius, but I've helped faith
er TO pay for the little home, Pm help
ing to keep things comfortable now
that we've got the home, and believe
| could not do much better than that if
/ started out to conquer the world
It's you that I'm bothering about just
NOM and my adyiaa 10 x,ot, IL fnrn