Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1897-05-15
WARNED IN VAIN.

Aunt Jerusha had never seen nor
heard of the above, so she flung up the
window and popped out her head with
the grace and spring of mechanical
toy.
Claws! Mercy sakes! Waal, I never
in all my life! If that don't beat the
Dutchr'
Aunt Jernsha' s vis-a-vis at the table
near the window she had so unceremo-
niously flung up was handsome young
man-an artist, in fact-who had come
to Seedville to sketch. He took no trou-
BILE to explain himself to it's villagers,
but dropped as simply as possible into
the simplicity of it's life.
"Mrs. Spearmint, he said mildly.
eff you will close that window my
buckwheats and sausage will be much
warmer"
ooh, but sakes alivev" she responded.
"Do look quick and never mind your
buckwheats Amt that the curioustest
thing you ever did see in all your born
days-and there ain It the shadder of q
horse to it. "
Villas Stansfield grew interested. He
tore himself from his buckwheats and
projected his head from the window,
staring down the narrow by street on
which Aunt Jerusha lived with the
true Seedville stare.
Caesars ghost!'
"What! Be it ghost?'' asked Aunt
Jerusha, yanking in her head and look
ing kecnly at him, as if one or the 9TH
er of them might be growing crazy.
81 might have known that no one but
Miss Waterloo would have ventured i'll
to this region with an automobile til
bury. That bridge will never hold her. a."
And seizing his hat, he rushed out of
the house and down the narrow elm
shaded street after the horseless carriage.
"Whatever has struck that man?"
cried Aunt Jerusha, bringing down the
window with a bang, now that the show
was out of sight. "What cid he call it?
Waterloo, was it? Wait till go tell Su-
san Sparrerhawk I've seen waterloo,
and she hurried next door With this
Wellingtonian or Napoleonic piece of
news.
The news affected the Sparrerhawks
as it had Aunt Jerusha. They threw up
the window and elected their heads,
but with no satisfactory result. Sam
caught up his hat and rushed down the
street after Mr.. Villas Stanfield, who
sprang along in the wake of the auto
mobile tilbuIy at a college acquired gait.
1t was a very choice vehicle, enamel
ed i'll dark green and upholstered in
russet leather. In the middle of the
seat, dressed in dark green and russell,
to match the tilbury, was very young
woman maneuvering the motor as if
her only desire was to keep her turnout
at the top of its speed.
Villas Stanfield could not overtake it.
He called. He flung pebbles at it. He
whistled. 1t splashed through the pud-
dies and bumped over the inequalities
Of the village byroad as if nothing
would be allowed to stop it. In mo-
ment it would be upon a bridge, a
crumbling bit of antique architecture
that Seedville had clung to as foot
way long after they knew it was unable
w IOlu SNtu IllS uOClOI y CudlSo lGG-
cent heavy rains had now all but wash
ed away it's supports. The automobile
tilbury was as surely headed for an ac-
cident as any whirring express with a
bowlder on the tracks He turned white
and whistled again, this time the tune
he and she had sung in duet, as with
this same horseless tilbury they had
rolled along the hard, broad roads in
southwest England.
She still whirled ON.
He put his fingers to his lips and in
creased the strength of the whistle.
She stopped, the wheels of her car
riage on the very edge of the decrepit
bridge-turning white, too, but not be-
cause of the danger.
"Mr. Stanfield," she said severely as
he came up, may 1 ask what this
means?''
Certainly" he said, touching his
hat. "You can't cross that bridge. It's
not safe even for foot passengers. I saw
you from my boarding house window,
and came to tell you"
''Very kind, I'm sure" she said,
with little toss of her russell feathers,
"but I've no wish to have you save my
life a second time. We had enough of
that melodrama at Bude," and she put
her hands OH the motor handles again.
''I'm i'll earnest Miss Waterloo. You
must not cross that bridge unless you
want to be drowned"
"I'm in earnest too. I shall cross
that bridge, and won't have you save
my life. The obligations of having you
save me at Bude is enough"
VERY well, no replied i'll hard,
crisp tone. II won't save it, then. But
here comes man whom I know. Sam,"
he called, "show this lady how to get
across by the other bridge" and, resum-
ing his hat, he walked rapidly back to
the village.