The morning news., 1899-12-31

Touching the complexion of the Scamp
! girls, Mrs. Windibrook attributed il to
their great privations in the alkal desert.
! zone day" continued Mrs. Windbrook,
/ when their father was Ill with fever aud
! ague, they drove the cattle twenty miles
! to water through that dreadful poisonous
| dust, and when they got there their lips
were cracked and bleeding and their eye
| lids like burning knives, and Mamie Sc
/ camps hair. which used to be a beautiful
| brown like your own. my dear. was
| beached into a rusty yellow" And they
| will wear colors that don't suit them"
said Cissy impatiently. ''Never mind
| dear" said Mrs Windibrook ambiguously,
L suppose they viii have their reward"
| Noir was the young engineer discussed in a
| lighter vein, ''It pains me dreadfuliy to
| see that young man working with the
| common laborers and giving himself no
rest, just because he says he wants to
| know exactly how the thing is done
| and why the old works failed,' she re-
| marked, sadly. when Mr.. Windibrook
! knew he was the son of Judge Masterton
and had rich relations. he wished, of
! course, TO be civil but somehow young
Masterton and he didn't hit off, Indeed,
| Mr. Windibrook was told that he had de-
| clared that the prosperity of Canada City
| was only mushroom growth, and, IL
| seems too shocking to repeat, dear, that
! they say he said that the new church, our
| church-was simply using the Almighty
! as big bluff TO the other towns. OF
course, Mr.. Windibrook couldn't see him
after that. Why, he even said your IA
ther ought to send you TO school some
where and not let you grow up in this
| half-civilized place"
Strangely enough, Clssy did not hail
| this corroboration of her dislike to young
Masterton with the lveliness one might
| have expected. Perhaps 1t was because
| Piney Tibbets was no longer present, hav-
| ing left Cissy at the parsonage and re-
| turned home. Still she enjoyed her visit
| after a fashion, romped with the younger
| WindibroOks and climbed a tree in the
security of her sylvan seclusion and the
promptings of her still healthy, girlish
blood, and only came back TO cake and tea
and her new hat, which she had prudently
| hung up in the summer house, as the
| afternoon was waning, When they return
ed TO the house, they found that Mr..
| Windibrook had gone out with his visitor
and Cissy was spared the advertisement
| of a boisterous escort home which he gem
| orally insisted upon. She gaily took leave
| of the infant Windibrook and his mother,
sailed out through the parsonage gate
into the empty road and once more be-
came conscious of her new hat.
The shadows were already lengthening,
and a cool breeze stirred the deep aisles of
the pines on either side of the highway.
| One or two people passed her hurriedlT,
talking and gesticuladng, evidently so pre-
| occupied that they did not notice her.
| Again, a rapid horsemRn rode by without
plancing round, overlook the previous pc
destrians, exchanged a hurried word with
them, and spurred swiftly away as one of
them shouted after him: There's another
dispatch confirming it." A group of men
talking by the roadside never lcoke1 uD
as she passed. Cissy pouted slightly at
this want Of taste, which made soma late
election news or the report of a horse race
more enthralhng than her new hat and Its
owner. Even thetoilefssIn the bitches had
left their work and were cangregated
around a man who was reading aloud from
a widely margined extra of the Canada
City Press. 1t seemed provoking, as she
knew her cheeks were glowing from her
romp and was conscious that she was
looking her best. However, the Secamps
cottage was Just before her. and the girls
were sure to be on the lookout She
shook out her skirts and straightened her
pretty little figure as she approached the
house. But to her surprise, her coming
had evidently been anticipated by them,
and they were actually-and unexpectedly
awaiting her behind the low whfte-wash-
ed garden palingsl AS she neared them
they burst into a shrill discordant laugh,
so fun of irony gratified malice, and mean
| exaltation that Cissy was for a moment
startled, But only for a moment; she hal
her fathers reckless audacity and bo'e
them down with a display Of such pink
| ~
ter was checked and they remained open
mouthed as she swept by them.
Perhaps this incident prevented her from
noticing another but more passive one. A
group of men standing before the new mill
the same men who had so solicitously
challenged her attention with their bows
couple of hours ago-turned as she ap-
preached and suddenly dispersed. 1t was
not until this was repeated by another
group that it's oddity forced itself upon
her still angry consciousness. Then the
street seemed to be full of those excited,
preoccupied groups who melted away as
she advanced Only one man met her Gu
| rious eyes-the engineer-yet she missed
| the usual critical smile with which he
was wont to greet her, and he gave her
bow of such profound respect and gravity
that for the first time she felt really I'M
easy. Was there something wrong with
her hat? That dreadful, fateful hat! Was
IL too conspicuous? Did he think it WAS
| vulgar? She was eager to cross the street
on the next block, where there were large
plate-glass windows which she and Piney
If Piney were only with her owl-had
often used as mirrors. But there was a
great crowd on the next block, and it was
congregated around the bank--her faith
er's bank! A vague terror, she knew not
what now began to creep over her. s.
would have turned into side street, but
mingled with her fear was a resolution
|
TO combat ii as she had the horrid laugh
of the Scamp girls-and she kept her way
with a beating heart, but enect head with
out looking across the street. There was
another crowd before the newspaper office
also on the other side-and q bulletin
boards. but she would not try to read it.
only one idea was in her mind. to reach
her own home before any one should meet
or speak with her. For the last intel
ligible sound that had reached her was
the laugh of the Scamp girls, and this
was still ringing In her ears, seeming to
voice the hidden strangeness of all she
saw and stirring her, as that had with
childish indignation. She kept on with un-
moved face, however, and at last turned
into the planked side terrace-a part of
her fathers munifcence-and reached the
symmetrical garden beds and graveled
walk. She ran up the steps of the verar-
da. and entered the drawing room through
the open French window Glancing
! .o,,,a tba familiar room at her ia hers