The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1898-05-10


satisfaction.
damson plums, turned as pink as d
peony.
LA! What is it to your" demanded
her mother, cycling her sharply, and
Mary Jane hung her head and pre-
tended that a wasp had stung her
hand.
Hes gone Off been gone three
days and two nigbts--and never told
anybody whore he was going, not even
Seliny Hicks that's keeping house for
him. He went off with the calico colt
hitched to his wagon, and Selling
thought he was only going down 10
Junkins' Corner, twas R'yal Junkins
that wanted to buy the colt. Bit he
wouldn't stay three days down TO
Junkins' Corner"
81 shouldn't suppose so, murm; -ed
Mary Jane meekly.
DO you know where he has gon y
Mrs. Fling was large aud stout, i.ad
she had borne down upon her daugh-
ter like bristling man -of-war upon a
slender sloop.
mo, L don't" said Mary Jane; and
her gentle bosom was torn by conflict
ing emotions. 1t was well that she
could tell her mother that she did not
know OF Lyman's whereabouts, but
there remained sting that he should
have gone away without telling her
where he was going.
= Opportunities of speech with Lyman
were indeed but limited the ancient
teud between the houses of Fling and
Bee, began when Grandma Fling had
accused Grandma Bee of snoring in
church, and Grandma Bee had re-
tal1ated by reporting that Grandma
Fling had carried skimmiIk cheese
to the minister's donation party-was
bitterly sustained by Mary James
mother, the more bitterly that Lyman
Bee had wished to marry Mary Jane.
She had positively forbidden Mary
Jane to speak to Lyman, but, over
their mutual stone wall, screened by
scrub oak trees from Mrs. filings
suspicious gaze, the lovers occasional
ly exchanged..a few words. 1t was at
the extreme end Of the stone wall. be-
yond the filings butter bean patch
and pumpkin field, that the scrub
oak grew, and thee also grew some
poisonous ivy to which Mrs. Fling
was peculiarly susceptible. A dozen
times had she hired Jake Haffey 10
destroy that ivy, aud as many times
had it reappeared, as if by magic.
Mrs. Fling dared not even look upon
1t. So there was one place where
Mary Jane, although a timid soul who
feared her mothers frown. could
speak to Lyman Bee.
'Seliny Hicks says she shouldn't he n
mite surprised if he'd gone to be mar
ried," continued Mrs. Fling cruelty.
"She heard from Carmel that he'd
been making up to Charlissy Porter
when he was over there surveying
land. There's so many of those Porter
girls, and they're so kind of slack.
they're glad TO get anybody"
Mary James fair, freckled face was
undisturbed. She did not believe that
Lyman was making mp to Charlissy
Porter. And yet-what might not be
expected of a man who for ten years
had been openly scorned and nouted
by his sweetheart mother. and
spoken to by his sweetheart only in
the shelter of the scrub oaks and the
poison ivy?
Mrs. Fling, keenly searching her
daughters face, saw shadow of
trouble appear in the soft blue eyes,
and heaved sigh of content.
II Mary Jane would only believe
that report about Charlissy Porter. sh q
might be induced 10 marry SiIas Luf-
kin, the storekeeper, who had begun to
call on her Sunday evenings
The storekeeper did ~ hourishine
business, he had n branch store at the
corner and was part owner Of mill
besides "a much better match than a
jog-trotting farmer, contented If he
raised fairly good crops and could sell
his milk at the door.
He wouldn't have been Bee il
he'd had . mite Of ambition" Mrs.