Iron County register., 1898-12-01

/
Whatever Joy the golfer finds in whack-
ing his little ball must be of the same
essence as is steadily furnished to the
packers of fruit; and all the toll of men
could be counted as pastime If only our
hours were kept short of the limits Of
exhaustion.
The young man who operated the
grader was in a position of vantage, if
he cared to observe the girls who were
packing at the bins that his radiating
spouts supplied. He stood high beside
the wide. shallow hoppers that received
the dumped boxes of ungraded fruit.
and from which the oranges distribut-
ed themselves through the discriminat-
| ing functions of the machine into vari-
Gus rolling professions in which each
member was Just as big as his neigh
Dor. Some manipulation was needed to
| keep the fruit moving evenly to the
| distribution; but the operators eyes
were not so confined as to prevent fire.
| quent excursions among the workers
below and about him. ! believe he had
mentally photographed all the hands
| that. each in its own way exhibiting
that wonderful individuality that wom-
| ems hands possess. were moving grace
fully or heavily through their countless
repetitions. And other things he took
note of and speculated on. after the
manner of men. Nor was the Toll of the
others so absorbing that he was unob-
served by them. Generally, of course,
the glances that fell direct on his face.
merely called in passing. having as
their ostensible object some high
window beyond or some interesting
constructive feature in a corner of the
roof But. however incidentally, he had
made. with all these neighbors at least.
so much acquaintance as lies in the in
terchange of vision. And that is not to
be sneeZed at.
He was from Kansas manly-look-
ing. rather handsome fellow. WHOSE
black eyes showed self-reliance, born
of thoughtful and energetic dealing
with tie problems of a western farmer.
And that judgment. accustomed to ex-
ercise on everything within range. good
at discerning the promise of horses and
cattle. and. under simple conditions. of
men and women also. did not hesitate
before n fresh and inviting problem.
when the new packer sat down under
his inspection.
''She IS from Missouri" He guessed
rightly. as first clearing of the ground
''She is used to horses he added. "and
1 think they like her. Let's see how she
takes hold of her work. He quit
formulating comments and dropped
into passive observation his quick
hands all the while passing lightly over
the bright oranges and herding them
evenly forward.
1t were useless to deny that the
straight and graceful back Of the girl
from Missouri grew cramped and tired
as the noon hour approached. and her
/ nervous endeavor al speed. while il did
not relax. seemed TO be costing her
/ something. She understood that, how
ever. being familiar with the breaking
! in process in many kinds of work. and
! such fatigue gave her not the least dis
couragement. 1t was rather illogical in
the grader-man. who observed all this.
and who saw that her quality was quite
1 superior to such an incident, to allow
| himself an agreeable sentiment of com
passion. which centered in the red sig
nal of WEAKNESS on her cheek. If.
| through feebleness of spirit, she had
needed his sympathy, he would have
felt no such pleasure in giving it. He
was only working himself into an
imaginary comradeship. Things were
moving briskly with the grader-man.
In two or three days the girl had got
hardened to her work and was already
falling into the swing of an expert.
Her special observer had noted the ex-
ceptional quickness of her acquire
/ -,
teal judgment REINFORCED his senti
mental esteem. 1t is often so with
young men of his sagacious turn and
successful habit OF life. The heaven of
sentiment invites with steadier allure
| ment when it rests on substantial
ground of availability. The heart is in
deed entitled to defy the judgment. but
4 beats no less gayly when such def
| ance is not called for.
Such assuring observations hastened
the period of conscious acknowledge
meut that the brakes were off. Our eie-
waited friend bIushed little as he con-
iessed to himself that he was in the
/ chutes." and that he liked il. II was
not his habit. He never handled horses
| that way, and he could not now quite
| free himself from repToach for havirg
dropped the lines. But he laughed, new
! ertheIess, and enjoyed the joke On him
| self. along with some other enjoyment.
Bis craft, however, did not wholly
/ forsake him. He did not forthwith be-
come the object of general suspicion
The girl herself may have caught lock,
! once or twice, that seemed TO bring him
rather forcibly under her serious al
tention. but be rolled his oranges with
as light a hand as ever and exchanged
about the usual run of chatting with the
men who dumped into his hopper, tie
manager, and all chance corners.
| AL the while the fingers of the new
packer were dancing under his eye, and
| every orange that was wrapped AID
slowed away by their deft pressure was
/ brighter by the reflection of his senti-
ment, and he felt, every time. as If he
were being taken possession of and laid
away in the treasury that her strong,
sweet life was gathering.
| 1t was getting TO be time for astu.e
| diplomacy 10 sanction some casual ad-
/ vances- 1t was observed at the noon
| hour that the grader-man addressed
| number Of remarks 10 the Missouri girl.
! and that he found several occasions fer
| happening within talking distance.
/ There was no shamefacedness in these
| approaches. He easily maintained his
| of-hano, smiling manners. as if he were
rather melting to good-humored in