The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-04-10

stood her friend. She had always
been good to Reuben, and her sweet
ways and consideration for mis- COM
Tort had gradually won a passage in
to his rather stolid affections. Now.
seeing the emergency she was in
and the courage with which she met
1t, he couS, not quite find the heart
to leave the little gal to make out
by herself" Fully purposing to 20,
he staid, putting off the idea of de-
Parture from month to month, and,
though true to his idea Of proper
caution, he kept his good intentions
to himself, SO that relief of having
him there was constantly tempered
by the dread lest be might go at any
time. Still it was relief.
So April passed and 0fay and
June. The crops were planted, the
vegetables in. Brie strained every
nerve. She petted her hens and
coaxed every possible egg out Of
them; she studied the tastes Of the
two cows; she maintained brave
show of cheer for her ailing mother,
but all the. ti,ne she was sick at
heart. Everytt thing seemed closing
in. How long could she keep it up !?
The balsam frs of the hill grove
could have told tales in those days.
They were Brie's sole confidants.
The consolation they gave, the coun-
Gel they communicated, were mute,
indeed. but none the less real to the
anXio' girl who sat beneath them
or lad her cheek on their rough
stems. June passed, and with early
July came the answer to Brie;s
many prayers. It came, as answers
to prayers often do, in shape Of
which she had never dreamed.
Miss Mary Morgan, teacher in
Grammar School No. 3, Ward 10, of
the good city of Boston, came, tired
out from her winters work, to spend
few days with Farmer Aliens
wife, her second cousin, stopped one
day Ut the Dorsets' door while driv-
ing to ask for drink of water, took
fancy to the old house and to Brie
and next day came over to propose
herself as q boarder for three
months.
81 can only afford to pay 81 q
week" she said. 'sBut, on the other
hand, I will try not to make much
trouble if you will take me-"
'sSevcn dollars a week! Only
think! cried Bric glecfully to her
mother after the bargain was COM
pleted and Miss Morgan gone.
doesn't it seem like fortune?
It'll pay Rcuben's wages and leave
ever SO much over! And she doesn't
eat much meat, she says, and she
likes baked potatoes and cream and
sweet baked apples better than any
thing. And there's the keeping
room chamber all cleaned and ready.
Doesn't it seem as if she was sent
to us, mother? ?"
sYour poor father never felt like
keepin boarders," said Mrs. Dorset.
81 used to kind of fancy the idea of
it, but he wasn't willin. I thought
it would be company to have one in
the house if they was nice folks. It
does seem as if this was the Lords
w;l! fcr us, her comu in so uncx-
pected and all"
Two days later Miss Morgan, with
hammock, a folding canvas chair
and trunkful of light reading,
arrived and took possession of her
new. quarters. For the first week or
two she did little b.. rest, sleeping
for hours at a time in the ham
mock, swung beneath the shadowing
elms. Then, as the color came back
to her thin face and the light to her
eyes, she began to walk little, to
sit with Brie in the fir grove or read
aloud TO her on the doorstep while
she mended, shelled peas or picked
over berries, and all life seemed 20
grow easier and pleasantcr for the
dwellers in the solitary farmhouse.
The guest gave little trouble, she
paid her weekly due punctually, and
the steady income, small as it was,
made all the difference in the world
to Brie.
AS the summer went by and she.
grew at home with her new friend
she found much relief in confding
to her the pcrplexities of her pos;-
tioI.
"I sec," Miss Morgan said; 'it is
the winter that is the puzzle. will
engage to come back next summer,
as have this. and that will helm
along, but the time between now
and then is the difficulty"
eyes," replied Brie, "the win
ter is the puzzle, and Reuben's mon
ey. We have plenty of potatoes and
corn and vegetables to take us
through, and there's the pig to kill,
and the chickens will lay some. If
only there were any way in which /
could make cnOuUh for Rcuhnn,s