Rural Retreat times. [volume] (Rural Retreat, Va.) 1892-1918, 1902-12-05

After the good Old-f1ShlOneu custom,
Pinny Smith, with a girl in yellow
frock, led of the grand march, after
which there We're pollias. quadrilles
schottisches, and dances his town-bred
feet had forgotten, or never learned.
When his eye caught Mollie's he
crossed the room to ask her for a
dance. From the opposite doorway
Spike had started toward her at the
same time. She held her fan-a gauzy,
fiimsy thing that represented the price
of several long days picking, so she
might not seem to notice Spike-and
her breath in fear lest he should reach
her first. The fellow in the leggings
was so interested in his surroundings
he walked slowly, and Spike, she saw,
was gaining. In a second he would be
within speaking range and all would
be lost. The next instant she rose to
her feet, turned her back on the crest
fallen Spike, and reached her hand
toward the tall fellow, approaching in
his leisurely, Indifferent manner.
When the accordion began to wall
out sThe Blue and the Gray" the man
found to his surprise this little back
woods beauty could dance. She didn't
hop, nor "scrape matches" nor stiffen
like a poker in his arms; she danced
with that 1.-THE free grace with which
bird flies, or fish swims, because it
was the natural expression of her
bubbling, lightsome spirits.
But, all too soon the music was
stopped, and there was mad STAN
pede for the counter. over which pink
lemonade and cookies were sold. The
leggined fellow, however, led the ra-
diant little girl out into the moonlight,
which had transformed the denuded
redwood hop-poles into endless colon
nades. Regardless of her slippers and
fiounces, everything but the dominat-
ing presence of the man beside her, she
strolled down the row on the rough
bare ground. When they regained the
ball room pro tem., the music had
struck into the long, swinging strains
of "Creole Belles,' Again they circled
round and round, never pausing for a
breath until the music stopped.
Happy little Mo1lie! This was her
brief hour of triumph, and she carried
it off with high hand. Her Coon
Creek friends, who We're not too
dazzled by her airs and graces, came
up as usual and asked her for a dance,
but the next one was always engaged.
Nolan looked moment longingly in
her direction when he caught the first
har of sHTha HoDaySucI-1o and Tho Roo
but having heard of the treatment ac-
corded the other fellows, he turned
and consoled himself with the Hen
essy girls.
When at last the dance was over,
when the accordion had wheezed out
the plaintive strains of Home, Sweet
Home" and the happy dancers paired
off in twos for the best part of the
evenings fun-the walk home in the
moonlight-Mollie wondered, in her
simple little soul, if heaven could be
any better than this.
Her companion did not tell her that
he was going away the next morning
until they had reached her own tent
door. He had fancied she might be
sorry, but had not imagined she would
care SO much. He was sorry the moon
was not brighter for he knew he was
missing much of the tell-tale play of
expression in her eyes and cheeks. And
when, after repeated protestations of
remembering her until his dying day,
and promises of coming up to Coon
Greek to visit Uncle Sy's dairy ranch
the very first chance he got, he took
her hand to say ''good-by" and bent so
low her cheeks famed up as red as
her lips. But she could not have been
so angry as she pretended to be, be-
cause, after the lights were out all up
and down the line, they were still
saying "good-by."
1t was not long walk to Hoptown
station, and next day the tall young
hat, tramped up and down the plat
FORM impatient to be back into the stir
and hustle of the life he had left, and
recounting to himself for the hun
dredth time his chances of getting on
the varsity team as half-back.
Hello, old manr' he shouted, as he
jumped on the step, wondering at this
gathering of the clans.
Hello! Helloe' a volley of voices
echoed as he entered the car. "Just
coming down from Shasta" one of the
fellows explained; my sister and some
friends of hers in the car. Come onw
The train moved slowly when it
crossed the trestle. Mollie had counted
on that, and hurried to the end of the
hop-field so she might get last smiling
adieu from the car window. Four, five,
SIX windows slipped by, and her heart
began to fail. but at the eighth, there
he was. looking toward her, too. The
black eyes widened as the window
came abreast of her fence-post. Yes,
his head was turned in her direction,
put why. oh why, did he not see her
handkerchief waving wildly at him?
Inc next moment brought into view a
falr-haired girl in the seat behind him,
and the same look, the same smile she
had lived upon all these weeks were
bent upon the new face. 1t could not
De possible that he had forgotten her
n IwvV