Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-05-04

X 3 @ WELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK or
 IT?" ASKED JOE.
 mustn't put many leaves in, though. They don't like that.''
 Ut doesn't sound difficult"
 Difficult! We'll, no; but I can tell you it's quite trick to pick so that you can turn out your three boxes day. They used to allow you to put some leaves in, an then a fellow could manage four or five, but now it's different. They're darn par ticular."
 ELet's see, what do we get?"
 ''Thirty-five cents a box an grub If you boarded yourself, you'd prob ably get 50. They usually have lot of people who pick after that fashion come up from Hintonville, so I un- derstand. That's how they manage in most yards hereabouts."
 "I'm really quite keen on it." said Rospiter, with touch of Joe's en- thusiasm.
 "You must try and get at a box hCAU bC OuISs Ou SCC AohA Go-NSo are generally joined together, made SC, consequently they's only room for our family at one of the combi- nation things" announced Becraft.
 "Oh,' that's how it isl"
 "Yes, that's the way they work it."
 The little breeze that sprung up just before their arrival had died with the going down of the sun, and the fever of the day was still in the air. Far away beyond the western hills a black cloud was beginning to invade the sky, and Rossiter con- cluded that the prophecy of the sil- vering popular leaves and the trum- peting peacock was likely to be full filled before morning. In the parched and dusty grass at the roadside a cricket chorus was ringing clear and cheery, and late locust was vio- lining in the stubble of barley field. They walked for perhaps half a mile before they turned, Becraft com menting in his frank way upon the pleasure he was anticipating in his sojourn of two or three weeks in the hop-felds, and telling Rossiter of the monotony, the colorlessness of his ordinary daily life.
 "Do you know" he said, with a wave of his hand, Eff it want for somethin' like this every year or two, I'd be a fit subject for an asy- | lum. It often seems, when 1 leave the mill at night, as though I was never goin' to get the chatter O ma- chinery out O my head. hear the wheels hummin' in the dark, an see the straps spinnin' round an round. 1 Then I begin to think O the country, the smell O things"-and he drank in the pungent aroma of the hop-felds with infinite content-"an' after a while I'm all right. There's nothin' like havin' somethin' free an healthy to look forward to-"
 "You'd thrive on farm, wouldn't t you? Haven't you ever thought of trying it?"
 "Oh, yes! But there's no money in farmin' unless you've got 8 good ish-sized place, an. then my girl I've got girl, you know" he inter- iected-"she don't take much stock in ivin' out away from folks"
  to his own affairs (and he felt that he had good cause to be), it was very pleasant to have this young man, to whom he had been an utter stranger until that morning, talk to him in this confding strain. It made him have new and surprising sense of half-confidence in himself.
 As they were silent for a moment they became conscious that a vehicle was approaching behind them. They glanced back, and saw not far dis tant, and drawing near at rapid rate, pair of large sorrels attached to a light surrey. They retreated farther into the grass at the road edge to avoid the dust from the pass ing carriage, and, glancing up as if swept by observed that it contained driver and two young ladies. The one who sat upon the side nearest them let her eyes rest upon them for an instant, then she, her compan. ion, and, indeed, the whole convey ance, were lost in a whirl of dust Rossiter watched the travelling cloud until the horses and the surrey emerged from it at the Merton's gate
 "Did you notice that girl?" re marked the younger of the two men
 "Yes, I did"
 Gee, but want she hummer"
 "She certainely was," agreed Ros' sitter, amused at his companion's tribute to feminine beauty.
 The calm of the growing dusk now cast it's influence over them, and there was little said as they retraced their steps to the farm.
 (To be continued)