The St. Johns herald., 1901-10-05
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ADolIy's Fortune.zz <
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l dry man, ana Sne Knew It, luOuSH ne
 held a mediocre position in MT. Mar
 tins farm, and the old folks liked him
 so we'll, and trusted him so thoroughly.
 that they would gladly have had him
 for a grandson-in-law, and felt happy
 in leaving Dolly so we'll provided for, for with the farm and good husband Dolly would have been envied.
 But Dolly grew colder and colder, and Fritz sadder and sadder, and do what he could, Dolly seemed slowly freezing into ice before him. He offered her presents, she scorned them; he brought rare wild flowers from field and mountain, she took them and | looked at them, and let them wither and die; and Fritz was almost beside himself with fear and grief. AS yet the old folks noticed nothing.
 One morning Fritz tried to kiss Dol ly's hand, and she. angered beyond measure by his presumption, and also by a curious thFob of sweet pain that agitated her wicked little heart, drew back her hand and dealt him a sting ing box on his ears. His eyes filled with tears, partly pain and partly grief, and Dolly fled from their piteous appeal, and went upstairs, angrily de- claring that it served him just right How dare he aspire to one whose des- tiny was to be so wonderful!
 But she could not get rid of the sad eyes, and she cried little to prove to herself that she wasn't bit sorry and hated him terribly.
 A little before noon one of the men came hurriedly up to the house to say that the horses attached to the reaper had been frightened, and run away throwing Fritz off among the knives; that he was badly hurt, and asking where he should be taken.
 Dolly got very white for few min utes, and looked at her little right hand, as if it had wielded every one of those glittering knives, and ought to be cut off.
 ''Why, bring him here as soon as you can, and send one of the men off for the doctor" said her grandfather. "Wife, you and Doly get the spare room ready, and bandages, and so forth;" and he went out to help bring poor Fritz in.
 The cruel knives had cut and gashed terribly, and Fritz was awfully man. gled; but he did not die.
 As soon as Dolly could see him she glided up to his side, and while great tears chased each other adown her face, she stopped and kissed him on his forehead, and then somehow the poor bandaged arms got around her neck, and 1t would not be possible to tell who ksesd the other next or last. In that | moment the gypsy's fortune faded into far-away vision, and Dolly was hap py with new-found joy; and, in fact, the whole household rejoiced, though they pitied Fritz for his terrible in- juries.
 "He will be well soon," said the doc. tor; "but he will never be a strong man again. He will always lack the use of | his right arm, for the muscles are so cut that he can never use it again"
 'I don't care," said Dolly; "I can work, and have two that shall replace his one;;" and she laid her trembling lips upon the poor maimed hand.
 ''I don't think we will have to work. | Dolly" said Fritz. q am rich now. through the death of my uncle, and | now we can go to Dresden, where my little Dollie will be a countess
 Astonishment and dismay seized | upon Dolly at this juncture; but 1t was true. The poor young lad had been too | independent to live upon the charity of his miserly old uncle, had found a home with these kind old people, and, as he afterward said, he fell in love | with Dolly the day she gave the stran- ger a drink of water when he was searching for work.
 Of what use to speak of his family, as long as he could not uphold his name? And between Fritz Mueller and the Count VOn Muhlenbach rolled a wide sea.
 We'll, it was all over now. The young Count and Countess did live happily, did travel, did see many wonderful things, and had seven children, all boys but one.
 But the gypsy had known all the Counts history in his own country, and knowing, as they have the faculty of finding out, Fritz's love for Dolly. had easily predicted Dolly's fortune.