The Topeka state journal., 1899-07-04
HER CANARY.
IFrom the New York News.J
Please, Miss Begonia, is there any

LFrom the New York NewsI
''Please, Miss Begonia, is there any
thing else for me to do?"
Miss Begonia had been born and
brought up in the West Indies. She was
a tall, yellOW-faced female, with high
cheek bones, small, bead black eyes and
hair that she wore frizzled, not because
it was becoming, but because it was
the fashion. and she wore foulard silk
wrappers that hung in straight folds
from neck to instep and made her fig
ure look a degree more like a. clothes
post than its natural capacities-Which,
indeed, were quite sufficient.
What a contrast was little Barbara
Held the Is year old German girl, as
size held open the door and viewed Miss
Begonia through the four inches of
aperture with mute admiring awe. oh,
to wear silk dresses like that! to sit
and read books all dayl
please, Miss BegOnia,'' she asked in
a soft cOntraltO, is there anything
more that can do?"
Have you fed the canaries?" said
Miss Begonia, "and given the monkey
exercise, and cleaned the Iory's cage.
and looked after the parrots, and fur
nished fresh nuts to the squirrels, and
the ferns, and helped Deborah clean
the silver?"
Yes. Miss Begonia.''
''Then suppose you may go. But be
sure you are here at 4 o'clock precisely
to gather the red raspberries for tea"
Barbara Held dropped a little cOur-
teSy and went away to fulfill her next
ngagement-that of daily scrubbing at
the house of Mrs. LevinbOlt, one of
those rabidly neat housewives who re-
gard cleanliness as a shade or two su-
periOr to godliness.
Barbara Held was a. hard working
little elf and there was need that she
should work. The Held family had
come over from Germany two or three
years before. But Herman Held, the
father, had died on the way; the moth
er had been partially paralyzed within
a month of reaching the American FL
Dorado, and there was only Barbara
to find bread for the three little moon
eyed EIelds.
Miss Begonia watched the brown
checked figure fit away and disappear
in the linden shadows of the front lawn,
and then she went in to look at her
birds.
A row of gilded cages hung high
above the envious paw of cat or dog,
Miss Begonia eyed them with serene
satisfaction.
"AIl, 'solioquized she. pet andDarling,
Mince, Pinkey and-why, goodness
gracious me! the lnnet canary is
gOne!''
Transixed with horror and astonish-
ment, Miss Begonia stood before the
empty cage which had contained the
pet and pride of her heart.
THE cage door is tight shut, too. The
linnet canary is stolenl O, no. perhaps
who knows but Barbara Held has
changed him to some other cage. 1t
would be unparalleled audacity, but
And snatching a straw hat from it's
nail behind the door, away posted Miss
Begonia Featherfield to the Held cot
tage.
Barbara had not come home yet, but
Mrs. Held sat with her knitting in her
lap. Mrs. Held could not rise to curtsey
to the great lady, but she smiled in her
feeble German way.
But Miss Begonia took no notice Of
them; her eyes were glued to a spot on
If n r9
woman's head, where hung a wicker
cage containing the linnet canary.
well, I never!" cried Miss Begonia.
1.-The impudence of the thieving crea-
ture-after all that I've done for her,
too. Well I never!'
Mrs. Held looked troubled. She could
not understand the words. but the tone
of anger and amazement was unrnis-
taxable.
You little wretches!" shrieked Miss
Featherfeld, with illogical indignation,
where is Barbara
The three little Helds had begun with
one accord to utter the words: Mrs.
LevinbOlt's, on Cherry Tree lane"
when the door opened and in walked
Barbara.
You ungrateful minxl'' cacl1led Miss
Begonia, you bold, bad thief! I've a
mind to send you to state prison-that
1 have!"
20, please ma am" faltered Barbara,
what have 1 dOne?"
you've stolen my Susette-my lin
net-canary. There he hangs right be-
fore your face and eyes,
please, ma am, it isn't Susette. It's
a bird that Mr. Lyman gave me-ME,
Lyman, the artist, that is summering
at Mrs. Levinbolt's."
"A likely tale!' said Begonia, wrath
fully. You bold: bad girl, give me
that bird at once.''
But Barbara only sank down into a
splint chair and began to cry-so Miss
Featherfeld caught down the cage her
self with a jerk.
"And, now, Barbara, never come near
my house again.
But, Miss Begonia, please"
mot a word! You hear what I say;
heed it, and I shall take especial care
that the neighbOrs all know this"
Miss BegOnia was just enough to stop
at the Levinbolt farm on her way and
ask to see Mr. Lyman.
He started on a tour to Canada this
morning." said Mrs. Levinbolt. He'll
be gone three weeks"