Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-11-09

1t not Deen lOr Gue Wonian ho'o oPo
ken of, who in her good natured atten-
ton to my wants amply made up for
the abstraction of her mistress, l should
have Jared i'll at this meal, good and
ample as it was, considering the re-
sources of those who provided it.
! She seemed to dread to have him
speak, almost to have him move. She
watched him with her lips half open,
ready, as it appeared, to stop any mad
vertent expression he might utter in
his efforts to be agreeable. She even
kept her left hand disengaged with the
evident intention of stretching it out in
his direction if in his numbering stu
pidity he should utter sentence calcu-
lated to open MY eyes to what she so
passionately desired to have kept secret
| saw it all as plainly as l saw. his
heavy indifference to her anxiety, and
knowing from experience that it is in
lust such stolid louts as these that the
worst passions are often hidden I took
the advantage Of my years and forced a
conversation in which hoped some
flash of his real self would appear de-
spite her wary watch upon him.
Not liking to renew the topic Of the
lane itself, l asked with very natural
show of interest how near was their
nearest neighbor 1t was he who looked
up and he who answered.
i Old Mother Jane is the closest, said
he, "but she s no good. We never think
of her Mr. Trohm's the only neighbor
care for He's some good. Such peach.
es as the old fellow raises! Such grapesl
Such melonsl He gave me two Of the
incest you ever saw this morning. By
Jupiter, taste them yeti
Lucettas face. which should have
crimsoned with modification, turned
most unaccountably pale Yet not so
pale as when he began few minutes
before to say, "Loreen wants some Of
this soup saved for"-and stopped awk-
wardly, conscious perhaps that Loreen's g
wants should not be mentioned before
me.
II thought you promised me that you
would never again ask Mr.. Trohm for
any of his fruit "
"Oh, | didn't ask! l just stood at the
fence and looked over. Mr.. Trohm and
| are good friends Why shouldn't eat
his fruit?'
The look she gave him might have
moved a stone, but he seemed perfectly
impervious to it Seeing him 30 stolid,
her head dropped and she did not an
swer a word. Yet somehow felt that
even while she was 80 manifestly prey
to very natural modification her atten-
tion was not wholly given over to this
one emotion There was something over
and beyond all this that she feared
Hoping to relieve her and Tighten the
situation, I forced myself to smile on
the young man as said:
why don't you raise melons your
self? / think l should be anxious to
raise everything possible If I had 80
much ground as you possess
"Oh, you're a womanP' he answered
almost roughly. "It's good business
for women and for men, too, perhaps,
who love to see fruit hang, but I only
care to eat it.
Don't" Lucetta put in, but not
with the vigor I had expected
II like to hunt, train dogs and enjoy
other peoples fruit" he laughed, with
q nod at the blushing Lucetta- II don't
see any use in mans putting himself
out for things he can get for the asking
Life's too short for such folly. I mean
to have a good time while I'm on this
blessed sphere"
"Williaml" The cry was irresistible,
yet it was not the cry I had been look
ing for. Painful as this exhibition was
Of his stupidity and utter want Of feel
ing, it was not the thing she dreaded, or
why was her protest so much weaker
than her appearance had given token Oft
"Oh," he shouted, while she shrunk
with Mortified look. "Lucetta don't
like that. She thinks q man ought to
work, plow, harrow, dig, make slave
of himself to keep up place that's no
good anyway. But tell her that work
is something she'll never get out Of me-
I was born gentleman, and gentle
man ! will live if the place tumbles
down over our heads. Perhaps it would
be the best way to get rid Of it. Then
I could 20 live with Mr.. Trohm and
have melons from early morn till late
at night" And again his coarse laugh
rang out
This, or was it his words, seemed to
rouse her as nothing had done before.
Thrusting out her hand she laid it on
his mouth with look of almost frenzied
appeal at the woman who was standing
at his back.
"Mr. William, how can you'll" that
woman cried, and when he would
have turned upon her angrily she lean
ed over and whispered in his ear few
words that seemed to COW him, for he
gave a short grunt through his sister 8
trembling fingers and with shrug of
his heavy shoulders subsidized into ST.
lence.
To all this / was a simple spectator,
but 1 did not soon forget single feature
Of this scene.
The remainder of the dinner passed
quietly, William and myself eating with
more or less heartiness, Lucetta tasting
nothing at all In mercy to her de-
clined coffee, and as soon as William
gave token of being satisfied we hur-
riedly rose. 1t was the most uncomfort-
able meal I ever ate in my life.
TO BE CONTINUED.
Washington's Marriage.