The Savannah morning news., 1903-03-22


i
der the big umbrella-only the legs
and coat-tails were visible to them
was that of stranger, probably an
| Englishman.
In the Herald" office the editor
turned, smiling, to the papers re-
naming vassal. "Mr. Schofield, heard
| some talk in Rouen of an oil company
that had been formed to prospect for
kerosene in Carlow county. Do You
know anything about it?"
Ross, surfeited with honor terror,
and possessed by a sweet distress at
| finding himself tete-a-tete with the
lady, looked at the wall and replied:
"Oh. it's that Eph Watts foolish
ness
DO you know if they have begun to
dig for it yet?"
'Ma'am?" said Ross.
Have they begun the diggings
YETI"
NO ma'am; I think not They've
got contrapshum fixed up about three
mile south. l don't reckon they've
begun yet, hardly; they're gittin the
| machinery in place. | heard Eph say
they'd begin to bore-dig, 1 mean,
ma am, meant to say dig" He
stopped, utterly confused and unhap-
by; and she understood his manly pur-
pose, and knew him for a gentleman
whom she liked.
you mustn't be too much surpris-
ed" she said but in spite of my
ignorance about such things, 1 mean
to devote a good deal of space to the
oil company; 1t may come to be of
great Importance to Carlow. We won't
go into it in to-morrow's paper, be-
yond an item or so; but do you think
you could possibly find Mr.. Watts and
ask him for some information as to
their progress, and if it would be TOO
much trouble for him to call here
some time tomorrow afternoon or the
day after? l want him to give me
an interview If he will. Tell him,
please he will very greatly oblige
u.s."
"Oh, he'll come all right" answered
her companion, quickly. I'm take
Tibb's buggy and go down there right
off. Eph won't lose no time gittin'
here!" And with this encouraging as
surance he was flying FORTH when he,
like the others, was detained by her
solicitious care. She was a born moth
err. He protested that in the buggy
he would be perfectly sheltered; be-
sides, there wasn't another umbrel-
la about the place; he liked to get
wet anyway; had always loved rain.
The end of it was that he went away
in a sort of tremOr, wearing her rain
cloak over his shoulders, which gar
ment, as it covered its owner COM
pletely when she wore it, hung almost
to his knees. He darted around a cor
ner, and there, breathing deeply, ten
derby removed it; then, borrowing pa
per and cord at a neighboring store,
wrapped it neatly, and stole back to
the printing office on the ground floor
of the Herald building, and left the
package in charge of Bud Tipworthy,
mysteriously charging him to care for
it as for his own life, and not to open
|
foot out of doors before his return,
to hand it to her with the message:
He borrowed another off ]. Han
kins."
Left alone, the lady went to the desk
and stood for time looking gravely
at HarkleSs chair. She touched . it
gently, as she had touched it once be-
fore that morning. and then she spoke
to it as If he were sitting there, and
as she would not have spoken, had
he been sitting there.
you didn't want gratitude, did
you?" she whispered, with sad lips.
Soon she smiled at the blue ribbons
patted the chair gaily on the back,
and, selling upon pencil and pad, DASH
ed into her work with rare energy.
She bent low over the desk, her pen
Gil moving rapidly, and, except for a
momentary interruption from Mr.. Tip
worthy, she seemed not to pause for
breath; certainly her pencil did not.
She had covered many sheets when
her father returned; and, as he came
in softly, not to disturb her, she was
so deeply engrossed she did not hear
him; nor did she look up when Par
ker entered, but pursued the formula
ton of her fast-hying ideas with the
same single purpose and abandon; so
the two men sat and waited while their
chieftainess wrote absorbedly. At last
/ she glanced up and made a little start
led exclamation at seeing them there,
and then gave them CHEEKY greeting.
Il Each placed several scrubbed sheets
| before her. and she, having first as
Sured herself that Fisbee had bought
his overshoes, and having expressed
fear that Mr. Parker had found her
umbrella too small, as he looked damp
| (and indeed he was damp, cried
praises on their notes and offered the
reporters great applause.
ut is all so splendid" she cried.
How could you do it so quickly? And
in the rain, too! This is exactly what
we need. I've done most of the things
l mentioned, l think. and made a
draught of some plans for hereafter.
And about that mans coming out for
L Congress, / must tell you it is my
L greatest hope that he will. We can
let it go until he does. and then
But doesn't il seem to you that ii
would be a good notion for the Her
II
Feminine Readers. or OF Interest to
/ Women-once a week?"
"A woman's page!" exclaimed Fis-
bee. II could never have thought of
that, could you, Mr.. Parker"
And now" she continued. IT think
that when I've gone over what I've
written and beat IL into better shape
shall be ready for something TO eat.
Isn't IL almost time for luncheony"
This simple, and surely natural. in
quiry had a singular, devastating ef-
feet upon her hearers. They looked
upon each other with fallen jaws and
complete stupefaction. The old man
began 10 grow pale. and Parker giar-
ed about him with a wild eye. FOrtu-
nately, the editor was too busy az her
work 10 notice their agitation; she ape
| pGed herself 90 making alterations
here and there sometimes frowuingly
crossing out whole lines and even par
agraphE, sometimes smiling and beam
ING ~ the writing, and. az she bent
earnestly over The paper, against the