The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-05-31

40AcA zen 4 8ls9 olooC9 10E toe q
rid of hin.,n
III got up and aauntered out OG the
room. pretending indifference but fn
reality PEiscillaa suggestion was By no
means lost upon me. Hugh Raney.
was o. thorn in my path, and from all
appearances he intended 60 continue
one indefinitely. had known him as
q child, and upon my return 60 the
plantation. after my mothers death,
he had taken up the old friendship
where Wedropped Il years before. A
slim, dark fellow, with q ready laugh,
but absolutely no conversation, he
called often and again at Bouthmeade,
boring me to extnCtion and furnishing
Fred with q neverending material for.
teasing. TIC was true. as Priscilla com
plained, that I did all the talking, when
he came 70 see me, but h I had not Z
fels sure that we would have sat and.
ga1ed at each other Inn solemn silence.
But Aunt AliCe's maxim, i'm PFisciIIa's
language, set me to thinking, and 70
such purpose that when Fred knocked
at my door that evening with the face
tious information that tmy little play
mate" was Waiting1O in the study,
I went out 20 meet him, resolved to try
the the magic effects of silence. The
result was startling Inn the extreme.
Altar one or two fruitIess attempts to.
lead me out" and finding me abso
lutaly unresponsive. Hugh pulled his
chair closer Go mine and proceeded 90
entertain" me for the Hrst time in his.
life. ny dizziness seemed Co stimulate
him, for the quieter I became the mer
rier he grew. Whether he attributed
my apathy tosudden self consciousness
or appreciation Of the situation, I do
not know, but before very long he
launched into IN personal converse
ti0n OF atype he never before attamp
ted. Priscilla could no longer com
plain that che never ascertained no
subject" for ne '~sascertained" so much
inc comparatively short time that he
gave nj ample food for reflection.
Priscilla met me with my lamp Just
after he had gone, and the expression
OF satisfaction on her features was
difficult to ignores / did 80, however.
and went yaWnIng OF to bed after first
Representing Fred bitterly tor not com
ing I'm.
Well. the story Is o told. Ny
caller, finding me 90 unusually pensive
and thoughtful, became 90 embroidered
that after several visits he gave me an
opportunity to answer definitely,
whether OF not he found favor ia my
sight. It was hard TO convince him
that he did not, but after the use OF o
good deal Of plain and earnest English,
I finally persuaded him that I Was
really possessed OF such bad taste, and
q few minutes later he rushed out OF
my presence, sprangonto his horse and
rode furiously away.
It must have been halfan hour after
that Priscilla came into the library
and found me staring into empty
hearth.
"Huceome you let De hre 60 outf"
she asked reprovingIy.
ST did not notice it," Unanswered; ST
was thinking Of something else"
She chuckled: "Ireckon you bIeeves
now, Miss Mary, dat Miss Alice knoWed
what she WuE talkin' about"
"What do you meant" / demanded.
She looked ct me physically.
Priscilla, " suddenly recalling noise
I bad heard i'm the book closet adjoin.
ing the study; Priscilla. can it be that
you were in yonder listeningG"
'.Miss Mary" replied Priscilla, fall
ing into O dramatic attitude, don't you
be gittin' damagatious against me,
Use too ole ter be treated like dati
Sides, chile" assuming an air Of
righteous Indignation, ssain't you tole
me ter straighten up dose booksl An
ef Use wicked so hard all day an kant
en- time ter do it tWell now, ID you.
gWine Ger git mad about datG Idone
what you tole me an ct" breaking
into an Irresistible smile, 81 heered
what / Warnt 'tinded fur ter her, LOr
knows, Miss Mary. hit WIZ jist what 1
'spicfoned I would heer Of I listened;
but de trute is, chile, ! ouRhteF bin in
babe hours ago, Std Of sitin' up lik dis,
list ter make sartin OF gomepin what /
knoWed already Detroit Free Press.