The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-11-21
IMPORTANT TO VOTERS.
a COUNTRY MAID.

Cynthy's sJepmother set the battered
teakettIe Upon the cracked cooking stove
and trotted fussfly to the open door. n
the soft, pale April twilight, which was
more pink than grey, girl was sitting,
her yellow brown eyes turned toward the
mountains, her arms crossed loosely
'-Ef was you, Cynthy srubbIes- I'd set
tie on one or tother ef had to draw beans
fer EN-"
Il can't" The girls voice sounded
husky Every time I - 70 settle it
sOmethtn' kind of stops ne An now
I'm fraid nanny, I'm 'fraid"
Go long What you skeered OFF,
Il dunno. Eph he talked wild today;
said him an Jasper was goin' 10 startsout
tonight an so shootin' over yonder il
the mountains. an after that trip there
wouldn't but one OF EN- poster re no
more All, nanny, whit ef they was
amin to shoot one another"
''ShucksI They'd be idjits to shoot one
another account of you, to my opinion
Hustle an git that middlin' an fry YoTe
paw'n be here fore you know il an want
his supper. Yonder's the kettle bilin' an
no coffee madeI'
The smell of coffee and fried pork drift
ed out and was lost IL the scent OF freshly
pIowed earth and sweet, new little leaves
Moving more like a wooden girl, she
shifted down the tin dishpan from a nail
in the log wall and began absently to stack
the thick, yellowish cups and plates into It
Her father fell asleep in his chair. Her
stepmother began to close the rough wood
en- shutters and door. Il was bedtime il
the mountain region.
Cynthy hung up her coarse dish towel
and broke long silence:
''Ef I live an nothin' happens. I'm
a-goin' over soon in the moTnin an tell
Pappy Gid all about il.
so do" returned her stepmot her weari-
", an I wisht he'd learn you some
sense
Gideon Brush's cabin stood at the edge
of mountain looking in the vast stretch
Of trees. like brown wasp nest Gideon
himself was brown. tanned, and l2nk- A
sunny-hearted hermit, he had not been
Soured by the loss of his wife and chill
dren years before in a river disaster He
had been Pappy Gid to Cynthy since she
had outgrown her sap trough cradle, and
many q childish sCTGDe or miSdeed had
been ayeTted by his wise. homely counsel
He sauinted his eye along its white length
while Cynthy told the story of Eph's and
Jasper's expedition. Then he laid the glass
aside, and, looking into Cynthy's face:
y
you've got thin since seen you last, an
you're pale ez white rabbit Them fell
lers hev been too much fer you, a-pester-
in the life out of you that away. Kahn t
you tell. now, which you want most -
Cynthy shook her head
I've laid awake an laid awake of
nights a-sayin', 'Eph, Jasper, an waitin'
fer an answer, but it won't come, an
now
Gideon stood meditating a good while.
shrewd twinkle cane down into his eye.
screened from cynthy by his hat brim.
Finally he spoke:
i've heered about this shootin' trip of
the boys; they went yonder from here.
An. honey. did hear one of them two
he'd met with an accident"
She looked up enquiringly.
cit was" he pondered few minutes be-
fore he fnished-"Eph.
The girl stared bIankfy into his face,
dropping her head into her hands, and be-
gan to SOB
Suddenly he was beside her, his brown,
bristIy hand clasping her waist
Honey. honey. don't you cry I made
that up out o. whole cloth, just to see
which you wanted. Eph's ez sound ez a
rock I did hear about EN- goin shootIu'
an whut fer but they only lowed 10
shoot at the old bayonet that's a-stick-
in up in the ghtiq'-struck oak up on
the mountain side an. whichever'en shot
the pint off'n it first was to hev a
chance out a-courtin' you, an t'other
was to light out fer six months. Now.
quit a-takin' on honey. an III 60
stranght after 'em nv owRseIf. an make
EN- come back. an I'll give Eph a hint
slylike-. Why. whut's got you.
chileg"
She stretched her hand imploringiy to-
ward Pappy Gid
Gid" she scbbed Il amt cryin' for
Eph. I'm glad nothin' happened TO
neither one. but that amt it. Oh. Gid.
I know now why couldn't settle which Of
them two I wanted al whut want now;
1t all come over ne like fash rs you,
C!dt There. I've said what 1 ought to
died fore said It. but couldn't help
it. LemIne go home now Gid"
She stole one little. tinid, frightened
glance at his face The look OF radiant
Joy it wore made him grandly handsome
op--7 Tare E-5C