St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-05-24
AN WIND
BY MARY e. GOODYEAR.
nD OTHER the wind!" exclaimed

I'D OTHER the wind!" exclaimed
- Austin Cooke, as he started il
reckless pursuit of his hat. 'It viii
carry the thing into the river in /:
moment. There, I knew it would!
Now what on earth am I to do? ]
can't walk to my hotel without some
thing on my head-it wouldn't be
seemly-and there isn't cab in the
place. Goodness, how it blows! III
wager, I'm not the only person the
wind has made sport of to-day"
He wasn't, as the exultant March
wind took immediate pains to prove
Toward him on the river bank came
rolling lady's mu1f, which he smart
ly stopped with his foot.
Some poor woman's heart will
break over this" muttered Austin,
clinging stubbornly to the hedge
while he inspected the forlorn-look-
ing muff. Its capital fur-real err
mine-and must have cost pretty
penny. Hello! what's this crisp bit
of paper inside? A hundred-pound
bank note, by all that's crazy! This
means visit to the police station,
with or without hat. Dame Fortune
is trying her utmost to spoil my tenn
per to-day"
He let go his hold of the hedge and
tottered a few steps farther, but
so strong was the wind that
he had to bend his head to
meet it, and did not see the girl
in black who was rapidly approaching
him from the opposite direction.
1t was plainly the winds fault.
With roar that was like the chuckle
of q mischievous giant it dashed them
straight into each others arms, and
then paused in it's wild stampede,
wishing, perhaps, to watch with quiet
enjoyment their blushing confusion.
81 beg your pardon" gasped the girl,
searching his face with pair of beau
tiful, startled eyes. II wasn't looking
where was going"
Neither was l." said Austin, invol-
UNFAIRLY lifting his hand to his head
and looking vaguely foolish when he
found nothing there that he could
raise in salutation. eff we are I'M
wise enough to take walks on the riv-
er bank on day like this we must
expect little excitement, must we
not?" and he caught her gently as a
fresh gust of wind threatened to
whirl her away.
The girl thanked him for the serv-
ice with look, and then her glance
fell upon the muff, which he was
clumsily carrying in his left hand.
20, I am SO glad you have found
It'll" she cried, spinning half round
on her heel for very JOY. ut was a
careless thing to do, but my stupid
dress hasn't pocket in it, and
thought it would be safer to carry
the money inside my muff and keep
my hand on it all the time. Do let
me see if the bank note is quite safe!"
He surrendered the muddy, bedrag
gled object which had once been a
muff, and she plunged, her little
gloved hand eagerly into it. A trem-
bling cry of dismay broke from her
when her quest for the note proved
futile.
ooh, SIR" she said, at has gone!"
Ibid you take the number?" he
asked, with studied courtesy. It was
a shame to tease her when the note
was safe in his pocket, but she looked
so adorably pretty in her distress
that he could not resist the tempta-
ton.
GLOW could II" faltered the girl.
1.-THE wind didn't give me time" She
began to wink her eyes rapidly. Gun
Gle will be so ashamed of me-" she
continued, on the edge of a sob. II
have never made such wretched
blunder before, and e1oo is more
than we can afford to lose"
Austin instantly dived into his
pocket and produced the note. Here
it is" he said. "I'm glad I was lucky
enough to keep it out of the water.
Take it back to your uncle and say
nothing about the trick the wind
played you. Then he'll have nothing
to scold you for-except the muff, of
course. That will never be quite the
same again"
He heard nothing of what she said
in reply, but he could see her red lips
moving, and OWNED that she was
him effusively.
s'Will you let me help your" he
shouted, offering her his arm. ut is
to stay so near the water"
She accepted the courtesy without
arv prudish hesitation, and together
they reached the comparative safety
Df the high road. Here, with a bow,
Austin turned to 60.
"Not yet" she protested. "You
must see my uncle first: You have
saved us a tremendous amount of
trouble in connection with that note,
md you will want-that is, you are
fairly entitled to-soioe reward"