The Tupelo journal., 1903-01-02
which a bird flies, or a fish swims,

pede for the counter, over which
pink lemonade and cookies were sold.
The leggined fellow, however, led the
radiant girl out into the moonlight,
which had transformed the denuded
redwood %hop-poles into endless col
onnades. Regardless of her slippers
and fiounces, everything but the DOM
mating presence of the man beside
her, she strolled down the row on
the rough, bare ground. When they
regained the ball room pro tenn. the
music had struck into the long,
swinging strains of "Creole BelIes!"
Again they circled round and round,
never pausing for a breath until the
music stopped.
Happy little Mollie! This was her
brief hour of triumph, and she car
ried it off with a high hand. Her
Coon Creek friends, who were 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 a moment
longingly in her direction when he
caught the first bar of 'The Honey
suckle and the Bee" but having
heard of the treatment accorded the
other fellows, he turned and consoled
himself with the Fenessy girls.
1t seemed a mere trife at the mo-
ment that the rough pine benches
caught and tore her flmy iounces,
and that the walk over the plowed
ground under the hop-poles ruined
her slippers, and hat the football
man in showing her how a low tackle
was accomplished broke her precious
fan. But all these things came with
the reckoning in the morning.
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
ulltll tiiSy idu IcdCntu her OWN USuU
door. He had fancied she might be
sorry, but had not imagined she
would care so much. He wa 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 remember
ing her until his dying day, and prom
Uses of coming up to Coon Creek 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 a long walk to Hop
town station, and next day the tall
young fellow, again in tweeds and a
Panama hat, tramped up and down
the platform, impatient to be back
into the stir and hustle of the life
he had left, and recounting to him
self for the hundredth time his
chances of getting on the varsity
team as half-back.
Hello, old mani" he shouted, as
he jumped on the step, wondering at
this gathering of the clans.
Hello! Hello!" a volley of voices
echoed as he entered the car. Just
nnnoinr Ino,, frA,, Cl,e+o - e
the fellows explained; my sister and
some friends of hers in the car.
Come on"
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
a last smiling adieu from the car win
dow. 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 wild
ened as the window came abreast of
her fence-post. Yes, his head was
turned in her direction, but why, oh
why, did he not see her handkerchief
waving wildly at him? The next mo-
ment brought into view a f~air-baired
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 be
possible that he had forgotten her
already! Still, trusting little Mollie
waved her handkerchief, and then
her bonnet. His head was turned
in her direction, but he had eyes for
no one but this trim-looking girl with
the white dotted veil. A moment
more and the train was gone, the
rear end of the baggage car grew
smaller and DINNER, till it was out
of sight.
When the forlorn little figure
turned back to the hop-field, a great
dry sob in her throat and an empty
ache in her heart, the one or two
Coon Creek people she met let her
see they had learned they were not
expected to speak to her. At the
turn in the road she passed a hilar-
ious group of pickers exchanging tin
types with hearty promises of meet
ing again next year. Pinny was
there, l~avishing peanuts and gum on
the crowd, and though he saw her,
he did not look up. She drew her
bonnet down over her eyes and told
herself she didn't care. But as she
walked up the long, hot avenue alone,
she met Nolan, his high spirits re-
stored, walking home with the red
haired Henessy girl.-San Francisco
Argonaut.