The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-05-29

ma-thc saints took her to Heaven:
and am all alone. only the baby"
Il do not believe that she will take
her from thee. S1e. is good woman,
Teresa Calvi. Dost thou not know
herr
NO" Zaira mind was very busy,
and she said nothing more. This, then,
was what Aunt Mia was limiting at in
the morning. and what her father had
referred to rs ''Some arrangements.
What should sh" do? This strange
woman wonld cnticc paolina away from
her. and she could not love her any
more.
When the work WAS finished the
clothes W re carefully spread on the
stones to bleach, and Zaira. waving an
"Ad,lin' to the women bore her baby
back up the hill. The delicate foliage
OF the olives lay in silvcry green against
the dark back ground OF the mountain.
| pon the summit. where the afternoon
sun Shonc bright V, a huge iron cross
spread its arms against the deep blue
sky. 'Ah. mamma mia.' sighed Zai-
IA. why didSt thou 90 away from u.s.
The women in the valley watched
her slender figure as it wound up
through the steep paths. 'Do You be-
licvc. she did not know that her father
was going to Get marricd.' said Mari
eta to the group around her. She
felt stron" pride in the fact that she
had been the first to impart this I'M
| pleasant information.
| "IIow did she take it," some one ask
ed. as the others stopped in their rub
hing to listen eagerly to the gossip.
"Prctty hard" replied the girl, feel
inc her Importance. "Shc is afraid
that Teresa will take Paolina away
rom her.
What els" can she expect" respond
ed the chorus. and they shook their
heads until the heavy gold earrings
which each wore in her ears tink!cd
| with Il soft sound.
For three days it poured rain. From
| the door of the stone hOuS" the river
and the mountains lay Shrouded in 4
veil Of mist. On the fourth day the
sun Shone. and the @littcrin" drops
| Sparklcd like diamonds. as they fell
from the leaves ofthc vine on the porch.
| Up the valley cloud of foo rolled
away. aS the sun rose higher and higher.
BE ready for the cheStnut-picking
this attcrnoon.' Si@nor Pcrroni said,
when he cam" in todinncr. "Thc nuts
| have fallen finely in the storm.
Iaira smiled. The chestnut gather
inc WAS Gay frolic, the boys and girls
thought.
The storm will cause great injury
to the olives, continued the father
"Quantitics of them have been beaten
down."
| "For once thou must he. content to
leave Paolina with me- said Aunt Nita.
with IN air of triumph. In her own
queer way the rough old woman loved
| D.,
Of Zaira.
Il supposed 50, responded Zaira, re-
luctantly; lit is certainly too wet to
take her" She kissed the baby ten
| DERBY on both her brown. dimpled
| checks. and went down the mountain
and across Il narrow. wooden foot
| bridge which connected the ri ght bank
| with the opposite shore. The placid
stream in which the women had washed
their clothes IL few days before was
| swollen t" a powerful river, covering
| the stones to the level of the banks.
Zaira stood for Il moment looking at
| the sur"in- water rs it swept down the
narrow valley. around Il sharp curve
| and on, on the broad ocean.
The chestnut woods covered most Of
| the southern mountain. At intervals
there were small stone hutS. where the
harvest was temporarily stored away,
until the time should come to send it
OF to the larrc cities. to be made into
"polcnta' and sold on he streets to the
poor. Hour after hour the peasants
gathered the hi = glossy nuts. The bare
feet of the grls; sank deep into the wet
grass. rs they searched. \ CHEEKY
voice urged on the crowd. Nv hat.
lazy boys. yom have only 4 BAG full. The
yiriS have done better than that"
The speaker stood for 4 N ant be
side kariA.
You are Zoira rcrroni, are You
not"
"IcS."
Nv hat Il dear little sister you have.
! have often seen Nou together. on
must love arh other very much"
We do She would bc so lonely, if
| were not with her: but ! must soon
90 out to work." Her voice cho.>cd.
And who will care for tn" little on"%'
she added. looking mp into the woman's
soft. brown eyes.
DO not fear. Til" good God will
care for thee and for her" She WAS
away in IN instant, and Iaria heard
her ioakin@ with Il woman some dis
tancr off, but her sympathetic words
had lett Il touch of peace ON the suffer
inc Young heart.
The picking went on mrrrilv. At