Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-08-31
CHAPTER ELEVEN.


the county scat t. visit at the village.
She had once attended school there and
had many friends among The young
people. There was a social set in tho
town that apcd much after the petty
aIistucracN of Lewiston and Portland.
and h,, luse she Was the daughter of
the county sheriff she was made a
great deal of. Probably had any of
the grand DANES of this little set been
told that she was virtually engaged to
marry the Young French American
youth up the road they would have
expressed unfeigned surprse-but
they would rot have cut her. because
She was the daughter of the sheriff of
a neighhorinG county.
Early in the morning of the day that
someone was Ia give a party in her
honor RcSSie rose from her bed and
dressing carefully went out for a walk
along the bank Of the little river that
wound through the town. She was
ford of such walks. and she spent
much time alone in the open. This
is ha bit that is always good for
young people. 1t gives them time to
think cnnsecutively. 1t gives ;ime
for the forming of character. After
all. character is finally moulded by
the thoughts that course through the
mind. And as Bessie walked along.
ankle deep in the soft grass she was
thinking about the young fellow up the
road. She wondered if she had been
foolish in allowing herself to think
more of him than she did of any one
else in the whole world Perhaps she
was-but he was worthy of 1t. There
was not Il doubt in her mind but that
he would some day be worthy. in
fluential and in all ways desirable man
for any cirI to claim and be proud of
as Il husband.
1t was hot morning, in spite of the
e3flinesS. Pierre. worried a little at
the veiled threat against him that he
had heard from the lips of handsome
MadGe o'Rrien the night before. had
been unable to sleep and had taken his
FISH pole early and gone out into the
meadow To try and drown the memory
of il in the absorbing sport of catching
hsh II was not so much the thought
that sn" had threatened him. AS il was
the reaking of his idols. To think
that 2 woman could he u rum SNUG
glcr and still be lovely. smote him to
the heart. He could not reconcile it..
The little fellow had not learned much
Ct the world you see.
Now he was sitting on an old stump.
watching the sun fish pla wing about
ms hook and refusing to pull them
OUT when they caught themselves. In
this Wire Bessie found him. She came
softly NJ to him. laughing to herself
a. she found that he had not seen her.
and stealing close up Ia the stump
s"d''"nlN leaned UP with her back
toward him. u WAS as though she had
mt nd"d to lean upon y post but sud
denly finding that he was man in
stead Of - post she gave a little cry OF
pri&" ana cSi1aimed:
oh. th"uEhtfthat YOU were q
stump,
This Inundated Pierre. for at first of
cours" h" believed it. Any one. and of
course BESSIE. could dupc him hy an
pedring honest. He had not yet learn
that penri" could Ii" and still look en-
tnely tsuthtul- 1t is just such trust
ilE Sinp;Icity as he posscssed thai
E"rr% tniS Ui, led old world anything
~ worth living in.
II Wa X 'Cping pretty still" h,
said -.st' !,ln:: l"r h.uG and drawing
L"r toward him.
ii, n" dca=--not right here in tn,
me tdnN. No one can tell who Nigh
So" us. Dh-n-h,' The boy kissed hel
iuil upon tn lips, ami then released
nor biushinG furiously himself AS h'
"lh So. ST" sat down upon a rocl
ana took h"r lat of. Then she threw
st"o" 'rtp tn Watcr. ana watched thr
iieh i.ttt away.
u" You read much. Pierre" sh'
asked
Yes. great deal. / have just fin
~ ct tT:''i in:, :;eptt's novels. didn
read them 70 Mama because she say.
Such nara aln Improbable thing.
aSaInSt the "aIych. But % course
undciej9nd thai half he writes abou
thc ":, fiimo;s and monks is rot. an,
$" o"nt pay any attention to it
fGt n" h-'s Il tt%cina ting way of teIlins
Stp' les. N1G his rorlance-they ar,
era ~. DO you know. ! fancy that
N"Oi| Ike - br Il writer myself some
tiE1". An1 D, kers. All. there is ;
h"n VIZ" tel eut.l cha min. stories
NC was "a n"v Sp1pcr reporter. ",
Know. tiaNe YOU read much of him