The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-05-15

shoulders of the big black flyer that
pulled the Northwestern limited out
that glorious Fourth of July morning,
and miniature flags We're in the caps OF
the enginemen. Tiny bits of glory
were pinned to the coat lapels of the
conductor and brakemen. The mail
agent and messenger, the porter and
the barber all showed their patriotism
in a similar way.
As Freda entered the drawing room
the passengers, men and women drop
ped their books and papers and looked
UP. The girl hesitated, glanced back.
as though afraid OF the grandeur of the
car and the company InStinctiVely the
people in the car felt that she was
alone, but so fair a woman need nave
no fear of being lonely long. An elderly
gentleman rose and offered her his seat.
which happened to be next the door.
The porter smiling, was coming back
through the car. The conductor, fol-
lowing her in. had touched her arIn and
nodded toward the seat calamity sur
rendered by the elderly gentleman. y
sweet-faced lady, whose wavy brown
hair. frosted by the touch of time.
showed that she was approaching the
autumn of life, smiled up at the beau
tiful girl. and put a gloved hand upon
a vacant chair beside her. Freda re-
turned the smile. bowed slightly to the
enderly gentleman, thanked him in .
whisper. and took the seat near the
sw Get faced lady.
Freda was one of those rare creatures
who are always beautiful. She had
seemed a little pale when she entered
the car. but the girlish distress-the
momentary embarrasSment-b
her. She was radiant now. For mo-
ment she stole shy glances at the rich
furnishings of the car, at the Veil
dressed men and women and out at the
fields and farms that We're racing back
toward Chicago under the window. AS
she looked, the earth began to circle,
the far horizon whirling forward-rhe
near fields running back. 1t made her
dizzy. She withdrew her glance, and
saw, to her confusion. that half the
people We're looking at her.
Now the sweet-faced lady began to
talk with her. The lady's home was DIT
Normal, where Freda had attended
school, so they were good friends-al
most old acquaintances-at once. But
in spite of the interesting lady and the
grandeur that surrounded her. Freda'S
mind would wander back to the little
station-to the agent. She could not
forget that she had held his head on her
knee, brushed back his brown, luxuriant
hair and bathed his forehead with her
hands. She had known all along that
he was handsome, but she did not know
until now that he was so unlike other
men. She would gladly forego the day
and its pleasure to return to the desert
ed village and battle his fevered fore
head and hear his voice again.
When she could endure her secret no
longer, Freda, glancing about, nestled
Yet a little nearer and told the lady. in
an artless, impulsive way, of her eXpe-
rience at the station, of her momentary
embarrassment, and finally how she
had bathed the young mans forehead
with her lace handkerchief-the one her
mothers mother had brought from far
off Sweden-and asked the lady if she
had done wrong.
Now Freda had told, parenthetically
with little smiles and bushes. a great
deal more than she had intended TO tell,
more, perhaps, than she knew herself,
but the sympathetic lady had been
IL all She understood. This
had been the first meeting. 1T would
not be the last. In spite of the smile
upon the gentle face, there Were tears
and look of sadness in the soft brown
eyes as she pressed the girls hand that
rested upon the arm of the chair. NO, !
my dear" she said. you did not do !
wrong" AS she looked upon the sad !
yet happy girl. so full of her sweet |
distress, these lines of Fields came TO |
her:
You are too young to know now,
But some day you shall know.